
Iowa ranks as the best state to live in America, U.S. News says - nafizh
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2018/02/27/iowa-best-state-rankings-us-news-world-report/376147002/
======
bb88
I moved away from Iowa, as have a lot of people over the years.

The growth rate lately has been about .5% per year, and the population
actually shrunk in the 1980's. [1]

The weather sucks there. It's cold as fuck in the winter, and hot and humid as
fuck in the summer. There's maybe 4 enjoyable weeks the entire year.

The politics suck. Steve King is a US Rep from Iowa. For whatever reason Iowa
keeps electing him in, and it's embarrassing.

The jobs there suck. Des Moines is a small town, and other cities are even
smaller. There just aren't enough tech jobs to keep ISU and Iowa graduates in
the state. The best and brightest leave.

Yes, Google has a data center, but it's in Council Bluffs. Have you ever even
heard of Council Bluffs before that?

[1] [http://population.us/ia/](http://population.us/ia/)

~~~
davidw
Data centers don't really lead to many jobs. Prineville, Oregon of all places
has a FB one, and it's as automated as can be.

Also, being able to ride my bike here is worth an awful lot:
[https://photos.app.goo.gl/8UVHrhwCHybhE2LU2](https://photos.app.goo.gl/8UVHrhwCHybhE2LU2)

Not sure how much of that kind of thing you get in Iowa.

~~~
danielecook
As an aside - Iowa has an enormous annual bike ride called
[Ragbrai]([https://ragbrai.com](https://ragbrai.com)). I’ve wanted to go for
years. Those that I know that have done it loved it.

~~~
arreyder
Absolutely do it at least once but do not expect it to be super easy. Most
years we average more climbing than Ride the Rockies and it's always 10
degrees hotter on the pavement than the air temp which will likely be in the
90F's. The great thing though, this is not a race, and there's lots of places
to stop and relax along the way. You have all day to make it to the next
overnight town. Many of us do a gravel route and end up in the same towns
every evening as the main ride. Riding gravel is a really big deal here and
this alternate route has caught on. The official ride now even includes an
optional gravel loop on one day. Hope you make it some summer soon.

~~~
davidw
Speaking of gravel, I think this is really cool:
[https://dirtykanza.com/](https://dirtykanza.com/) \- it really makes the most
of the roads and land they have, even if it's not someplace 'spectacular'. And
it looks pretty brutal to boot.

------
niftich
This isn't too surprising to someone who has a passing familiarity with the
state: thriving college towns, friendly business climate, low cost of living,
plentiful land, a strong focus on education and healthcare, smart
infrastructure spending, and strong tradition of citizen involvement in
government. It ranks highly on many metrics, and, perhaps more importantly,
avoids low rankings on others.

This year, the rest of the top five are Minnesota, Utah, North Dakota, and New
Hampshire, all well-deserved; Iowa climbs to the top, while Minnesota and New
Hampshire have been consistent top performers for many years.

It's enlightening to compare a list of states by inequality to this list [1].
It reveals that many high-demand locales are in fact quite unequal, while many
of the states ranked highly in the article are more equal in terms of income
disparity between the lowest and highest earners.

On income equality alone, a state like Iowa will be less attractive to someone
tolerant of risk and confident in their ability to execute than some other
states with wider gaps, but it will remain a good choice for someone seeking
stability and a high quality of life.

[1] [https://www.statista.com/statistics/227249/greatest-gap-
betw...](https://www.statista.com/statistics/227249/greatest-gap-between-rich-
and-poor-by-us-state/)

------
danso
Iowa is a great state. The college towns and Des Moines (the capital) are as
fun and forward-thinking as any other state's college towns I've been to, and
cost of living is hard to beat. Ironically, in the Related links for this
article, there's a story titled, "Des Moines was just named the nation's
unhappiest city for workers" [0]. When I was in Iowa, DM wasn't much fun
despite being the biggest city in Iowa, but I had heard it had in the past
years become much more fun for young folks.

[0]
[https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/business/2018/...](https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/business/2018/02/08/des-
moines-just-named-nations-unhappiest-city-workers/319231002/)

~~~
city41
I got my CS degree from the University of Iowa. Iowa City is a nice town. My
parents have lived in Cedar Rapids for the past 20 years, so I've visited Iowa
often.

I wouldn't be opposed to moving there, but I also have no desire to make it a
target destination.

The tech landscape seems to largely be older, more conservative companies:
Rockwell Collins, NCS Pearson, GoDaddy, John Deere, etc.

~~~
isabito
GoDaddy is a "conservative" company among the likes of John Deere and Rockwell
Collins?

------
anthonyleecook
I would need my European/Asian food.....(especially great sushi and some
Michelin caliber restaurants), easy beach access, good weather most of the
year, and some tech meetups to go to.

Probably not for me.

~~~
sincerely
I just want a decent electronic music scene (anything with regular non-house
non-edm events) but that alone means i have to stick to pretty big cities :(

~~~
hermitdev
I wouldn't be so sure about that. There was a decent sized EDM festival a
couple of years ago in bum-fuck Lolo Hot Springs, Montana (Lolo Hot Springs is
basically the last stop in MT on US Rte 12 headed towards Idaho - it's about
40-60 minutes from Lolo proper. It's only claims to fame are the hot springs
and Lewis & Clark stopped there. I'm not even sure the population is in the
triple digits). Hell, if I'd known about it before hand, I'd have used it as
an excuse to visit my parents in Lolo. A couple of my favorite US based d'n'b
DJs played that event. Alas, I didn't know about it until well after the fact.

Granted, you said decent scene, and I wouldn't necessarily qualify a single
"large" event (for the region) a decent scene, but it doesn't mean there has
to be nothing.

edit: Also, some of the regional small cities can attract a lot of shows.
Boise, ID is particularly good at it, even with a pop < 250k. Boise also has a
pretty decent tech drawing, but that's more on the hardware side, I think,
Boise is Micron's headquarters. Boise is also a great city to live in. My
parents were there for a while when I was in college. Quite a fun city for its
size. Ethnic foods are somewhat limited, but you can get very good Mexican and
Basque food there (loved the Basque food in particular).

~~~
bb88
To be honest, Boise is a gem of a city for it's size. I wouldn't say it has a
great EDM scene, but it's got a decent live music scene. Treefort is coming up
next month.

------
Dangeranger
Here's how Iowa ranked in each category:

\- Infrastructure: 1st

\- Health care: 3rd

\- Opportunity: 4th

\- Education: 5th

\- Quality of life: 9th

\- Crime: 15th

\- Economy: 17th

\- Fiscal stability: 21st

My gut feeling is that this report seriously undervalues Economy and Fiscal
Stability categories.

After all “It’s the economy stupid”.

~~~
dsfyu404ed
I'm not sure. I'd rather be poor in a trailer in New Hampshire than rich in
California.

~~~
EpicEng
Well I think you're about the only one with that opinion

~~~
dsfyu404ed
Yeah, my comment was an exaggeration but certainly grounded in truth.

Economics aren't everything.

I know a couple families who chose near poverty in rural Maine and rural
Vermont after similiar near poverty in the Boston area but they're likely
outliers.

One of the things that really struck me about VT, NH and ME was that the
poorer people never complained much about the state. That wasn't what they saw
to be the source of their problems. That's a huge flip from MA.

With all I've heard about CA if I had to choose between CA or that I can't say
I wouldn't choose that. I'd probably regret either choice. Good thing I don't
have to make that choice. I'll put in my years in the Boston area so I can
take a pay cut out in the boondocks and still live comfortably.

------
ourmandave
The current income tax tops at almost 9% but they're currently trying to pass
a $1B+ tax cut and would cut the top rate to around 6%. It's currently
bracketed so the bottom rate is 0.36%.

Generally the cost of living is cheap as hell for housing and property taxes.

------
poster123
Iowa is a pretty white state, at 91.3% state. In America whites are on average
better off than blacks and Hispanics. Therefore whiter states will look good.
A serious comparison of states meant to guide decisions on where to live will
adjust for demographics, since you obviously won't change race when you move.
Even better would be to adjust for race and education. Whites in New Hampshire
are better off than those in Mississippi, but if you compare only college
graduates, differences will be smaller.

------
StLCylone
Is this Heaven? No it's Iowa.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8-B5cyfK6A](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8-B5cyfK6A)

~~~
IntronExon
“Why do all of these angels have ram’s horns?” -Dana Gould

------
vadimberman
I guess the statistics that would matter more to the HN readers are not there,
so I'll ask: what about the tech opportunities specifically?

~~~
midworst
Dwolla Dwolla Dwolla. Involta. And i am guessing a bunch of agi-drone
startups.

~~~
joshmanders
Lots of work at Deere. I work there, and just brought on 2 people, and have 4
more in the pipeline.

------
tomwhipple
And being an actuary is the "best" job. But also mind-numbingly boring.

Goes to show that choice of metrics matters.

------
grahamburger
Here's the whole list: [https://www.usnews.com/news/best-
states/rankings](https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings)

~~~
DoreenMichele
WA #6

CA #32

So glad I relocated. My kids and I constantly refer to being thrilled to have
moved to civilization. It is nice to see somewhat objective data backing that
up.

------
hakayova
Depends on what one is looking for. Iowa is a small rural state with a few
medium size urban locations, some of which are college towns. People are
genuine, education is highly valued and the community in general is strong.
Good beer is readily available :). Some winters are milder than others, and
the worst of the summer typically doesn't last more than a couple of weeks.
Ragbrai is a unique experience that should not go unrecognized in my humble
opinion.

------
SixOhEight
I moved to Iowa During the recession, from California. The people were so nice
it was incredible. There's a lot to be said for Iowa. Low cost of living, 4
seasons. Enough snow to make you hate it, but not loathe it. Great tech
community. And some of the sharpest people I have ever met.

------
RickJWag
I've lived in Iowa. It was nice, but too cold for me.

Ragbrai is supposed to be awesome (I didn't ride it, and regret this) and
there's lots to be said about a clean, rural state with low cost of living.

Hurrah for those who can hack the cold. I can see how it's #1 for some people.

------
Yhippa
Can Iowans confirm Iowa Is Great? Also interesting that the bottom 10 states
are ones that voted Trump in the last election. Perhaps they figured he would
help bring more prosperity to them.

~~~
ourmandave
Yes! Come to Iowa if you value your 2nd Admendment Rights. Currently they're
in a race to surpass Florida as the most gun friendly state.

Recently passed Stand Your Ground.

[https://www.nraila.org/articles/20170630/iowa-critical-
self-...](https://www.nraila.org/articles/20170630/iowa-critical-self-defense-
law-takes-effect-july-1)

Adding the 2nd Amendment to the state constitution passed a subcommittee on
Jan 26th.

[https://www.nraila.org/articles/20180126/iowa-right-to-
keep-...](https://www.nraila.org/articles/20180126/iowa-right-to-keep-and-
bear-arms-constitutional-amendment-passes-subcommittee)

Working on Courthouse Carry and School Parking Lot Carry.

Permitless Carry got recently scrapped, but was heavily favored to pass, until
someone cast a big shadow by slaughtered a bunch of high school kids. Go
figure...

Also, proposed May issue permits, Bump stock bans, semi-auto bans, carry
restrictions, and private transfer bans have all been defeated.

[http://iowafc.org/news/](http://iowafc.org/news/)

EDIT: forgot the /s

~~~
bb88
I can't tell if you're serious or not. lol.

~~~
folkhack
Who knows - but they issue permits to blind people:
[https://www.snopes.com/iowa-guns-blind/](https://www.snopes.com/iowa-guns-
blind/)

~~~
bb88
Yeah... I forgot about that.

------
bb88
Stop posting links with autoplay videos. Just stop it. You may think it's
awesome, but it's not.

When the autoplay videos start people hit the back button immediately and
don't bother to read the article.

~~~
SilasX
We’re doing a UI blacklist? Add “fixed floating headers/footers on mobile that
make me feel like I’m looking at your sight through blinds”.

