Scanning the out of state job scene and found openings in Iowa.  I am hoping you guys can give me a heads-up on what its like, so I can decide if I'm sending a resume or not.

The job listing is in Ames.  My family and I currently live rural, about 20 minutes away from groceries, etc.  I already ran the city comparison on MSN and from that Ames looks better than where I'm at right now.

Thanks for any info.

Ames is a nice town.  It is also a college town, for whatever that is worth.

It was an enjoyable place to live when I was there (1994-2001)

There is a SWEET range there (Ames Isaac Walton League).  When I lived there, range fees were approximately $70 / year.

The range has:
50 Yard berm
100 Yard berm
200 Yard berm
44 yard silloutte stand
66 yard silloutte stand
77 yard silloutte stand
100 yard silloutte stand
25 yard pistol
50 foot (i think) indoor for winter
Sporting clays
Trap
Skeet
Archery
5+ acre lake for fishing
3-d archery range (there are targets in the woods along a trail you walk)

and much more...

Hope this helps.

It's an ok place to live unless you like the following.

NFA weapons it's a dealer only state.

Hunting deer with a rifle, it's a shotgun only state.

No open weapon carry so no easy rider rifle racks in pickups. Carry permit issued at the whim of local sheriff.
So that depends upon county.

They bury farmers there 6 feet deep vertical instead of horizontal so they can keep thier hand out.

Expect a lot of unions and democrats.

They just started having the game wardens issue speeding and seatbelt violations to increase state revenues.

Plenty of rural even in town you can get rural quickly.

Never been to Ames so can not comment.

Thanks guys.

Right now I'm looking at New Mexico, NY, and Iowa.  

Albuquerque is looking like the best prospect right now (good contacts today), but I am keeping my eyes open til a contract is signed.

Iowa is pick #2 if NM falls through.  New York and Ohio are both too close to where I am now.

I live in Madrid about 20M SW of Ames it is a nice place. I'm a State worker here in Ia, and have lived here all my life. The best part about where I live is that it is small, but smack in the middle of everything I need within a 20-30 min drive.

Im living in Sioux City now and before I lived in Aurelia, which is a small town about 60 miles east of Sioux City. David hit most of the key points. There was a bill being proposed to prohibit private transfer, as far as I know it hasent been voted on yet. This is a very liberal state, so be prepared for that BS. Oh yeah, cant have fireworks here, Sioux City police were activly setting up sting operations to catch border jumpers, which is a retarded waste of money, but I just came back today with about $200 worth and didnt get busted. Other then that, it sure beats some other states, like California or New Jersey. And its always nice to have another ARFCOMMER here.

I looked at the census data. Population of Iowa is 52.4 people per sq mile

PA is 274 people per sq mile.

So if you like people Iowa might not be for you.

I don't like MOST people.  So the less the better.

I will know by the end of next week how things are going in NM.  If it doesn't look good, I will begin pursuing the Iowa lead full-steam.

I appreciate the information from each of you, and will keep you all posted if I'm coming your way.

Quoted: I looked at the census data. Population of Iowa is 52.4 people per sq mile PA is 274 people per sq mile. So if you like people Iowa might not be for you.

Haha, Dont we have just over a million residents?

I lived in Mason City and Fort Dodge.  My wife is from a little farm town near Ames.  The only thing, and I mean only thing, I miss about Iowa is the pheasant hunting.  The rest of it you can have:

1)  Whiney farmers. Never met a group of people who spend so much time complaining.  The are the type who'd still complain if you hung them with a new rope.

2)  Winter winds that cut you like a knife.  There is nothing to stop the Arctic Express but a barbed wire fence.  Winter in Iowa gets real old real fast.

3)  Featureless landscape.  The farmers, with aid of the government, did a great job of draining sloughs and ripping out wooded fencerows.  Are there any pheasants left?  I left in 1983.

4)  Like southeast Michigan and the auto industry, Iowa's economy is way too dependent on agriculture.  When commodity and land prices are high, everyone is smiling.  It can get nasty when the economy goes the other way.

5)  Don't live downwind of a hog confinement facility!

I just returned from a week trip, visiting family in PA. Differences here in IA would be flatter and straighter roads, less traffic, and many more mosquitos. They are horrible in the evenings. Ditto on not living down wind of a hog factory.

The pheasant hunting NW of Ames is great. Have no problems finding all the birds we need.

Again, thank you for the input.

I will definitely keep the hog confinement facility thing in mind if we end up going that way.

I'm in Ames also.  Will second the vote on the Izaak Walton League but then I'm the president out there this year so I have to.....

We are CMP and NRA affliated.  Run IDPA matches once a month.  Trap, skeet, archery.  Sporting clays two or three times a year.

Ames is a college town as stated earlier.  Cost of living is bit high for Iowa.  No class III.  CCW in Story County is pretty tough, Polk County to the south has eased up considerably. Gun shop selection is limited.  Lots of gun shows.  

Deer are all over the place.  Pheasants are coming back after a couple of rough years. Can't ski or mountain climb.  No NFL, MLB, or NBA if you're so inclined.  Crime is low.  People are nice (yes the farmers bitch but that's not unique to Iowa).  Schools typically very good.  

Been here all my life and doubt I'll ever leave.

Well Ameshawki, I'll no doubt remain a diehard Steelers fan no matter where we have to move.  I'm starting to think that CCW and the Steelers are the two best things about PA.

The camping and hunting are great, as well as the hiking.  But this job search is ridiculous.  I went to a PREP workshop for the PA Careerlink yesterday.  They are the job seeker arm of Unemployment.  When I spoke one-on-one with the two reps there, they asked what I did and where I was laid off from.  I told them the name of the company and that I am an environmental microbiologist.  I couldn't believe it, they gave each other "the look", like "oh the poor SOB".  The woman proceeds to tell me that there isn't any call for those jobs around here.  I told her I already searched the job sites for all of PA and there isn't anything even remotely similar in their jobsite.  I also told her that I am looking out of state now, primarily in Iowa and New Mexico.

I still haven't heard back from either NM or Iowa, but only contacted Iowa recently so I'm still hopeful.

Sorry for the rant, that is the job scene update for now.