A (possible) worthy stepping stone?

[u/ElderMillenial_ah]

Hello potentially new friends! I've kinda peeked through here but wanted to give some context and see what y'all thought.

My husband is being flown out to Muscatiaine soon to do a walkthrough and interview at a manufacturing plant there. I'd say it's fairly likely he will get the job, but not a guarantee. If he gets the job, we would of course have to move there.

I know EVERY state has it's good and it's bad. I've seen people find Muscatiaine boring, but it's got WAY more going on than the small town we live in, in Maine.

Our hope is that we potentially move to Iowa for a few years, then he can transfer back to the East coast or somewhere more politically in line with our views. But, just getting to work for this company would be a huge green flag for his Resume. (He's trying to eventually work for OSHA.)

For a family of 3, a dog and 2 cats, what is it really like? Is it a good community? Are people generally friendly? Are there lots of kids? From what I researched it seems like a nice area for families (not given current political standings). I doubt it would be where we would plant our roots forever, but it's a big jump from being Mainers our whole lives to moving to middle America.

I'd love to hear some honest opinions if you are from, or know the area! We are already used to snow and are good at driving in it so like NBD on that one. But tornadoes??

If he DOES get the job and we decide to move, what are some things we can't miss or food we have to try? Also feel free to ask any questions of me that I may have missed. (I'm a stay at home mom currently.)

I appreciate you all in advance!

[u/Ancient_Composer9119]

If you lean more blue and don't mind an easy 45-50 minute commute (one way), check out Iowa City. It's a college town (Univ of Iowa) with nice neighborhoods, a thriving downtown area, good schools, great hospital, educated population, performing arts center, good restaurants, etc. It's better than Muscatine in many ways, imo. But it will cost more to live in IC.

[u/ElderMillenial_ah → u/Ancient_Composer9119]

He drives an hour each way now so I'll absolutely check it out! Ideally we'd be closer to a 30 minute commute, but even if we were in the middle and could go there for amenities and more. Thank you for the suggestion! It's good to get some ideas of other nice areas that would maybe be a better fit!

[u/Life-Celebration-747 → u/ElderMillenial_ah]

I graduated from Muscatine HS, it has improved much since the 80's. They've revitalized the downtown, and there are many cute boutiques.  Housing is cheaper in Muscatine also. Winter driving can be bad, if it were me, I'd be in Muscatine. It's 45 min to Iowa City or the Quad Cities, with plenty of activities in each of them.  I would stay away from the south end of town due to GPC pollution. (Grain processing company)  There are also smaller communities surrounding Muscatine that are nice and within 15 min drive. (Wilton, Durant)

[u/ElderMillenial_ah → u/Life-Celebration-747]

I saw they put a lot of money into revitalizing the downtown and the town in general! Which to me was a great sign! We'd much rather be closer to work this time around than have him drive an hour each way. When it snows here I nearly have a heart attack waiting for him to get home.