Possible move to LeMars/Sioux City -- local experts needed! (Des Moines: for sale, apartment complexes)

[green0923]

My family is strongly considering moving to the Sioux City, IA area for a job. I will actually work in LeMars, but am eager to hear the area experts' opinions on the best place(s) to live in the area. Should we reside in LeMars, or are we better off in Sioux City? Are there other towns around you would recommend we look at? How about schools? Where are the schools better? And which schools in Sioux City are better?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[ghulstein]

Take a look at Sioux Center, IA. It is about 15 miles north of Lemars
It has great schools, excellent community facilities, and excellent housing options.

Here are a few links:
www.allseasonscenter.org/
www.dordt.edu
www.siouxcenter.org
www.siouxcenterrealestate.com/

[green0923]

Thanks, ghulstein! We will absolutely check that out!

[jackcat]

My family and I live in Dakota Dunes, which is just over the SD border and essentially a 'burb of Sioux City. There are a few people that live here and commute to Lemars,although there is no tax advantage to live in SD and work in IA.

I know more that live on the north side of Sioux City, which is nice. Look north of 36th Street and possibly West of Hamilton Blvd--some nice houses in that area and not too bad (30") of a commute to Lemars. Also know some people that live fairly close to the intersection of Cheyene Blvd and 46th Street (which is in that same general area only EAST of Hamilton).

Lemars itself is good too, very good actually. I"d prob look there first.

Good luck.

[green0923]

Thanks, jackcat! We have done some research and Dakota Dunes looks like a nice area. But the commute ... looks like 45 - 50 min each way. Yikes! I don't face that long of a commute in Memphis! I'm relieved to hear that LeMars itself may offer some solutions for us. We'll check that out as well.

[TrevorJ]

I live in Dakota Dunes.
I moved here from Atlanta 7 years ago so my advice is impartial. I assume you are going to rent initially:

LeMars Advantages:
Little or no commute time.
Very affordable housing esp if you are renting.
Lemars Disadvantages:
Are you used to living in such a small town? If you are not from there you might feel isolated. Do your kids like to go to the multiplex, hang out at the mall and do those suburban things? Health Club? Retaurants? LeMars is lacking in these things. You will end up driving to Sioux City.

Hinton:
You might want to consider Hinton which is right north of sioux city and a direct shot to lemars on Hwy 75 (20 minutes). You will get all the cost benefits of Plymouth County and all the convenince benefits of Sioux City. I dont think it will be very easy to find rental housing in Hinton.

Dakota Dunes:
Very posh
Everyone who lives there loves it
It still looks and feels like a suburban development and some people dont like that.
High cost of housing (by the standards of this area)
Everyone keeps to themself, and it is easy to feel isolated there if you dont know anyone.
Tax advantages if you live AND work in South Dakota
Close to Sioux City and has all associated conveniences.
Commute to Lemars will easily take you 45 minutes.
People around here consider a $200,000 house expensive
dakotadunes.com will tell you about rental apartments & duplexes, and homes for sale
There is no shopping, schools or supermakets within the dunes. you will have to drive over to sioux city (5-15 mins)

South Sioux
Very very diverse
All kinds of people and all kinds of housing prices
Lots of housing
Neighborhoods vary drastically from one to another. You do not want to be live near the main streets.
More crime than any other town in the area. Of course what they call 'high crime' here is nothing compared to Memphis or Atlanta.
Close to Sioux City and has all associated conveniences.

North Sioux City / McCook Lake
Close to Sioux City and has all associated conveniences.
Longest commute to LeMars
Not many houses to rent/for sale.
North Sioux has some factories and mostly low end housing. McCook lake is more upscale but no supermakets or anything!

Sioux City - North Side
Conveniences!
I used to live on the north side and I loved it.
Lots of families.
North High and North Middle are good schools.
You will be close to the private schools (Catholic)
This was the 'IT' suburb 20 years ago before the east side and the dunes took off in the last 10 years.
Everything north of 36 St is quite nice (on both sides of Hamilton). Most things between 27th and 36th are also nice provided you are on the northeast side of Hamilton.
The north side of Sioux City will be a 30 minute commute to Lemars

Sioux City - East side
Even more conveniences!!
The eastern most side of town is like a suburb within Sioux City. Its called Southern Hills
Southern Hills is all new built on land annexed from the countryside.
In many ways like the Dunes
Most people new to this area gravitate to the east side.
The mall and all the new housing and retail development is happening on the East side and people like that.
East High and East Middle are the schools everyone wants their kid to go to.
Everything in the vicinity of Southern Hills Mall is nice (and new).
The higway to Lemars goes through the east side so it an easy commute. Once you get on the highway, 20 mins to Lemars. If you are by the mall you can be at the highway in 5 mins or less. If you live deeper into the east side it will take 10-15 to get to the on-ramp.
The east side is VERY popular right now.

Sioux City - avoid
Avoid the Westside, Riverside, Downtown, Midtown.

Small towns like Sioux Center
Lots of old people
You can easily get bored.
They are in the same price range of LeMars/Hinton and are even smaller and have less conveniences.
What is the point of moving to Sioux Center when you can have the same features in LeMars with no commute?
People who live in small towns outside of Sioux City/South Sioux/Dunes think that these 3 areas are a big metropolis with traffic jams, high crime and high prices but they don't put it into perspective of Minneapolis or Chicago or a REAL big city. Small town people have lived their whole lives in towns of less than 1,000 people so they cant put things in perspective. They are also used to their towns being 100% white.

[TrevorJ]

Try these sites for more info:
siouxcityjournal.com <- classifieds
unitedrealestatesolutions.com
siouxlandchamber.com
dakotadunes.com -> apartment rental info

These are new and nice apartment complexes:
Barrington Park Apts sioux city (north side)
Candlewick Apts sioux city (north side)
Prestwick Apts sioux city (east side)

[jackcat]

Good post Trevor. I concur with his assement to a tee. I grew up on the North side of SC, moved to Iowa State and Des Moines for 10+ years, and have returned to Dakota Dunes 5 years ago. The Dunes is a good place, and for the most part people are friendly. But they will also leave you alone too, which we particularly enjoy! You can be as involved and busy as you want to be. I forgot about Hinton, good schools there, good location. I'd consider that over Sioux Center personally.

[green0923]

Thank you so very much for your insight! Trevor, jackcat, and ghulstein, your descriptions are EXACTLY what I was looking for! Thanks so very much!

[Marla51054]

Originally Posted by green0923

My family is strongly considering moving to the Sioux City, IA area for a job. I will actually work in LeMars, but am eager to hear the area experts' opinions on the best place(s) to live in the area. Should we reside in LeMars, or are we better off in Sioux City? Are there other towns around you would recommend we look at? How about schools? Where are the schools better? And which schools in Sioux City are better?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Le Mars is a very nice community and their schools are also very good. I was born and raised in Sioux City, Iowa and it was a great place to live and the schools were great. I now live in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa which is only seven miles south of Sioux City and we are a growing community with outstanding schools here. You can probably go online and look up Sergeant Bluff - Luton Community School District. We have a fantastic Volunteer fire and Rescue Dept. here and a Fareway Grocery store. We have some new housing areas here as well. We are very close to the airport. I would really suggest that you check us out. I think you would be pleased with our small town. Whatever you decide between LeMars and Sergeant Bluff you can't go wrong. I've lived here for 27 years now and have been very happy here. Good luck in what ever your family decides.
Marla