Nice place to live for the cost of living. - 10/6/2022

I have been here for 3 years. I enjoy it here. I travel all over the country for work. Dubuque is the perfect size of city for me. I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest which has gone down the toilet in the last 12 years and has an extremely high cost of living. Dubuque has all the amenities I need, the cost of living is low, no traffic jams, people are very friendly, theft and crime are very low, no homeless camps. It is a clean scenic area in the Mississippi valley. There is about 2 months of the winter that are pretty miserable but the rest of the year is pretty mild.

[Comment on this Posting]

No opportunity - 11/29/2020

I've lived in Dubuque for over 25 years. Dubuque is not a very good place to live if you are open minded and want to experience new things. Dubuque is an old town with old beliefs. It votes blue but it is socially conservative. If I could describe it I would say it is a dumb place, as in the people here are generally not intelligent. It is an okay place for a family, but certainly not a good place anymore. There are not very many good jobs here, the school system has gotten very bad over the years, it like the rest of Iowa has been hit severely by brain drain. Every smart person I went to school with moved away, far away, and has no plan of ever coming back. Hardly any opportunity for a high paying job unless you are part of a wealthy family or know someone in a wealthy family. It is one of those towns. The poor people are stuffed into downtown where drug use and violence grows worse every year, people are pretty racist here as well. If you are white, vanilla, uncultured/ignorant, you will fit in, but if you want to experience culture, a variety of different people, a good paying job, opportunity to own a nice house, really if you want a good life do not live here because unless you know somebody who can hook you up with a great job, you'll be left out to dry. This is a typical midwestern town: ignorant, white, low opportunity, socially conservative, older population, declining economy. I would say stay away.

[Comment on this Posting]

Great town to live in! - 3/2/2018

Dubuque, IA is a great town to live in!

[Comment on this Posting]

Sad town - 7/14/2016

This town is not for ANYONE that is not from a different ethnicity. THEY ACT THE ROLE BUT THEY ARE NOT SINCERE TGEY DO NOT LISTEN AND THEY DON'T WANT TO HELP ANYONE FROM A DIFFERET ETHNICITY UNLESS YOU FIT IN THERE WORLD ...WORK ETHNICITY HERE IS SHAMEFUL ...LEFT MY BELONGINGS (YES I TAKE ACCOUNTABILITY FOR LEAVING MY THINGS) DIDN'T GET MY THINGS UNTIL LATE AFTERNOON AND I KNEW AFTER I CHECKED ONE OTHER PLACE I WOULD HAVE LEFT IT AT I KNEW WHERE IT WAS BUT I WAS TOLD SOMEBODY FOUND IT ..NO THEY DID NOT ONCE I REALIZED WHERE I LEFT IT I WAITED TO SEE WHEN IT WOULD TURN UP NO EMAIL SENT OUT INFORMING EMPOLYEES THAT A PURSE WAS FOUND AND TO BRING ID OR INFORMATION VERIFYING IT WAS YOURS INSTEAD MGMT WALKED UP AND GAVE IT TO ME.HOW DID YOU KNOW IT WAS MINE? THAT MEANS YOU WENT THROUGH MY THINGS DISRESPECTFUL NOT AN ENVIRONMENT I WOULD EVEN CONSIDER TO RAISE MY CHILD EVENIF I DIDNT HAVE A CHILD NOT AN ENVIRONMENT I WOULD LIVE IN....IF YOU INVADE MY PRIVACY THAT IS WRONG IM A VERY OPEN AND LIKABLE PERSON BUT IF I DONT TELL THINGS THAT MEANS DONT GO SEARCHING ON TOP OF THAT WHEN I APPLIED FOR THE JOB THE SUPERVISOR WAS RUDE AND TOOK SOME INFO THAT I GAVE AND USED AS HER OWN JUST A PITFUL TOWN WOULDNT RECOMMEND ANYONE THAT'S NOT WHITE TO LIVE HERE

[Comment on this Posting]

Mixed Bag - 11/4/2015

DBQ is like most places where it can be good or bad depending on your perspective. My biggest problem, by far, is that I struggle to appreciate the vast majority of working class people that make up DBQ. I've had a lot of runs-ins with people for nonsensical reasons -- like parking on the street in front of someone's house. My neighbor is one of these people and I'm considering selling my house, so I don't have to deal with this kind of thing. Some people are more tolerant. I'm not. This also makes it difficult to date if you are an educated, single person. The dating pool is small. However, the city is doing a lot to make improvements. They say the downtown area has developed over the years from what it was. The general area is beautiful and hilly. It's not far from Madison, which is a great city. It's pretty liberal for Iowa, which can be good or bad depending. There are several new yoga studios in town. And there are meat packing factories on the west side of town and sometimes that whole area smells like bacon. Overall, it's not the worst place I've lived, but I have lived in a border town in Mexico, so again, perspective.

[Comment on this Posting]

Above Reasonable - 7/6/2015

Food/Groceries still higher than most states. Rent is not as reasonable. Crime is there but mostly hidden or shrugged under the rug to avoid attention. It still needs to be integrated. Its still is a bit unfriendly. People who have been here and grew up here call themselves Dubuquers. That's another way they identify themselves so in essence outsiders are not quite welcome especially if you are non-white. Though I have met some really nice Caucasians who were welcoming. But the majority are a little cold. Good place to raise a family but with those characteristics...it will take a lifetime to make friends and new generation may not be that way. However, I know I would not want to waste to much of my adult life tying to prove myself because of not being white. It's a lot of wasted energy. If majority of the people could be nicer and welcoming and not so cold it is a nice place I'd say. Thanks for reading.

[Comment on this Posting]

DBQ is for conservative families! - 4/28/2011

Dubuque is a town for families and religious folks. If you are young this is the wrong place to be at, there is no nightlife and activities are limited, you have to drive 2 hours to Iowa City to go to a concert or exciting bar. There are churches in every corner, and the town is culturally dead! Liberal folks should stay away because you will not fit in...

[Comment on this Posting]

Masterpiece on the Mississippi - a City of History - 11/28/2009

Dubuque, Iowa is built into the limestone bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River in the heart of the Upper Mississippi River Valley, ranked the third most beautiful place to live in the United States by USA Today Magazine. In 2009 IBM chose Dubuque to locate a 1,300 employee Information Technology Service Center in a downtown office building that is on the National Historic Register. In a 5 year study Dubuque was selected as the #1 mid-sized city in the country for high tech output. Dubuque was also selected as the #1 city for housing affordablity. From 2006 to 2007 Dubuque was ranked #22 in the country for the rate of job growth. In 2007 and 20008 Dubuque was ranked in the top 100 communities for young people. In 2008 it was selected as the most livable city in the United States with a population under 100,000. In 2007 Dubuque was named an All-America City by the National Civic League. With 18,000 college students in 7 colleges in the tri-states and the 7th best rated School District in the country, with Senior High chool rated in the top 100, it is a place to educate your children and your workforce. The National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium, the Dubuque Art Museum, the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra, three community theaters, USHL Hockey in a new 3.200 seat arena, 1.6 million visitors per year, numerous festivals, two new casinos built at a cost of over $150 million and the activites from several colleges provides abundant access to cultural and entertainment activities. If you want more, 2.9 million people live within 100 miles in college towns like Madison, Wisconsin and Iowa City, Iowa. Chicago,Illinois and Milwaukee,Wisconsin are three hours away and a little furher is Minneapolis/St. Paul. Besides IBM, major employers include McGraw-Hill, Prudential, McKesson, John Deere, Hormel, Medline, Nordstroms, Quebecor, Heartland Financial, Cottingham and Butler, Mercy Hospital (top 100 hospitals in the country), Medical Associates, University of Dubuque, Clarke College and Loras College. Dubuque has sustainability as its #1 policy priority defined as a livable, viable and equitable community with environmental/ecological integrity, economic prosperity and social/cultural vibrancy. While this was adopted by a vote of the Mayor and City Council the definition was created by a citizen task force and is supported by the Greater Dubuque Development Corporation and through a community dialogue called Dubuque Squared being conduted by the Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce and the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque. IBM has designated Dubuque as their Smarter Sustainble City model city for their international Smarter Planet initiative creating a national demonstration of how to use precious resources like water, electricity, natural gas, and vehicle miles traveled through the provision of information to make the best decisions. Dubuque has hundreds of acres of parks, miles of scenic bike trails and is bordered by the Mines of Spain State Park and the Upper Mississippi River National Fish and Wildlife Refuge. Dubuque is a Masterpiece on the Mississippi.

[Comment on this Posting]

Housing - 11/1/2009

I am trying to find a place to rent here in Dubuque, but it has been difficult to find one to rent. My problem is made worse by the fact that none of the apartments allow pets, and few people renting out apartments/homes allow pets.

[Comment on this Posting]

Nothing to do - 10/6/2009

Many people say there is not a lot of things to do in this community, but that could not be further from the truth. There are many art/music festivals throughout the year as well as a variety of outdoor activities such as hiking, skiing, snow shoeing, fishing, hunting, etc. The scenery here is absolutely breathtaking! I have lived all around the US and I find it wonderfully refreshing living in the midwest!

[Comment on this Posting]

Positive recent changes for DBQ!!! - 6/3/2009

If you are looking for a place to move, but don't think Iowa is appealing, you might want to consider Dubuque. DBQ is far from the flat farm land that you might think of when you think of Iowa. The Mississippi and the river bluffs provide outstanding natural beauty. I was born & raised in DBQ. I now live in a different city, but my family is still in DBQ and I regularly visit. I am very happy for the changes in the city since I left. I have read other reviews about the ugly warehouses and deteriorating homes... much of that is changing. The city has taken many steps to revitilize the riverfront. They have removed many of the old warehouses and the old packing house in order to create a new park and walking place along the river. They also opened up the downtown plaza to traffic in order to spur economic development. It really is very pretty. DBQ has also had some recent economic growth. IBM has taken a new residence in what had previously been a dead downtown area and will be creating 1,300 new jobs. There is a new meat packing plant being constructed also, this time on the outskirts of town so the smell should not affect too many residential neighborhoods like the old one. There are still areas of town, especially the lower Rhomberg Avenue area, which are in desparatate need of an "Extreme Makeover." The city should consider a plan to either fix up these homes or bulldoze them. (They are not of any historical significance.) So, if you are looking for a great place to raise a family, consider Dubuque. The schools are very good, the city is clean, the crime rate is low and the cost of living is incredibly affordable.

[Comment on this Posting]

Dubuque - Pros/Cons - 2/17/2008

Pros: 1. Low crime rate 2. Low cost of living and housing 3. Affordable place to live 4. Good school system 5. Historic downtown featured regularly in the movies 6. A lot of amenities for a town its size 7. Recent job growth 8. Diverse, stable economy 9. An overall good place to live and raise a family Cons: 1. Not much to do, unless you're into arts and culture 2. The job growth may cause high population growth, which has good and bad consequences 3. Crime, while still low, rises gradually each year

[Comment on this Posting]

Another depressed river city trying to survive on - 7/1/2007

I have stayed in Dubuque twice recently, mainly in the downtown area. The city is chock full of old rundown warehouses and grand old houses badly in need of repair. This place has seen better days. The downtown has a very small night life catering to the beautiful people but in general it feels very dead and has lots of empty store fonts. It looks like a few years back the city decided to do something about the decline and like many river cities push for tourism with a focus on the river front and gambling. A poor substitute for the former manufacturing and trade that used to actually create wealth instead of pushing it around town. However the chamber of commerce paints it up as an exciting and vibrant place to visit. i wouldn't go that far unless you find abandoned warehouses and cracked sidewalks exciting.

[Comment on this Posting]

Great place to visit, Great place to live - 3/21/2007

The people are very friendly, small town feel but big town amenaties. I love the Mississippi and the rich history of the city.

[Comment on this Posting]

Dubuque, Iowa -- "Masterpiece on the Mississippi" - 5/11/2006

Dubuque has been a vibrant river city since the early 1800s. Situated along the Mississippi River where Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin meet, Dubuque is distinctive because of its steep hills and river bluffs - geographic features that many people don't expect to find in Iowa. Dubuque has become known as the "Masterpiece on the Mississippi" in recent years due to the dramatic revitalization of its riverfront and downtown. The "America's River" project was a $188 million educational, entertainment and historic riverfront development project in the Port of Dubuque. For more information on Dubuque, visit: www.americasriver.com www.cityofdubuque.org www.greaterdubuque.org www.dubuquechamber.com

[Comment on this Posting]