What Iowa Small Town Would Fit You?

Ready to go Dutch? From its downtown windmill to the masses of tulips that fill the streets each spring, Orange City displays its Dutch origins proudly. Although it honors its past, Orange City is a forward-looking town with a young population and a healthy economy. With virtually no crime and a tradition of strong family values, Orange City is the Iowa town for you!

Fast-growing LeClaire is a small town with big-city lifestyle. History is a big draw to the town, which was the birthplace of Wild West showman Buffalo Bill Cody, and you might have seen the picturesque downtown in the reality show 'American Pickers,' which is shot in LeClaire. If you are looking to test your muscle, you can join the teams for the annual Tugfest, a tug-of-war contest where the rope is stretched across the Mississippi River! Those who prefer quieter hobbies should grab their cameras and head for the river bluffs, where you can snap a bald-eagle picture for your Instagram account.

This high-tech hippie haven is a little slice of California in the cornfields. Surrounded by miles of rolling farmland, Fairfield is one of the most unique small towns in the USA. In the 1970s, the Beatle's guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi made the town his official North American headquarters, and the tiny farming community has never been the same. Winner of the Grassroots Rural Entrepreneurship Award, Fairfield has been dubbed 'Silicorn Valley' for the number of entrepreneurs and high-tech companies located within its boundaries, and it encourages environmental responsibility and green building and business practices. You have a higher chance of hanging out with the famous here than in any other Iowa small town. Celebrity visitors include David Lynch, the Beach Boys, Moby, and Jim Carrey.

Romance is never far away in the hometown that inspired the novel 'The Bridges of Madison County.' As you wander the rolling hills and creeks of the nearby countryside, you'll find six covered bridges as well as plenty of other quiet places to rest and gaze at the beauty of the landscape--or your lover! For those with a more practical mindset, Des Moines is a short commute away, and I-35 and I-80 give easy access to the entire USA.

Ready to really quit the rat race? Move to the Amana Colonies, and you'll never be bothered by message notifications again! Fake news around here is when the chicken squawks without laying a egg, and social media is the gossip around the communal kitchen table. Founded as a self-sustaining community by German Pietists fleeing religious persecution, the Amana Colonies are a business under Iowan law, meaning that they can be self-governing and have their own constitution. Most residents are trilingual, speaking English and High German as well as their unique Amana German dialect. The community is much more open and liberal than before, but residents still travel by horse and carriage, and electricity comes from wind turbines or methane gas from manure!

Spencer may be small, but it is no backwater. The town is one of the Smithsonian's best small towns in America, and 'USA Today' awarded it tenth best place to live in the USA. With a growing community of artists, an active outdoor lifestyle, a vibrant historic downtown, and an active tourism economy, Spencer is booming! Every year, the town hosts a huge party for the cross-Iowa cycle ride RAGBRAI, and the annual county fair is known as the 'World's Greatest'! Just don't shoot off fireworks to celebrate your move! Pyrotechnics have been a no-no in Spencer since a 1931 fire cause by a dropped sparkler burned almost the entire downtown.