I'm sorry if this is in the wrong forum--I think I got it right, anyway.

It's a bit of a while away, but the college it looks like I'll almost definitely be going to is in Iowa (Cornell College, in Mount Vernon, Iowa). I'm excited, but a little nervous-- I mean, what's IN Iowa, anyway? I've never been there, and though I'm pumped about the college itself, the rest of the state just seems so... BLAH to me.

So, are there any Iowans here who can give me a better mental picture...? I live in Missouri--in the freakin' Bible Belt, surrounded by true rednecks, and tolerance for veggies like me... extremely low. Will Iowa be similar, or am I going to get culture shock?

I have a lot more questions, but my head is all swimmy right now... Hopefully I can clean this post up later... In the mean time, any words you can offer me would be amazing!

I'm moving to Iowa City on Sunday. No idea how far away Mount Vernon is, but Iowa City is very veggie friendly. Having gone vegan in a tiny rice paddy town in South Korea and now living in Oklahoma (pretty much the same as Missouri), Iowa City looks like vegan paradise to me.

I've been through Mount Vernon before. I ate lunch with some friends a few years ago. It's about half an hour north of Iowa City. It looked small-ish to me, but quite charming. I think I had lunch at some sort of health food store that also made wraps and made me a veggie wrap. It's got a small town vibe, but I have a very hard time imagining that the locals are generally intolerant towards vegetarians or vegans.

I live in Iowa. We're pretty veggie-friendly here from my experience. :)

As far as I know, there aren't as many "red-necks" around here. The college's tend to be pretty liberal, so I think you'll be ok.

I think Iowa's a nice area. Lots of trees and hiking trails. Hope you like it as well.

I'm a life-long Iowan. But don't hold it against me.
You'll be near Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, which is a pretty cool place -- the more enlightened part of Iowa. You'll find that area to be really veggie-friendly. Maybe not the smaller stores and restaurants, but it wouldn't surprise me if they had your favorite stuff. You know the weather already. Except we get more snow and you get more ice storms in Missouri. This isn't like South Dakota, where billboards decry animal activists and bumper stickers threaten vegetarians. I'd say you'd find Iowa politics to be really wacky, but probably no surprises for you.
The state is as blah as you make it. Really. Everybody complains about there being nothing to do here, but it all depends on what you're looking for. If you like the outdoors, there are lots of really great places not far from Mt. Vernon to explore. If you like night life, you can surely find it nearby too. That's not my thing. The glaciers covered us with soil and didn't leave a lot of lakes, so we're not big in natural wonders. If you're willing to do a little looking, you'll find plenty to do for fun. The college will probably help you with that. But you'll be much too busy studying.

I lived in Minnesota during college, and I miss the rocks. I live in Southern Iowa now, and for fun we go to prairies, state parks, camping and hiking, there are dammed up lakes. There are less "wild" areas here than most other states, and that is sad. Around where you'll be there is lots of music and art and theater and sports. Just keep an open mind. The good things about Iowa are more subtle -- both in the cities and in rural areas. We have developed most of the land for agriculture and that is our undoing (all the flooding this year). You'll find all kinds of people here. You'll find people interested in the same things as you. Best wishes and welcome, I hope you have a wonderful experience.

Thankyou so much, everyone!

I'm feeling pretty good about it, really. I think Iowa is going to be a million times better than my current location, both for me as a vegeterian (hopefully vegan by then!), and as a student. I'm so excited!

i live in atlanta now, but was born and raised in iowa. maybe you guys are all talking about the larger towns in iowa, because your comments seem pretty far off to me. i can tell you for sure ,at least in southwest iowa,and any small towns and rural areas, that it is not a good place to be. iowa-at least the areas i listed- is full of redneck type farmers. no one respects animals at all,and anyone caught being cruel to them will never ever go to jail for it. a good example is several years ago in a town near mt. pleasant,when two guys broke into a cat shelter and beat dozens of cats to death with baseball bats. when they were arrested there was a public outcry and debate--everyone felt sorry for the young men--in the end the judge let them off with probation. one of many examples possible. having been a vegan there for years i can also tell you i was treated like a lunatic by everyone that found out.
i hope your venture into a bigger town there will be better than the rural and small town areas.

i live in atlanta now, but was born and raised in iowa. maybe you guys are all talking about the larger towns in iowa, because your comments seem pretty far off to me. i can tell you for sure ,at least in southwest iowa,and any small towns and rural areas, that it is not a good place to be. iowa-at least the areas i listed- is full of redneck type farmers. no one respects animals at all,and anyone caught being cruel to them will never ever go to jail for it. a good example is several years ago in a town near mt. pleasant,when two guys broke into a cat shelter and beat dozens of cats to death with baseball bats. when they were arrested there was a public outcry and debate--everyone felt sorry for the young men--in the end the judge let them off with probation. one of many examples possible. having been a vegan there for years i can also tell you i was treated like a lunatic by everyone that found out.
i hope your venture into a bigger town there will be better than the rural and small town areas.

This is true for some towns sadly. I live in a medium size city and a college town so it's pretty accepting here, but I've been in small towns where people aren't so accepting.

And since we are a farming state with a lot of cattle farms, people can be pretty weirded out by vegetarians and vegans.

But I just see that as a chance to educate people and tell them why I chose to eat and live the way I do. :)

Because other than the odd red-neck, Iowa really is a beautiful state in my opinion.

I grew up in NW Iowa on a farm. I have not experienced the area as a vegan yet. I do not think there are any vegan options in the small towns where I grew up. The only place to shop there is WalMart. I think people there would think vegans are "weird." :D There is a tourist area that MIGHT have some "health food" options but in general this area is very meat oriented. I would say the college towns and larger cities would have some veggie places. I know Iowa City is pretty progressive so being near there is a plus.

i live in atlanta now, but was born and raised in iowa. maybe you guys are all talking about the larger towns in iowa, because your comments seem pretty far off to me. i can tell you for sure ,at least in southwest iowa,and any small towns and rural areas, that it is not a good place to be.

Southwest Iowa and Eastern Iowa are two completely different worlds. Saying something about Southwest Iowa means nothing when it comes to Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and small college towns like Mount Vernon and Decorah. I can't stress that enough.

Southwest Iowa and Eastern Iowa are two completely different worlds. Saying something about Southwest Iowa means nothing when it comes to Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and small college towns like Mount Vernon and Decorah. I can't stress that enough.

I'd have to agree with this.

I live in a small town, and I'd say most people are pretty accepting, even though they don't always "get it."

I live in Ames Iowa, which is a college town and it isn't difficult being a vegetarian here. I used to live in Iowa City and it was a little better in terms of restaurants, but both Iowa City and Ames have good co-op grocery stores so I have a lot of foods available to me.

I agree Iowa can be red-necky, but the larger towns aren't so bad.