East Side of Des Moines: STAY AWAY (West Des Moines, Altoona: apartment complexes, crime)

[Repubocrat]

I have been living in the East Side of Des Moines since January, I moved here from Minneapolis and this has been the worst experience of my life. I live at the Prairie Woods apartments on Hubbell and I can't wait to move out, this is a very strange neighborhood, lots of trashy, strange people. I have had a 2 dollar fish trap stolen, my tackle box was also stolen, last week, my spare tire was stolen, someone cut the nylon cord from under my truck and helped themselves with my spare tire.

There must be a lot of people in this neighborhood who use crack and meth because the amount of petty crime I have experienced here is worse than in any bigger city I have ever lived in. Stay away from this craphole, I am moving to Altoona or WDM before January 1st, I don't recommend this side of town to anybody!

[Luke9686]

Originally Posted by Repubocrat

I have been living in the East Side of Des Moines since January, I moved here from Minneapolis and this has been the worst experience of my life. I live at the Prairie Woods apartments on Hubbell and I can't wait to move out, this is a very strange neighborhood, lots of trashy, strange people. I have had a 2 dollar fish trap stolen, my tackle box was also stolen, last week, my spare tire was stolen, someone cut the nylon cord from under my truck and helped themselves with my spare tire.

There must be a lot of people in this neighborhood who use crack and meth because the amount of petty crime I have experienced here is worse than in any bigger city I have ever lived in. Stay away from this craphole, I am moving to Altoona or WDM before January 1st, I don't recommend this side of town to anybody!

Agree that Prairie Woods is full of non-desireables. However, much of the east side is not like that. Everybody I know lives on the east side pretty much, and I've rarely heard of any problems. Trust me, there are those types living in certain apartment complexes in Altoona, Pleasant Hill, and West Des Moines. Be sure to do your homework before moving, even in Altoona...

[capitalcityguy]

yeah. The East side is larger than your apartment complex.

[mustang84]

I lived at an apartment on the Grandview campus a few summers ago and never really felt unsafe in the area. Grandview is sort of on the edge of the rougher part of the East Side though (seemed to be centered around E 14th and Cleveland). There was one time I was sitting at a red light with my windows down on E 14th and was harrassed by three thugs as they jaywalked across the street toward my car; luckily the light turned green.

[Mercruiserdr]

I do not live in East Dez moynez , however after living in the Dallas/Ft Worth metro for a few years I did learn how to utilize that "petty theft" proble to your advantage.

You know all that stuff the city charges you for that they will not allow in the garbage or trash bins , like old tires, tv's , busted electronics , etc.etc.etc. ?

Well, make a little visit to some place where they sell large electronics like tv's stereo's what have ya and either surf their trash bins or even ask if they have an old box big enough to fit your need they could give ya.
I have found they are more than happy to accomodate with something that will just be filling their dumpster anyway.

Then buy one of those cheap box tape dispensers and a roll of tape at wally world ,, and you are set.
Gather whatever refuse you have , stuff that box full, I have found that there is no weight limit , and in fact the more disgusting the crap you place in there the better your personal satisfaction level.
Now tape the box up so it looks just like it came off the delivery truck or out of the warehouse what have ya.

Throw the box into the back of your pickup , then proceed to whatever spot you feel reasonably safe parking your vehicle at in the offending bad hood and park the truck.
I have found that parking lots of flea markets in or near these areas and pawn shops are also perfect for your needs.

Now just do a little shopping or sight seeing, it normally doesnt take long, and you will find some local creepazoid has relieved you of your problematic crap, no fuss , no muss.
Do not wait to long however , cuz after all ya dont want this stuff back !

And unlike those worthless city employees , your local hoods will pick up any and everything without having to sort it or place it in a special bag or can on a preset day.

I promise you will always have 100% satisfaction with their service.

P.S. just a reminder , dont place anything with your name or address in the container , however , if by any chance you have something from someone else, like say a nasty ex , or some butthead neighbor,, well you know what to do with it I am sure.

[El Rhino]

I like it when Mercruiserdr gives good advice.

[Tek_Freek]

Mercruiserdr, that is a gem!!

[Mercruiserdr]

Rednecks do have their moments LOL !

One of the reasons I ended up living in Dallas was because of an Uncle who owned a computer systems business.
They had a one ton ford box truck they used for hauling systems that was constantly being broken into and whatever contents it held being stolen.
They tried every type of lock and alarm system to no availe.

Then one day while visiting my Uncles place for a swim party a recent break in and the theft of an important expensive system came up while chit chatting.
After hearing several of the employee's talking about this continuing problem I said, "Has anyone ever thought about placing big biohazard or radioactive materials signs on the thing to see if that helps ?"

As goofy as that sounds my Uncle thought about it for a few days , then decided to give it a try.
He contacted a place that made signs and labels and had them make a couple of big " Danger Radioactve Materials " signs for each side of the box and a huge one for the roll up door on the rear.

That truck was never broken into again.
In fact there were even claims it wasnt even necessary to lock it up anymore , people would even go out of the way to keep from going near it when it was parked.

However , this truck was often used by employees as a moving van now and then for obvious reasons.
Well on one of those occasions I had borrowed it to help some friends move from an apartment to their new house.
While it sat in my drive overnight waiting to undertake its task the next day I was awoken by a knock on my door at around 1:00 in the morning.
I answered the door to discover two of Watauga's finest who were responding to calls from several neighbors that were a bit nervous about this unsettling vehicle parked in their area.

I explained to them why the signs were on the truck, and opened the rear so they could see it contained nothing but a few moving blankets a dolly and some tie down straps.
They got a chuckle out of the deal , but still asked that I dont let the truck hang around to long so they wouldnt have to spend all their time explaining it was harmless.

Those of us who drove the truck also noticed that other drivers of all types of rigs kept a very respectful distance when it was going down the road.

[RonnieJonez]

Originally Posted by capitalcityguy

yeah. The East side is larger than your apartment complex.

The majority of it is very impressive, you are right.

[capitalcityguy]

Originally Posted by RonnieJonez

The majority of it is very impressive, you are right.

Reading comprehension anyone?