Des Moines' population growth outpaces state, Midwest (Cedar Rapids, Iowa City: subdivisions, living in)

[Tek_Freek]

Originally Posted by steel03

lol not really

If anyone in this thread is taking names, it's atler8.
Wish I could give you more reputation, atler8.

Yeah, I love posters like funsoulbro, Ronnie and Granite. Got this great big chip on their shoulder for who knows what reason and spend all their time on forums tearing down places they've probably only driven through at most.

What a lonely life they must lead.

[atler8]

funk
You have some interesting observations & ideas but I don't put much stock into the part that almost comes off on your part as a media & Des Moines chamber conspiracy to steal young people from out-state Iowa & bring them into Des Moines. It's not really that simple.
Frankly, when I was a kid, Des Moines was performing anemically throughout the 1960's & 1970's in economic terms & was only growing because of the births-over-deaths surplus that was a built-in population growth gift. In those decades, the state lost a lot of people to nearby out-of-state metros that were job-creating dynamos by comparison, such as Mpls/St. Paul, Chicago, Omaha, etc.
Only in the 1980's in the midst of the terrible farm crisis did the financial sector in Des Moines really take off in job creation enough to provide a decent & steady supply of new jobs so as to bring people into the metro area in significant numbers. I believe that the legislature & state regulatory agencies may have tinkered with the laws governing that sector so as to promote such growth in that sector in Des Moines & elsewhere in Iowa. That was not a media-driven effort.
As a result though, Des Moines & Iowa City were the only 2 metro areas in the state that had notable population increases during that decade while the remainder of the state generally either steadily lost or collapsed in population.
The brain drain that has plagued rural Iowa ever since the decade of 1900-1910 basically continues unabated today but it's origins are far more complicated than something the chamber or media in Des Moines could have created. To tell the truth, I am thankful that metro Des Moines has emerged as an economically energetic job producer in recent decades so that many young Iowans now do not have to leave the state in order to find opportunity.

[atler8]

funk
You are not familiar with my history of posting here otherwise you would know that I do not live in Des Moines but rather in Atlanta. Now there's a huge skyline for ya'.
I can hear you chuckling now... or is it me chuckling instead?
But, as I've said here before, if I had it to do all over again, as regards my move from Des Moines to Atlanta in 1979, I would never do it again. I'd have stayed put right there in the middle of nothing, as you apparently regard it.

[funksoulbro]

Originally Posted by Tek_Freek

Yup, it's Ronnie.

I really hate to disappoint you, but I'm not Ronnie...nor have I ever met Ronnie. His posts have been quite entertaining and insightful, nonetheless.

I realize the concept of people having an opinion that differs from yours' is something of an anathema, especially considering where your from, but Ronnie is far from being alone in his estimation of Des Moines' myopic attitude.

[funksoulbro]

Originally Posted by atler8

funk
You are not familiar with my history of posting here otherwise you would know that I do not live in Des Moines but rather in Atlanta. Now there's a huge skyline for ya'.
I can hear you chuckling now... or is it me chuckling instead?

I'm still chuckling. Your sense of proportion with -- and fixation on -- "skylines" is rather amusing.

Hong Kong has an awesome skyline. Never mind that the place is a Chinese-run Hell Hole, but it has an awesome skyline.

[atler8]

steel
It doesn't seem that either of us will ever need to be worried about getting "nailed to the wall' in this thread.

[funksoulbro]

Originally Posted by atler8

To tell the truth, I am thankful that metro Des Moines has emerged as an economically energetic job producer in recent decades so that many young Iowans now do not have to leave the state in order to find opportunity.

I am grateful too. I just wish all that economic development didn't have the undesirable side effect of crowding a decent city with self-aggrandizing d-bags from places like Chariton and Clarion. It ruins the whole Feng Shui.

That's my real complaint here: Not Des Moines the city, but rather Des Moines the people. Take a bunch of small-town Iowa kids and place them into a city they think is really big due to their limited interaction with the outside world, and it produces quite an effect.

When does Forbes come out with their 100 Douchiest Cities list? I can see both Madison and Des Moines in the top two, though I'm not exactly sure who gets #1.

[fezzador]

Originally Posted by funksoulbro

I'm still chuckling. Your sense of proportion with -- and fixation on -- "skylines" is rather amusing.

Hong Kong has an awesome skyline. Never mind that the place is a Chinese-run Hell Hole, but it has an awesome skyline.

Say what???

Hong Kong was run by the British for centuries... when they handed it back over to the Chinese a few years ago, most folks were barely able to tell the difference. It's an extremely wealthy and worldly city and very unlike mainland China when it comes to politics.

As for Ronnie, yes there is often a grain of truth to his posts, but his obvious bias endears him to no one except other folks with a beef with DSM.

Des Moines isn't for everyone, I think we all get that. But it's not 1980 anymore. DSM is starting to come onto its own as a regional powerhouse and there will be a time (and it will be sooner than a lot of folks think) that it will attract more than just rural Iowans and Latinos in significant quantities.

As for "dbags from Clarion and Chariton", my father is from Clarion. Watch it.

[atler8]

funk
You really need to read & digest the back and forth here on this thread between Granite & myself. If you did, you would see that I do not have a skyscraper fixation & mentioned the Des Moines skyline, & the fact that it's in the center of what is obviously a center of commerce, only to point out that Des Moines has Madison all beat to heck insofar as comparing the size of their downtowns & skylines.
I made that comment in response to her post that mentioned the lakes & beauty that are found plentifully in the Madison area. I stated that both cities have their strong suits. In that regard, downtown DesMoines & it's skyline win hands done over Madison. That does not make me skyline-obsessed even though I do live in a city that has a huge skyine.
I get around a bit & read, etc. & am very familiar with the skyline of Hong Kong & do not need you to tell me that it is a wonder with one of the absolutely greatest skylines in the world.
And if I were obsessed, what of it?

[capitalcityguy]

Originally Posted by funksoulbro

I am grateful too. I just wish all that economic development didn't have the undesirable side effect of crowding a decent city with self-aggrandizing d-bags from places like Chariton and Clarion. It ruins the whole Feng Shui.

That's my real complaint here: Not Des Moines the city, but rather Des Moines the people. Take a bunch of small-town Iowa kids and place them into a city they think is really big due to their limited interaction with the outside world, and it produces quite an effect.

When does Forbes come out with their 100 Douchiest Cities list? I can see both Madison and Des Moines in the top two, though I'm not exactly sure who gets #1.

funksobro,

Honest question. What value do you think a contribution like the one above brings to this forum? (or do you not care?)