Will be visiting for job interview next week! 1 day to "see" Des Moines

[caterpiller]

Thank you to everyone. We have been and come back home. It was a very quick trip. We didn't see much of the neighborhoods as we mostly stayed at the hotel. We did visit the Jordan Town Center as his interview was less then 2 miles away. We encountered some stores there that we haven't been to before. Alterd' State, Rolled Ice Cream, Scheeler's, Lush, Younkers (which has like, 10 days left to be in business. We got some great deals on jeans. But i'm sorry your store is leaving.) Scheelers's was a very impressive store and I feel like it beats out every sporting goods store i've ever been to, and I live in an area that likes its sporting good stores. lol.

We did take a quick 2 hour trip down town for Zombie Burger. I know they had one at the Jordan Town Center, but I thought it would be more fun to go to a "real one." It was great. Best french fries I have ever tasted hands down. We still had time left on our meter, and realized the capital building was nearly a straight shot, so we went up there and saw your lovely Capital building and grounds. We visited a Kum & Go and a Hy-vee xD neither of which we have at home. We stopped by walmart... looks exactly like the one we have here. Your groceries seem to be a fraction cheaper then we have, which would be a nice was to save an extra $25-$50 a month if we do move up. Gas prices were a fraction cheaper as well. About 10 cents or so.

The places we ate were Perkin's (weird water, eh food.) Red Robin (Something we have 3 hours from home. I've never been to a bad Red Robin, and this one was great like all the others. ♥ ) Zombie Burger (Super delicious, hugely recommend.) P.F. Changs (For a family of 3 we got 6 shrimp dumplings, and the sea food fried rice, i don't remember its exact name. It was very good, especially the dumplings) We then went and had cheese cake from the cheese cake factory. This is our third cheese cake factory, and it was wonderful.

First impressions is that it is a really nice place. Your downtown looks beautiful, and clean. I didn't get to see much of it, but it looks like you appreciate art and have fun with it! There were a number of murals and some sculptures to see in the short walk we took. You look like you have a lot of pride in your roots and in history in general. I've read people here saying that taxes are high and, "I don't know where the taxes go" I think it is obvious, you take really good care on the upkeep of your city, and that is a good thing.

We don't know yet if he got the job, but if he does, i think Des Moines would be a wonderful place to get to know better.

[Meemur]

No problem, Tek!

OP, thanks for the update, and I'm glad that you had a nice time! I agree: downtown is pretty cool, and you probably weren't around to notice, but it doesn't shut down at 5 pm, either.

[Tek_Freek]

Caterpillar, did you see the art park downtown?

A page of images.

https://www.google.com/search?q=des+...&bih=584&dpr=3

One of the pieces.



This is the food fair that is held every fall on the east side of the downtown area. I really, really miss this!

[Florida2014]

Does it have to be a house or would you consider a townhome/condo? If you included condos/townhomes you could possibly find something in a better part of town (ie: Urbandale, Johnston, Grimes, etc).

If it has to be a house I would try parts of NW Des Moines or Beaverdale. Yes, the area is much older now but the lots more than make up for that. My mother's house is near Merle Hay Mall and her yard is the size of a small park. You could play a football game in her backyard and neighbors on each side are very far apart. In fact, in several lots they have demolished the older house and put in two duplexes into the lots, to give you an idea of their size.

You just have to be very diligent in your search to find something that isn't next to a house that is in disrepair or next to someone that doesn't take care of their yard. There are still some hidden gems in NW Des Moines and the location is great, especially if you aren't worried about the school district.

[camille563]

Originally Posted by caterpiller

We have 1 day to see Des Moines as a family. If hubby gets the job, he will be up there before us and get to see more before we move up. In the 1 day we have, what should we make sure to see? We aren't looking to do vacationy things. Just want to get a feel for the area. I know the state fair is in town, but we will probably skip it in an effort to save some money and see more.

Home prices are a little higher then we were expecting in the neighborhoods everyone seems to recommend, but something else I've noticed is people are not NOT recommending other neighborhoods, they are just saying, "These ones are better" We'd like to spend no more then 150K if at all possible to keep our home payments relatively the same as they are now. The reason for this is so that the increase my husband seens from his possible new job remains a true increase, and isn't just gobbled up in house payments. We'd like to use that money for savings and vacations. What do you think the best neighborhood would be that has homes at that prices in that area? By the time we possibly move we will be a family of 4, 2 adults, a tween, and a new born.

My tween is home schooled so if at all possible i'd love to get her into a home school group. She uses an online program, but would love the friendships.

Is the neighborhood near the zoo good or eh? My kid would love volunteering there. On that note, are their any other animal "hot spots" that a kid might be able to learn more and volunteer? Maybe the living farm??

I will say Des Moines is expensive. I live in West Des Moines in the Waukee School District and I pay 4600 a year in property taxes for a 3/2 home costing 232,000 I bought it 3 years ago and cost homes have jumped to an unaffordable rate!