Why Quad Cities or Des Moines? (Davenport, Iowa City: real estate, low crime, new home)

[HEhockeysticks]

After doing research, I'm checking out several cities for a future place to live... I made a post earlier today describing what I am looking for and want to live in a special place:

I'm graduating college in a few years and would like to start getting ideas on where to visit in preparation for finding my dream city.

A few things that are important to me:
Low crime
Cheap to live in (can get a decent place in the 'burbs or rural area within commuting distance for $150-200k) OR with a walkable, reasonably priced downtown area
Mid sized (100-500,000k people)
Good food!
4 seasons, I don't mind a very cold winter, in fact I kind of prefer it. I'm not a big fan of the heat!
A good economy

Not necessary but preferred:
A population of German/Russian speaking people (I am from Germany, my hopefully soon to be wife, Russian)
Good sports scene... I love watching basketball, hockey, and soccer
Near a small body of water at least, a city with a lot of lakes or maybe near the great lakes


Recommendations on cities/states?

So... I ask you... Why is your area the place for me, if it is at all?

[Chicago60614]

Actually Iowa City sounds pretty good for those features.

[iowegian]

Originally Posted by Chicago60614

Actually Iowa City sounds pretty good for those features.

Agreed. I was struggling to fit this with Des Moines or the Quad Cities, but now that you mention it, Iowa City could work.

It's a little smaller than you may be looking for, (65k in Iowa City, probably about 40k more in the suburbs) and it is fairly expensive for Iowa, but you can definitely find homes under $200k, especially if you're not looking for a brand new home.

As for a population of German or Russian-speaking people, maybe not, but the University of Iowa teaches both languages, and so you might be able to get in touch with some professors, or even students, and find people to speak with. College towns are definitely more likely to have this than other towns, especially in the size range you're looking for.

If you're okay with college sports, the University plays all three of those. It's not major league, for sure, but it's more than you'll get in DM or the QC.

And it's near Lake MacBride, which is a small lake.

So even if you don't think Iowa City is for you, I would suggest looking into towns with large universities. They are definitely more likely to have sporting events and German and Russian-speaking people than other towns.

[QuadCityImages]

I think the Quad Cities are definitely your best choice, judging by your criteria. I responded to your items within the quote.

Originally Posted by HEhockeysticks

A few things that are important to me:
Low crime -Fairly low crime, quite safe if you don't get involved with the wrong crowds.
Cheap to live in (can get a decent place in the 'burbs or rural area within commuting distance for $150-200k) OR with a walkable, reasonably priced downtown area
-EASY to find a nice place for under $150,000 in Davenport. $150-200k can get you a nice place in the highly sought-after McClellan Heights area.
Mid sized (100-500,000k people) -Yes, 100k for Davenport, 375k for the QC as a whole.
Good food! -Definitely.
4 seasons, I don't mind a very cold winter, in fact I kind of prefer it. I'm not a big fan of the heat! -We do have heat, but there's 4 seasons in all of Iowa.
A good economy -The QC economy, and the Iowa economy as a whole have weathered the crisis well. We never had the real estate price boom that the coasts had, so we never had the bust.

Not necessary but preferred:
A population of German/Russian speaking people (I am from Germany, my hopefully soon to be wife, Russian)
Practically everyone in Davenport has some German background. The roots of the area are HEAVILY German. We have a German American Heritage Center to preserve and display them. German restaurants, a historic German park, even a Lady of Germania statue at one of the entrances to Davenport.
Good sports scene... I love watching basketball, hockey, and soccer -We have pro hockey and baseball, but only college/high school level soccer and basketball.
Near a small body of water at least, a city with a lot of lakes or maybe near the great lakes -Well, we have a little water feature called the Mississippi River that I believe is unmatched by anything in Des Moines or Iowa City.

We don't have a ton of Russian cultural amenities here, but one of the biggest advantage of the Quad Cities over Des Moines or Iowa City is that Chicago is less than 3 hours away. Soon we will have rail service into downtown Chicago on Amtrak, which will make it easier than ever to have access to big city amenities while living a mid-sized city life.

[capitalcityguy]

If this isn't a sign that Des Moines should be considered, I just saw this on LinkedIn today. The Des Moines German Club is meeting at Irina's (a Russian restaurant).

Discussion over. Welcome to Des Moines!!!

Stammtisch - Des Moines German Club

Our monthly meeting will take place at Irina's Restaurant and Bar in Urbandale http://www.irinasrestaurantandbar.com beginning at 6pm on Tuesday, April 13th. Come to practice speaking and build German vocab. All skill levels sind Willkommen! Contact suzanne@contemporary-business-solutions.com with questions.

[capitalcityguy]

[SIZE=2]Addressing some of the other wants you listed:

Des Moines is going to offer you the highest level of professional sports compared to the cities mentioned here.

I-Cubs are the Chicago Cubs triple AAA affiliate. Principal Park is a great ballpark located in downtown Des Moines and can sometimes draw near sellout crowds of 12 or 13K.
Des Moines Menace -- soccer
Des Moines Buccaneers - hockey
If you like college sports, Iowa State University (Big 12) is 40 minutes north of Des Moines.

For lakes:
Saylorville Lake is one of the largest lakes in Iowa. It borders the northern part of the metro. There is also an small urban lake - Gray's Lake - that is just south of downtown.

Here's a link to a website the provide a lot of links on Des Moines. [/SIZE][SIZE=2][SIZE=2]http://www.desmoinesreport.com/[/SIZE][/SIZE][SIZE=2] The top of the website contains current media headlines, but the bottom contains permanent links to media, blogs, etc….everything Des Moines. To see more on the sport's teams mentioned, scroll to the bottom of the second column and you'll find links to all the Des Moines' pro teams (right above the section called "Restaurants").
[/SIZE]

[capitalcityguy]

One more: [SIZE=2]
On your comment about "good food", Des Moines has a very impressive restaurant scene and rec'd mention in places like the New York Times. Couldn't find the article, but here is a current one accolades that came from Midwest Living Magazine as part of the Best of the Midwest" series. They named Des Moines one of its "5 Star Food Towns"


[/SIZE][SIZE=2][SIZE=2]http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2010/03/30/george-formaro-gateway-market-des-moines-restaurants-la-mie-miyabi-9-bistro-montage-downtown-farmers-market-django-uncle-wendells-801-steak-and-chop-midwest-livings-best-of-the-midwest-5-star-food-tow/[/SIZE][/SIZE]

[CINCINNATI91]

Originally Posted by QuadCityImages

I think the Quad Cities are definitely your best choice, judging by your criteria. I responded to your items within the quote.



We don't have a ton of Russian cultural amenities here, but one of the biggest advantage of the Quad Cities over Des Moines or Iowa City is that Chicago is less than 3 hours away. Soon we will have rail service into downtown Chicago on Amtrak, which will make it easier than ever to have access to big city amenities while living a mid-sized city life.

I agree with you..