Pro's and Con's of Pella (Des Moines, West Des Moines: fit in, real estate, buying a house)

[AZ.twinmom]

My husband works for Vermeer in AZ. and we're wanting to move to Iowa to be close to family so he may transfer to Vermeer MFG. in Pella. We know NOTHING about Pella or surrounding areas but want to live in an area that is growing, economy is booming and if we sold a house in 5 years we'd make a decent profit. Does Pella meet any of those expectations or would a town near there meet any?

Thanks!

[Luke9686]

Pella isn't what you are looking for. Pella is a small town of about 10,000 residents. You aren't going to make much money from buying a house there. Honestly, in most places in America you probably won't make much of a profit from real estate anytime soon.

I don't think the economy is booming there either. It is stable. Not growing, not shrinking. Des Moines economy is doing very well though. You will make a little money if you purchased in one of the Des Moines suburbs, but not big enough to be much.

The pros about Pella. Small town atmosphere. Friendly people.

Cons. Small town atmosphere (can go either way). Nothing to do. People are set in their ways, and have their social circles and its hard to break. Nothing to do. Depends on if you enjoy small towns.

But for the booming economy, you could live in Des Moines metro and commute to Pella. Des Moines to Pella is 50 miles. West Des Moines suburbs is about 60-70 miles.

[jackBO]

I agree with the above poster, it's not really booming. Vermeer is finally bouncing back and Pella corp is still the same. Most the towns around are even smaller and less booming. It is a beautiful little town though, not the most friendly, unless you "fit in" though.

[Luke9686]

That's a common problem in rural areas, the fitting in thing. In places such as AZ, CA, NY, there are many transients. New people are a way of life in those places, so they are more open to allowing newcomers "in."

In places like Pella, those social circles are already well established. They hardly ever get new people moving in, so it is hard to break those circles. It is possible, just takes effort.

[AZ.twinmom]

Thanks everyone. Luckily I'm from a small town (Victor Iowa) before I moved to AZ. so I'm ok with that. Actually graduated with 28!

I like the fact it's clean I've heard and well taken care of, but coming from AZ. we like to see growth so I don't know if buying there is the way to go. DesMoines might sound like a better route but driving in the Winter 50 some miles would be a nightmare!

Love your opinions keep them coming

[Pearlbob]

If you are from a small town, then you understand the lifestyle there. But you should also understand that real estate will never be booming in a town of 10,000. People don't randomly move to tiny towns like that, and growth of small towns is little to none. For every person like you that moves there, you'll have the majority of the high schoolers moving away and other people moving away for better lives (life in Pella is fine, if you like that kind of thing, but you have zero room for "advancement" there).

50 miles on an interstate in the winter is not bad. I would imagine a lot of Vermeer employees probably live in DSM or the outskirts. Pella to Pleasant Hill (a nice burb of DSM) is 37 miles per google maps. That's not bad.

[SharpHawkeye]

That is somewhat of a tough call. The nearest "boom town" that I would recommend is Ankeny, just north of Des Moines, or about 50 mi from Pella. The city has grown by almost 10,000 people in the last five years, and could probably do just as well or better in the next five.

Pleasant Hill or Altoona are also possible choices, a little closer to Pella. Both those cities are a little farther from Des Moines though, so growth is slower. But (and this is a major hypothetical but), I would say either town has the potential to be the next big boom suburb in the next decade or so.

Of course, I wouldn't begin to know how the profit one could make on a house in any of these places would balance out vs. the cost of commuting. Someone else would have to figure that out.

[Luke9686]

I'm from Pleasant Hill. Even in the "boom" suburbs of Des Moines, you won't see the appreciation on a home as you have in AZ or CA. My parents bought there house in Pleasant Hill, brand new in 1995 for $134,000. It's worth about $170,000 now. BUT, on the flip side, the market in Des Moines isn't as bad as most places either. It isnt hit as hard by market down turns than the places that saw those booms. The annual appreciation in the Des Moines metro is right around 4-6%. Not great, but it usually never decreases.

[AZ.twinmom]

Ok, we're really interested into looking at those suburbs like Pleasent Hill, Altoona maybe knoxville. Is there a website to look at that would tell me if certain towns have Targets, HomeDepots, how many grocery stores, how many schools etc... so we can get an idea of how up to date the town is? Maybe even some pictures? I've been google searching a lot but not coming up with a lot.

You guys have been a great help! My husband may be interviewing as soon as next wk!

[Luke9686]

Pleasant Hill and Altoona are in the Southeast Polk School District, so kids will go to SEP middle and high schools. Pleasant Hill only has P. Hill Elementary. Altoona has Willowbrook, Centennial and Altoona Elementary.

P. Hill has 1 Hy-Vee (grocery Store), a couple movie stores and many places to eat. They have a bowling alley too.

Altoona is bigger. It has a few grocery stores, a Super Wal-Mart (you will love it), Menards (like Home Depot), and a Home Depot. It may have a Lowes too.

Go to iowarealty.com, firstrealtyhomes.com, and desmoinesregister.com to view homes.

Try downtowndesmoines.com to see what all is going on there. They have a great farmers market every week.