Southside Shrek (Des Moines, West Des Moines, Indianola: real estate, housing, rent)

[Tek_Freek]

Re: Your post regarding the best place to live in IA.

I apologize for getting caught up in that. I usually don't. I have asked the moderator to remove my all posts from #6 forward.

I'll try to dig up some stats on WDM for you.

Again, my apoologies.

Tek

[Southside Shrek]

no problem Tek Freek. everything is cool, and thanks.

I have many fond memories of Iowa.

[Tek_Freek]

Some links, etc.

Here's a current project. I drove past this today. It certainly affects a person to see all those flags knowing what they represent. You can purchase a flag. All proceeds go to charity. Not sure if the moderator will consider this advertising, but here goes:

http://whotv.com/Global/story.asp?S=...av=menu100_5_1

Here's the web site for the city. Financial reports should give you an idea of the current economic status of the area. Notice Moody's gives Aa1 and S&P gives AAA. Current Developments will show the expansion in the area. #8 is the Wells Fargo "campus". Just north of it is the Jordan Creek Mall. They call it a Town Center, but it's a mall. The aerial map is way out of date: The mall is mostly done, as is Wells Fargo. There are numerous restaurants in this area.

http://www.wdm-ia.com/

Here's Yellow Pages listing of restaurants in WDM. Keep in mind that there are plenty of them outside WDM, this is just to show the diversity and quantity close at hand. You will find a similar listing for DSM proper.

http://ypng.infospace.com/info.xcite...a&top=internal

Wow, that's a long one!

Good wineries in the area. Hot air balloon races in Indianola every summer. The Iowa State Fair! Best in the country. Drake Relays if you like track and field. College football. Boys and girls basketball and boys wrestling every spring in DSM. There are a lot of 6' girls in Iowa! Blues on Grand. Good Art Center. Civic Center. Wells Fargo Arena - new.

Schools: Always a tricky subject. WDM has excellent schools. Most in the western (new) end are new or being remodeled. Valley High is going through a major renovation. DSM has good schools that are, well, time-worn. On the plus side these are also being remodeled and the problems associated with age are being remedied. To give an idea of the quality of education: I read a post from someone moving from TX to IA. Their children were honor students there, but struggled to keep up here.

Keep in mind that as a state Iowa is not booming. As a city Des Moines is doing better than the state. West Des Moines is booming. I have lived here 18 years (DSM before) and when we first moved couldn't get a pizza delivered. We were on the west side of the Interstate and no one came over here to deliver. 60th street, which is the county line, was a dirt road. Used to see coyotes in the ditches along there. Everything west of us was pretty much farmland, with the exception of one hotel that we could see from our front porch. Can't see it anymore. We get pizza delivered in about 15-20 minutes.

Believe me when I tell you we are no longer at the edge of town. If you look on a map and find Highway 6 (Hickman Road) and follow it west you will see Waukee. There is now a solid mass of housing and businesses from Des Moines all the way to Waukee. Yes, the area is in a boom. Oh, the houses that are along and either side of the road range in price from about 200k to a few million. Country Club ($$), Woodlands ($$$$). These are actually in Clive, which is just north of WDM.

There is an area called Valley Junction which is the original downtown for WDM. Used to be a train stop. Now it's shops, restaurants, etc. Farmers Market Thursdays all summer. Music and art festivals all the time. Any of the restaurants you see on 5th street are probably here.

Here's the web site for Des Moines

http://www.ci.des-moines.ia.us/

Downtown is going through a growth spurt. The west side has basically been torn down and is being replaced. New library, park, businesses, etc. East downtown is doing the same. They have an art festival every year that is one of the largest in the country. Farmers Market Saturday mornings.

There are plenty of places to live that are close enough to have the core available without living "in the city".

It's a nice place even with the faults. You've lived here. You already know about the weather...

[Southside Shrek]

Tek Freek, thanks for all that interesting WDM info. You should run for office there since you put the crown jewels of Iowa in such a bright and favorable light.

[Tek_Freek]

Office? Politics? Uh, no. I value honesty too much.

I know I shine on about the area. I've lived here most of my life.

After everything I've said about this area.... I'm leaving when I retire. Too much snow, too much cold, too high taxes. I love it, but I have to leave it.

Wanna buy a good snowblower?

[Southside Shrek]

Originally Posted by Tek_Freek

Office? Politics? Uh, no. I value honesty too much.

I know I shine on about the area. I've lived here most of my life.

After everything I've said about this area.... I'm leaving when I retire. Too much snow, too much cold, too high taxes. I love it, but I have to leave it.

Wanna buy a good snowblower?

LOL no thanks on the snowblower. Got rid of the one I had and said I never want another one. I'll take my chances with whatever snow may fall.

So you want warmth and sunshine. everyone who moves to Florida says they can't stand the cold and snow up here in the Midwest. However retirement life down in the Sunshine State isn't all cracked up to their 'paradise refrain'. Stop to consider the following: 1) a continuing and endless threat of hurricanes between June and October of every year 2) the high cost of insurance down there and in some instances the unavailability of it 3) high real estate taxes and rising much higher as well as high utility costs 4) generally lousy schools 5) high cost of housing 6) low wages 7) a lot of heat with very high humidity. if you lose electrical power for several days as a result of a hurricane, mold forms all over the inside your house and it will destroy it 8) Gators, Nile Monitor lizards, killer bees, fireants, poisonous snakes, sand fles and a host of other pests.

I'll take my chances with occasional tornadoes any old day here in the glorious Midwest.

[Tek_Freek]

Already bought land in TN. Little snow, mild summers. Cumberland Plateau

[Southside Shrek]

Originally Posted by Tek_Freek

Already bought land in TN. Little snow, mild summers. Cumberland Plateau

Good choice for getting away from it all. I know quite a few people who have moved to TN, including a good friend in FL who wants to retire in TN.

[Tek_Freek]

An article in local paper today talked about growth in Dallas County. That is the county that West Des Moines juts into from Polk, and where the new mall and Wells Fargo campus I mentioned reside. Remember how I talked about explosive growth? Here's a portion:

State archivist Gordon Hendrickson said every government produces lots of paperwork. However, Dallas County's situation is made worse by rapid growth - measured at 52nd among U.S. counties last year - and by a courthouse renovation that moved records and archives to the basement of 902 Court St.

The article is here:

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/app...320/-1/archive

[Southside Shrek]

Originally Posted by Tek_Freek

An article in local paper today talked about growth in Dallas County. That is the county that West Des Moines juts into from Polk, and where the new mall and Wells Fargo campus I mentioned reside. Remember how I talked about explosive growth? Here's a portion:

State archivist Gordon Hendrickson said every government produces lots of paperwork. However, Dallas County's situation is made worse by rapid growth - measured at 52nd among U.S. counties last year - and by a courthouse renovation that moved records and archives to the basement of 902 Court St.

The article is here:

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/app...320/-1/archive

It sounds like a bad case of horse and buggy recordkeeping. why don't they just scan all those old records and dump all that paperwork?