Where to live east of Des Moines? (Newton, Altoona: fit in, neighborhood)

[ncfamily]

We are in the very early stages of considering a move from NC to Iowa. The job would be east of Des Moines. I have looked at Altoona and Newton as possibilities and we have a couple of things to consider:

1. High schools(Son is a freshman and other son is in 5th grade)
2. Competitive Swim Teams
3. Wrestling Clubs--somehow I don't think we'll have the problems finding clubs like we have had in NC.
4. What are the housing options? We live in a great kid-filled neighborhood where the children are always outside playing. We would like something similar.

Thanks so much!

[El Rhino]

One place I like that's East of Des Moines is Pella. I'm not sure what housing costs there, but it's a really nice town with a good economy and tons of Dutch heritage - you may not fit in if you're not tall and blond and/or your last name doesn't start with "Van" or "De".

You might want to check Runnells too.

[ncfamily]

Thank you! I am not familiar with the area, but the job would be around Newton.

[El Rhino]

I'm not 100% sure of this, but the housing market is probably pretty good in Newton because of the Maytag plant closing. Other people's misfortune is your gain.

Newton wouldn't be that bad of a place. Most of it is pretty nice, with the exception of one part of it where you could use meth and Mt. Dew as currency.

[Luke9686]

On the flip side Rhino, you have to also think that the Maytag plant was holding that town together. If there is nothing there to stabilize the economy, it might be several years before you will see appreciation.

You could check out the eastern burbs of Des Moines. Pleasant Hill, Altoona, Bondurant. My parents say its still slumping a little, but I think in the long run the appreciation will be greater than in Newton and Runnells.

[El Rhino]

Originally Posted by Luke9686

On the flip side Rhino, you have to also think that the Maytag plant was holding that town together. If there is nothing there to stabilize the economy, it might be several years before you will see appreciation.

You could check out the eastern burbs of Des Moines. Pleasant Hill, Altoona, Bondurant. My parents say its still slumping a little, but I think in the long run the appreciation will be greater than in Newton and Runnells.

Very true, but it could also be a good time to snatch up cheap housing. Who knows how it will all play out.

[SharpHawkeye]

When it comes to schools you have a big choice to make. Small school or large school? Nearly all schools in Iowa have wrestling programs. Few schools in Iowa seem to have swim teams. You could choose to enroll your kids in a smaller school (like Bondurant-Farrar) where there's a smaller pool of athletes and they would have a bigger chance to shine. Or you could enroll them in a larger school (like Southeast Polk) where there would be more sports, but more athletes and therefore more competition for spots.

Altoona would be a nice larger town with a larger school, as would Pella. A quick Google search tells me they both have swim teams, but I don't know anything more than that.

Bondurant and Prairie City are both smaller towns with smaller schools.

[patmc]

Newton, in my opinion, is one of the towns in Iowa with the most opportunity. It seems like he town is always doing something to move forward. You might get more comments from locals at HeyIowa.com

[Luke9686]

I used to go to Southeast Polk. When I went there, it seemed that the "popular" kids got more chance to start. I knew plenty of people who could outplay some of the starters, but they weren't well known so they didn't get the chance to shine. Don't know if it's still like that.

[El Rhino]

Originally Posted by Luke9686

I used to go to Southeast Polk. When I went there, it seemed that the "popular" kids got more chance to start. I knew plenty of people who could outplay some of the starters, but they weren't well known so they didn't get the chance to shine. Don't know if it's still like that.

I imagine it's like that virtually everywhere.