Moving to Johnston IA and Drivers License Query (Des Moines, Cedar Rapids: houses, rental)

[cncity]

Hi everyone,

I will be moving to Johnston next week from Canada, so wanted some basic information about the area. My work will be in Johnston, so i would most probably live in a rented apartment in Johnston or Urbandale area ( maybe between doughlas ave and NW 62nd ave). Can any of you who lives in Des Moines provide me atleast 2 good names for each of the following in Johnston or Urbandale.

1. Rental apartments- studio or 1 bedroom as i will be alone.
2. Cell Phone providers
3. Banks, i would prefer a bigger bank and not local as i might be travelling to IL few times.
4. Medical clinics.
5. Internet service providers and their approx monthly rates for high speed.

I would assume there is decent bus service in the area ( esp 86th street) or would i need car ? Any suggestions. The monthly pass is $35 or $50 for DART from what i found, though i didnt understand why 2 different rates.
Im not sure how medical clinics work there, appointments, walk-in's ? I will have insurance though as it wont be free like in canada.

Thnx for you help in advance.

[heymolly]

1. I'm not really sure about apartments in Urbandale or Johnston. I know a lot of people that rent there, but I'm not sure of specific places. The only apartment I've ever rented here was in the northwest corner of Des Moines, several blocks out of Johnston. It was called Ashley Square.

2. U.S. Cellular is very popular. I did not hear of it until I moved here, so it may not be your best bet if will be spending a lot of time outside of Iowa. Otherwise, quite a few people use T-Mobile and Sprint, as well.

3. Bank of the West and U.S. Bank (which is what I use) are common.

4. There are lots of medical clinics in the area. I work in the field. There are three major hospitals nearby in Des Moines (Iowa Methodist, Iowa Lutheran, and Mercy), all in or near the downtown area. The Iowa Health system has many family practice clinics across the metro. Urbandale Family Physicians and Merle Hay Family Physicians. There are also many specialty clinics for dermatology, hematology, and the like.

5. Mediacom is the big provider for internet. When I had it, it was $40/month, but that was for a three-month period only, so it was a new customer deal. I'm not sure how much it runs normally, but the mediacom website may be of some assistance.

The bus system is fine. I know a lot of people who use it, although I personally have not. It is fine if you use it to get to and from work, or go on a shopping trip, but it may be more convenient to have a car in case you want to go somewhere that the bus doesn't run or if you need to travel after they are closed for the day.

A lot of medical clinics (as well as the emergency departments in the hospitals) take walk-ins. You can also go in and make an appointment. If you get insurance through your job, you can bring that in and they will be able to help you.

I hope this helps!

[cncity]

Thnx for the info. It really helped.

[capitalcityguy]

You're stuck in the 'burbs. You're going to need a car.

[El Rhino]

Originally Posted by capitalcityguy

You're stuck in the 'burbs. You're going to need a car.

Seconded. Look up the DART webpage and check the routes where you want to go and I'm certain that it's going to leave something to be desired.

There should be a sticky thread in the Iowa forum about how you absolutely will need a vehicle if you plan on moving to Des Moines. Public transportation is seriously pretty much reserved for the poor, schoolchildren, handicapped and those who lost their liscense. Unfortunately not too many normal people use the bus system.

[WoodwardGirl]

Originally Posted by El Rhino

There should be a sticky thread in the Iowa forum about how you absolutely will need a vehicle if you plan on moving to Des Moines. Public transportation is seriously pretty much reserved for the poor, schoolchildren, handicapped and those who lost their liscense. Unfortunately not too many normal people use the bus system.

This is very sad but very true. Iowa City and, to a slightly lesser degree, Ames are the only exceptions. You honestly CAN live without a car in either of them, although it is not always convenient.

The rest of us are just too spread out. We (many of us) love the lack of density, but it makes for a horrible public transportation situation. Garman Development just bought land in NW Cedar Rapids to put in an association-type neighborhood aimed at age 50+ folks. Detached houses but small yards that are kept by the association. They portrayed it as "cottage-style," and hoped to have basic amenities within walking distance (not that anyone would be walking when it's like it is today!). Neighbors raised heck, saying it didn't fit with their 3-4 acre lots. City Council approved the development, saying "infill" was desirable and the only way the city could break even on services was if they had smaller lots than the 3-4 acre ones. Pretty interesting to follow... I guess it doesn't have a lot to do with public transportation, but it could , in the future, I think.

[cncity]

Yes its true...i landed here on thursday(27th) and i can see, i need a car. I have rented a car right now for a month, but its very expensive ( almost $1200 wid insurance)....instead i was thinking id rather take a taxi to work which is about 5-7 miles from urbandale which might cost $10 or so each way, and could get a ride in the future from some1 at work, but its just a thought.

Btw does any1 have any advice on apartment in the area? ive checked out a few, the good one's are too far from work. And which cell phone co. has cheaper rates, AT & T and Verizon have similar rates, but i would rather prefer Pay as u go, as im here just for few months.

[simply1]

Did you check out Crescent Chase Apartments, and Winwood? There aren't a ton of apartments in Johnston itself.

Also I prefer Qwest DSL to mediacom, it's about $36 for internet and no phone line.

Bank of the West does have a lot of loations, there's also Wells Fargo and Bank of America which probably have more of a national presence, but not always as many local locations.

[Iowagirl566]

Originally Posted by cncity

Yes its true...i landed here on thursday(27th) and i can see, i need a car. I have rented a car right now for a month, but its very expensive ( almost $1200 wid insurance)....instead i was thinking id rather take a taxi to work which is about 5-7 miles from urbandale which might cost $10 or so each way, and could get a ride in the future from some1 at work, but its just a thought.

Btw does any1 have any advice on apartment in the area? ive checked out a few, the good one's are too far from work. And which cell phone co. has cheaper rates, AT & T and Verizon have similar rates, but i would rather prefer Pay as u go, as im here just for few months.

Wow, that must be some car.

I don't get to Johnston very much and you don't say where you are working but there are 3 large apartment complexes on 86th St, just south of the I-80 Interstate(which is the southern edge of Johnston). The only name I can think of right now is Candle Ridge. Ashley Square is located just off of Merle Hay Rd at Aurora(south of the eastern edge of johnston). Do a search on Rent.com for more information.

As for walk in clinics, some of the Dahl's grocery stores just opened them so you can just walk right into the grocery store when your sick and get checked out. I'm not sure in the Merle Hay one or the Johnston one have them so you might need to called and find out. I think anyother poster covered most of the Banks in the area. For my money I prefer a Credit Union, lower fees. Bankers Trust is giving out $90 when you sign up for a checking account. Don't know the details but you might want to ckeck them out.

[cncity]

Originally Posted by Iowagirl566

Wow, that must be some car.

I don't get to Johnston very much and you don't say where you are working but there are 3 large apartment complexes on 86th St, just south of the I-80 Interstate(which is the southern edge of Johnston). The only name I can think of right now is Candle Ridge. Ashley Square is located just off of Merle Hay Rd at Aurora(south of the eastern edge of johnston). Do a search on Rent.com for more information.

As for walk in clinics, some of the Dahl's grocery stores just opened them so you can just walk right into the grocery store when your sick and get checked out. I'm not sure in the Merle Hay one or the Johnston one have them so you might need to called and find out. I think anyother poster covered most of the Banks in the area. For my money I prefer a Credit Union, lower fees. Bankers Trust is giving out $90 when you sign up for a checking account. Don't know the details but you might want to ckeck them out.

The car i got is the cheapest and smallest available, an accent...its the insurance which costs more than 500. Ill probably buy a used car in Feb. Whats the avg monthly car insurance here, i hv a clean record and the only co. i know abt is Gieco..from their tv ads lol. Btw is Dahl's a cheaper grocery store than Hy Vee?

I am in West Des moines right now behind Valley west mall, and saw a couple of apts here, warren properties has furnished apts and around 500..so they r cheap,,its right next to the valley west mall. ill check out more apts in mid Jan.