California to Des Moines (Job Transfer) (West Des Moines, Urbandale: rental, new home, neighborhood)

[Grapejuice]

Greetings,

We will be moving to Des Moines. If anyone can answer my questions below I appreciate it.

1) Mold is a terrible problem in Ca. which unfortunately we've experienced first hand. How big of an issue is it in Iowa or DM specifically?

2) A couple of our family members don't do well in cold weather. I've been looking at Thenorthface's Triclimate jackets for them. Will those jackets be good enough?

3) We can't drink tap water in Ca. Is the tap suitable to drink in DM? I've been trying to research bottled water brands in IA. Crystal Clear and Nestle are the only brands I've found so far. Could someone list other brands of bottled water available and specifically what water Sam's Club sells (we currently drink Arrowhead water).

4) We will probably be renting. Are Clive, Urbandale and Windsor Heights nice places to live? How do they rank (best to worst) and why?

5) We only eat all natural or organic meat and chicken. Does Campbell's Nutrition sell organic or natural meat? Do any other stores?

We don't have school age children and don't need a lot of excitement or entertainment. We're just really concerned about finding a nice, quiet neighborhood, staying safe, warm and eating good food.

Thank you for your time.

[El Rhino]

Originally Posted by Grapejuice

Greetings,

We will be moving to Des Moines. If anyone can answer my questions below I appreciate it.

1) Mold is a terrible problem in Ca. which unfortunately we've experienced first hand. How big of an issue is it in Iowa or DM specifically?

2) A couple of our family members don't do well in cold weather. I've been looking at Thenorthface's Triclimate jackets for them. Will those jackets be good enough?

3) We can't drink tap water in Ca. Is the tap suitable to drink in DM? I've been trying to research bottled water brands in IA. Crystal Clear and Nestle are the only brands I've found so far. Could someone list other brands of bottled water available and specifically what water Sam's Club sells (we currently drink Arrowhead water).

4) We will probably be renting. Are Clive, Urbandale and Windsor Heights nice places to live? How do they rank (best to worst) and why?

5) We only eat all natural or organic meat and chicken. Does Campbell's Nutrition sell organic or natural meat? Do any other stores?

We don't have school age children and don't need a lot of excitement or entertainment. We're just really concerned about finding a nice, quiet neighborhood, staying safe, warm and eating good food.

Thank you for your time.

1. Man, I don't know. I assume it's slightly more of a problem because we have a bit more humidity. There's not a huge mold epidemic or anything.

2. The North Face makes some really warm stuff and would probably be among the best options. It'll take a winter or two to get used to it.

3. The tap water in Des Moines is ok. We do have some water quality issues due to farm run-off in the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers. I imagine Sam's Club will sell the same water here as they sell there. For large deliveries of water, check Culligan and I believe there's a couple others... You know,where they drop off the big five gallon jugs here and there. I guess it's fairly reasonable priced from what I understand.

4. Clive, Urbandale and Windsor Heights are all nice places. Windsor Heights is an older, small suburb with notoriously strict police officers (when the traffic sign says 25, they mean 25. Not 26). Urbandale is a little further out there, but closer to things like Saylorville Lake if you're into that. Clive is the wealthiest of the suburbs (per capita) and has pretty much all the chain retail you could ask for.

5. Campbells does carry that sort of thing, but I find them to be a little on the pricey side. They specialize more in dry goods, it seems like. I'd check out Gateway Market on the corner of Martin Luther King and Woodland Ave, just west of downtown and north of the airport. They're a "gourmet" grocery store with a butcher, bakery and a restaurant. They've got some really good sandwiches with Niman Ranch products too. Between April and October, I'd suggest doing some shopping at the Farmer's Market downtown... It's top notch and you can find locally produced and organic meat, as well as produce, Amish baked goods, flowers, food vendors and other things. I don't think the two big grocery stores (Dahl's and Hy-Vee) carry organic meat, but Dahl's MIGHT.

[WoodwardGirl]

In addition to El Rhino's suggestions about organic meat, one EASY option here in Iowa is to purchase half a cow or so directly from an organic producer. There's a Mitchellville listing on this page: http://www.agriculture.state.ia.us/list4.html (broken link)

These are the folks who sell locally http://www.wholesomeharvest.com/servlet/StoreFront and they do list all the Dahls stores in Des Moines among their customers, so maybe Dahls does.

I'm really surprised about the comment re: mold in California. Is this an issue of spores being distributed by the big winds and someone being allergic? I'm from the high desert, and we didn't have any moisture there let alone mold!

Here in Iowa, we generally have stick-built homes. They do have to be sealed and built correctly, and not submerged during floods, but, otherwise, I don't think we have much residential mold. My grandmother's house was built in 1912, sitting on a crawl-space and rather dank cellar, and I think I've torn into most every wall there at one time or another and just found plaster dust, no mold.

With your interest in organic foods and safe water, I hope you'll look into becoming involved with some of the like-minded organizations in the area. It's really easy to be very involved in the production of your food in this state. We kind of take it for granted, like presidential candidates at the lunch counter, but it is something not everyone has access to! <g>

Good luck with the move!

[Tek_Freek]

With the aversion to cold comes some special considerations. Since you're planning to rent you should specifically ask how well the unit you are renting is insulated and if it is drafty. You might look for a house that has a fireplace. Firewood is easily purchased here and a fire will take the "edge" off in the winter. Consider Cuddl Duds. http://www.cuddlduds.com/ My wife wears them. Light, but warm. For men also. You can buy them in most large department stores here. She just purchased a pair for every day of the week at 60% off at Younkers!

If you get into a place and find that leaky windows in the winter are letting in cold air you can buy inexpensive plastic sheeting that goes over windows and snugs up when you apply heat with a hair dryer. Any hardware store will carry these in fall/winter.

I don't think you'll have any problems with tap water unless someone has a reaction to added fluorine, chlorine, etc. They do a good job of processing it here. You will find that the water here tastes about like the bottled water you buy. Pretty neutral.

Mold can be a problem, but normally only in a flood zone. When water gets into the structure and it doesn't dry out mold will start. I'd say it's not that common. I've lived here a long time, in a number of different houses, and I can't recall anyone I know or knew having mold problems.

Welcome to Des Moines. Once you get here you might ask a new neighbor to take you out for some driving-on-snowy-and-icy-roads lessons.

[Luke9686]

I live in the Bay Area, and am from Des Moines. I am in Des Moines now on vacation (if you call coming to Iowa a vacation).

I echo what the other posters have said. Tap water is definately better in Iowa. It is drinkable.

No matter what kind of coat you have, your first two winters here you will be saying "damn" a lot. In January and February, when you walk outside it hits you hard. You are like "damn thats cold".

Clive and Urbandale are pretty much your typical cookie cutter suburbs.

You will find everything here that you find in California with the exception of good mexican food and Pho (I know you know what Pho is GrapeJuice).

[Pearlbob]

Just to note, Urbandale, Clive, and Windsor Heights are basically right next to one another. It's not as if you'd be driving for miles to get from one to another. No matter where you live, you wouldn't be very far from the same stores, restaurants, etc. I'd focus less on the area of town, and more on finding the best rental that you can.

I agree with the winterizing of a home...in the winter an older home or a cheap new home can be very drafty and cold. Fireplaces would help tremendously but I would never, ever recommend space heaters for obvious reasons (huge fire hazzard).

I've never thought the tap water was bad.

For winter clothes, just be sure to layer. Along with a coat, make sure to get a good hat, gloves, earmuffs, scarves, boots, whatever it takes for you to be covered. But just keep in mind...it's a short walk to the car from your house It's not like people in Iowa are outdoors working in the yard when it's -10 out

[capitalcityguy]

Ironically, I just heard on the local news tonight that Des Moines was rated 5th best in the nation for quality of drinking water. There's no need to waste money on bottled water here. Sorry I didn't catch who was doing the survey, but I would guess that if you googled it, you'd find it somewhere.

[El Rhino]

Originally Posted by capitalcityguy

Ironically, I just heard on the local news tonight that Des Moines was rated 5th best in the nation for quality of drinking water. There's no need to waste money on bottled water here. Sorry I didn't catch who was doing the survey, but I would guess that if you googled it, you'd find it somewhere.

That's kind of shocking.


Right now I'm in Duluth, MN and the tap water here is amazing!

[El Rhino]

Originally Posted by Luke9686

You will find everything here that you find in California with the exception of good mexican food and Pho (I know you know what Pho is GrapeJuice).

A Dong and Nut Pob don't have Pho? I know there's a place on 2nd Ave just north of University that has it. Actually, I'm sure there's a couple little places up that way if you're into that sort of thing. Maybe Cool Basil too (that place is so good).


Good Mexican food? Yeah, there's nothing too remarkable. Just some average places that serve average tacos, burritos and so on. White people love to go to little hole in the wall ethnic restaurants and then talk about how they know this "little authentic Mexican place". We do have a few little places that you'll probably NEVER see anyone like that as they're really, really authentic...and "authentic" doesn't always equate good or especially appetizing. No one is going to come from West Des Moines and try out their Spanish and fake chumminess (is that a word?) at one of these little dives on SE 14th (with the exception of Fiesta Cancun).

The Chinese food situation is about the same. Nothing too remarkable.

[Luke9686]

Thanks Rhino on the suggestions for some Pho. I'll check them out.