Neighborhoods in Des Moines? (Iowa City, Urbandale: insurance, homes, safe neighborhood)

[cornfed]

Hello there:

My husband and I are looking at moving to Des Moines. I am originally from a small town outside Iowa City and am not overly familiar with the Des Moines area. Right now we live in Portland, OR but are so far away from family that it gets harder and harder so we are hoping to move closer.

Can someone tell me about any neighborhoods in the Des Moines area that have some older homes but also young families? We really like the Beaverdale area but are not sure if there are many young families. I also have some friends who sent their kids to the Downtown School and they absolutely loved it. Does anyone know about the school?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

thanks much.

[El Rhino]

What do you mean by older homes? Do you mean old like Victorian or do you mean old like not new and more affordable, like a home built in the 70's/80's?

[Pearlbob]

I'm sure of the name of the area, but the area around Grand Ave/Roosevelt High/Polk Blvd has very old homes. Not sure there are young families, but I knew a ton of kids in the area when I was growing up (yeeeeeears ago)

[El Rhino]

Originally Posted by Pearlbob

I'm sure of the name of the area, but the area around Grand Ave/Roosevelt High/Polk Blvd has very old homes. Not sure there are young families, but I knew a ton of kids in the area when I was growing up (yeeeeeears ago)

I don't know, I would bet that neighborhood has a very high average age. Lots of old Jewish people and everyone else seems to be at least middle aged, but then again I never lived in that area.

[Pearlbob]

Maybe the young parents who lived there when I was a kid are now grandparents Regardless, it's still a very nice, safe neighborhood. Big yards, I would imagine still has good schools, and pretty central to the city.

Originally Posted by El Rhino

I don't know, I would bet that neighborhood has a very high average age. Lots of old Jewish people and everyone else seems to be at least middle aged, but then again I never lived in that area.

[stuckduck]

Originally Posted by cornfed

Hello there:

My husband and I are looking at moving to Des Moines. I am originally from a small town outside Iowa City and am not overly familiar with the Des Moines area. Right now we live in Portland, OR but are so far away from family that it gets harder and harder so we are hoping to move closer.

Can someone tell me about any neighborhoods in the Des Moines area that have some older homes but also young families? We really like the Beaverdale area but are not sure if there are many young families. I also have some friends who sent their kids to the Downtown School and they absolutely loved it. Does anyone know about the school?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

thanks much.

Hey there Cornfed,

I have to ask (but you don't have to answer :-) if you are associated with Nationwide Insurance? I ask because we got told last week that they are closing the Portland office. I have the option to relocate to either Des Moines or Columbus. I think my personality would be better suited to Des Moines. Consequently I am looking at moving to Des Moines as well. I was wondering about neighborhoods in Des Moines as well.

Anyway, I saw you are currently in Portland, Or like me and wondered :-)

TTFN,

StuckDuck (But I guess I'm not stuck anymore eh?)

[cornfed]

thanks to everyone for your replies....I actually drove around the Grand Ave area this past summer while visiting family and loved the homes...but wasn't sure if there were young families. My brother lives in Urbandale and there are a lot of young families but I wondered if there were any neighborhoods in the city that had a high concentration of young kids. Our son is very social and we hang with our neighbor friends here a LOT. thanks again for all the posts.


Hi there (not so) Stuck Duck.

I am not a part of Nationwide but just looking to move closer to family. I really love Iowa..I have heard good things about Ohio and Columbus...but of course I would be partial to Iowa. Good luck with your decision. Will you be able to visit either place before you have to decide?

It will be hard to leave Portland but I think you can honestly be happy anywhere. there are always good people to meet and fun things to see wherever you live.

Again....good luck to you.

[stuckduck]

Cornfed,

I agree that you can be happy where ever you are. It depends on what you choose to focus on :-) I have been to Columbus but not Iowa but Columbus seems more to have more of a fast-paced feel to it. The folks who work with me in Des Moines seem to be more laid back which suits my personality better. It funny because my youngest said he would have chosen Columbus. Something for everyone I guess :-)

This move will push us to empty-nesthood as my last child living at home decided not to go with us. It will be a big change as I've always lived on the west coast. But I'm ready to go with an open mind....and catch fireflies!

StuckDuck

[El Rhino]

Originally Posted by Pearlbob

Maybe the young parents who lived there when I was a kid are now grandparents Regardless, it's still a very nice, safe neighborhood. Big yards, I would imagine still has good schools, and pretty central to the city.

Yeah, that neighborhood is really nice. Even if there aren't many kids on the block, it's safe enough (barring traffic on Grand Ave) to let them roam a little bit. It's also very close to Greenwood Park and the Art Center, which would be a great place for a kid to hang out... Except for when they hit the teenage years. I don't know what happens there these days, but when I was a teenager, all of the Roosevelt stoner/hippies would hang out back there. They didn't cause any problems besides smoking dope, selling dope and playing frisbee. It used to be a great place to go and buy cheap cigarettes. A few people who hung out down there had jobs at gas stations and would steal lots of cigarettes. At one point you could a carton of smokes and a can of Mt. Dew (?) for $10.

There seems to be a lot of people from Des Moines who end up in Portland and vise-versa (although more leave here for Portland). My girlfriend lived there for a couple of years and really liked it.