DSM Neighborhoods (Des Moines, Victor, Ryan: apartments, high crime, buying a home)

[Asully777]

My wife and I moving to Des Moines and we are looking at three neighborhoods: (1) Sherman Hill, (2) Drake/Kingman/Cottage Grove area, and (3) Beaverdale. We're in our early 30s and don't have children yet. We like to run, road and mountain bike, walk to coffee shops and restaurants, work outside on our lawn/house, etc. We're pretty liberal but we like friendly people of all types. Any suggestions? Everyone has been pushing Beaverdale pretty hard, but we weren't sure if that was the right neighborhood for us. We're new to Iowa and Des Moines; any help would be greatly appreciated it.

[pepe1]

All three are older, established, urban neighborhoods.

Beaverdale is the priciest. And probably the least diverse from a racial and income perspective. It's been a popular area for a number of years now, and has some great commercial nodes in the neighborhood. Great housing stock in this neighborhood.

I'm not intimately familiar with the Drake area. You hear many people talking about it being a neighborhood in transition (for the better). But, you will also hear many people bring up the fact that the neighborhood has been plagued by crime in years past. Me personally - wouldn't live in this neighborhood because of the crime issue. I'm sure someone else will have a different opinion of this neighborhood.

Sherman Hill is a real up and coming neighborhood. A few years ago, this was becoming a run down, dilapitated area. The city inacted some urban renewal programs a few years ago and WOW. It is quickly becoming a fantastic area. This neighborhood has easy access to Ingersoll Ave. which boasts Des Moines most ecletic mix of retail and restaurants. Very diverse neighborhood and close to Downtown and fantastic parks/trails. I personally would choose this neighborhood out of the three.

[ruralboy]

Originally Posted by Asully777

My wife and I moving to Des Moines and we are looking at three neighborhoods: (1) Sherman Hill, (2) Drake/Kingman/Cottage Grove area, and (3) Beaverdale. We're in our early 30s and don't have children yet. We like to run, road and mountain bike, walk to coffee shops and restaurants, work outside on our lawn/house, etc. We're pretty liberal but we like friendly people of all types. Any suggestions? Everyone has been pushing Beaverdale pretty hard, but we weren't sure if that was the right neighborhood for us. We're new to Iowa and Des Moines; any help would be greatly appreciated it.

you might want to stay away from des moines

[capitalcityguy]

3 great neighborhoods and I'd add one more to consider- Ingersoll Neighborhood.

My personal first choice would be Sherman Hill. It is the closest to downtown so you could walk to events/entertaiment that occurs downtown. I know several individuals and families that live there and they just love it. Great diversity in homes, apartments, and now even townhomes. Diversity in people. An upscale grocery store/market, a couple places to eat, neighborhood bar, a live performance venue, etc...SH offers a lot for those that appreciate a more urban lifestyle. Here's a great fixer uppers that is listed on craigslist: Victorian in Sherman Hill (broken link)

Don't let the talk of crime in the Drake area scare you away from considering this area. The neighborhoods southwest of Drake are not high crime areas (as opposed to areas further east of campus) and there are several homes that are in various stages of being rehabilitated. Drive down Cottage Grove Ave and you'll find a half dozen or so homes that have been recently restored..

[El Rhino]

Originally Posted by capitalcityguy

3 great neighborhoods and I'd add one more to consider- Ingersoll Neighborhood.
..

Agreed. That sounds up your alley and the area has become a little more "vibrant" in the past few years.

[SharpHawkeye]

I'll second everything everyone has said so far. I think Sherman Hill would be your best bet. It's a very liberal, young, energetic neighborhood with a lot of remodeling and restoration going on. And if that craigslist post capitalcityguy posted is correct (and I have little reason do doubt it) home prices there have gone up more than 70% since 2003!

But if Sherman Hill is a little pricey for you, or if you're not really up for a remodeling project...Ingersoll/Grand would be a good neighborhood. It's only a few blocks further from downtown, and likely cheaper. You should see a good increase in your house value, even if there's a downturn, and you'd be getting in close to the ground floor. I fully expect that once Sherman Hill is played out, the new hot neighborhood will be Ingersoll.

[Luke9686]

I agree with the above. Beaverdale is nice, but is more of an older/retired neighborhood. At least that is the vibe I get.

I like the Ingersol Area. I'm not that impressed with Sherman Hill. Lots of people rave about it, but to me its nothing special.

You will here lots of people bash the Drake area, but there are pockets that are nice. South of University and west of about 25th are good.

Dont pay attention to the person that said to stay away from Des Moines. They obviously never lived there.

[DMRyan]

I live on the west end of the Drake Neighborhood, south of University Avenue so I'm biased.

Drake is the next Sherman Hill in terms of the rehab activity going on and the increasing property values. On my street alone, there are at least 3-4 nicely redone historic homes selling for $370,000+. Quite a turnaround from the days when you couldn't sell something in this neighborhood for over $200,000.

I would defintely recommend this neighborhood west of 31st Street. It's the epitome of a walkable neighborhood, the historic character is almost entirely intact (if you like that sort of thing) and you're within walking or biking distance to some neat little urban retail pockets like Uptown Plaza Shopping Center (complete with a little grocery store and all the neighborhood amenities) and the Roosevelt Shopping Center, which has some nice niche businesses like an Gelato shop and gourmet bakery.

I love telling people I live in the Drake Neighborhood just to see their initial reaction. The people I show my neighborhood to are usually surprised to see how beautiful it is and how it does not meet the traditional 'hood' stereotype. The Drake Neighborhood is Des Moines' largest, so it's diverse. Admittingly, my experiences from my corner of the neighborhood do not resemble all parts of this very large area. There are more dangerous and rundown parts north of University Avenue that I wouldn't recommend buying a home in this area. This area is defintely worth checking out, especially before home prices continue to get more and more pricey.

[El Rhino]

Good post about the Drake neighborhood, Ryan. There are some nice areas and good things about that area and yes, it has changed drastically over the past few years. I think it hurts my neighborhood (South Side) when the poor folks who lived in the Drake neighborhood get pushed out into other parts of the city, but it's good to see a turnaround somewhere.

I used to go to Hairy Mary's on University a lot when it was open, so I'm kind of familiar with the neighborhood. It's nice to see speciality retail/restaurants and normal people walking around instead of worrying about getting jumped at Kum & Go. I'm not so familiar with the west end of the Drake neighborhood, but I figure that wouldn't be too bad of a place to live and your description sounds pretty accurate of that area.

I don't get up that way often anymore because Hairy Mary's is closed and I'll be damned if I ever set foot in the "Dublin Pub" unless it's specifically to cause trouble. Losing a nationally renowned underground music club for another generic Irish-themed bar catered towards frat boys, now that's progress!

[Pearlbob]

Just curious: what are the boundaries of Sherman Hill? I grew up near Roosevelt High (long time ago) but I never knew what areas were called what back then.