Des Moines or lexington Ky??????? (Cedar Rapids, Iowa City: housing, rent, salary)

[yaya97]

Hi ,
I have been job hunting and now since ast week I have 2 strong possibilites: One is in Des Moines and the other in the the Winchester -Lexington, Ky area.

Of coarse nothing is signed so prehaps one of the 2 or both will go soar but if they both go through........
Both companies are very comparable in terms of salary so i would really appreciate your feedback!!
I have one child and schools are very important to me.
Thank you all!!!
Richard

[keensta]

I've lived in Des Moines for over 5 years now and really enjoy it here. There is always fun stuff going on and if you are the type that likes to get involved in groups or organizations its really easy to just join in. For kids, there is the zoo, the science center, the art center, and the State Historical Society's Museum in town that offer lots of kids programs in addition to being decent museums. The schools are also good - both in the city and in the suburbs. As with any town some are better than others, so you may want to do a little research, but we have some good schools. I can't remember if you said what age your kids are, but some of the elementary schools are montesori based, some do a combo of montesori and traditional, some just straight up traditional. There aren't many private schools in Des Moines because Iowa's public school system is so strong - most kids go to public school. The national media may rate us low on standards, but the reason they do that is because we don't have state-wide standards, we do local standards currently - which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but is often misunderstood and so we can end up scoring low there.
I can't speak for Lexington, because I don't know anything about it, but if you end up in Des Moines, I think you'd be happy with the opportunities for you and your kids.

[yaya97]

I really appreciate your answer!
I am orginally from the North West(Seattle) but have been working overseas ( Europe)for a LONG time!!
I am now only afraid of the weather as it seems to be rough.
I have the impression that both Lexington and Des Loines are good places to live!
Thanks
again!!

[Tifosi24]

I can't speak to Lexington, KT, but I grew up in Des Moines as a kid, and my parents and sister still live there, and I will say that in terms of raising a family Des Moines is a great place. I would rate most of the school districts in the area as better than average. I am not sure how people in the area would rank school districts, but it is hard to lose with any of the suburban areas. My opinion on different districts is based in high school rivalries, so I might not be very partial
. The cost of living in low compared to where I currently live, Milwaukee, and commute times aren't that bad.

The weather can get extreme at times, but it really isn't that bad. If you talk to any older Iowan they will say that the winters are nowhere near as bad as they use to be. Coming from Seattle and after working in Europe, you will notice the extremes, but generally really hot, or really cold, weather doesn't last for a very long time.

[yaya97]

I really appreciate your feedback.
Des Moines looks really like a beautiful place.
Yes the weather is more.."radical" then what I have here in Europe but I am not afraid of this.
Now fingers crossed for the job!!
thanks again
Richard

[kybucks]

I've never lived in DesMoines, but did live in Cedar Rapids for 7 years. Both of my children were born there -- Iowa is a great place to raise a family. The winter weather is extreme -- so I won't move back.

I've lived in Lexington (also due to husband's job change) for 18 years. Kentucky gets a bad rap, but this city is an awesome place for families. I am also an elementary teacher and would put our school system up against any other top systems in the country.

Lexington is a university town (U of KY and Transyvannia University). It is strong in the arts. It is also ideally located (one hour south of Cincinnati and one hour east of Louisivlle). It has a minor league baseball team, but obviously basketball rules. Lexington is surrounded by beautiful horse farms and claims fame to the horse capital of the world. Keeneland race track is located here (the Kentucky Derby is in Louisville). Lake Cumberland is in the southern part of the state.

The weather is mild. We usually get at least one snowfall per winter (enough for the kids to go sledding) but it usually melts within a day. Good luck on your choice.

[gr8tobemom]

Hi,

I live in Lexington, Ky. We've been here for 2 years. My husband grew up here. It's a nice place to live. People are really friendly. I'm amazed by how many people stay here all their lives. They love it and don't want to leave.

The countryside is beautiful with all the horse farms. I love driving around and looking at them. It's the Horse Capital of the World. We are hosting the Equestrian Games in 2010. First time they have ever been held in the states. There is the Horse Park that is fun to visit, Keeneland Races and the Red Mile Harness Races. The downtown is nice and clean. There is a kid's museum called Explorium down there along with a children's theater.

During the summer we buy a pass to the local pools. You have several to pick from all over the city. They have waterslides and one has a pirate ship in the middle. The parks are great and have lots of activities throughout the year. Next week is kite flying. During June they have free movies on a big screen. There's food and a petting zoo. There are dog parks too in a few of the parks. From Lexington you are about an hour from both Louisville and Cincinnati. Both of those cities have zoos and amusement parks.

Housing is very affordable. Schools are good. We've had several new ones built recently and 4 new ones are to be built. I work in a school and have 3 children also in school. Teachers in KY have to have a master's degree. Not all states have that. My kids love it.

Hope this helps you!

Pam

[ic-epi]

I don't know if it will help her, but it definitely helps me!

I am living in Iowa City (for the past 25 years) and was born and raised in Iowa. My husband has a job opportunity in Lexington, KY so we are trying to decide whether to take it or not. The school issue is very important to me as part of that decision. Thanks for your post (and the one before it)!

[J-Daddy]

I found this post cause I'm looking for some info on Lake City, Iowa....But, being born and raised in KY I will say that Lexington, KY is a great town...As far as major cities go in KY, you really have 2, Lexington & Louisville....both are nice but honestly Lexington is the better of the two...Bit more $$$$$$ floating around the Lexington area, Louisville has it's fair share of ghetto.
All the shopping and food you could ever want is to be found in Lexington and god knows you gotta LOVE some UK Basketball "yeah us KY folk are b-ball crazy". I've lived in KY,OH & FL and the housing prices are alot better in KY though Lexington tends to me a bit more expensive than most places in the state. It's a cool town with tons of things to do, I dont think you can go wrong with a move to Lexington. Weather aint bad either, winter gets a little chilly but we dont have much snow anymore, summer time is humid like all the south east but it's not as bad as south west FL where I lived for a couple of years. If you move to KY just remember to get plenty of UK Wildcats swag and you'll be good to go.

[SharpHawkeye]

I've never been to Lexington, but sounds like you've got a hard choice ahead of you. For two cities to choose from, I don't think you could do much better!

What can I say about Des Moines that hasn't already been said?

It seems to me that the housing crunch hasn't hit Des Moines (midwest in general) as bad as some places in the south; of course that has its pros and cons.

Des Moines definitly doesn't have the "university town" atmosphere that UK no doubt brings to Lexington. That's not to say the city doesn't go crazy over state college sports, though.

Schools in Des Moines are generally good, as others have noted. The suburban schools tend to be a little better than the DMPS on average, though; but as a family man, I imagine you are looking toward the suburbs anyway.

Traffic in Des Moines is not bad at all compared to larger cities. It is, however, probably worse than Lexington. It seems all the traffic in Des Moines moves in one direction...east-west; where Lexington looks like somekind of spiderweb or something on Google Maps.
(Lexington people, what's up with that?)