I actually have something nice to say about Des Moines! (Coralville: crime rate, house)

[metro223]

(Ronnie?) Jonez - I believe, or something along those lines. If I remember I used to see a lot of posts where he would bash Des Moines - but he was bad about it. Not sure if you are to that extent though ...

[Deselminator]

Well again I wouldn't exactly call what I've been saying "Des Moines bashing." I never said anything all that negative about it. All I've honestly done is said that I personally don't like it, that I would never live there myself, as well as give reasons why I don't feel it's that great of a city. I get the impression that many people on here seem to think that there's something wrong with that. I disagree, in fact, I think that the differences in opinions expressed on here is a good thing. In any case, again I started this thread to see if I could find out from people why they feel that Des Moines is so great. I've seen a few posts which address that, but the rest has been horribly off-topic. Would anyone else care to enlighten me as to why Des Moines is supposed to be a great city? I'd love to actually read some more of those posts.

[SixFive175]

I've lived in Des Moines the better part of 50 years or more. I was only away from DM in my teens and 20s. I now live in East Peoria, IL.

Why did I move away? Simple: I got a better house deal, one with a view of the Illinois River and Peoria skyline. I also have friends here.

I won't bore you either with defending or dissing Des Moines. I'll present both arguments in a sort of tabular form.

PRO DES MOINES:

1. It has amenities (lots & lots of cool restaurants, shops, etc.), or at least much more than what Peoria has. These amenities are fairly new, meaning that in the 1980s and earlier most of those things didn't exist in DM to the degree it does now.

2. It is growing, especially in the western suburbs and in Ankeny. It is the 2nd fastest growing metro in the Midwest (after Madison, WI).

3. Downtown Des Moines almost rocks. It has skywalks. The only drawback is that there isn't much of a nightlife there, the Court Ave. District notwithstanding.

4. You can get anywhere you want to go in about 20 minutes or less. It's "rush minute" is brief, but if you're caught in that traffic double the times. Still, not bad for a city!

5. The cost of living is low.

6. Housing prices are quite cheap (not as cheap as Peoria), but nationally speaking, in the bottom 15%. $250K buys you a lot of house.

7. Easy interstate access (I-35, I-80) means continued high growth for the area.

8. There is actually a fair amount of interesting diversity in DM: lots of Vietnamese, Bosnians, Mexicans, and so forth. Restaurants from all 3 groups are well represented in all parts of town.

ANTI-DES MOINES:

1. DM definitely has a harsh climate. Its winters are cold, windy, harsh, and never-ending. Its summers are hot, very humid, and wet (or can be). Thunderstorms can be severe, and you're also in the Tornado Belt. Winter blizzards can be of epic proportions.

2. It has a comparatively high crime rate for a city its size. Just stay out of the bad areas, though, and you're okay.

3. You're a good 200 miles from any decent sized city (Omaha doesn't count; it's basically just a slightly larger version of Des Moines). Road mileages: Chicago 340; Minneapolis 250; Denver 680; Kansas City 195; St. Louis 380.

4. You run into a lot of people who have always lived in DM, which shows a certain amount of stagnation. However, the western suburbs and Ankeny are full of transplants.

5. If you're into night life and that sort of thing, look elsewhere. DM doesn't have much. Almost all of those downtown restaurants close about 2 or 3 pm: they cater to the downtown workers.

6. It's a town for marrieds and families. If you're single and/or gay, look elsewhere.

7. It suffers from bad PR. Tell someone on the coasts you live in Des Moines, and you either get a laugh or a sincere query: "Why on earth.....?"

8. The only really scenic area of Iowa is in the NE corner, and a narrow north-south corridor near the western border (Loess Hills). The rest of the state is, shall we say, boring to drive through: and Des Moines is in the center of it. "It is the scenery of agribusiness".

It's really unfair to compare Des Moines to cities like Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver, etc. A better comparison is to compare it to other cities its size: Madison, WI; Omaha, NE; Shreveport, LA; Spokane, WA; etc.

I hope that helps.

[Stevie]

Originally Posted by SixFive175

3. You're a good 200 miles from any decent sized city (Omaha doesn't count; it's basically just a slightly larger version of Des Moines). Road mileages: Chicago 340; Minneapolis 250; Denver 680; Kansas City 195; St. Louis 380.

Well I tend to think that Des Moines' proximity to those cities is more of a pro than a con, because it is actually viewed by many people as not too far away. Those are good cities to take a day trip to (excluding Denver of course). But I guess if someone is from a more dense part of the country (the east coast for example) than I can see why they might see it as a con.

[Chicago60614]

Kinda surprised to see this thread actually.....??

Des Moines is one of the only cities that I have heard universally good things about, both from Iowans and from people elsewhere in the country (mostly Chicago, where I live).

It's growing nicely, is quite safe, has a very good economy, is clean, is "up and coming".

I didn't know that many people had bad things to say about this town, I certainly haven't talked to them. During the caucuses I kept hearing over and over again how Des Moines was much nicer than people from the coasts were expecting. The Chicago Tribune actually had a nice feature article on the city in their travel section this week....

[Deselminator]

Originally Posted by Chicago60614

Kinda surprised to see this thread actually.....??

Des Moines is one of the only cities that I have heard universally good things about, both from Iowans and from people elsewhere in the country (mostly Chicago, where I live).

It's growing nicely, is quite safe, has a very good economy, is clean, is "up and coming".

I didn't know that many people had bad things to say about this town, I certainly haven't talked to them. During the caucuses I kept hearing over and over again how Des Moines was much nicer than people from the coasts were expecting. The Chicago Tribune actually had a nice feature article on the city in their travel section this week....

Well from what I've been hearing, it has definitely came a long way in recent years. I haven't been to downtown Des Moines in quite a few years, so I couldn't say for sure, but I do keep hearing good things about it. Again it's not a city in which I would personally ever choose to live, but I was curious to hear more about why others seem to like it so much. As far as the crime goes, however, I respectfully disagree that it is a safe city. I have shown in a different thread that it's crime rate is nearly double the national average, as well as being significantly higher than a few other cities of similar size that it was compared to. In any case, I guess it has come a long way from what I've been hearing, so that is definitely a good sign for Des Moines.

[Luke9686]

That's because Des Moines IS nicer than most expect, especially people coming from the coasts.

For someone who has lived in Iowa all their lives, then Des Moines probably isn't great. You've been there, have nothing to compare to, and don't see both sides of the coin. This is probably the back ground of the OP. No offense them. Des Moines just isn't for some people.

SixFive gave a good view of Des Moines. The downtown is getting better. The Ingersoll area is getting better. As is the Drake area. Nightlife is not great, but certainly better than most cities it's size (outside of IC).

Ok, so take all the things you don't like about Des Moines. Sprawl, nightlife, outdoor rec (which we have some, not as good as others), diversity (we have some), jobs, whatever it may be... I offer these comparisons to cities I have lived.

1. Duluth, MN
Weather is even worse than Des Moines. It's a pretty place, with lots of outdoors oppurtunity. You only have 3 months to do the outdoors stuff though. No diversity, no jobs, no nightlife. Kind of a dying city.

2. Boston, MA
Great place. I loved it there. Weather is similar to Des Moines. Plenty of outdoors stuff. New Hampshire and Vermont are short drives away. As is Maine. Plenty of Diversity. The brightest in the world are there.

That being said... Bostonians are cold and rude. Friendly chit chat is unheard of. Traffic is horrendous. The worse I have ever encountered. Roads make no sense. The layout of the city is from the 1700's, so it makes no sense. Housing is rediculous. A fixer in the burbs will be in the low 300's. They are right on top of each other. If you want a place in the city, expect to pay at least 450,000 for a decent 2 bed CONDO. Did I mention people are rude, housing is crazy and traffic sucks??

3. Topeka, KS
Self explanatory

4. San Jose, CA
It was fun, for the two years I was there. Weather is very nice. Close to everything outdoors. Santa Cruz, S.F., Yosemite, Tahoe, Napa wine country. Restaurants are o.k. People are ok. They aren't rude, but they really aren't that nice either. There is no real sense of community. Traffic is insane. Housing even worse than Boston. If you want a 3 bedroom fixer in a decent area, expect to pay $600K. A nice house in a nice area at LEAST $750,000 (no exageration, check mlslistings.com for proof). Believe it or not, not having 4 seasons kind of sucks. In San Jose, it was either sunny and 84, or sunny and 60, with very little rain thrown in.

5. Tacoma, WA
I have only been here for 2 months. The city of Tacoma is Ghetto, except the north end. Watch cops, and Tacoma is usually on there. People are ok. Not much diversity, and restaurants aren't great. Housing is more than it should be. In my area a house costs about $300,000, and it's nothing great. Traffic sucks, and is getting worse due to Seattleites moving to the cheaper housing.


So when you compare with everywhere "cool", Des Moines isn't that bad. The money you save on housing, groceries, gas and everything else, you can take plenty of trips to lots of places. After all, when in the Bay area most people only go to the beach or mountains a couple times a year. And $4.00 for a 12 pack of eggs kind of gets on your nerves.

[Deselminator]

Originally Posted by Luke9686

3. Topeka, KS
Self explanatory

That's good stuff, I love it! I'm still cracking up even as I'm writing this reply!

[Luke9686]

Yeah I was there for a year and a half. Dude that place sucks... It's rated as one of the worst crime cities with a population under 200,000.

There was this night club there called the Electric Cowboy. It was a mix between rednecks with cowboy hats (sorry if I offend someone) and gangbangers.

[Deselminator]

Yeah and I'm sure those 2 groups of people got along really well too.