Des Moines suburbs (Waterloo, West Des Moines, Indianola: house, neighborhood, school)

[transplant101]

My husband and I will possibly be moving to the Des Moines area late this year. We love our current town (Northfield, MN) and would like to find a place with a similar vibe near Des Moines. We're interested in a suburb/close small town with lots of character and a lively and beautiful "Main Street" area. We are both originally from Waterloo so we're happy to be moving back to Iowa, just sad we'll leave a town we've grown to love. Northfield has two private colleges, 17,000 residents, a historic and thriving downtown, and lots of good restaurants and shops. It's very "Stars Hollow" if you're familiar with Gilmore Girls. We wouldn't mind a bit of a commute to Des Moines (we currently drive about 40 min. each way). We love fishing so if there's a good lake nearby that would be even better. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

[El Rhino]

I think Indianola fits this description pretty well. It's about a 10-15 minute drive south of Des Moines and prides itself on technically not being a suburb. There's a small private college there, about the same population and a pretty decent downtown with actual locally owned businesses and restaurants. Lake Aquahabi (sp?) is nearby for fishing and all. Parts of it look like cookie-cutter suburbs, parts of it look like an older neighborhood in Des Moines. Really it's kind of a cool place and worth considering.

There's also Pella, which is somehow technically included in the Des Moines metro area somehow. It's probably a 30-45 minute drive to downtown Des Moines on I-80 or 141 (I think?) but it fits your description very well. Actually, that's probably the only place in the US where Wal-Mart failed due to local competition. The town's heritage is Dutch, so a lot of the architecture and businessness reflect this. There's Lake Red Rock nearby, which is a pretty good sized and popular lake. There's a strong local economy there, so it's not really a suburb but a small town in it's own world somewhat close to Des Moines. Again, a very nice place and maybe worth checking into.

[iaborn42]

I was also going to suggest Indianola and Pella is also a good choice. Pirvate colleges in both town. Lake Red Rock is at Pella. Both are good choices.

[SharpHawkeye]

I don't know. I'm really not a huge fan of Indianola. It's OK, but personally, I think it's a little low-rent. There's really nice parts, sure, but the main drag is full of fly-by-night body shops, shady car dealers, shack restaurants and the like. At least that's the way it was as late as last year when I was there.

Pella's a great choice, but a little bit of a commute--about an hour. Central is a great school--at least the equal of Simpson in Indianola. The downtown is like a theme park almost, with the canal and the windmill. Plus, Lake Red Rock (the most underrated lake in the state) is right there. The only difference between Pella and Stars Hollow is that Pella's pretty straight-laced--not too many funky shops and the town closes up tighter than a clam on Sunday morning.

I also think Adel might be a good place for you. It's much smaller than you're used to, with no college, but the downtown town square area is arguably the most beautiful in the state. Plus, the town's right on the Raccoon River, and you could always take a trip up to Saylorville Lake. Plus, Adel's becoming a really unique mix of suburb and historic/traditional Iowa small-town.

Lastly, you might want to think about the Valley Junction area of West Des Moines. It's the historical area around the original railroad junction that first made up West Des Moines. It's not really a small town, as it's part of West Des Moines, but it's funky and eclectic--while still away from downtown. Lots of restaurants, shops, bars and art galleries. Plus, you're 15 minutes out from downtown and close to Raccoon River and Walnut Woods Park for fishing.

[El Rhino]

Originally Posted by SharpHawkeye

I don't know. I'm really not a huge fan of Indianola. It's OK, but personally, I think it's a little low-rent. There's really nice parts, sure, but the main drag is full of fly-by-night body shops, shady car dealers, shack restaurants and the like. At least that's the way it was as late as last year when I was there.

.

The main drag (hwy 69) is like that, but a few blocks to the West is the "town square" with the county courthouse and businesses, that's what I was talking about, not a strip mall with the KFC buffet and auto parts store.

[SharpHawkeye]

That's what I meant by "nice parts". I should have been more specific.

[capitalcityguy]

Having been to Northfield a few times in my life, I'd say Pella is your closest bet.

[El Rhino]

One thing about Indianola, if you want you can spend the evening by going to dinner at one of Indianola's handful of fine restaurants, off to the Des Moines Metro Opera house and then possibly hit up Uncommon Grounds afterwards... Or you can head down to the county fairgrounds and watch Figure-8 racing and stop by Bonanza on your way home. Good times.