Family needing information on Des Moines area (West Des Moines, Urbandale: buying a home, neighborhoods)

[mrs_moby73]

My husband is considering a job opportunity that would take us to Des Moines. I have never visited DM (or Iowa, for that matter), so I have lots of questions about the area that I hope some of you can answer.

First, a little background...We are a military family and have lived in several states -- Texas, Nevada, Tennessee, and California. I was born and raised in Oklahoma and my husband claims it as his home state as well. We have two children who are early-elementary school aged. I have found over the years that we prefer to live in a mid-sized town (30-60K population) that meets most of our needs but has a large city nearby just in case we need something more specialized. I believe the job opportunity my husband is pursuing would be located just northwest of the city of DM proper. The job would likely pay somewhere in the range of $95K.

With all that said, here are my questions:

1. What areas should we look at for buying a home? The quality of the school district in the area will play into this decision heavily. Is it possible to make a good living with the salary I described? I'm not really sure what the cost of living is out there.

2. I know DM has four very distinct seasons (so ready for that again), but I am not sure of the weather extremes that we might experience. How harsh is winter? Is a AWD vehicle a necessity? How long does winter usually last? Are there lots of t-storms in the summer? (I hope so!) Are the summers mild or hot?

3. I would identify us religiously as non-charasmatic evangelicals. We aren't necessarily "married" to any one denomination though. Are there lots of churches in the area? Any that specifically cater to families through their programs and activities?

4. We really wanted to move back to Oklahoma, but this job opportunity might be too good to pass up. One thing we love about Oklahoma is how kind and friendly most of the people are. People there still hold doors open for stangers and don't look at you oddly if you try to strike up a conversation with someone you have never met. How would you describe the folks in DM? Friendly? Guarded? Wary of newcomers?

Okay, that's about all I can force myself to torture you with at the moment. Thanks so much in advance for any information you can pass along!

[Northern Traveler]

1.) If you are going to public schools, go with the suburbs - they have the best public schools in the metro, as well as the state as a whole. Look into Johnston and Urbandale as they are the closest to where your husband will be working. Also consider Ankeny and West Des Moines!! I heavily recommend these communities.

2.) Winter here is very harsh. Extremely cold and generally very windy. AWD is preferred for many in Iowa, but you can get by in the city with a car. Winter generally lasts from late November to Early March ... this has been known to prove itself wrong, but I think if you go by average it's pretty accurate. Spring and summer do usher in quite a bit of severe weather including tornadoes - your an Okie so I'm sure you're used to that. The average *nice* summer day here consists of warm/humid weather in the upper 80's and lower 90's. It's not bad at all. Expect this from early June to late August.

3.) There are a lot of churches around here, many are non-charismatic. I won't recommend mine since it is Assembly of God. I can't really recommend one but you will have no problem finding various churches of all types. A lot are very contemporary without being charismatic, i.e. - a worship band, non-denominational, very family oriented, and youth based.

4.) People in Iowa are going to be friendly like Oklahoma - some people may seem reserved but that's just the nature of a lot of people in this state when they don't know you well. (even in DM) But there are a lot of people moving in (and out) of this area ... I haven't met anyone "wary" of newcomers. You won't have a problem. One thing you definitely notice is the northern/southern culture difference between Iowa and Oklahoma. That is the main difference. Also, people here are probably not as out-spoken religiously, however that doesn't mean they aren't religious.

GOOD LUCK, I think you'll like Iowa.

[DMRyan]

That's really a pretty good summary. I can't disagree with any of that NT.

[mrs_moby73]

Originally Posted by Northern Traveler

1.) If you are going to public schools, go with the suburbs - they have the best public schools in the metro, as well as the state as a whole. Look into Johnston and Urbandale as they are the closest to where your husband will be working. Also consider Ankeny and West Des Moines!! I heavily recommend these communities.

2.) Winter here is very harsh. Extremely cold and generally very windy. AWD is preferred for many in Iowa, but you can get by in the city with a car. Winter generally lasts from late November to Early March ... this has been known to prove itself wrong, but I think if you go by average it's pretty accurate. Spring and summer do usher in quite a bit of severe weather including tornadoes - your an Okie so I'm sure you're used to that. The average *nice* summer day here consists of warm/humid weather in the upper 80's and lower 90's. It's not bad at all. Expect this from early June to late August.

3.) There are a lot of churches around here, many are non-charismatic. I won't recommend mine since it is Assembly of God. I can't really recommend one but you will have no problem finding various churches of all types. A lot are very contemporary without being charismatic, i.e. - a worship band, non-denominational, very family oriented, and youth based.

4.) People in Iowa are going to be friendly like Oklahoma - some people may seem reserved but that's just the nature of a lot of people in this state when they don't know you well. (even in DM) But there are a lot of people moving in (and out) of this area ... I haven't met anyone "wary" of newcomers. You won't have a problem. One thing you definitely notice is the northern/southern culture difference between Iowa and Oklahoma. That is the main difference. Also, people here are probably not as out-spoken religiously, however that doesn't mean they aren't religious.

GOOD LUCK, I think you'll like Iowa.

I figure we will probably stick with public schools for the time being. It looks like the ones in the areas you suggested rank pretty well, which is wonderful!

We actually have an AWD vehicle left over from our days near the Sierra Nevada mountains. I just wasn't sure if we would need to hang on to it. Sounds like it would be prudent to do so! I am assuming Iowans are the folks who get the Land's End and LL Bean catalogues and actually order things from them to get through winter rather than just browsing through them like I do now. Yeah, thunderstorms and tornados don't bother me too much. I am just looking forward to having the possibility of a little severe weather--it's pretty boring where we are now.

Glad to hear your description of the churches in town, that sounds right up our alley! I think if my husband gets further along in the process with this opportunity, I will have to come and check the area out for myself!!

Thanks so much Northern Traveller for all the great information. I would love to hear from others as well!

[SharpHawkeye]

1. NT is right on. Although DMPS schools aren't bad per se, the suburban schools are somewhat better. I went to a DMPS elementary school, and I turned out fine, though.

Dallas Center-Grimes is a great district that oftem gets overlooked. It's a good smaller alternative to some of the much larger school districts like WDM and Ankeny. Like Urbandale and Johnston, the area is also close to Camp Dodge.

2. Winters here vary. Some years they can be very cold, with lots of snow and ice (last winter was one of the worst), some winters are cold with little snow, and some are quite mild.

For the occasional winter storm, AWD is nice but unless you live or work in a really rural area, not a necessity. I would say that most people around here do not have it, but it couldn't hurt. Careful and slow driving, however, is a necessity. Winter usually lasts from about mid November to mid March, with maybe a freak cold snap or light snow outside of that.

Storms are fun! Lots of storms over the spring and early summer, with some tornadoes. I imagine it's about like Oklahoma in that regard.

Summers, like winters, vary. They can be pretty hot and humid at times. August is particularly bad.

3. I don't know much about this topic, but there are a lot of churches in the area--and with so many young families moving into the suburbs, it shouldn't be hard to find one that caters to families.

4. NT hit the nail on the head. People are very friendly here, but it may take us a little longer to make lasting friendships however.

[mrs_moby73]

Thanks everyone for the replies so far. It seems that my husband is going to be going further in the process with this job opportunity. So any other information (good and bad) would be really appreciated.

Also, I think I was wrong about the location of the job...it looks like it will be more on the southwest side of town. Are there areas over there that we should avoid or consider?? Does anyone know anything about Norwalk or Lakewood? Those are two areas I keep seeing on the map that we might be interested in, but it's difficult to tell a lot from a Google satellite shot! Thanks so much!

[Luke9686]

The western suburbs may still be ok because of the highway that was recently built. There are many nice areas of the south side, but a few sketchy areas too. The schools aren't great either.

From what I remember, most west of Fleur Ave neighborhoods are very nice.

[DMRyan]

Norwalk is a quiet suburb of 8,000+ people. Lakewood is by and large an older (1970's/1980's) subdivision that was annexed by Norwalk. It has a nice private lake open to the public but there are nicer areas to live in Norwalk in my opinion. SW Des Moines west of Fleur is a beautiful area worth checking out as well. There is an elementary school named Jefferson Elementary serving the area that is one of the finest in the DMPS. It's a fairly upscale area that is nicely placed between downtown and western suburbs. The proxmity to the popular Gray's Lake and Water Works Park doesn't hurt either.

The SW metro is often overlooked for the more popular growth areas, but it's worth a deeper examination IMO.

[thatguy1]

Originally Posted by mrs_moby73

I figure we will probably stick with public schools for the time being. It looks like the ones in the areas you suggested rank pretty well, which is wonderful!

We actually have an AWD vehicle left over from our days near the Sierra Nevada mountains. I just wasn't sure if we would need to hang on to it. Sounds like it would be prudent to do so! I am assuming Iowans are the folks who get the Land's End and LL Bean catalogues and actually order things from them to get through winter rather than just browsing through them like I do now. Yeah, thunderstorms and tornados don't bother me too much. I am just looking forward to having the possibility of a little severe weather--it's pretty boring where we are now.

Glad to hear your description of the churches in town, that sounds right up our alley! I think if my husband gets further along in the process with this opportunity, I will have to come and check the area out for myself!!

Thanks so much Northern Traveller for all the great information. I would love to hear from others as well!

Lol, it doesn't get that cold! I usually get by with just a simple winter coat. Omaha has roughly the same weather as DSM. But Omaha is wayy nicer... jk. It's not really.

You'll get plenty of severe weather, though. Tons of fun!

[mrs_moby73]

Originally Posted by burgerflipper

Lol, it doesn't get that cold! I usually get by with just a simple winter coat. Omaha has roughly the same weather as DSM. But Omaha is wayy nicer...

You had me worried there for a minute!!