Help me choose between Johnston and Waukee

[t_mnoel]

I am not a fan of Johnston..overrated and a bit out of the way and pricey. If you must...go with West Des Moines.
I would like to throw out Windsor Heights...it's safe small community with shops, a hy-vee, walmart, retail, food, it's very close to the malls, close to DM U, dwntwn, etc.

[mrs_moby73]

Originally Posted by QueenieReighn

Mrs_Moby73, thank you so much for your post! We are now looking in the area that you picked and really liking what we see. Who knows...maybe we'll be neighbors. :-) Annalyta, I would love to hear about the elementary schools! Both of my children are preschool age. Thank you!

Feel free to send me a direct message if I can help you out in any way. I would be happy to recommend the realtor we worked with (mostly long distance). He worked very hard for us. And there are a few houses for sale down the street from us, so you never know on the neighbor thing!

[mysterypro]

I've lived in the area my whole life, so I will give you my best opinion about each area and general demeanor.

Johnston - Someone described it as "sleepy" and I think that's pretty accurate, it's a good place to live, but not great. The whole community just isn't that together, and even "Johnston days" (their yearly celebration) are pretty mild by comparison to some smaller towns. They have a really good school system, my mom has been working in them for around 5 years. Not a lot goes on in Johnston, be it crime or events. Honestly the drive to DMU from Johnston would be fairly akward, with the way the interstate loops around you'd have to drive through a lot of stoplights, and that's going to be a long commute.

Waukee - Waukee really just exploded in population, as the western growth of Des Moines has had Waukee booming in population. Waukee is probably struggling with class sizes but I don't know for sure. Waukee has a lot going for it though, the fast growth is spurring a lot of new developments/ projects etc so a lot of the city is new, however the old, "small town" parts of waukee still linger further west. The drive to DMU is probably slightly easier.

Honestly if I were in your shoes, I would check out the area around Jordan Creek. TONS of new developements, a brand new mall, and a shorter commute to DMU.

[Vidyapati]

I would definitely choose Johnston. Someone said it was a "sleepy" town... I gotta agree. They roll up the main street (Merle Hay) at 9pm. However, FUN is what you make... so we (friends/neighbors) always found places to hang out and have FUN. There was a really cool place (probably the only place open at night) that we used to hang out and listen to Tony Valdez play his guitar along with the sax player (can't remember his name). And often times we would socialize at each other's homes and have pool parties 'n BBQ. Anyway, that's my two cents.

[zz4guy]

There's a difference?? Besides the names?

[QueenieReighn]

Originally Posted by Vidyapati

I would definitely choose Johnston. Someone said it was a "sleepy" town... I gotta agree. They roll up the main street (Merle Hay) at 9pm. However, FUN is what you make... so we (friends/neighbors) always found places to hang out and have FUN. There was a really cool place (probably the only place open at night) that we used to hang out and listen to Tony Valdez play his guitar along with the sax player (can't remember his name). And often times we would socialize at each other's homes and have pool parties 'n BBQ. Anyway, that's my two cents.

That sounds nice. I don't mind a "sleepy" town. Where I grew up we had one stoplight, one gas station, and one tiny (250 sq feet) grocery store and I was quite happy there. We always just enjoyed spending time together in our own backyards doing bonfires, cookouts, games, and just sitting and talking with the neighbors while the kids ran around. I'd like to raise my kids in a place similar to that, have them go to good schools, and have it close enough so that I can get to school okay. I'm not really in that race so many people seem to be in now of trying to do 10 different things every second of my life. ;-)