E Village, Court Ave, or W Gateway?

[RonnieJonez]

Originally Posted by iMissIA

Thanks for the great advice! I definitely like the East Village, but from my couple of visits there it was hard to tell if it has much going on yet. (Also, in NYC one of my favorite neighborhoods is the *original* East Village--I can't decide if that is a good thing or not!)

I agree that 4th street is great, too... is the nighttime racket really that bad? Maybe if your condo faces away from the main street?

Has anyone heard anything (besides what the realtors publish) about the 4th Street Condos, Whiteline Lofts or E5W? I know the last is not finished yet but is supposed to be by spring.

lol at "besides what the realtors publish". they'll probably tell you the real East Village is in DSM.

4th St really isn't too loud, now Court Ave, totally different story. It turns into a free UFC fight circuit every weekend. One thing no one is telling you, there are a good amount of vagrant/transient types walking around downtown at night as well. Some of the posters here might brag about it and probably just say it adds to the "urbanity" of downtown. Be prepared to encounter some strange people, even coming from Brooklyn.

[Luke9686]

Originally Posted by RonnieJonez

lol at "besides what the realtors publish". they'll probably tell you the real East Village is in DSM.

4th St really isn't too loud, now Court Ave, totally different story. It turns into a free UFC fight circuit every weekend. One thing no one is telling you, there are a good amount of vagrant/transient types walking around downtown at night as well. Some of the posters here might brag about it and probably just say it adds to the "urbanity" of downtown. Be prepared to encounter some strange people, even coming from Brooklyn.

There may be a few vagrants in Des Moines, but it is NOTHING compared to other cities I've lived in/been to.

[DMRyan]

Originally Posted by RonnieJonez

lol at "besides what the realtors publish". they'll probably tell you the real East Village is in DSM.

4th St really isn't too loud, now Court Ave, totally different story. It turns into a free UFC fight circuit every weekend. One thing no one is telling you, there are a good amount of vagrant/transient types walking around downtown at night as well. Some of the posters here might brag about it and probably just say it adds to the "urbanity" of downtown. Be prepared to encounter some strange people, even coming from Brooklyn.

Yes, I forgot to mention that you should expect a few homeless guys aroundasking for change. I know that's a big change from Brooklyn, NY and all...

Jeez Ronnie, you used to have some intelligent quips back in the day. You're slipping anymore with that last comment about vagrants and I thought you were a big city Chicago/Miami guy. I see you ended up speculating once again about what people will say before it's even thought or said.

[mofford]

I think the chud count is pretty low downtown these days, but you still see a man hole cover pop up now and then after dark. It's way too noisy downtown for me, but it would probably seem pretty quiet for someone from Brooklyn. Did they ever get the train noise problem solved for those residents close to Court Ave and Principal Park ? They had compaints from residents about trains blowing the horn for the street crossings at night. Some residents on Court have also tried to get the bars and clubs to lower the volume of the music at night. Don't know if they had any luck with that, it's a party zone so I guess you have to expect noise if you move there. I can't even stand it when neighbors put their dogs out to bark at night, so living downtown would get my undies all bunched up.

[MastermindDSM]

the noise concern for the bars was because bars would pump music outside, i believe that is no longer done, or at least not near as loud as it once was.

[DMRyan]

Originally Posted by mofford

I think the chud count is pretty low downtown these days, but you still see a man hole cover pop up now and then after dark. It's way too noisy downtown for me, but it would probably seem pretty quiet for someone from Brooklyn. Did they ever get the train noise problem solved for those residents close to Court Ave and Principal Park ? They had compaints from residents about trains blowing the horn for the street crossings at night. Some residents on Court have also tried to get the bars and clubs to lower the volume of the music at night. Don't know if they had any luck with that, it's a party zone so I guess you have to expect noise if you move there. I can't even stand it when neighbors put their dogs out to bark at night, so living downtown would get my undies all bunched up.

The train horn noise is still around downtown, but a new noise ordinance has been passed that limits the sound level of places with outdoor music being pumped in. Of course, some might brag that the train noise adds to the urbanity of downtown...

[mofford]

Every time I ride my bicycle to downtown and pass by Principal Park, I cross the railroad tracks and take a sorrowful look at the first building of lofts, the ones right alongside the tracks. Then a scene from the movie "The Blues Brothers" comes to mind, the one where they are looking out the window of Elwood's "appartment" as the trains go by.

Jake to Elwwood....."How often do those trains go by".......Elwood replies, "So often you won't even notice"

Then as I ride a few more blocks and cross the river over to the police station, the Peter Gunn theme music slowly releases it's grip on my head.

[RonnieJonez]

Originally Posted by DMRyan

Yes, I forgot to mention that you should expect a few homeless guys aroundasking for change. I know that's a big change from Brooklyn, NY and all...

Jeez Ronnie, you used to have some intelligent quips back in the day. You're slipping anymore with that last comment about vagrants and I thought you were a big city Chicago/Miami guy. I see you ended up speculating once again about what people will say before it's even thought or said.

I don't even mean it in that context so much. I've been to almost every city in the country, and the oddballs in DSM definitely set the bar when it comes to strange.

And you know there are people downtown who will get mad if you goto the suburbs for shopping, or basically anything. That is not speculation.

[iMissIA]

That's good to know about the trains. Thanks for all the great tidbits! I'm looking forward to moving back home to Des Moines after almost a decade. Let me know if you think of anything else I should know.