I lived in Des Moines in 2000 through 2002 and left due to a job change, but overall we really enjoyed our experience there. In general, it does an impression of a much larger city than it really is, with all of the restaurants and the skyline downtown. Crime is pretty moderate, compared to cities with similar populations and overall we had a good experience.
WHAT WE LIKED:
>Court Avenue district. This was an area that was really trying hard to be vibrant at the time. (I cannot attest to it now) They had several nice restaurants and clubs, as well as Saturday night concerts on the block. Most restaurants had outdoor dining areas as well during the warmer months. Restaurant choices in general were a big plus for my wife and I. You had many typical chain restaurants, but also plenty of local favorites.
>Attractive downtown overall. Some of the area was under renovation, but overall the combination of modern buildings with some attractive plazas and modern artwork indicated "ON THE RISE," rather than "DECLINING and old."
>People. In my experience, it was fairly easy to make friends and most strangers were polite and friendly as well. We are not "club-hopper" types, but we did enjoy going out on the weekends. Most people seemed to be having fun and often we would enjoy meeting new people who became friends over time.
>Moderate cost of living. East side of DM metro area is older, but there are still nice neighborhoods in there. West side of metro is more high end and modern, but very nice apartments and houses. West side had it's own burgeoning nightlife and coffee house/restaurant area. A few nice little pockets in Mt. Pleasant and southern part of DM too for general living. At the time, a decent 2 bedroom apartment ran an average of $200-$300 less than in Ft Myers, Fl, for instance and was probably in a much safer neighborhood.
>Skywalk system downtown. Climate controlled so you didn't spend as much time sweating or freezing when going from building to building. Easy access to parking ramps too. They were patrolled and had security cams so we never felt unsafe.
>Sporting events. Farm teams for Baseball, plus hockey, basketball and other events. Nice stadium near downtown too.
>Overall safer feeling than many cities we've been in of this size. This is NOT to say it is COMPLETELY devoid of crime, but in OUR experiences, there was not nearly as much as other places we've been familiar with.
WHAT WE DID NOT LIKE:
>COLD WINDY WINTERS and HOT SUMMERS. Plus it always seemed like there
were tornadoes or nasty thunderstorms. Weather seemed to change VERY abruptly. Much of the really nasty stuff would be at odd times, like 5AM or before NOON too.
>Although the Racoon and Des Moines rivers flow right through the heart of the city, it is a bit of a drive to find a NATURAL-looking lake. Big Creek Park was nice. Sailorville Lake is large, but looked like somebody just built a dam at one end of a deep ditch and filled it up with water. We missed the natural water. Ofcourse, Des Moines has also had it's share of flood problems a few times in the past 20 years.
>Some areas were rather poorly zoned or maintained. What that meant was you might have a nice well-maintained home, but the house next door would be a peeling eyesore. There were some very inconsistant parts of town, particularly on the east side. They were not necessarily "sketchy" neighborhoods for crime either. It just appeared to be very hit and miss.
>There was also a general vibe by the time we left that crime due to meth labs and other gang/drug-issues was on the rise. There were some parts of town that were "ok" when we moved to Des Moines that were very "suspect" just two years later.
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
******************I hope the above info helps somewhat. Overall I would DEFINITELY recommend DM as a good place to live. There was plenty for us to do and we like the proximity to Kansas City, Omaha, and Minneapolis as well. Des Moines is sometimes a very UNDER-APPRECIATED city. I've lived around a bit more than some people. Des Moines is not as "exciting" as a Chicago or DC, but it is nowhere near as big either. It also didn't have the DAILY laundry list of shootings, rapes, muggings, carjackings and generally thuggery found in those cities. If you are looking for a place where most people like to work hard, and then spend time with their families....DES MOINES is a GOOD PLACE to live and raise a family.
Welcome to City-Data.com forum! Make sure to register - it's free and very quick! You have to register before you can post and participate in our discussions with 700,000 other registered members. User profiles and some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your free account you will be able to customize many options, you will have the full access to over 15,000 posts/day about local topics and you will see fewer ads. 
Tell me all about Des Moines
Linear Mode
