Ames, Ankeny, Des Moines... Where to live? (Iowa City, Urbandale: schools, college)

[Harpoon]

I need a little advice here. My family is looking into moving to Iowa. I'd work in Des Moines, my wife would work in Ames...where would you live in that situation?

1. Live in Ames and one of us commutes to downtown Des Moines.
2. Live in Des Moines and one of us commutes to Ames
3. Live someplace in between, like Ankeny, which seems to be located in the best spot to commute in each direction with I-35 being so close.

Does anybody have a similar situation they deal with? What do you do? Any advice you could give me would be great. Thanks in advance.

[IowaTexasDC Guy]

Ankeny is obviously your best bet. Unless one of you really likes driving and the other one hates it. Its a very nice city that is growing very quickly. Great schools (building a second HS soon). It is a burb, but somewhat apart from DM. There are some nice small towns in North Polk Co too, if your open to that. Ballard, Huxley, Slater for example.

[iowegian]

I'd definitely go with Ankeny. It's closer to Des Moines than it is to Ames, but it's a good compromise. It would probably be about 30 minutes to Ames and 15 or so to Des Moines, depending on traffic. (Although traffic is not that bad on I-35 usually, I've driven through there during rush hour and traffic always seems to be flowing freely.)

[mrs_moby73]

I have some friends who have the same working situation and they live in Grimes. They say it's just about the same distance to Ames and downtown from their house.

**Edited to add: After looking at the map, the northern part of Ankeny definitely seems like the best option for you all. Schools in Ankeny are really good too.

[Persimmony]

Ankeny is a great clean community. Does a lot of things right. Highly consider it.

[pepe1]

What part of Des Moines will you be working in (Downtown, West Des moines, Urbandale, etc.)? Some of the NW suburbs may not be a bad option depending on where you have to commute...

[SD83]

Ankeny is on the upswing. A lot of good, positive growth. Definitely headed in the right direction. In your position, I would give Ankeny some serious consideration. The drive from Ankeny to Ames is relatively short, according to this commuter. Your mileage may vary!

Best of wishes no matter the destination.

[nmc82]

I think Ankeny is the best choice. Very clean area in my opinion. I do also think that Grimes is a cute town as well.

[edsg25]

I'm not trying to be disrespectful here because I really don't know Ames at all, but does it have any of the qualities that draw so many to Iowa City as a college town. I realize that Iowa City is one of the truly definitive college towns in the nation and Ames is (again I hope I'm not stepping on anyone's feet here) pretty much the opposite.

But will someone who opts for a college town find in Ames the things s/he is looking for?

[iowegian]

Originally Posted by edsg25

I'm not trying to be disrespectful here because I really don't know Ames at all, but does it have any of the qualities that draw so many to Iowa City as a college town. I realize that Iowa City is one of the truly definitive college towns in the nation and Ames is (again I hope I'm not stepping on anyone's feet here) pretty much the opposite.

But will someone who opts for a college town find in Ames the things s/he is looking for?

Eh. As a long-time resident of the IC area now living in Ames, I think I'm pretty qualified to tell you that you're basically right in your assumptions. Ames feels like a much smaller town than Iowa City (and it is smaller, but it's very noticeable) and Campustown in no way compares to downtown IC. I've noticed a totally different vibe in Ames, it seems less liberal and artsy. There are bars, there are cafés, and there are restaurants, but they're more spread out and there are less of them. If you want a college town and have a choice between the two, go for Iowa City. Ames might work for you but it's just not as satisfying as a college town, in my opinion.