Best City in Iowa (Des Moines, Cedar Rapids: middle school, college, living in)

[RonnieJonez]

They will also argue which Arena hockey team has more fans, or who sold more tickets at the Van Halen Reunion tour, totally ridiculous. It is kind of funny that Omaha's metro extends into Iowa, if that gets brought up you can expect nothing but pandemonium on the DSM front, because that'd make Omaha the "biggest metro" in Iowa.

[mfrerkes]

Back in May, Omaha lost their AAA hockey team due to poor attendance. Suddenly, one of the Omaha posters on the forum decided that minor-league professional hockey was stupid since the team didn't play in their town anymore. They derided Des Moines' AAA hockey team by saying that attendance for Omaha's college hockey team was better than the Iowa Stars. Sour grapes, anyone?

I didn't think about the Council Bluffs angle regarding Omaha. Maybe the Des Moines people should petition Congress to give Council Bluffs it's own metropolitan area designation, thereby reducing Omaha's MSA population by 120,000 people. Hell, Omaha might even lose a Krispy Kreme "flagship" under that deal, making Des Moines the World Champion!!!

[LPerkins33]

I can say without a doubt in my mind that Iowa City is better than all of those cities combined. It may not be big but it really has more things to do in a closer proximity and any other city on that list. Plus we have the HAWKEYES!

[mfrerkes]

Per capita, Iowa City has more going for it than any other city in the state. Having the University of Iowa there makes a huge difference. It gives the city a cultural foundation that most others in the state don't have.

[ruralboy]

well, it would be hard to rate Des Moines the # 1 city in iowa, given the condition of the Des Moines Public school system.
sure the Des Moines suberbs [for the most part] have good schools but the Des Moines school system deserves a big fat red letter F.
I would not really call Des Moines a world class city when they have a graduation rate at barely 50%. no wonder why all the growth in Des Moines is in the suberbs. no family with children would ever think about living of moving into Des Moines. the only families who are in des moines are the ones who are stuck there and cannot afford to move to the suberbs.

[Stevie]

no family with children would ever think about living of moving into Des Moines. the only families who are in des moines are the ones who are stuck there and cannot afford to move to the suberbs.

That's quite an exaggeration. Yes, some families are there because they're stuck there, but you cannot say that about the majority.

My father lives on the east side of Des Moines and he doesn't live there because he cannot afford to move to the suburbs. His job pays around 90,000 a year and he could easily move there if he wanted to, but he CHOSE to live in the city. He bought a nice house in a decent neighborhood and he loves it there. It has low crime and easy access to some nice parks and schools.

I realize that Des Moines proper has been declining, but that happens to a lot of cities with growing metros. Also, keep in mind that the school system does not reflect the whole economy, but yes it is important. However, you must include jobs, land values, taxes, health care, police protection, development, etc.

I am not too familiar with how the school system in Des Moines proper is doing but I'd be willing to bet that it does better than cities like Davenport, Sioux City and Waterloo. I went to grade school in Des Moines back in the late 90s and the school I went to was great but maybe the system has changed since I've been gone.

BTW, if you go to the thread titled "downtown question" and look for my post there, you'll see that I provided a link that goes to a website about all kinds of development going on in Des Moines (and yes, that includes the "city").

[El Rhino]

Originally Posted by ruralboy

well, it would be hard to rate Des Moines the # 1 city in iowa, given the condition of the Des Moines Public school system.
sure the Des Moines suberbs [for the most part] have good schools but the Des Moines school system deserves a big fat red letter F.
.

Anyone else see the irony in this?



PS: I probably make just as much if not more money than most people in West Des Moines (with a lot less debt) and I live on the South Side of Des Moines. I wouldn't live anywhere else.

PSS: I call bull**** on your "50% graduation rate" statistic. Prove it.

[Stevie]

Yeah, I'd have to agree there. I don't know how I missed the "50%" part. (maybe I was just tired last night, lol)

In Des Moines I never really see much blight. There maybe a few houses that have burned down but usually I just see older homes in the areas that are considered "bad" and it would take a lot of blight and poverty for "most of the families to be stuck in Des Moines". I'm just laughing at that one.

[metroplex2003]

Originally Posted by RonnieJonez

They will also argue which Arena hockey team has more fans, or who sold more tickets at the Van Halen Reunion tour, totally ridiculous. It is kind of funny that Omaha's metro extends into Iowa, if that gets brought up you can expect nothing but pandemonium on the DSM front, because that'd make Omaha the "biggest metro" in Iowa.

Well, then it would be the "Council Bluffs Metro Stat Area"
THe principle city always gets the tag for the defined MSA area.

Most of the 800,000 plus residents of OMaha live on the NE side.
Des Moines has close to 500,000 people
MSA wise, obviously OMaha is bigger, and part of it stretches onto the Iowa side, but since the Census Bureau has labled OMaha the principle city, this MSA is considered part of Nebraska, that just happens to extend into Iowa.
So thus Des Moines is the largest MSA in Iowa.
Just like St. Louis MSA is the largest in Missouri, though a certain percentage does live on the Illinois side and contributes to that MSA statistic for the state of Missouri. This is important b/c of funding implications from the govt.

But without the principle city, most of these suburbs in neighboring states would not be as prosperous economically.

[Steve_W]

Originally Posted by ruralboy

well, it would be hard to rate Des Moines the # 1 city in iowa, given the condition of the Des Moines Public school system.
sure the Des Moines suberbs [for the most part] have good schools but the Des Moines school system deserves a big fat red letter F.
I would not really call Des Moines a world class city when they have a graduation rate at barely 50%. no wonder why all the growth in Des Moines is in the suberbs. no family with children would ever think about living of moving into Des Moines. the only families who are in des moines are the ones who are stuck there and cannot afford to move to the suberbs.

50%? How about 82%.