What Do You Suggest?? (Des Moines, West Des Moines: find a job, buy, school district)

[ASH27]

Hello to everybody.. Let me start off by saying I am 27 years old, married and have 3 children.. I am wanting to relocate to a bigger place for more opportunities for my family.. We live in a rather small town.(POP 5,000)So as you can imagine there isnt much opportunities in the area.Altho I like the saftey of this small town I want more opportunities for my kids that the bigger cities have... Sports ect. So to give you all an idea of what we are looking for here goes... I am looking for good schools, safe and clean town to raise kids, but with a choice of things to do as a family on wkends and in the summer... Shopping close by and a afforadable cost of living.. Some places I have looked at are 1200 a month.. OUCH Also plenty of job opportunites. I am a cna so I knw it will be easy for me to find a job.. We are in high demand lol... My husband has experience in a little bit of everything. So any and all input is greatly apprieciated.

[capitalcityguy]

I'd highly suggest you consider the Des Moines metro. IMO, it meets all the things you listed.

[ASH27]

Thank You capitalcityguy... I have a close friend that lives in West Des Moines.. Its a really nice area but pricey. She said shes is thinking of moving into Des Moines because its closer to her work ect. What part of Des Moines do u not recommend? What part do you recommend?

[schneid75]

My advice, if you do move in the DSM city limits, Pay attention to the school district. While Im sure these schools have great aspects, North, East and Hoover seem to be the least appealing of the schools. Roosevelt and Lincoln kids that I have known are a bit more well rounded. With down the road sports opportunities, I would say you should look at Norwalk or the older areas of Urbandale. For your kids to compete in High school, they will have a better chance of actually seeing the field in more than one sport. Hoover and North usually have poor sports, but low numbers.

That being said, though in the Hoover district, Beaverdale is the place most people start off when they move to DSM or buy their first home. It is affordable, clean, safe and many other people your age and with young children live in the area. Also the older areas of Urbandale share the same qualities.

Anyway, I didn't mean to offend people in those districts, just my observation from my work and college. Good luck with where ever you move. If you are still open to a fairly 'small' town near DSM, check out Adel. 5 Min drive from the suburbs, 15 from Des Moines and an outstanding community.

[capitalcityguy]

Generally speaking, the western side (west of downtown) of Des Moines as well as the northwestern part of Des Moines (Beaverdale and areas north and west of Beaverdale as well - the latter puts you in the Johnston school district which is considered one of the better schools districts in the metro).