Information on Waukee and Ames Iowa relocating from San Diego

[jkay29]

I have lived in both Ames and Waukee, Ames as an ISU student for four years, and in Waukee for 8 years. The population in Waukee is one of the fastest growing in the nation, and there are tons of young families. We moved to West Des Moines from Waukee and like the stable schools with so many teachers that have been there 20+ years, unlike Waukee which must hire young right-out-of-college teachers because of bursting enrollments. That is the only downside I could think of for Waukee, and you might not even consider that a downside. Like some of the other posters wrote, you can live anywhere in Des Moines and still have a short commute. Ames is a nice community too. I have a cousin who lived in many parts of the world and country, and chose to come back to Ames Iowa. Their drinking water is great, second only to Dubuque in my humble opinion. You don't have the entertainment or dining options that you would in the Des Moines area, but Ames is not that far from Des Moines either. But you mentioned restaurants, shopping and movies are important to you, and Waukee is close to Jordan Creek which has all that. I think you'd be better off in Waukee, of the two choices. I've been to San Diego five times and love it, but I can understand why you are moving, with the overcrowding and high prices. Good luck on your decision!