West Des Moines - The good, the bad and the ugly (Waukee: real estate, low crime)

[Dilly-Mum]

Hi,

My Husband and I are moving to the US in 2011 (from Australia). So far we have narrowed it down to Iowa, and are looking at West Des Moines-ish area.

Our requirements are pretty ummmmmmmmmm extensive I guess you could say although we are willing to compromise. Ideally we want to settle in an area that can provide:

* Acreage (we plan on building a couple of years after we arrive)
* Good Schools (although we are hoping to send our daughter to the International school in Des Moines at some stage)
* Proximity to an airport - I realise that an International Airport is out, but an airport that could get us to LA pretty easily would be great
* Good Health care (including birth options, we will be continuing to expand our family after we arrive
* 3 - 4 bedroom house with garage / workshop for under $200,000 (for straight away)

Also have a couple of questions about the weather. I will be coming from a country in the grips of a massive drought. It rarely rains here, and regularly hits 120 degrees Fahrenheit during summer. I have never even seen snow so that should be interesting to say the least. What kind of weather can I expect, Summer, Spring, Winter, Autumn.

If there is anything else you can think of that I forgot, please feel free to add it.

Thanks for your help.

Lisa
*

[DMRyan]

The weather may be a shock to the system, but it will be fun learning about an entirely new (and never dull) climate here.

Otherwise, West Des Moines will easily suit your needs. There are acreages to be found in very timbered land on the south side of West Des Moines. It's really a beautiful, albeit semi-rural area of the city, perched in the Raccoon River Valley.

[Chicago60614]

Des Moines airport flyies to 19 places non-stop, including Los Angeles. The airline that flies to LA wouldn't connect you to Australia though, so you might have to fly American Airlines or something through Chicago/Denver, etc. Either way the Des Moines airport is never really busy, so you don't have to worry as much about leaving yourself a ton of time to get to the airport and deal with lines.

I'm not sure about housing, but $200K might be on the low side as far as finding a 3-4 bedroom house. It's certainly a buyers market right now, but I don't think Iowa was affected nearly as much as other places in the country.

As far as weather, it'll be a large shock to you at first, especially the cold in winter.

During the summer it averages around 29-30C. Maybe once or twice ever 1-2 years you'll see temps up near 38C, but not very often.

Winter though gets a decent amount of snow, with 4-6 snowstorms throughout December-March that dump up to 300cm of snow. Temps though can get down to around -20C a few times a year, and the average highs are around -10C to around 0C quite a bit. There are random breaks during winter though where temps will get up to 10C for a few days in a row.

[Luke9686]

A quick search on iowarealty.com found 91 homes under $200K in West Des Moines. 25 of those were 4 bedrooms, the rest 3. If you want raw land to build on, it can be found. I doubt you will find an acreage with a house on it for under $200K.

The schools in any western suburb are great, so no worries there.

The Des Moines airport is an international airport, and will provide easy access to large cities. I lived in San Jose, California and currently live near Seattle, and am able to fly home for pretty cheap. I was just there two weeks ago and found round trip airfare from Seattle to Des Moines for $235. Not bad at all.

I think you'll find the weather in Des Moines pretty ridiculous actually. In the winter you can expect temps in the 20-30F range, with wind. The summers are hot and muggy. You'll get an actual spring and fall, which are beautiful in Iowa.

[iowatater]

Waukee is right next door to WDM, and the prices are a bit less with great schools. There are more acreage lots out west and south (as mentioned before).

As for hospitals, they are mostly downtown DM, but there is a nice (and huge) clinic area out in WDM.

You will for sure get your 4 seasons. The snow/cold wasn't that bad, and this was my first iowa winter (just passed). Different, but not as bad as Fargo or Minneapolis

[Dilly-Mum]

Thanks everyone. I've been looking up real estate websites and all the snow is scaring me lol. It's almost deeper than the river that runs past my place (one of the major rivers here in Australia!) It's winter here, and all of 7 degrees (44 in Fahrenheit for those of you playing along at home) and I'm already convinced it's too cold. I'm in for a VERY rude shock aren't I?

Another question, Cyclones (Tornados I believe you know them as). How common? How often would they occur a year roughly? Will I wake up in the emerald city one day? lol

Has the area been badly effected by the global economic crisis? I don't think I will be able to work on my visa (Thankfully hubby will) but if by chance we manage to snag a greencard in the lottery, what would the chances of me getting some kind of work. For what its worth, I'm a customer service / Account manager / Office Manager / Logistics coordinator.

Thanks again

[QuadCityImages]

On the tornado question, I've lived in Iowa for 27 years and never seen one in person. Its not like everyone in the state is occasionally hit by one. On the other hand, by random chance some folks can be hit by more than one.

[Chicago60614]

Iowa gets many tornadoes a year, but the average tornado might be 1KM wide and travel for 10KM on the ground. Iowa is 145,000KM in size - so at the end of the day the chances of getting directly impacted by a tornado are VERY VERY small.

I lived in Iowa for 22 years, and have been living nextdoor in Illinois for the past 8. I've never seen a tornado in my life, nor do I know anyone else who has. Be concious of them, but do NOT live in fear. Normally you'll know a few days before that storms are heading that way, and if they're severe you can track them as they travel across the state. It's rare to get a super-cell that just drops down on you.

Des Moines averages around 1 meter of snow over the entire winter - but it will not fall all at once. Usually the most that falls at once would be below your knees, and that's somewhat rare. Lots of time it melts down before the next big snow. It's not like you're trapped by waist deep snow or anything. They get the roads cleared off immediately, and while it might be messy, usually 24-48 hours after the snow stops things are back to normal.


As far as economy, Iowa has the lowest unemployment in the country, and Des Moines' economy has actually been doing VERY well the past 10 years. It's not centered on manufacturing, so while the entire country has seen a downturn, Des Moines has been on the light side of everything. They escaped most of the housing crisis, etc.

Other than that though, Des Moines has very nice schools, a low crime rate, little traffic and is a growing city. It's a very nice place to raise a family, and has a high standard of living. The weather is really the only main drawback, unless you're looking to live in some huge metropolis or something - which obviously it is not.

[Chicago60614]

Random stats on the Des Moines metro area:

1990 Population: 416,346
2000 Population: 481,394
2008 Population: 556,230

84% White European background, 4% Black background, 4% Hispanic background, 3% Asian background.

West Des Moines is fast growing and fairly wealthy. It's grown from around 21,000 people in 1980 to around 55,000 today. Only 2.8% of famlilies living in West Des Moines are below the poverty level, and the houshold income is greater than the United States average.

Some shots from around town:

[Dilly-Mum]

Wow! Thanks for the photos. You've made me all excited!

Glad to hear that I wont be blown away in a tornado. I must admit the idea of them was a little daunting. Although I suppose that was mainly because we know that when we arrive my husband will be away probably 40ish weeks a year, so it'll just be me & the kids for the bulk of the time.

After reading this forum, I think we've made a good choice however by picking Iowa. I can't wait until our holiday over there next year to check it out, and then moving the year after!