Ankeny (Des Moines, Ames, West Des Moines: 2014, how much, house)

[attrapereves]

I've got a job interview in Ankeny soon. It's a teaching position at a new high school opening in the fall.

1 Can anyone comment on Ankeny in general?
2 What's most of the population like?
3 How's the traffic?
4 Is it an affordable area to live?
5 What about property tax? How much do you pay on your vehicle and home?
6 Does it feel like a small town or does it feel like an extension of Des Moines (I really prefer smaller towns with less than 100,000 population)?

[runewell]

I'm from the other side of the suburbs (West Des Moines), but I think that Waukee, Johnston, Ankeny, and WDM are all pretty similar and all have that suburban feel. It will not have a small-town feel. I think that Des Moines is a pretty affordable place and you'll find plenty of newer housing (<20 years old, possibly much newer). A good quality of life.

[Meemur]

Originally Posted by attrapereves

I've got a job interview in Ankeny soon. It's a teaching position at a new high school opening in the fall.

1 Can anyone comment on Ankeny in general?
2 What's most of the population like?

What a Question! In general, Lots of middle and upper management, white collar. Tons of families. It's a fairly family-friendly place. Huge YMCA !! Obviously it's hard to comment on "most of the population" (: (: (:

3 How's the traffic?

Rush hour lasts about seven minutes.

4 Is it an affordable area to live?

Sort of. Taxes aren't as high as Clive but I couldn't afford to live in town. YMMV.

5 What about property tax? How much do you pay on your vehicle and home?

Less than I did in Columbus, OH but I don't live right in Ankeny. I'm south of town. It's affordable.

6 Does it feel like a small town or does it feel like an extension of Des Moines (I really prefer smaller towns with less than 100,000 population)?

It's a 'burb with a lot of circles of folks. There are older grad students who work in town and commute 25 miles up to Ames for classes, some seniors, and lots of 30- 40-something families with 2-3 children. If you don't want to socialize there, Des Moines is nine miles down I-35 and there's tons more groups or if you like college people better, there's also stuff in Ames.

I moved here in August from Columbus, OH and the adjustment period was about two weeks, mostly learning roads. I met lots of people at church and the gym, plus I bike and lots of my neighbors bike . . .I thought it would be 3-4 months before I had anyone to have coffee with, but that hasn't been the case.

It is what you make it. If you just hang out in your home and only work, your experiences might not be as good as if you had gotten out and joined some organizations or gone to some events. It's easy on bad weather days to hibernate, but if you resist that, cabin fever is less likely to set in.

Warning: if you aren't willing to dress for the weather (and that means long johns some days), it's going to be awful in the winter. Ankeny has some open areas where the wind blows through unchallenged. On the other hand, I've seen some of the most brilliant blue skies on the sub-zero days we've had. There's a lot more sunshine in December than the Great Lakes area.

[Meemur]

Added: a blizzard blew up over the Des Moines metro today (thunder snow!! (: ). Ankeny does get bumper-to-bumper under those conditions. I work in Ankeny and it normally takes me about 12 minutes to get home. Today it took almost 30. There was ice under the snow, so cars were going about 5 mph.

But normally, there isn't really a rush hour, per se, and the "rush hour" in Des Moines isn't much, except on a day like this.

[Meemur]

Here's a link to some storm photos around the metro:

PHOTO GALLERY: Whiteout Conditions | WHOTV.com

ElleTea, you are warned not to look at these photos! (;

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by Meemur

Added: a blizzard blew up over the Des Moines metro today (thunder snow!! (: ). Ankeny does get bumper-to-bumper under those conditions. I work in Ankeny and it normally takes me about 12 minutes to get home. Today it took almost 30. There was ice under the snow, so cars were going about 5 mph.

But normally, there isn't really a rush hour, per se, and the "rush hour" in Des Moines isn't much, except on a day like this.

Yeah, I used to complain about traffic in DM...until I drove on the 101 in Phoenix at 8 AM. Well, "parked" might be a better word.

If I miss anything about DM it is the easy drive to get anywhere! Even at rush hour.

[Meemur]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

...until I drove on the 101 in Phoenix at 8 AM. Well, "parked" might be a better word.

And I've been on it at 4:30 pm. It isn't much better then. Errand time is between 9:30 am and 2:45 pm.

Yes, it's different not having to deal with "rush hour" anymore, except on snowy or icy days.

[ElleTea]

I just deal with rush hour on sunny days. 99% of them are

[Omahahonors]

Elle Tea. Do you miss anything about Des Moines? You make it sound like the pits of hell and I'd be afraid to ever step foot in that city if I hadn't known any better.. Thankfully I have been there and believe it is a marvelous city and love the climate..

Seriously though. Was there anything at all that you liked about it? Did you have any good days there? If not, is it possible that somebody else, albeit completely twisted, could like such a horrible place?

[ElleTea]

You must be new here

I loved Des Moines. I have said so many many times. I loved my house and neighborhood. Loved the spring and summer, especially Adventure Bay. Lots of great places to eat and good festivals. Beautiful capital building ans great farmer's market downtown. I had a pretty good job and an easy commute

I miss Aldi. And A Dong.

I have been accused of being a Des Moines cheerleader here, actually.

I just loathe winter. I got extremely depressed each fall and stayed that way until spring. It got worse every year. I had to get out. I have said if I could have changed the climate there I'd happily stay.

No depression this year. Its sunny and 75 today, and the same is expected the next 10 days. Its what I needed.