Relo to Des Moines

[smpliving]

I agree about lack of fences being a cultural thing in Iowa. I’ve heard remarks from at least two native Iowans about “all those ugly fences” in Colorado Springs and on the West Coast. Here in eastern Iowa, I know a couple homeowners with those invisible fences.

[Augiec]

Oh yeah!! I had never thought about that option. It would probably be much cheaper than building a true fence anyway. I was just joking with my wife that if we're all too lazy to walk a dog, then we probably don't deserve one...

By the way, are there any real estate investors in this forum? I'd love to pick someone's brain about buying a foreclosure if possible.

[22crew]

Augiec

My wife and I are in the same boat as you, moving from TX to IA. I am originally from Iowa and left 20 years ago for the Air Force, now that I'm retiring from the AF it's time to move back home. I accepted a job in Indianola which is only about two hours southeast of where I grew up and about 45 minutes from my sister and brother-in-law. It is located approximately 20 miles south of Des Moines. Only takes about 25ish minutes to get to Jordan Creek and the surrounding area which to me is perfect. My wife and I originally wanted 3-15 acres in the country but couldn't find anything within 10-15 minute drive to Indianola. If I could do it all over again I wouldn't have retired from the military right before the holidays, reason being is that a lot of companies/businesses aren't hiring during the holiday season, and second, doesn't seem to be a lot of acreages for sale that we could find this time of year. And it makes perfect sense because most people don't want to move in the winter and the curb appeal is non-existent; snow and brown everything (typical Iowa winters haha) don't add curb appeal. Hindsight is 20/20. We finally accepted that we may just need to look in town (Indianola) for a home, closer to work, school, groceries etc etc. We looked for rentals but it seemed there were not a lot of options, we ended up buying on the southwest side of town. I have a great realtor who I actually grew up less than a mile from and trusted him with the whole process, we were those friends back in the day that ran up and down the gravel roads on our ATVs and you could find us in the river or woods daily. He FaceTimed us on a tour of the home, yes, we have not actually seen it in person but I take his word and expertise on it. We will be moving up to Indianola in the next three weeks and are very excited about the new adventure.

Aaron

[Augiec]

Originally Posted by 22crew

Augiec

My wife and I are in the same boat as you, moving from TX to IA. I am originally from Iowa and left 20 years ago for the Air Force, now that I'm retiring from the AF it's time to move back home. I accepted a job in Indianola which is only about two hours southeast of where I grew up and about 45 minutes from my sister and brother-in-law. It is located approximately 20 miles south of Des Moines. Only takes about 25ish minutes to get to Jordan Creek and the surrounding area which to me is perfect. My wife and I originally wanted 3-15 acres in the country but couldn't find anything within 10-15 minute drive to Indianola. If I could do it all over again I wouldn't have retired from the military right before the holidays, reason being is that a lot of companies/businesses aren't hiring during the holiday season, and second, doesn't seem to be a lot of acreages for sale that we could find this time of year. And it makes perfect sense because most people don't want to move in the winter and the curb appeal is non-existent; snow and brown everything (typical Iowa winters haha) don't add curb appeal. Hindsight is 20/20. We finally accepted that we may just need to look in town (Indianola) for a home, closer to work, school, groceries etc etc. We looked for rentals but it seemed there were not a lot of options, we ended up buying on the southwest side of town. I have a great realtor who I actually grew up less than a mile from and trusted him with the whole process, we were those friends back in the day that ran up and down the gravel roads on our ATVs and you could find us in the river or woods daily. He FaceTimed us on a tour of the home, yes, we have not actually seen it in person but I take his word and expertise on it. We will be moving up to Indianola in the next three weeks and are very excited about the new adventure.

Aaron

That's cool! I guess welcome to IA? Lol, welcome back is probably better. I ended up buying a house in the burbs and my son goes to school. My daughter starts preschool next week!

[camille563]

I will say look at property taxes. I bought my house in West Des Moines in Dallas county so my kids go to Waukee Schools ( Top rated), and my property taxes are roughly 4600 a year. I paid 237,000 for my house 4 years ago.

If you're not a hawkeye or cyclones fan it will take longer to "fit in". It's very cliquish and locals aren't very welcoming to transplants. It took my oldest daughter a few years to not feel like the new kid.

[Augiec]

We ended up moving to Ankeny. The property taxes and schools and commute just made it worthwhile for us. Regarding sports, no one in our house cares about sports tbh. So far it hasn't been an issue. My son plays with the neighbor's kids, and we all seem to get along. Granted, the only time I see them is when I'm shoveling our driveway lol.