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I came to Des Moines in November of last year. I did not want to come, I didn't particularly like the city and I never really grew to like it.
This isn't to fault Des Moines. I had reservations about moving to
Fargo because it was larger than my home town in Texas, the cold didn't bother me. And I had reservations about moving to Sioux Falls becuase it was so large.
I loved Fargo, it was quirky and cool.
I liked Sioux Falls
I never warmed up to Des Moines, it is just too big for my taste.
The job ended here. While I did my best to go some place interesting, Sioux City has the job.
It is a good job. Almost a 100k a year and steady work for 7 years or until I hang up my tools which ever comes first. I will have a company truck to take home, but not for personal use. I will work alone and be solely responsible for my territory. That is the way I like it.
My reporting location will be near the end of First Street on the end near War Eagle park. I have been told it isn't a great area. On the other hand, I eschewed Clive and Urbandale for Riverbend, so living in not a great area isn't a problem for me.
I will move and find a rental until spring, the plan is to liquidate my holdings in Texas and move my wife to Sioux City. By that time I should have a pretty good idea where it buy in the area if buying at all. With the wife, my demands of the area go way up, but honestly, she spent a month with me here in the big old house on Hickman and liked it.
So, I am all about why Sioux City is great. No use telling me how bad it is, there is simply too much money and a pension on the table.
Tell me about the fairs, community bands, street festivals, boating, (I have an old bass boat, and my wife wants a nice canoe) restaurants, religious activities and so on.
Also, I am interested in the bad parts of the town that are being rebuilt, I like the idea of being an urban pioneer, although I am not above renting a luxury apartment in Dakota Dunes.
I came to Des Moines in November of last year. I did not want to come, I didn't particularly like the city and I never really grew to like it.
This isn't to fault Des Moines. I had reservations about moving to
Fargo because it was larger than my home town in Texas, the cold didn't bother me. And I had reservations about moving to Sioux Falls becuase it was so large.
I loved Fargo, it was quirky and cool.
I liked Sioux Falls
I never warmed up to Des Moines, it is just too big for my taste.
The job ended here. While I did my best to go some place interesting, Sioux City has the job.
It is a good job. Almost a 100k a year and steady work for 7 years or until I hang up my tools which ever comes first. I will have a company truck to take home, but not for personal use. I will work alone and be solely responsible for my territory. That is the way I like it.
My reporting location will be near the end of First Street on the end near War Eagle park. I have been told it isn't a great area. On the other hand, I eschewed Clive and Urbandale for Riverbend, so living in not a great area isn't a problem for me.
I will move and find a rental until spring, the plan is to liquidate my holdings in Texas and move my wife to Sioux City. By that time I should have a pretty good idea where it buy in the area if buying at all. With the wife, my demands of the area go way up, but honestly, she spent a month with me here in the big old house on Hickman and liked it.
So, I am all about why Sioux City is great. No use telling me how bad it is, there is simply too much money and a pension on the table.
Tell me about the fairs, community bands, street festivals, boating, (I have an old bass boat, and my wife wants a nice canoe) restaurants, religious activities and so on.
Also, I am interested in the bad parts of the town that are being rebuilt, I like the idea of being an urban pioneer, although I am not above renting a luxury apartment in Dakota Dunes.
Cheers
Qazulight
When live gives you lemons. Make lemonade.
One very endearing part of Sioux City is that it's only a few miles from interstate highways that are complete.
Congrats on the new job, Qazulight! You'll still be close enough to visit with your relatives in Ames, if I recall correctly. The job sounds right up your alley.
I'm new enough here that I won't give you specifics about the amenities of Sioux City, but I will say this: the "bad" areas of Sioux City aren't nearly as bad as the pockets in Des Moines where the shootings are now happening, and there is no place in Des Moines that was as bad as the near east side of Columbus, Ohio.
That means that while you won't want to leave your tools out in plain sight in an unlocked truck box, you can leave a border collie in back to guard them instead of a pit bull.
I wondered how long you would last here because it didn't sound like your ideal place. I'm glad that you kept and open mind.
I hope you will update us with your adventures. You write well, and I'm looking forward to hearing more about your take on Sioux City after you have lived there for awhile. I hope that your wife ends up liking it.
Congrats on the new job, Qazulight! You'll still be close enough to visit with your relatives in Ames, if I recall correctly. The job sounds right up your alley.
I'm new enough here that I won't give you specifics about the amenities of Sioux City, but I will say this: the "bad" areas of Sioux City aren't nearly as bad as the pockets in Des Moines where the shootings are now happening, and there is no place in Des Moines that was as bad as the near east side of Columbus, Ohio.
That means that while you won't want to leave your tools out in plain sight in an unlocked truck box, you can leave a border collie in back to guard them instead of a pit bull.
I wondered how long you would last here because it didn't sound like your ideal place. I'm glad that you kept and open mind.
I hope you will update us with your adventures. You write well, and I'm looking forward to hearing more about your take on Sioux City after you have lived there for awhile. I hope that your wife ends up liking it.
We, my son, daughter in law and grandson, made a flying trip to Sioux City today. We stopped for a couple of hours at the childrens science museum. It is nice, even if it is a fifth the size of the one in Des Moines. (There are advantages to bigger.) I took a bit of time and walked around downtown some. It was OK. Not dead, not awesome. It looks like there is a lot of work going on down there. I could be enticed to invest downtown, but it will take time before I can make the relationships happen.
My job is in a less than great part of town with nothing happening yet. I need to look around some more, but first glance says living in walking distance is not likely.
We drove over to North Sioux city, the old town that I saw, (remember this was a flying trip) did not inspire me. We drove around a horse shoe lake just outside of North Sioux City and it looked interesting if expensive.
We then drove to South Sioux City Nebraska. While it is flat and not as interesting as Sioux City, I felt more comfortable there than I had in Sioux City and in North Sioux City South Dakota.
I do not believe I have given Sioux City a fair assement as I know there are some very nice older areas in Sioux City that I have not seen. But I have seen enough of downtown and the area close to
my reporting location to keep looking.
For now, I must get serious about finding a place to light.
The trip has at least put some perspective into the maps. Also, I think Sioux City may have the sense of community I like. We will see.
I just visit Sioux City for shopping and special events, so I don't know it super well, but it's the closest Big City to me now. For what it's worth, here are my opinions:
A lot of the east side of SC is very hilly and pretty, and the newer nicer neighborhoods are located on the SE side.
The mecca for modern big box type shopping and chain restaurants is the SE side of town - off the 75/2 loop around Sergeant Rd. This is where I go to to shop at Target and Petsmart. I ate at my first Chipotle here!
Coming down from the north into SC on K18 is a pretty drive. The Briar Cliff University neighborhood is older and very nice (that's where I'd live if I had to live in SC), and the shopping area on Hamilton Blvd. seems to be full of well dressed pleasant people. There's a nice little book store in the shopping center located near the Hamilton/Stone Park intersection.
I've been going to the ODE storytelling programs sponsored by Siouxland Public Radio KWIT | Siouxland Public Media KWIT-KOJI. They have been held in the evenings at a variety of venues around town, mostly in the older areas of town. I've never felt uncomfortable anywhere. I have enjoyed the ODE events very, very much!
The construction on I29 north of downtown is HORRIBLE and never ending, it seems. I'm sure one of these days I'm just going to fall off and end up in the Missouri or the Big Sioux rivers, so I usually don't drive that way anymore - I usually go through Nebraska to get to Sioux City.
Oh - if you like to bike and hike and/or enjoy historic sites, the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve NW of SC is pretty nice.
Dakota Dunes is supposedly where the rich people live - I don't know about that, but I do know that everyone recommends the veterinarian clinic there!
For what it's worth, I have come to prefer Sioux City to Sioux Falls - it just seems less uniform and boring than SF. I do remember that you liked SF, though, so you may have completely different opinions about it all than I do.
I just visit Sioux City for shopping and special events, so I don't know it super well, but it's the closest Big City to me now. For what it's worth, here are my opinions:
A lot of the east side of SC is very hilly and pretty, and the newer nicer neighborhoods are located on the SE side.
The mecca for modern big box type shopping and chain restaurants is the SE side of town - off the 75/2 loop around Sergeant Rd. This is where I go to to shop at Target and Petsmart. I ate at my first Chipotle here!
Coming down from the north into SC on K18 is a pretty drive. The Briar Cliff University neighborhood is older and very nice (that's where I'd live if I had to live in SC), and the shopping area on Hamilton Blvd. seems to be full of well dressed pleasant people. There's a nice little book store in the shopping center located near the Hamilton/Stone Park intersection.
I've been going to the ODE storytelling programs sponsored by Siouxland Public Radio KWIT | Siouxland Public Media KWIT-KOJI. They have been held in the evenings at a variety of venues around town, mostly in the older areas of town. I've never felt uncomfortable anywhere. I have enjoyed the ODE events very, very much!
The construction on I29 north of downtown is HORRIBLE and never ending, it seems. I'm sure one of these days I'm just going to fall off and end up in the Missouri or the Big Sioux rivers, so I usually don't drive that way anymore - I usually go through Nebraska to get to Sioux City.
Oh - if you like to bike and hike and/or enjoy historic sites, the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve NW of SC is pretty nice.
Dakota Dunes is supposedly where the rich people live - I don't know about that, but I do know that everyone recommends the veterinarian clinic there!
For what it's worth, I have come to prefer Sioux City to Sioux Falls - it just seems less uniform and boring than SF. I do remember that you liked SF, though, so you may have completely different opinions about it all than I do.
I haven't formed any opinions on Sioux City yet.
I will make another run this week, probably on Friday. In fact I will probably spend the night Friday night.
Moville has caught my eye. As much as I do not like commuting, it may be necessary.
Moville has caught my eye. As much as I do not like commuting, it may be necessary.
Cheers
Qazulight
I think you owe it to yourself this time around to find a really quiet rural place away from the lights and neighbors. Just remember that you're back where there is real winter. It's easy to get spoiled in Des Moines because the storms seem to split north and south, leaving the metro alone.
I will make another run this week, probably on Friday. In fact I will probably spend the night Friday night.
Moville has caught my eye. As much as I do not like commuting, it may be necessary.
Cheers
Qazulight
If you're not adverse to commuting 30 miles, two viable towns to consider with 4 lane access to Sioux City (TO the town, not IN the town of course) are Le Mars Iowa and Vermilion, SD. Both communities have the small town feel, yet with over 10,000 population have most amenities that you need.
Le Mars is a very clean, growing community with some large companies headquartered there that provide good paying jobs. It is NOT the environment you will get from most towns with the main employer being packing houses.
Vermillion is home to the University of South Dakota giving you lots of alternative entertainment. It's not a crazy nut case college town like Iowa City is where the students dominate everything. As I very well understand, college towns are either a positive to some and a big negative to others. A big plus for Vermillion is that you're less than 30 miles from Lewis & Clark Lake by Yankton and the recreation opportunities you would have there. You're also closer to Sioux Falls for shopping and entertainment.
I think you owe it to yourself this time around to find a really quiet rural place away from the lights and neighbors. Just remember that you're back where there is real winter. It's easy to get spoiled in Des Moines because the storms seem to split north and south, leaving the metro alone.
I lived in DM for seven winters and do not remember that phenomenon. Or else I was clearing a lot of "banana split" from the driveway in the winter.
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