Ames, Iowa

Minespidurr
4mo ago
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It depends on what you're looking for, how old you are, etc.

I'm a current student at ISU who's lived here in Ames for over 2 years. It's quiet, small, the parks are clean and nice. People are super friendly. Safety isn't a real concern here regardless of where in town you live. We have a little downtown area with some neat novelty shops and bars. There's one main street on the eastern part of town where 80% of the businesses are (Duff Ave). The roads aren't riddled with potholes (at least where I'm at). I actually enjoy living here more than my hometown back in eastern Iowa. Oh and our public transportation, CyRide, is the best. There's an app that tells you when buses are arriving with plenty of routes throughout the city. Bus drivers are super polite.

The biggest con I can think of is it's a college town. Thus, expect to encounter immature college students occasionally that may say and do some really stupid stuff. I've had drivers yell expletives at me while walking outside. I've had loud, partying neighbors every weekend. Football culture is very strong here. Almost all the students leave during the summer months from mid May to early August, so during that time Ames is practically a ghost town. I don't know many students who stayed around here after graduation, so if you aren't a student it may feel very lonely here. The social scene outside of the school is kinda nonexistent from what I have gathered.

Substantial-Elk-9138
4mo ago
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It depends a lot upon what you are looking for, Ill answer from my 36 YO dad perspective ;)

There are the obvious things that come with a college town, then all the rest that the 30+ crowd spends time at to avoid the college town. Decent food for our size, high prices for Iowa, lots of great parks and trails, some good local breweries that double as event spaces, good farmers market, phenominal library, Main street has the bars worth going to (I'm 36), two good board game stores, arcade bar and pool hall, and a handful of community sports leagues. There is a lot to do for its size, but like others have said not nearly as much as DSM/Ankeny. LMK if you have specific questions and Im happy to answer.

tcpill8
4mo ago
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I grew up on the North side and still live within 30 minutes of Ames. Growing up I always wanted to leave, and I did, but quickly learned there is no place like home. I am almost in my 30’s and proud to be from there.

Ames is honestly pretty cool. Because we have Iowa State University there’s a lot of opportunities and things to go do that wouldnt be available without it. There’s so many different areas in the town with different vibes that there’s usually always a place for someone.

Campus is campus. It’s college town and it can get a little rowdy. With that though comes a lot of opportunities at taking classes or trying new hobbies and skills. Like I think there a glass blowing club, you might have to pay to be apart of it but like how cool is that? And just the history of it all and if you enjoy sports, you’re in the right place for sure for most college athletics. With that said on home game days, don’t go out unless you’re willing to deal with the craziness. If you have to go out, avoid campus, avoid end of game time cause it can get a little backed up around the highway/interstate.

If you are into the outdoors there’s tons of parks and stuff in Ames/just outside the city and within Story County itself. If you enjoy bicycling, that’s huge here. There’s trails all over the state, Ragbrai goes on during the summer but it doesn’t always come through here but a very cool thing to go see or be apart of. If you want to know more look up story county iowa parks and rec guides. The DNR website is pretty cool too, you can sort things by county if looking for specific hunting, fishing, hiking stuff.

itsnotevenmemom
4mo ago
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I’m 25, moved here last August! I genuinely enjoy the city. The people aren’t always kind, the driving is kind of scary because people genuinely drive however they want too, im talking left turns at intersections from the right lane, no blinkers, lots of red light running, and I’ve seen quite a few drug deals on duff as well. The houseless population looks to be rising, and the price of living is kind of astronomical compared to the average wage. My partner and I are finding ourselves in DSM more for activities, however!!! We really enjoy the parks and arcade bar here in Ames. Ledges over in Boone is a gorgeous park as well. Main street bars are pretty fun. The traffic gets really insane on game days. We Enjoy doordashing here, the late nights are always a good time and we make plenty of money doing it.

Welcome to Ames, Iowa! All about life in Ames, IA