Des Moines has a river, an art museum, a symphony orchestra, an opera company, lots of insurance companies and a botanical garden with a geodesic dome. It has buildings by I.M. Pei, Renzo Piano as well as Eero Saarinen and his dad, Eliel. It has a gay bar called the Blazing Saddle.

There is a lot of buzz about Des Moines, as a place for normal people with normal incomes to rent or buy normal homes and lead their lives.  Des Moines is one of those cities gentrifying its downtown. Great smells are spilling out, festivals are scheduled year-round and rehabbed lofts are fetching high prices. In recent years Des Moines has been named the best for young professionals (Forbes), families (Kiplinger), home renters (Time), businesses and careers (Forbes). It has the highest community pride in the nation, according to a Gallup poll last year, and in October topped a Bloomberg analysis of which cities in the United States were doing the best at attracting millennials to buy housing.

Des Moines is a major hub of the US insurance industry, plus there are significant financial services and publishing sectors. As such, the downtown landscape is still filled with office buildings rather than walkable retail. Historic preservation has caught on now but the city is catching up from the previous hollowing out.
It’s not big, just over 200,000 people. You need a car but you won’t have to drive for long. 


The Good, the Bad and The Ugly

From affordable, ample housing to easy-to-navigate interstates with little traffic, DSM is easy livin. Cool restaurants and boutique movie theaters and yoga studios — Des Moines has all those things, but you don’t have to spend 40 minutes stuck on an eight-lane freeway to get to them.

Here's a review from someone who grew up in Des Moines: 
*Other than Iowa City, there is no other city in Iowa where I would willingly reside. It has the amenities and attractions of a city 3–4 times it’s size and a surprisingly large and varied cultural scene. Is the winter a drawback? Not really. Road clearance is a science and art in the Midwest and Des Moines’ ability to keep traffic moving in all but the worst weather is top notch. As one responder noted, there are no major professional teams, but most of the mainstream sports have minor league or developmental teams in the area. It is conveniently located close to Chicago, Minneapolis, Kansas City and St Louis, so you are a short plane ride to more urban areas. While it is a relatively small city to be the largest in the state, the ease of travel, burgeoning cultural scene and great schools more than compensate for what some may miss in a metropolis.*

The Best Thing About Des Moines?

Frigid winters, muggy summers and a small city holed up in between endless corn fields.

Here's a California transplanter's pov on the weather: 
*As a fellow Californian transplant, your attitude and winter gear are the most important factors. There’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad gear and bad attitude. The sun and blue skies are out every single day. There is also always a January thaw. The weather here is very up and down all winter, it never stays the same for more than a few days (no matter the season). Try to get outside and be active unless it’s icy.*


The Worst Thing About Des Moines?

Most people who live in Des Moines don’t actually live in Des Moines, but rather in one of the city’s suburbs: Altoona, Ankeny, Beaverdale, Bondurant, Carlisle, Clive, Grimes, Johnston, Norwalk, Pleasant Hill, Polk City, Urbandale, Waukee, West Des Moines or Windsor Heights.

Lots of cute neighborhoods aside from downtown like Waterbury, Beaverdale, Lower Beaver, Sherman Hill. The "cool" place to live if you're single and young has to be the East Village side of downtown, several options for apartments/townhomes/lofts there, but you will pay more than other areas. Today both young people and empty nesters are moving back to downtown and the adjacent East Village neighborhood, into conversions and new buildings.

West Des Moines is “the place” for young, successful professionals. It’s very safe & homogenous with little crime and good schools. Many of the older, historic neighborhoods like Waterbury or Waveland Heights outside Des Moines’ metro area are the most costly places to live. The least expensive neighborhoods are Fairground, King-Irving Park, Kirkwood Glen, Carpenter, and Cheatom Park. 

Downtown is a favorite area for singles and young professionals, as well as couples not quite ready to set up shop on a common suburb-style subdivision. Many of the homes are modern, plus there’s a healthy mix of apartments, condos, and traditional single-family homes. While rent is a bit higher in this area than Waterbury and other areas a bit further out, home prices on average are lower for those looking to own. This community is a popular place for families with young children. 

Check out the Des Moines calendar of events to see what locals get up to year-round: https://www.catchdesmoines.com/events/

Des Moines Lifestyle

Come for 80/35 music festival, stay for the massive farmer’s markets and an affordable Beaverdale Brick house. 


Why You Should Move Here Now?

**The Good, the Bad and The Ugly**

Des Moines has a river, an art museum, a symphony orchestra, an opera company, lots of insurance companies and a botanical garden with a geodesic dome. It has buildings by I.M. Pei, Renzo Piano as well as Eero Saarinen and his dad, Eliel.. It has a gay bar called the Blazing Saddle.

There is a lot of buzz about Des Moines, as a place for normal people with normal incomes to rent or buy normal homes and lead their lives.  Des Moines is one of those cities gentrifying its downtown. Great smells are spilling out, festivals are scheduled year-round and rehabbed lofts are fetching high prices. In recent years Des Moines has been named the best for young professionals (Forbes), families (Kiplinger), home renters (Time), businesses and careers (Forbes). It has the highest community pride in the nation, according to a Gallup poll last year, and in October topped a Bloomberg analysis of which cities in the United States were doing the best at attracting millennials to buy housing.

Des Moines is a major hub of the US insurance industry, plus there are significant financial services and publishing sectors. As such, the downtown landscape is still filled with office buildings rather than walkable retail. Historic preservation has caught on now but the city is catching up from the previous hollowing out.
It’s not big, just over 200,000 people. You need a car but you won’t have to drive for long. 

**The Best Thing About Des Moines?** 

From affordable, ample housing to easy-to-navigate interstates with little traffic, DSM is easy livin. Cool restaurants and boutique movie theaters and yoga studios — Des Moines has all those things, but you don’t have to spend 40 minutes stuck on an eight-lane freeway to get to them

**The Worst Thing About Des Moines?** 

Frigid winters, muggy summers and a small city holed up in between endless corn fields.

**How You Living?** 

Most people who live in Des Moines don’t actually live in Des Moines, but rather in one of the city’s suburbs: Altoona, Ankeny, Beaverdale, Bondurant, Carlisle, Clive, Grimes, Johnston, Norwalk, Pleasant Hill, Polk City, Urbandale, Waukee, West Des Moines or Windsor Heights.

Lots of cute neighborhoods aside from downtown like Waterbury, Beaverdale, Lower Beaver, Sherman Hill. The "cool" place to live if you're single and young has to be the East Village side of downtown, several options for apartments/townhomes/lofts there, but you will pay more than other areas. Today both young people and empty nesters are moving back to downtown and the adjacent East Village neighborhood, into conversions and new buildings.

West Des Moines is “the place” for young, successful professionals. It’s very safe & homogenous with little crime and good schools. Many of the older, historic neighborhoods like Waterbury or Waveland Heights outside Des Moines’ metro area are the most costly places to live. The least expensive neighborhoods are Fairground, King-Irving Park, Kirkwood Glen, Carpenter, and Cheatom Park. 

Downtown is a favorite area for singles and young professionals, as well as couples not quite ready to set up shop on a common suburb-style subdivision. Many of the homes are modern, plus there’s a healthy mix of apartments, condos, and traditional single-family homes. While rent is a bit higher in this area than Waterbury and other areas a bit further out, home prices on average are lower for those looking to own. This community is a popular place for families with young children. 
Just three miles from the heart of downtown, Ingersoll Park provides a more traditional, suburban-style living. Many of the homes are modeled after a turn of the century design, and while single-family units make up the majority of housing options, there are newer apartment complexes to rent. 
 
Greenwood is a popular place for affluent families with children. Most of the homes are cottage style with four to five bedrooms built in the 1800s.
 
Linden Heights is full of large modern and Craftsman style homes, many of which boast brick facades and big yards. 
 
Most of the houses in Westwood are Victorian-style homes and two- to three-story bungalows. There are also many rental options, including apartments inside older homes and recently built multi-unit buildings. A great thing about Westwood is the ability to find affordable rentals. The average rent prices in the neighborhood are lower than in the downtown area.
 
Salisbury Oaks feels historic, thanks to heavily wooded streets and quaint subdivisions. It’s a popular place for older residents.

**Why You Should Move Here Now?** 

Come for 80/35 music festival, stay for the massive farmer’s markets and an affordable Beaverdale Brick house. 


The East Village is dubbed “the closest thing to Brooklyn that Iowa has ever seen”. It has over 200 shops, restaurants, boutique shops and wonderful condos and loft-style apartment living options. The entire neighborhood is walkable and with all the great options for eating, drinking and shopping you’re going to want to get out and make those walks. 
- The East Village
- Western Gateway
- Historic Court District


Young Professionals

East Village

Sherman Hill is one of Des Moines oldest neighborhoods and it’s filled with artsy character. Beautiful historic homes surround one of the more interesting city centers in the region. Hoyt Sherman Place, originally a mansion, was converted into a theater, art gallery, and special events center, and it now serves as the most critical community space in this wonderful place. Those homes and that cultural center are also surrounded by cool boutique restaurants, cafes, and locally owned shops. 
- Sherman Hill
- Historic Valley Junction

DINKs/SINKs

Sherman Hill 

Des Moines doesn’t have a big LGBTQ+ community but it is concentrated in the Sherman Hill neighborhood. A draw for the straight community as well, Sherman Hill is filled with LGBTQ+ owned and friendly bars and restaurants as well as an active theater and arts scene. 
- Sherman Hill 


LGBTQ+

If you’re looking for a neighborhood with character then check out Waterbury first. The majority of the homes were built before 1939, which means the architecture is historic and charming. The neighborhood is incredibly safe, and has an extremely active homeowners association that ensures cultural and community activities throughout the year. It also has public schools rated among the highest in the city. 
- Waterbury
- Ingersoll Park
- Salisbury Oaks


Families

Waterbury

Des Moines

**Maybe moving to Des Moines...what’s it like?**

Des Moines is a great place to live it's nice and people are generally friendly. It's a big town effectively. Traffic is not to bad we complain about it but it's nothing compared to larger cities even during rush hour. I dont think any of my gay friends have experience any horrible incidents to my knowledge. But we are still in the midwest, I know of people who disapprove but dont openly say things unless they are in private. I live in urbandale in a townhome 2 bed 1 1/2 bath with attached garage and pay $1250 a month for rent. It's a safe neighborhood too I'm never worried about anything getting stolen or anything like that here at least. As far as things to do there always seem to be something to do. My fiancee and I love to go to the farmers market in the summer and there are an endless amount of trails if you like to walk or bike. We have breweries for days if your into that as well. We have a pretty good showing for pride as well, most of the east village seems to shut down and turn into a giant party. There are a few game shops if you like card games or dnd or anything like that I suggest mayhem for that kind of thing. Theres a good selection of food as well, if you like burgers I suggest zombie burger in the east village and if you like a nicer Mexican dish Malo in downtown dsm is really good. Hope this is helpful and just let me know if you want any other information about DSM I'll be glad t help out.

**Maybe moving to Des Moines...what’s it like?**

What's Des Moines Really like? TBH compared to Kansas City or the Twin Cities, it is decidingly a bit more boring. Diversity wise the city is largely white, but a fair amount of Hispanic people, Asians (especially Vietnamese) and Blacks (who make up around 4% of the state as a whole). Diversity wise you can definitely see things changing, especially when you look at religious institutions compared to say 30 years ago, we now have 2-3 Mosques, 5 Buddhist temples, a Sikh association, a huge Hindu temple a bit outside of town (near Madrid) and Orthodox Churches.

Music: Des Moines is home to a jazz bar, and several other bars in the area will usually have performances 1-2 times a week. We have a symphony orchestra and the Drake music programs put on great performances during the school year. Also, just a half hour away is Ames, and if you catch an ISU jazz band concert you won't be disappointed, the students there are all awesoem players.

Art: Des Moines has an Art center and several historical houses that serve as small museums. There are several art festivals in the summer as well. Overall art scene in Des Moines pails in comparison to somewhere like Chicago, but we do have one.

History: Des Moines definitely has a free historical museum and has some unique architecture, none more elegant than the Capitol Building itself. There are also quite a few incredible churches that are worth going to for just the architecture (Many along Grand Avenue and others such as St. John's basilica).

**What is it like to live in Des Moines, Iowa, USA?**

Other than Iowa City, there is no other city in Iowa where I would willingly reside. It has the amenities and attractions of a city 3–4 times it’s size and a surprisingly large and varied cultural scene. Is the winter a drawback? Not really. Road clearance is a science and art in the Midwest and Des Moines’ ability to keep traffic moving in all but the worst weather is top notch. As one responder noted, there are no major professional teams, but most of the mainstream sports have minor league or developmental teams in the area. It is conveniently located close to Chicago, Minneapolis, Kansas City and St Louis, so you are a short plane ride to more urban areas. While it is a relatively small city to be the largest in the state, the ease of travel, burgeoning cultural scene and great schools more than compensate for what some may miss in a metropolis. I love going back and will always regard it as my hometown.

**What is it like to live in Des Moines, Iowa, USA?**

I currently go to college in Des Moines. Here are my pros and cons:
PROS

Everything that is here is easily accessible. It is easy to get around.
There is a wide variety of entertainment and culture growing in Des Moines.
The economy is growing and there are a lot of jobs here.
People are down to earth and nice
CONS

There are no pro sports teams here. There are the Iowa Cubs. If you want to see pro sports, Kansas City, Minneapolis, and Chicago are the closest nearby.
Airport is limited. I have to usually go to Chicago or Minneapolis for connecting flights.
It can be boring sometimes because the variety gets old here.
Overall I have enjoyed my time here in Des Moines. I could see myself settling down here, but will most likely go somewhere more urban when I graduate. Hope this is helpful.

Des Moines, Iowa

Field Of Dreams

Looklyloo Score: 79

East Village

Young Professionals

Sherman Hill

DINKs/SINKs

Sherman Hill

LGBTQ+

Waterbury

Families