Des Moines, Iowa

RebelliousSoup
2y ago
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Transplant
I had similar questions very recently so I have a bit of insight even though I don’t live there (yet).

Bout a month or two I came down for a wedding from Wisconsin and I fell in love.

The traffic is an absolute treasure, it was so slow I was literally dancing in the street lol. During my stay I ate at a bunch of places and visited a ton of spots and it was cool. I was then at this place called Zombie Burger (I love that cryptid, spooky shit) and I heard my favorite band playing over the speaker which gets absolutely no radio play (Slothrust) and it was like a sign for me.

So I looked into Des Moines. Compared to Madison, WI, the populations are about the same (200,000). Rent is much more affordable in Des Moines and pay is higher. My fiancé is an assisted living nurse (no degree) and makes $12 up here; in Des Moines they make $17-25. Same with my roommate, he makes $9 for a deli and in Des Moines they make $15-17. For me, I work as a custodian making $18.50 which is pretty good for the position, in Des Moines they pay $20

Also in comparison to Madison, traffic is much easier. The demographics of Des Moines are largely 28 - 55 yr olds so everyone basically just works. Madison is full to the damn brim with college kids.

xP628sLh
2y ago
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While Iowa is mostly white people, Des Moines is more racially diverse than it was; more like 85% white, 15% Black and brown populations.

There are all kinds of festivals in the summer, there are lots of parks (most are well maintained, some need some care), we don't have as many walkable city centers as I'd like but the East Village and Beaverdale are walkable. We have city bikes you can rent which is cool. Part of our garbage is sent to a town nearby (Ames, IA) for recycling.

Rent is much cheaper than the rest of the country, insurance companies have their headquarters in DSM so many of us work in that industry.

Iowa has our bigots and racists, you'll see confederate flags & Trump signs in some areas but most of us in town are pretty friendly and progressive.

DaintyCabbage62
8mo ago
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I’ve lived in Des Moines for about 3.5 years now so I am far from an expert but thought I’d offer my perspective. I grew up in Colorado before starting my journey to the Midwest through college that then brought me to Iowa.

Pretty great cost of living. One of the reasons I love Des Moines is that I can actually afford to live close to downtown. You can definitely find cheaper spots in the nearby suburbs and probably won’t have to commute more than 15 minutes either way. Don’t know where you found your numbers or what size you’re looking at, but you can find nice places for way cheaper.

Des Moines is a really liberal leaning and welcoming city. You’ll find some suburbs have more conservative views than others.

My first year here had the coldest winter I had ever experienced followed by the hottest summer I had ever experienced. The extremes are rough but don’t last forever. Im terrified to drive in the snow, so I don’t. Des Moines is so quick about clearing their snow and gets to all the residential streets - something that amazed me coming from Colorado.

Might just be because the weather has been really nice lately and we’ve had some gorgeous sunsets but I’ve been thinking about how much I love Des Moines lately. It’s not for everyone, I know I wouldn’t thrive in a big city. I love that I don’t have to spend any time in traffic. I love that I can sit on the glass at the Iowa Wild game for 20$. I love the people that live here. I think everyone can find a space here.

weberc2
8mo ago
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I’ll second Des Moines being pretty great—moved from Chicago almost two years ago and no regrets so far. The main thing that’s weird to me is that so many of the locals seem almost ashamed of Des Moines; it doesn’t have a major sports team but there’s more to life. In particular Des Moines is affordable and there’s not much crime or poverty compared to other major cities. People treat each other well and take care of their city. My main grievance is the fixation with strip malls, chain stores/restaurants, and cookie cutter suburban housing developments—but you can largely escape that if you stick to Des Moines proper or maybe the closest suburbs. Would love to hear from others on the subject.

THE PROS AND CONS OF LIVING IN IOWA