.

[Brentwood]

Have you looked into the Altoona area?

The I have been living here basically since I graduated from ISU in 2005. It has a lot of the amenities of the western suburbs, without the stuffiness that the West side can sometimes provide. It also has easy access to Ankeny and Downtown.

Just a thought. I love it out here.

 

[NoCreativity]

Everyone raves about Beaverdale around here. Where can I go to see this community in action? e.g. some town square or something? Genuinely asking because I'm looking for a house now, and the compromises you have to make to live in Beaverdale are pretty steep (small compartmentalized houses, detached garages, no en-suite, etc).

To the OP - Some people convinced me to rent at first and I'm glad I listened.

Not all Beaverdale houses are small. There are plenty of smaller 2 bedroom homes around 1,000 square feet but there are also plenty of $300,000 and up homes that will give you plenty of space. Its a nice mix and has options for most budgets.

Here's my shameless plug for Beaverdale. I grew up in the suburbs, moved to the city a couple years ago, and would never go back to the suburbs.

I'm 5 minutes away from downtown businesses, Principal Park, and WFA. If I want to go to the West Side its 10 minutes away. It seems to have a nice mix of younger families our age with kids, and older retirees. People walk their dogs and ride bicycles down my street constantly. I feel it's much easier to connect with your neighbors, alot of homes have front porches which people sit out on, something you rarely see in the suburbs.

There is much more diversity than you will find in the suburbs and I like supporting local businesses, which Beaverdale has alot. I was also lucky to get a 2-car garage, something that doesnt happen that often in the area. I could think of hundreds of nice things to say about the are, the only things I dont like are the streets are a mess after a huge snowstorm and it takes them forever to plow. I also don't like that some people don't do any maintenance on their homes. You can drive around the area and find absolutely beautiful homes with perfect lawns, followed by homes falling apart and makes certain areas look bad.

The traffic in the area I dont think is bad either. It gets busy during rush hour around Hickman and Beaver but other than that I think the traffic is manageable compared to suburbs like Ankeny.

Also, like I said, I dont know what your budget is, but they have options for everyone's budget. I feel like these new developments in the suburbs have priced out your average middle class family. This is one of the reasons I dont plan on going back. You will spend at least $200,000 for a cookie cutter home in the middle of a cornfield with no charm.

 

[dmclone]

This is a serious question that I hope will get some serious answers.

How do people actually afford the new houses in Waukee/West Des Moines/etc unless they make a $200k+ as a household. Then have a large SUV, boat, etc? We went to DSM last weekend just to look at houses for fun and all the new one were $380k +

I know the answer is "They make more than you make" or "They have lots of debt" but those aren't really helpful answers. Sometimes it baffles me how many wealthy people there are in Des Moines. We make 2.3x the average Iowa household income (no student loans but 2 kids in daycare) and we feel like we'd have to move to a house under $200k to have any sort of life.

We love the South of Grand/Waveland neighborhoods in DSM but my wife wants that character with a new house. To get a newer house with that character we'd be stuck out in the far-flung suburbs. The area west of Jordan Creek was weird - it seemed very random.

I guess this is all to say that coming from a smaller town we can be involved in lots of community projects and I fear if we lived in a tract house in Waukee/Grimes there really wouldn't be the same type of community feel. Does that make sense?

We do Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring, fundraising for the several local non-profits, wife is in a position of community leadership for a non-profit etc. I fear in a brand new suburb none of that would exist because everyone is wealthy and "from somewhere else".

/word vomit

I assume people that buy a $380k house do make $200k/year. Like you know, a lot of people are not saving and getting super long car loans. This isn't just happening in the suburbs.

Like you said, you have to give up some things with what ever choice you make.

We moved into a new house 15 years ago in Johnston. I didn't want a fixer upper, I like new, clean, and reliable. I could care less about schmoozing with my neighbors. When one of them is out of town we watch each others house, we snow blow driveways for each other, and that's about it. A couple times a year I have to listen to the neighbor talk about how great Iowa/UNI is and that's enough talk for me. My wife isn't social at all with the neighbors, her friends live in other locations. We pay a couple hundred a year in association fees for up-keep and to make sure no one paints their houses purple or have hawkeye mailboxes. When I work downtown it takes me 20 minutes max to drive 15 miles. I pull my car out of the 3 stall garage and pull into work with covered parking and walk into the skywalk. In 15 years, I've never seen police lights in my neighborhood.

In those 15 years, we've probably spent $25k on the house by adding a home theater, fence, new carpet, and landscaping. In 15 years no leaking basement, no furnace/air issues, no water heater issues, no plumbing issues, etc. Really the only thing I've missed during that time is large established trees.

I've thought about buying a condo downtown but I'd not willing to pay the price they are charging for the limitations of living in a condo.

I like Johnston but if I was looking today I'd still look at Johnston first but would also consider Grimes, Clive, Urbandale, Ankeny and WDM. I have no desire to live in an old house so most of Des Moines would be out of discussion.

 

[3TrueFans]

This is a serious question that I hope will get some serious answers.

How do people actually afford the new houses in Waukee/West Des Moines/etc unless they make a $200k+ as a household. Then have a large SUV, boat, etc? We went to DSM last weekend just to look at houses for fun and all the new one were $380k +

I know the answer is "They make more than you make" or "They have lots of debt" but those aren't really helpful answers. Sometimes it baffles me how many wealthy people there are in Des Moines. We make 2.3x the average Iowa household income (no student loans but 2 kids in daycare) and we feel like we'd have to move to a house under $200k to have any sort of life.

We love the South of Grand/Waveland neighborhoods in DSM but my wife wants that character with a new house. To get a newer house with that character we'd be stuck out in the far-flung suburbs. The area west of Jordan Creek was weird - it seemed very random.

I guess this is all to say that coming from a smaller town we can be involved in lots of community projects and I fear if we lived in a tract house in Waukee/Grimes there really wouldn't be the same type of community feel. Does that make sense?

We do Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring, fundraising for the several local non-profits, wife is in a position of community leadership for a non-profit etc. I fear in a brand new suburb none of that would exist because everyone is wealthy and "from somewhere else".

/word vomit

The answer is probably debt, but doesn't 2.3x the average household income get you pretty close to $200k?

 

[EnhancedFujita]

This is a serious question that I hope will get some serious answers.

How do people actually afford the new houses in Waukee/West Des Moines/etc unless they make a $200k+ as a household. Then have a large SUV, boat, etc? We went to DSM last weekend just to look at houses for fun and all the new one were $380k +

I know the answer is "They make more than you make" or "They have lots of debt" but those aren't really helpful answers. Sometimes it baffles me how many wealthy people there are in Des Moines. We make 2.3x the average Iowa household income (no student loans but 2 kids in daycare) and we feel like we'd have to move to a house under $200k to have any sort of life.

We love the South of Grand/Waveland neighborhoods in DSM but my wife wants that character with a new house. To get a newer house with that character we'd be stuck out in the far-flung suburbs. The area west of Jordan Creek was weird - it seemed very random.

I guess this is all to say that coming from a smaller town we can be involved in lots of community projects and I fear if we lived in a tract house in Waukee/Grimes there really wouldn't be the same type of community feel. Does that make sense?

We do Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring, fundraising for the several local non-profits, wife is in a position of community leadership for a non-profit etc. I fear in a brand new suburb none of that would exist because everyone is wealthy and "from somewhere else".

/word vomit

My experience is that lots of people will prioritize a "nice" home over most everything else. I think the standard rule of thumb is to not spend more than 1/3 of your monthly income on housing costs. I'd be willing to bet that a lot of these instances its more like half. On my cul-de-sac we're one of three family's that have both adults working a full-time. It seems like most everyone else has one person working a full-time job in an upper level position at one of the big corporations in town while the other works some part-time or in-home type job.

 

[NoCreativity]

The answer is probably debt, but doesn't 2.3x the average household income get you pretty close to $200k?

$200,000 will get you nowhere in the suburbs unless you want to live in the older parts of towns that were developed in the 60's or want to own a condo.

 

[3TrueFans]

I think he was saying income-wise.

Yeah, and apparently I was looking at family income as opposed to household which I guess are different things.

 

[dmclone]

It sounds like you and I are very different. I don't need to be friends with my neighbors but I just want to see people walking around, to have children around for my kids, to walk to the ice cream store or gas station, etc. I don't want my kids to be surrounded by 6-lane roads in every direction so they can't leave their neighborhood. I want an attached garage but I don't want to "pull in at 5 PM and never see anyone" lifestyle. I get that people are different - it's not a judgement call - but I don't want a nice house - I want a nice neighborhood.

Kids in our neighborhood take sidewalks to school, the gas station, parks, etc. They play basketball in the driveway. People grill and hang out in their yard. A bike trail is a block away that I believe will get you about anywhere in the metro. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any 6 lane roads in Johnston. The busiest road close to me(86th) is about 1/4 mile away and there are sidewalks. Maybe I've spent to much time in the suburbs and have no kids but do kids today really walk to other neighborhoods, hang out at the corner store, etc.?

 

[NoCreativity]

I think he was saying income-wise.

That makes sense. I can tell you that my wife and I both have good jobs and make more than the average household in Iowa, and we were still priced out of the owning a new home in the suburbs around Des Moines.

I would strongly consider looking into Beaverdale, we love it here, we got a really nice 1100 square foot home for well under $200,000 in a great neighborhood. Our mortgage payment per month is even cheaper than most apartments around the city.

I think to answer your question, is in some cases people are "house poor". Ive had numerous friends with new houses out in the suburbs who really don't have much of anything left after all their monthly bills.

 

[Cybyassociation]

DO NOT BUY A GRAYHAWK HOME!!!!! I can't tell you how many hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs our neighborhood has made from their ****** construction. They threw the house up behind us in less than 2 weeks, laid sod in the middle of winter, and refused to replace the sod when everything died and floated around the neighborhood when the spring thaw came around. They're unethical, they're unprofessional, and they don't know how to build homes to withstand Iowa winters (they're a Georgia based company).

 

[dmclone]

I also think people exaggerate how people in the suburbs live. The homes in my area range from around $280k-$500k. I look around and I don't see boats, even though we are close to saylorville. The average house has two vehicles, most of which are 5+ years old and worth less than $40k combined. One guy in the neighborhood has a classic truck that he gets out like twice a year. Besides myself, I can't think of anyone in the 20 or so houses around me that has bought a brand new vehicle in the last 10 years. Now driving down 86th I'll see some more exotic vehicles (Model S, High end SUV's, etc.) but for every one of those I notice there are 200 that go by that are 8 year old Camry's.

 

[Cyfan1965]

Thanks. My dream move is to Saint Paul but my wife will not go for that (yesterday she said moving to Saint Paul is a "1 out of 10") so Des Moines is the next logical choice. What we like about where we live now is the sense of community through having a small downtown and being involved in the community. We do not want to be in a place where it's only strip malls without a real sense of local community. Schools are less important because we'd plan to send them to Catholic school.

I'm super excited about the opportunities.

Caution about small towns- We moved to a town of less 4,000 in 1990- We are not from town, we will never be from town. Everyone from town is related- You can be talking to a "townie: one on one if another townie joins the conversation they will literally turn from you and talk to the other person. I have deemed it the townie quotient. 2 townies will exceed the quotient- All of our friends are from somewhere else. FYI

 

[dmclone]

There is a lot of differences.

Beaverdale median household income $58k
Johnston $95k
Waukee $81k
Windsor Heights $53k
Ankeny $76k

Beaverdale Average age 30
Johnston 39
Waukee 33
Windsor Heights 41
Ankeny 32

Beaverdale median property value $130k
Johnston $237k
Waukee $191k
Windsor Heights $180k
Ankeny $186k

 

[capitalcityguy]

This is a serious question that I hope will get some serious answers.

How do people actually afford the new houses in Waukee/West Des Moines/etc unless they make a $200k+ as a household. Then have a large SUV, boat, etc? We went to DSM last weekend just to look at houses for fun and all the new one were $380k +

I know the answer is "They make more than you make" or "They have lots of debt" but those aren't really helpful answers. Sometimes it baffles me how many wealthy people there are in Des Moines. We make 2.3x the average Iowa household income (no student loans but 2 kids in daycare) and we feel like we'd have to move to a house under $200k to have any sort of life.

We love the South of Grand/Waveland neighborhoods in DSM but my wife wants that character with a new house. To get a newer house with that character we'd be stuck out in the far-flung suburbs. The area west of Jordan Creek was weird - it seemed very random.

I guess this is all to say that coming from a smaller town we can be involved in lots of community projects and I fear if we lived in a tract house in Waukee/Grimes there really wouldn't be the same type of community feel. Does that make sense?

We do Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring, fundraising for the several local non-profits, wife is in a position of community leadership for a non-profit etc. I fear in a brand new suburb none of that would exist because everyone is wealthy and "from somewhere else".

/word vomit

Those are very legitimate questions...and I think a lot of people wonder the same things. How do these people afford these huge houses plus the ....boats.....luxury SUVs...etc.etc...???

Some actually can afford it. There are a lot of high paying white collar jobs in Des Moines thanks in large part to the presence of a strong financial services industry. These companies all need lawyers, actuaries, investment mangers, IT, etc.etc. So in some instances, a lot of these families can afford it all.....especially if both parents are pulling in nice salaries. It also doesn't hurt to have the Capital located here as that brings higher paying jobs as well for various reasons.

That said, I believe a good portion of individuals living in these big houses are living well above their means. I have a very unique perspective on this as one of the functions of my job is that I evaluate individual household financials on a daily basis. I get a full picture of income, debt, assets, etc. It continually amazing me what type of household incomes come across my desk but they have little or nothing to show for it in terms of actual assets accumulated. (We don't include the house for our analysis) They blow through money as fast as they earn it.

I came from similar "smaller" Iowa community (Mason City) before moving to Des Monies and completely understand your desire not to lose the feeling. I was very plugged in living there but I can tell you from experience, it is not hard at all to plug into Des Moines albeit on a bigger scale. Going back to my earlier comment, when you intentionally decide to locate within the city proper, you already have something in common with your neighbors and your small business community and I think that common interest helps facilitate making connections easier than the suburbs where that is kind of the default choice. (again...not making a value judgement, just evaluating the realities and my experience in both situations).

 

[Shawker]

I live in Grimes and will put in a plug for it. Wife, kids and I have lived here for going on 9 years and we love it. It still sorta has a small town feel but is also conveniently located. There are a TON of children in Grimes as a lot of younger families are moving here. There's also a good mix of established homes if you're not wanting/able to buy new.

 

[EnhancedFujita]

I went to Ankeny once during the day for work and stopped to eat at Pepperjax and run into TJ Maxx. I was the only man surronded by dozens of women in yoga pants. I went to Target and same thing, the only guy surrounded by women in yoga pants, many with strollers. I wasn't complaining.

It's just crazy to me how many well paying jobs are out there in Des Moines where wives don't need to work.

On a society-level, I actually think it's bad because people start to think everyone is just like them.

There is definitely some of that in Johnston, but when I lived in the older part of Urbandale it wasn't uncommon either. I think that societal norm just exists more than I thought it did, which to each their own I guess.

As far as community goes and stuff, I think it is what you make of it. Lots of my neighbors are out and about in the summer. Lots of kids running around the cul-de-sac. Once its warm out my kids (10 & 7) are outside after school until it gets dark. The street over even had a block party last summer that was pretty fun. I'm not sure any of that would have been the case in our old neighborhood in Urbandale because most of the neighborhood was empty nesters with only a few families. So if you are wanting that interaction, I think you can find it anywhere, but you just need to look for the mix of people in the neighborhood. I'd recommend driving through some areas on weekends and week nights in the summer to get a feel for it.

As far as volunteering for stuff in the community, there are options all over the place, you just have to be proactive. Organizations are always short on volunteers.

 

[NoCreativity]

There is a lot of differences.

Beaverdale median household income $58k
Johnston $95k
Waukee $81k
Windsor Heights $53k
Ankeny $76k

Beaverdale Average age 30
Johnston 39
Waukee 33
Windsor Heights 41
Ankeny 32

Beaverdale median property value $130k
Johnston $237k
Waukee $191k
Windsor Heights $180k
Ankeny $186k

I find this extremely interesting about Johnston, I had a delivery service gig a few years back in Johnston, they sure don't tip like its one of the wealthiest suburbs in the city. Schools were by the far the worst, I remember taking thousands of dollars worth of food to them every month with not even a dime made in doing so.

 

[capitalcityguy]

There is a lot of differences.

Beaverdale median household income $58k
Johnston $95k
Waukee $81k
Windsor Heights $53k
Ankeny $76k

Beaverdale Average age 30
Johnston 39
Waukee 33
Windsor Heights 41
Ankeny 32

Beaverdale median property value $130k
Johnston $237k
Waukee $191k
Windsor Heights $180k
Ankeny $186k

The OP is looking at a neighborhood level so I'm not sure how helpful city-wide stats help.. e.g.....take the neighborhood in Johnson east of Merle Hay Rd. They still have city streets with ditches and thus lacking curbs. It is no different than what you'll find in most small towns in Iowa.

I think the OP is trying to get much more granular (which is smart IMO) than what these numbers can possibly illustrate about each community.

 

[dmclone]

The OP is looking at a neighborhood level so I'm not sure how helpful city-wide stats help.. e.g.....take the neighborhood in Johnson east of Merle Hay Rd. They still have city streets with ditches and thus lacking curbs. It is no different than what you'll find in most small towns in Iowa.

I think the OP is trying to get much more granular (which is smart IMO) than what these numbers can possibly illustrate about each community.

True. That's why it makes no sense to say "I don't want to live in a suburb because...."

 

[aeroclone]

New construction certainly seems to be skewed to the high end in the suburbs because that is where the profits are. There are still affordable options in any part of town.

As for who is buying those, I think there is a big mix of people. The popilar stereotype is the house poor suburbanites trying to keep up with the Jones's. Those certainly exist, but there are also plenty of legit high income earners. You also have people relocating from more expensive markets in larger cities or the coasts. To those people houses at those prices look like a steal. And from my experience moving from a more starter neighborhood to a higher end neighborhood, you run into a lot of older families and empty nesters. These people have built up equity in prior homes so just because they have a more expensive home doesn't mean they have a massive mortgage.