Iowa St for Brock

[corbi296]

Well, I personally can't say I live that life, though your brother's sure does read great on paper. I just live in a smaller city than I used to. Metro Des Moines is actually over 630k people now, and it would surprise some that it is the fastest growing city in the Midwest. For some people in Iowa, Des Moines is WAY too big. A lot of it is perspective and personal taste. That's kind of my point- just like it is yours with the different lives you and your brother lead. To each their own.

What’s driving growth in Des Moines? I’ve spent some time there and came away with a lukewarm impression.

 

[Jonny2TheP]

What’s driving growth in Des Moines? I’ve spent some time there and came away with a lukewarm impression.

Several things...first of all, Des Moines has a ton of financial/insurance/agricultural headquarters. Wells Fargo, Principal Group, and Pioneer/DuPont all have their headquarters or major offices here due to the fact that the cost of doing business here is cheaper than almost all other major metros. Additionally, cost of living, while increasing due to the growth, is well below that of other major metros. For example, the house that I have here would be about 2x the cost in nicer Chicago areas and even more on the West/East coasts.

They've also done a ton in the downtown area in the last 15 years. It doesn't rival a big city like Chicago or many other large cities as far as the amount of things to do, but there are plenty of ways to have fun in the downtown area. We've also got a ton of parks/forest preserves and are one of the more friendly bicycling cities in the country with a ton of bike paths and bike lanes on roads.

 

[hdhntr1]

Well, I personally can't say I live that life, though your brother's sure does read great on paper. I just live in a smaller city than I used to. Metro Des Moines is actually over 630k people now, and it would surprise some that it is the fastest growing city in the Midwest. For some people in Iowa, Des Moines is WAY too big. A lot of it is perspective and personal taste. That's kind of my point- just like it is yours with the different lives you and your brother lead. To each their own.

Which means the city it self is 200-300K Again nice size in that it is big enough to offer descent choices but small enough to easily get around and have significantly lower prices, though it might be outgrowing some of that. I mean Chicago has thousands of restaurants but how many of them can one legitimately try? And while there are not high level pro teams and a few other things, commutes will be closer to 20 minutes than the hour common in Chicago.