From California, I LOVE Iowa. The only cons I see are the brutal winters and mosquitoes but thats pretty much it. It's cheap, safe, fun (in my opinion), and my family lives there. I hope someday I can move to Iowa.
Brutal winters are a mindset 😂 but also after living through a few they're not as bad as they first were. We have our yard sprayed for mosquitos (we have lots of trees) and it makes all the difference. So when you one day hopefully move to Iowa - know there are solutions.
Des Moines now has the biggest Mountain Dew X games skate park in America right along the river in the metro area I believe is where it’s at. If you look at DesMoines sky line it is more impressive compared to Columbus Ohio’s for example, and that sky line is cool looking from a paddle boat on grays lake. We spend a lot of time in Des Moines because there is always something to do there.
There is always something to do here! I have heard great things about the skate park which is fairly new. But I'm too old, big, and clumsy to use it myself 😂
A native marylander (Baltimore), I retired 2 years ago and moved to western Iowa (100 miles west of DSM) to a small town, real estate is much more affordable and people are friendly. I love it here!But always remember, NO ONE MOVES TO THE MIDWEST FOR THE WEATHER. LOL 😆 25 beliw zero 😲 OMG
HA! How true! When I moved back to Iowa from Florida - everyone asked me WHY??? I would tell them for the fashion opportunities - layering clothes in the winter 😂
@@HeatherWright I also remember about 2 years ago maybe it was 50 degrees here in the winter and people in Texas that same week struggled with -10 degree temperatures fighting for their lives and some people died.
Sensei, this is not my exact wheelhouse - I know enough to be dangerous 🙃 I'm not entirely sure how the taxes are calculated. It would appear to be about 2.5% of the appraised value but that's not the actual formula that's displayed on the assessor site. The recorder site has a lot of helpful information (except a rate formula, of course) here: www.polkcountyiowa.gov/county-treasurer/property-tax/ What I know is that people complain about the taxes being high. But I bet that is a common complaint ANYWHERE. It's one of those things that no one is happy about paying. Because of the weather we experience I'm sure our road construction costs are greater here than they are in Florida, for example. According to this article: wallethub.com/edu/states-with-the-highest-and-lowest-property-taxes/11585 we rank #40 for property taxes which is on the high side.
I wouldn't say Des Moines offers biking as a mode of transportation. There are a lot of trails, but one has to live in a safe enough area to get to them by bike, otherwise they're mostly accessed via putting a bike on a rack and driving it to a trail. 😅 The few bike lanes are a joke in Des Moines and don't offer safety and separation from dangerous moving car, bus, semi, truck, etc traffic. There is cyclist culture but not transportation. It's more of a pleasure pasttime and sport. There is a difference. Living in Portland, Seattle and various locations in Europe, bikes are a bona-fide mode of transportation with adequate safety roads for pedestrians and those on manual wheels (bikes, boards, skates, etc) Suburbs in DM aren't very walkable and a lot of the city isn't either because apparently, sprawl to accommodate mass consumerism, dominates and zoning prevents newer development to create safe, walkable, bikeable, boardable, PLEASANT mixed structure neighborhoods. Valley Junction, Beaverdale, Highland Oak Park, Sherman Hill, etc where the homes, offices, shops, etc are mixed into the same space are the ideal set up. But... gotta make sure people are dependent on motor vehicles. Public transportation isn't great either. So, if you want to live somewhere that supports public transportation, walking and alternate modes of transport, don't move to DM. Also, don't move to DM because infrastructure otherwise sucks. You'll replace your tires often, your home won't be worth the assessed value they tax you for and the process to prove that will be exhausting, expensive and they know that people won't bother, so they'll keep doing it. Making owning and maintaining a home hard for an average working person. Wages suck, but they do all over unless one lives in a state where strong unions and workers rights are valued and maintained by the people. Iowa sucks. Don't move here. It's lame.
Ha, I think you missed my point at 3:18 - that biking is probably more a super popular mode of partying 😂. Thank you for explaining the difference between the transportation and cyclist culture - that's exactly right. I can't speak to adequate safety as my experience is limited to the Des Moines Metro area. Des Moines proper property taxes ARE high but they're not related to what you can sell your house for - market value is used for that regard. I've had clients protest their taxes and win using market value reports we provide - so it's definitely possible. But you might be right that the average person doesn't bother, I can't really say. Sounds like you live in an amazing place and hopefully one day your opinion of Iowa will change.
From California, I LOVE Iowa. The only cons I see are the brutal winters and mosquitoes but thats pretty much it. It's cheap, safe, fun (in my opinion), and my family lives there. I hope someday I can move to Iowa.
Brutal winters are a mindset 😂 but also after living through a few they're not as bad as they first were. We have our yard sprayed for mosquitos (we have lots of trees) and it makes all the difference. So when you one day hopefully move to Iowa - know there are solutions.
Des Moines now has the biggest Mountain Dew X games skate park in America right along the river in the metro area I believe is where it’s at. If you look at DesMoines sky line it is more impressive compared to Columbus Ohio’s for example, and that sky line is cool looking from a paddle boat on grays lake. We spend a lot of time in Des Moines because there is always something to do there.
There is always something to do here! I have heard great things about the skate park which is fairly new. But I'm too old, big, and clumsy to use it myself 😂
@@HeatherWright me also but it’s good for the kids
A native marylander (Baltimore), I retired 2 years ago and moved to western Iowa (100 miles west of DSM) to a small town, real estate is much more affordable and people are friendly. I love it here!But always remember, NO ONE MOVES TO THE MIDWEST FOR THE WEATHER. LOL 😆 25 beliw zero 😲 OMG
HA! How true! When I moved back to Iowa from Florida - everyone asked me WHY??? I would tell them for the fashion opportunities - layering clothes in the winter 😂
@@HeatherWright I also remember about 2 years ago maybe it was 50 degrees here in the winter and people in Texas that same week struggled with -10 degree temperatures fighting for their lives and some people died.
@@Yyyyyy5 That's true! The weather is unpredictable for sure!
take your upvote,
you're funny
Go Hawkeyes
I don't know if I'll move to Des Moines now
Was it the many seasons or the bicycles that scared you off?
Cow tipping is Real Baby
I suppose we should plan a time to go snipe hunting too? 😝
@@HeatherWright sorry no killing anything
@@bryanleovy2163 that's the joke - it's not real either!
@@HeatherWright OHHHH
You might mention that Des Moines has ridiculously high property taxes. :-(
That's true, Des Moines is known for higher property taxes. I think I've mentioned that on another video but regardless, it's something to consider.
What’s considered high property taxes ?
Sensei, this is not my exact wheelhouse - I know enough to be dangerous 🙃 I'm not entirely sure how the taxes are calculated. It would appear to be about 2.5% of the appraised value but that's not the actual formula that's displayed on the assessor site. The recorder site has a lot of helpful information (except a rate formula, of course) here: www.polkcountyiowa.gov/county-treasurer/property-tax/
What I know is that people complain about the taxes being high. But I bet that is a common complaint ANYWHERE. It's one of those things that no one is happy about paying. Because of the weather we experience I'm sure our road construction costs are greater here than they are in Florida, for example. According to this article: wallethub.com/edu/states-with-the-highest-and-lowest-property-taxes/11585 we rank #40 for property taxes which is on the high side.
You forgot to mention the high car registration for every year.
@@serialeater2083 I didn’t realize it was high until your comment. Did a little googling and sure enough it’s the 3rd highest in the US. Yikes!
I wouldn't say Des Moines offers biking as a mode of transportation. There are a lot of trails, but one has to live in a safe enough area to get to them by bike, otherwise they're mostly accessed via putting a bike on a rack and driving it to a trail. 😅 The few bike lanes are a joke in Des Moines and don't offer safety and separation from dangerous moving car, bus, semi, truck, etc traffic. There is cyclist culture but not transportation. It's more of a pleasure pasttime and sport. There is a difference. Living in Portland, Seattle and various locations in Europe, bikes are a bona-fide mode of transportation with adequate safety roads for pedestrians and those on manual wheels (bikes, boards, skates, etc) Suburbs in DM aren't very walkable and a lot of the city isn't either because apparently, sprawl to accommodate mass consumerism, dominates and zoning prevents newer development to create safe, walkable, bikeable, boardable, PLEASANT mixed structure neighborhoods. Valley Junction, Beaverdale, Highland Oak Park, Sherman Hill, etc where the homes, offices, shops, etc are mixed into the same space are the ideal set up. But... gotta make sure people are dependent on motor vehicles. Public transportation isn't great either. So, if you want to live somewhere that supports public transportation, walking and alternate modes of transport, don't move to DM. Also, don't move to DM because infrastructure otherwise sucks. You'll replace your tires often, your home won't be worth the assessed value they tax you for and the process to prove that will be exhausting, expensive and they know that people won't bother, so they'll keep doing it. Making owning and maintaining a home hard for an average working person. Wages suck, but they do all over unless one lives in a state where strong unions and workers rights are valued and maintained by the people. Iowa sucks. Don't move here. It's lame.
Ha, I think you missed my point at 3:18 - that biking is probably more a super popular mode of partying 😂. Thank you for explaining the difference between the transportation and cyclist culture - that's exactly right. I can't speak to adequate safety as my experience is limited to the Des Moines Metro area. Des Moines proper property taxes ARE high but they're not related to what you can sell your house for - market value is used for that regard. I've had clients protest their taxes and win using market value reports we provide - so it's definitely possible. But you might be right that the average person doesn't bother, I can't really say. Sounds like you live in an amazing place and hopefully one day your opinion of Iowa will change.
What is that painting, someone cleaning off their brush?
Maybe, I’m not sure. But I know I love it!