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A soccer club -- of all things -- produces video that makes Iowa look like an awesome place to live...

You know the Quads are better just for the simple fact that for all the advantages DMS metro has the Quads are about the same size. The Quads have always had everything stacked against them. Two states, 5 cities virtually zero political power in either Iowa or Illinois. Despite this the Quads has thrived and developed its own identity and mojo. A little blue collar, unabashed by its history or place in the country it's a really attractive ad underrated place in America. In fact I brought some business associates back to the Quads a couple of months ago and they have not stopped talking about it. Guys that have spent a lot of time in both CA and the Mid Atlantic states keep asking me about potential real estate opportunities in the Quads. Normally in the past you could blow this off as them taking the piss but these guys are serious. There are few real opportunities left in major DMA's in the US and the market is shifting. I get that Des Moines hoovers up all the state and fed money for any whim they desire but Eastern Iowa and specifically the Quads will always attract the outsiders and non conformists who will prevail in spite of Des Moines or Springfields stacked deck.


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If Iowa areas were minor leage baseball affiliates:

Des Moines'-AAA-A good mid level organization among their peers. Not the best but not the worst.

I-380 corridor-AA-lots of entertainment and cultural options. Not the best but not bad.

QC's-High A-Biggest positive is closeness to IC and Chicago. Some OK entertainment options. Don't forget the pizza and Bridges.

Cedar Valley-Low A-Cedar Falls is carrying them here(well UNI) without a doubt. But some not awful things to do. Can make it to the twin cities in a good 3 hours. We are talking low A here remember.
 
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Not entirely the point of the thread, but I always chuckle about non-Iowans ripping on Iowa or living in Iowa as if Iowans give AF or will get their feelings hurt.
 
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This piqued my curiosity and I spent the past 15 minutes watching videos of people skiing the "double black diamond" run in Mt Horeb. Oh boy, ya really live on the edge out there in the great plains don't you?
Can you go skiing an 1 hr drive from your house?
Oh you live in Colorado good. No shit fvck wad.
 
Not entirely the point of the thread, but I always chuckle about non-Iowans ripping on Iowa or living in Iowa as if Iowans give AF or will get their feelings hurt.
Lol, it is funny. People don't realize Iowans live everywhere, we know what the fvck the rest of the country looks like.
 
I live close by where the stadium is going to be built (maybe a 5 minute walk) so I'm pretty excited about this whole development as I don't plan to move from this location anytime soon. Able to get the downtown vibe without living right in the middle of it.

10 minute walk to Court, 15-20 to East Village, 15 to Principal Park. Once the stadium is built it will be 5 minutes to that and all of the restaurant/retail that comes with it. It's a pretty great area, and only getting better. They are also developing out the area just south of East Village as a "Market District."

I'm hoping they start popping up some small houses that aren't connected townhome/condo style. I have a hard time getting over spending 500-750K on a home and still having to share a wall with someone.
 
I live close by where the stadium is going to be built (maybe a 5 minute walk) so I'm pretty excited about this whole development as I don't plan to move from this location anytime soon. Able to get the downtown vibe without living right in the middle of it.

10 minute walk to Court, 15-20 to East Village, 15 to Principal Park. Once the stadium is built it will be 5 minutes to that and all of the restaurant/retail that comes with it. It's a pretty great area, and only getting better. They are also developing out the area just south of East Village as a "Market District."

I'm hoping they start popping up some small houses that aren't connected townhome/condo style. I have a hard time getting over spending 500-750K on a home and still having to share a wall with someone.
Different strokes for different folks but I don’t understand why anyone with means would share a wall with someone in iowa. Land is cheap - that is the great advantage of living here.
 
Different strokes for different folks but I don’t understand why anyone with means would share a wall with someone in iowa. Land is cheap - that is the great advantage of living here.

It's not cheap in the Des Moines metro... lot prices are out of control here. But yeah, if I'm going to spend half a mil, I will not be sharing a wall with someone, that's for sure.

I just refuse to live in the suburbs and like being in walking distance of everything I need. If I had kids I would consider it just due to the school systems, but as a single dude w/ no desire to have kids... downtown area is where it's at for me.
 
It's not cheap in the Des Moines metro... lot prices are out of control here. But yeah, if I'm going to spend half a mil, I will not be sharing a wall with someone, that's for sure.

I just refuse to live in the suburbs and like being in walking distance of everything I need. If I had kids I would consider it just due to the school systems, but as a single dude w/ no desire to have kids... downtown area is where it's at for me.
It’s quite cheap relative to densely populated areas on the coasts or in Chicago.
 
Lots of good places to live in Iowa. I prefer the small town vibes but Iowa City and DSM are both pretty cool. I'd never want to live there, but nice to get away there once in a while for a show, game, etc.
 
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It’s quite cheap relative to densely populated areas on the coasts or in Chicago.
I wouldn't be surprised if living downtown became cheaper.

The continuance of WFH and Hybrid work situations has got to detract from the lure of living downtown. Why would you live there when you can live further out and cheaper without having to pay the commute cost and time as in the past? If you want to do pleasure events you can certainly drive in for those and not live among the increasing amount of undesirables located at least in downtown DSM.

Downtown DSM has changed since covid started and not for the better. I'm expecting we will see that continue. If things were rosie why did EMC do an about face and go from an expansive mindset to putting up both the hole in the ground that used to be Younkers and the Hub Tower on the market for sale? Look at the number of projects that hit the brakes even before covid due to market saturation. There were a shitload of units created in a relatively short period of time.

My gut tells me there is going to be a glut of commercial real estate in downtowns converted to residential. If so supply and demand would suggest the price of those units will be falling.
 
I wouldn't be surprised if living downtown became cheaper.

The continuance of WFH and Hybrid work situations has got to detract from the lure of living downtown. Why would you live there when you can live further out and cheaper without having to pay the commute cost and time as in the past? If you want to do pleasure events you can certainly drive in for those and not live among the increasing amount of undesirables located at least in downtown DSM.

Downtown DSM has changed since covid started and not for the better. I'm expecting we will see that continue. If things were rosie why did EMC do an about face and go from an expansive mindset to putting up both the hole in the ground that used to be Younkers and the Hub Tower on the market for sale? Look at the number of projects that hit the brakes even before covid due to market saturation. There were a shitload of units created in a relatively short period of time.

My gut tells me there is going to be a glut of commercial real estate in downtowns converted to residential. If so supply and demand would suggest the price of those units will be falling.
You could very well be right. I have read that that the market for commercial real estate shrunk by 20% since the pandemic hit. But, with EMC, it could just be the CEO woke up one day and said, hey, we're an insurance company, with in the eff are we trying to be landlords? Hub Tower pretty much has tenants other than the floors which EMC has vacated (although there are a few empty). But with the sale of it and the Kaleidoscope mall, I just marvel at how bad they f&cked that up. It was full of paying tenants when they were going to put up the 2nd of two 30+ story buildings, neither of which came to fruition. Evicted them all and now it is decaying building, empty for years. I'm not sure it can ever make a comeback, other than maybe the food court. Maybe that will get converted to residential on the lower level?

With regard to living downtown, it appeals to the young and the old, and I supposed the middle aged without kids. I don't see those people going anywhere when their social scene is right there in walking distance. Also, my sense is that there is not an increasing amount of "undesirables" that live there. Yeah, the homeless have gotten a lot more aggressive begging on seemingly every intersection, but I think that is a nationwide thing. Hell, I see them sitting on corners in Ankeny quite frequently. It almost makes me wonder whether there is some centralized system that disburses and then picks people up after a full day of panhandling...
 
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I wouldn't be surprised if living downtown became cheaper.

The continuance of WFH and Hybrid work situations has got to detract from the lure of living downtown. Why would you live there when you can live further out and cheaper without having to pay the commute cost and time as in the past? If you want to do pleasure events you can certainly drive in for those and not live among the increasing amount of undesirables located at least in downtown DSM.

Downtown DSM has changed since covid started and not for the better. I'm expecting we will see that continue. If things were rosie why did EMC do an about face and go from an expansive mindset to putting up both the hole in the ground that used to be Younkers and the Hub Tower on the market for sale? Look at the number of projects that hit the brakes even before covid due to market saturation. There were a shitload of units created in a relatively short period of time.

My gut tells me there is going to be a glut of commercial real estate in downtowns converted to residential. If so supply and demand would suggest the price of those units will be falling.
That's why you do what I do, live just off of downtown but in walking distance. None of the riff-raff and I can go out, have some drinks, and walk home. Best of both worlds.
 
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