What's the cost of living in Des Moines, IA?

[EmperorRob]

Also, is it a good place to live? I'd appreciate any opinions from people who live or have lived there. I have a potential job offer there and I'm negotiating salary.

 

[FuryofFive]

ummmm lol...you can live comfortable anywhere on that amount.... do you spend alot of money?

 

[dabuddha]

Need more details. Are you single or do you have 15 dependents? What's your life style like. etc etc.

 

[EmperorRob]

I'm single, living in Little Rock now. My last job was significantly lower than that and I lived comfortably. However I have been looking at possibly relocating and I know many places such as the west coast have a very high cost of living so I wanted to check with the experts here

 

[racolvin]

Well Des Moines, IA wouldn't qualify as "west coast" From what my wife says (she was from that area) you should be quite comfy on $72k/year there

 

[vjyper]

I currently live in Des Moines. Good two bedroom apartments and condos can be found for $1000 or less a month. $72,000 in Des Moines will go a long way.

As a single guy with a roommate, I lived from August to January on $11,000.

 

[vi edit]

Des Moines is pretty reasonable. $200,000 will get you into a basically brand new home with probably 2400 sq/ft and a full unfishished basement. 2 stall garage and maybe a third depending on neighborhood/age/condition of place.

Property taxes are reasonable, gas is cheap, as are groceries. Not a ton to do though it's a 2 hour drive from Omaha/KC/Iowa City and about a 3 hour run up to Minneapolis. Omaha is a Southwest Airline airport so you can hop on there to travel easily. The Des Moines airport is a little weird because it's on that edge of being big enough to make direct flights to many places or requiring layovers in Chi or Denver depending on where you are going. Just really depends on the flight.

 

[CRXican]

look at me, I'm bragging about my salary

I could live in So cal with that money you jerk

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: CRXican
look at me, I'm bragging about my salary

I could live in So cal with that money you jerk

There's living, and living comfortably. We've gotten a pretty good bitch slap of reality lately at what our salaries are able to afford us comfortably. $75k in SoCal as a single income isn't going to be buying you a home without a lot of compromises or a huge downpayment.

In Des Moines it will.

 

[PepePeru]

i'm going out on a limb and saying, yes, yes you can.

 

[Miramonti]

If you think $72k would be enough for Little Rock, why would you be concerned about living in another armpit like Des Moines with $72k?

 

[CADsortaGUY]

Originally posted by: vi edit
Des Moines is pretty reasonable. $200,000 will get you into a basically brand new home with probably 2400 sq/ft and a full unfishished basement. 2 stall garage and maybe a third depending on neighborhood/age/condition of place.

Property taxes are reasonable, gas is cheap, as are groceries. Not a ton to do though it's a 2 hour drive from Omaha/KC/Iowa City and about a 3 hour run up to Minneapolis. Omaha is a Southwest Airline airport so you can hop on there to travel easily. The Des Moines airport is a little weird because it's on that edge of being big enough to make direct flights to many places or requiring layovers in Chi or Denver depending on where you are going. Just really depends on the flight.

Agreed as I live just north of Des Moines - except there is plenty to do.


What kind of job is it?

 

[amddude]

Maid Rite
Taco John's
mmmmm

oh and culver's!

 

[waffleironhead]

Heading to IBM? That amount should be more than enough to live comfortably in that area. I wouldnt live there for any amount, but thats just me.

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: waffleironhead
Heading to IBM? That amount should be more than enough to live comfortably in that area. I wouldnt live there for any amount, but thats just me.

Eh, Des Moines isn't bad. If you are looking to start a family you'd be hard up to find a better place actually. Iowa has excellent public schools and Universities. Crime is virtually non-existant short of a few very small areas in specific parts of towns. Housing is very cheap with plenty of room for kids to play. And the people are very down to earth and friendly. It's also one of the most politically neutral states I've been in. It has a very nice balance without being too left or to right in it's politics.

I lived in the Dubuque area for 5 years and Iowa City for another 5. Iowa really gets bagged for being some backwoods farming wasteland. But it really isn't.

 

[EmperorRob]

Originally posted by: jjsole
If you think $72k would be enough for Little Rock, why would you be concerned about living in another armpit like Des Moines with $72k?

Because I was laid off from my job in Little Rock and have not had an offer yet in nearly 2 months despite having 9 years experience. It's more about opportunity than me throwing a dart at a map.

My real problem is I'm a Linux C++/Perl guy and nearly everything I see now is .NET.

 

[Miramonti]

Originally posted by: EmperorRob

Originally posted by: jjsole
If you think $72k would be enough for Little Rock, why would you be concerned about living in another armpit like Des Moines with $72k?

Because I was laid off from my job in Little Rock and have not had an offer yet in nearly 2 months despite having 9 years experience. It's more about opportunity than me throwing a dart at a map.

My real problem is I'm a Linux C++/Perl guy and nearly everything I see now is .NET.

My thought was that it's a lot of money almost anywhere in central usa and that part of the equation should be fairly obvious. No question its a very strong income in des moines, which has a median household income of 38k, compared to the nat'l average of 42k.

These are some tough decisions tho. Since its significantly more pay than you're used to, you will definitely be able to save a lot more, adding to your flexibility should you want to move somewhere else once the economy rebounds. It would be great if this offer could support your moving expenses.

 

[Saint Nick]

Originally posted by: vi edit
I lived in the Dubuque area for 5 years and Iowa City for another 5. Iowa really gets bagged for being some backwoods farming wasteland. But it really isn't.

I agree...Nebraska gets that a lot too. Council Bluffs, however, isn't exactly a great place. I like Dubuque, Iowa City, and Des Moines -- I think they're great places to live and go to school. I sometimes wish I would have just went to Iowa State. Its a great school...anyways...sorry to hijack.

I think you should really think about this man. You should definitely take some time to go to Des Moines and check it out. Its a cool town. People are nice, too. And you don't have to look over your shoulder when walking around at night (low crime). I think a few would say you are stupid to not take this offer. But, like with all decisions like these, weigh your options CAREFULLY. If you like where you are and have a well established social life, definitely take that into consideration. Friends don't have a price tag, and making new ones isn't exactly a quick and easy process, either.

Let us know.

EDIT: Apply for jobs in Omaha, too. Lots of great companies to work for here I work for UP and its not my cup of tea, but it pays great and the benefits are great. Plus Omaha is a good city...!!!

 

[ViviTheMage]

Originally posted by: vi edit

Originally posted by: CRXican
look at me, I'm bragging about my salary

I could live in So cal with that money you jerk

There's living, and living comfortably. We've gotten a pretty good bitch slap of reality lately at what our salaries are able to afford us comfortably. $75k in SoCal as a single income isn't going to be buying you a home without a lot of compromises or a huge downpayment.

In Des Moines it will.

Yeah, I was looking at that other thread..they listed des moines as 11$ starting for the census job, and almost 20$ an hour in most places in California.


But, yes..in Des moines, even 40k would get you far

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: NightDarker

EDIT: Apply for jobs in Omaha, too. Lots of great companies to work for here I work for UP and its not my cup of tea, but it pays great and the benefits are great. Plus Omaha is a good city...!!!

Yep. Did a year in Omaha too. Wife did a residency at UNMC and I worked at Ameritrade. We miss it more than we thought we would. Didn't really appreciate what it had to offer until we moved.

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: vi edit

Originally posted by: NightDarker

EDIT: Apply for jobs in Omaha, too. Lots of great companies to work for here I work for UP and its not my cup of tea, but it pays great and the benefits are great. Plus Omaha is a good city...!!!

Yep. Did a year in Omaha too. Wife did a residency at UNMC and I worked at Ameritrade. We miss it more than we thought we would. Didn't really appreciate what it had to offer until we moved.

Breweries are popping up all over the place now, too

 

[EmperorRob]

Originally posted by: jjsole
My thought was that it's a lot of money almost anywhere in central usa and that part of the equation should be fairly obvious. No question its a very strong income in des moines, which has a median household income of 38k, compared to the nat'l average of 42k.

These are some tough decisions tho. Since its significantly more pay than you're used to, you will definitely be able to save a lot more, adding to your flexibility should you want to move somewhere else once the economy rebounds. It would be great if this offer could support your moving expenses.

Oh sorry. I Misunderstood what you were saying. You are exactly right. I've been turned down for 2 jobs already I would've gotten hired for if the economy were in better shape. With so many people flooding the job market it makes it harder to turn down jobs.

 

[Svnla]

Interesting thread.

I just saw a job from Des Moines last week with similar salary range as the OP <but not in programming>. I may just apply.

How much for a 1 bed room with 700 sq. ft apartment? Here it will be about 550 to 600 in decent places.

Also, how much is property tax for a 200K house? TIA.

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

Only lazy people complain there's "nothing to do" in the midwest.

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: Svnla
Interesting thread.

I just saw a job from Des Moines last week with similar salary range as the OP <but not in programming>. I may just apply.

How much for a 1 bed room with 700 sq. ft apartment? Here it will be about 550 to 600 in decent places.

Also, how much is property tax for a 200K house? TIA.

Property tax would be around $3000'ish for taxes depending exact school district/county you were in. By percent that's not as favorable as a place like CA with it's locked in property tax rates...but Iowa also has a balanced budget every year and isn't 10's of billions in debt either. Plus when you look at how much house you get for the purchase price that property tax isn't so bad. That same house in Omaha would have a tax almost 50% higher. That was one of the major turnoffs about NE. The taxes there are horrible.