help me decide, we might have the chance to move to one of these cities Miami Florida, Dallas Texas, Des Moines Iowa, San Diego California. If you could/had to pick one to live in for the next several years which one would you choose? and why? i've been looking up info. about each place, such as crime rate, cost of living, schools, etc...but can't seem to decide. right now we live in the bay area of california.

Spent 3 days in Des Moines last week. I would recommend the other places. I haven't been to those places, but they sound far more interesting than what I found in Des Moines. That said, I found West Des Moines far nicer than Des Moines itself.

Of course, Des Moines is probably the most affordable option on the list.

I wouldn't leave Cali, that leaves San Diego as my choice

FauxReal said:

Spent 3 days in Des Moines last week. I would recommend the other places. I haven't been to those places, but they sound far more interesting than what I found in Des Moines. That said, I found West Des Moines far nicer than Des Moines itself.

Of course, Des Moines is probably the most affordable option on the list.

when i looked at the des moines area online, i noticed that west des moines looked a lot nicer. seems the area around jordan creek was newer. thanks for your response. the cost of living seems very affordable there, and the crime rate seems pretty low too.

i'm leaning towards miami though.

veronikka said:

I wouldn't leave Cali, that leaves San Diego as my choice

cali is a beautiful state for sure! i've only been to san diego once, and that was back in the 80's. i might need to take a road trip down that way to check it out.

I live in San Diego and it is the place to be just for the weather alone.

We start complaining when it gets in the 50s, so that tells you how spoiled we are. I bullshit you not...several Christmas days where its 80 outside without a cloud in the sky.

But it is ridiculously expensive. Housing I wont even get into, but gas prices? FUCK!!!!!!

I paid $4.09 for regular unleaded yesterday and have seen it as high as $4.23 recently.

So if you got money, come on!

Now my parents live in Greenville, TX, just 45 minutes east of Dallas. I visit at least once a year...very, very, very nice except for the fact that you die from the heat in the summer. The money you spend on heating and air is almost as ridiculous as the gas prices in San Diego.

Never been to Miami. Des Moines? Remove it from the list immediately.

StonedImmaculate said:

I live in San Diego and it is the place to be just for the weather alone.

We start complaining when it gets in the 50s, so that tells you how spoiled we are. I bullshit you not...several Christmas days where its 80 outside without a cloud in the sky.

But it is ridiculously expensive. Housing I wont even get into, but gas prices? FUCK!!!!!!

I paid $4.09 for regular unleaded yesterday and have seen it as high as $4.23 recently.

So if you got money, come on!

Now my parents live in Greenville, TX, just 45 minutes east of Dallas. I visit at least once a year...very, very, very nice except for the fact that you die from the heat in the summer. The money you spend on heating and air is almost as ridiculous as the gas prices in San Diego.

Never been to Miami. Des Moines? Remove it from the list immediately.

thank you for the info., san diego sounds very nice, but if the cost of living is that high, i may want to look else where. because here where i live in the bay area the cost of living is VERY high, and i don't want to pay as much money as we're paying now for our place when we move. dallas area does seem cheaper, but you bring up a good point about the AC bill...hmmm....

I was just in San Diego and it was beautiful... I felt very at home there but you might want to talk to the orger ehuffnsd, he lives in San Diego...

none of the others are on my short list by the way...

Des Moines is not that bad...I've been to worse places. I've never been to Miami, Dallas, or San Diego, but I went to college in Des Moines (and grew up in Iowa). Why are you looking to move?

If you are looking for affordability, no "rush hour" traffic headaches, bars that close at 1am, not much diversity (culturally/racially/religion/etc. wise), or want to work in the insurance industry Des Moines may be worth looking into. It is the capital and largest city in Iowa. Drake University is located there, and has a very good academic reputation. It is also 40 minutes from Ames, Iowa, where Iowa State University is located. I can't speak to the public schools in Des Moines; but I used to lifeguard at the West Des Moines (a separate suburb) Public Pool with several kids from WDsM and yes, West Des Moines would be considered "posh" for Iowa. Valley and Dowling High School are both good schools. (The kids from Valley were proud that their high school was ranked as one of the snobbiest in the country...) I would say, that in general, Iowa very much values education. The Iowa Test of Basic Skills (obviously) and the ACTs were both developed in Iowa. Des Moines may not be as culturally/ethnically diverse as the other cities, but the Des Moines Art Center has a wonderful collection of modern and contemporary art and there are concerts, theater, live music, if you know where to look.

Granted I only lived there while I was in college (and during the summers) so I wasn't paying "real rent" prices, but Iowa in general is probably going to be more affordable than those other places.

Weather wise, the winters can be brutally cold and the summers stiflingly hot and humid.

Personally, I'd choose Des Moines before Dallas. You couldn't pay me enough to live in Texas/the South.

.

[Edited 3/27/11 21:55pm]

i wouldnt recommend anywhere in texas.......the lone star state....:eyeroll:

I also live in San Diego (hello fellow Orger's)...the weather here is beautiful, and U can have a taste of any culture! Come on down, I'll show U a good time!

miami was nice, the small amount of time i spent there.........fam is in texas for me. if i had to choose ......idk.

jone70 said:

Des Moines is not that bad...I've been to worse places. I've never been to Miami, Dallas, or San Diego, but I went to college in Des Moines (and grew up in Iowa). Why are you looking to move?

If you are looking for affordability, no "rush hour" traffic headaches, bars that close at 1am, not much diversity (culturally/racially/religion/etc. wise), or want to work in the insurance industry Des Moines may be worth looking into. It is the capital and largest city in Iowa. Drake University is located there, and has a very good academic reputation. It is also 40 minutes from Ames, Iowa, where Iowa State University is located. I can't speak to the public schools in Des Moines; but I used to lifeguard at the West Des Moines (a separate suburb) Public Pool with several kids from WDsM and yes, West Des Moines would be considered "posh" for Iowa. Valley and Dowling High School are both good schools. (The kids from Valley were proud that their high school was ranked as one of the snobbiest in the country...) I would say, that in general, Iowa very much values education. The Iowa Test of Basic Skills (obviously) and the ACTs were both developed in Iowa. Des Moines may not be as culturally/ethnically diverse as the other cities, but the Des Moines Art Center has a wonderful collection of modern and contemporary art and there are concerts, theater, live music, if you know where to look.

Granted I only lived there while I was in college (and during the summers) so I wasn't paying "real rent" prices, but Iowa in general is probably going to be more affordable than those other places.

Weather wise, the winters can be brutally cold and the summers stiflingly hot and humid.

Personally, I'd choose Des Moines before Dallas. You couldn't pay me enough to live in Texas/the South.

.

[Edited 3/27/11 21:55pm]

hi, thanks so much for the info.! it's very helpful hearing from someone that has actually lived in the area. we're looking to move because of my husband's job, they are offering these locations for us to choose. but i am not wanting to rush into making a choice, i really want to know about the area before we just jump in. because wherever it is that we do move, we plan on being there until our son finishes school, which is several years away. iowa is high on my list right now.

myfavorite said:

miami was nice, the small amount of time i spent there.........fam is in texas for me. if i had to choose ......idk.

i was looking at condos in miami today online, not as costly as i thought they would be. most of them are cheaper than where i live now, which shocked me!

benjaminira said:

I also live in San Diego (hello fellow Orger's)...the weather here is beautiful, and U can have a taste of any culture! Come on down, I'll show U a good time!

we just might come down that way sometime this spring to check out the area.

RenHoek said:

I was just in San Diego and it was beautiful... I felt very at home there but you might want to talk to the orger ehuffnsd, he lives in San Diego...

none of the others are on my short list by the way...

thanks for the info. kevin, it does look like a beautiful place to live, would you say it's nicer than the bay area though?

myfavorite said:

i wouldnt recommend anywhere in texas.......the lone star state....:eyeroll:

yeah, i lived in texas when i was a kid, although it wasn't anywhere near the dallas area. and i didn't like it much. don't have good memories of it. and my parents have lived in the san antonio area for the past 2 years. i visited them last year there, and i liked some of the area, but over all it wasn't my favorite place in the world. but i'm told dallas is nicer. i'm not sure about texas?

kimrachell said:

jone70 said:

Des Moines is not that bad...I've been to worse places. I've never been to Miami, Dallas, or San Diego, but I went to college in Des Moines (and grew up in Iowa). Why are you looking to move?

If you are looking for affordability, no "rush hour" traffic headaches, bars that close at 1am, not much diversity (culturally/racially/religion/etc. wise), or want to work in the insurance industry Des Moines may be worth looking into. It is the capital and largest city in Iowa. Drake University is located there, and has a very good academic reputation. It is also 40 minutes from Ames, Iowa, where Iowa State University is located. I can't speak to the public schools in Des Moines; but I used to lifeguard at the West Des Moines (a separate suburb) Public Pool with several kids from WDsM and yes, West Des Moines would be considered "posh" for Iowa. Valley and Dowling High School are both good schools. (The kids from Valley were proud that their high school was ranked as one of the snobbiest in the country...) I would say, that in general, Iowa very much values education. The Iowa Test of Basic Skills (obviously) and the ACTs were both developed in Iowa. Des Moines may not be as culturally/ethnically diverse as the other cities, but the Des Moines Art Center has a wonderful collection of modern and contemporary art and there are concerts, theater, live music, if you know where to look.

Granted I only lived there while I was in college (and during the summers) so I wasn't paying "real rent" prices, but Iowa in general is probably going to be more affordable than those other places.

Weather wise, the winters can be brutally cold and the summers stiflingly hot and humid.

Personally, I'd choose Des Moines before Dallas. You couldn't pay me enough to live in Texas/the South.

.

[Edited 3/27/11 21:55pm]

hi, thanks so much for the info.! it's very helpful hearing from someone that has actually lived in the area. we're looking to move because of my husband's job, they are offering these locations for us to choose. but i am not wanting to rush into making a choice, i really want to know about the area before we just jump in. because wherever it is that we do move, we plan on being there until our son finishes school, which is several years away. iowa is high on my list right now.

You're welcome. Are there stipulations like you have to live in the City of Des Moines? You could also consider living in town/city that's not too far from Des Moines. I guess it depends on how much of a commute you'd want. One year during winter break, the dorms were closed at school, but I was working at the Rec. Center to pick up extra hours - I stayed with my friends in Ames and drove to Des Moines every day - about 45 minutes. Not necessarily saying you should consider Ames, which is very much a college town because of Iowa State; just pointing out that you could choose a smaller neighboring community to Des Moines. Even though Drake U. and several smaller community colleges are located in Des Moines, it is not a "college town". Like I said, for Iowa it's a big city, it just happens to have a university there. I would also definitely recommend visiting if you can, just to get a feel for it. I can't really recommend any neighborhoods because I lived at/near Drake while I was there. At that time, the neighborhood just east of the University was kind of sketchy - don't know if that is still the case; but I wouldn't want to live right next to a college anyway. Good luck with your decision!

.

[Edited 3/28/11 5:53am]

jone70 said:

Des Moines is not that bad...I've been to worse places. I've never been to Miami, Dallas, or San Diego, but I went to college in Des Moines (and grew up in Iowa). Why are you looking to move?

If you are looking for affordability, no "rush hour" traffic headaches, bars that close at 1am, not much diversity (culturally/racially/religion/etc. wise), or want to work in the insurance industry Des Moines may be worth looking into. It is the capital and largest city in Iowa. Drake University is located there, and has a very good academic reputation. It is also 40 minutes from Ames, Iowa, where Iowa State University is located. I can't speak to the public schools in Des Moines; but I used to lifeguard at the West Des Moines (a separate suburb) Public Pool with several kids from WDsM and yes, West Des Moines would be considered "posh" for Iowa. Valley and Dowling High School are both good schools. (The kids from Valley were proud that their high school was ranked as one of the snobbiest in the country...) I would say, that in general, Iowa very much values education. The Iowa Test of Basic Skills (obviously) and the ACTs were both developed in Iowa. Des Moines may not be as culturally/ethnically diverse as the other cities, but the Des Moines Art Center has a wonderful collection of modern and contemporary art and there are concerts, theater, live music, if you know where to look.

Granted I only lived there while I was in college (and during the summers) so I wasn't paying "real rent" prices, but Iowa in general is probably going to be more affordable than those other places.

Weather wise, the winters can be brutally cold and the summers stiflingly hot and humid.

Personally, I'd choose Des Moines before Dallas. You couldn't pay me enough to live in Texas/the South.

.

[Edited 3/27/11 21:55pm]

I agree with all this, except that I think the bars still close at 2 a.m. there.

Kim, is weather a big factor? I can't say much about the weather in Dallas, but Miami is like a sauna all year long. I'd hate to live there. San Diego is fairly nice all year long, but sometimes in a dull, boring way (not to mention that San Diego residents love to talk about weather, to the point where it bores you to tears). And Des Moines has seasons--sometimes brutal seasons.

If you're living in the Bay Area, I would think the cost of living would be lower in all four of the cities you're considering, although I haven't researched that so I don't know for sure.

San Diego is prettier than the Bay Area in the sense that the weather is better more often, but it has nothing on San Francisco in terms of culture, restaurants, the arts, being a "real city," etc.

If you have friends in the Bay Area that you would like to keep in touch with, San Diego would be the easiest choice for that.

It really all depends on what you're looking for. San Diego wins, hands down, in terms of weather. But as others have pointed out, because of taxes and other COL factors, a paycheck doesn't go as far there.

Florida and Texas have low taxes, but you couldn't pay me to live in either climate. Way too hot/humid, for me.

Iowa's probably about in the middle in terms of taxes, but you'll pay less for housing, etc. A continental climate makes for more extreme weather, though - very hot in the summer, very cold in the winter.

kimrachell said:

help me decide, we might have the chance to move to one of these cities Miami Florida, Dallas Texas, Des Moines Iowa, San Diego California. If you could/had to pick one to live in for the next several years which one would you choose? and why? i've been looking up info. about each place, such as crime rate, cost of living, schools, etc...but can't seem to decide. right now we live in the bay area of california.

Depends on what you're looking for.

Dallas has the most bang for the buck when it comes to home prices and house size. And it's a big city with lots to offer. It just happens to be smack dab inside a very strange state.

San Diego is lovely...just lovely...but the schools are meh, and the houses are expensive as hell, even after the crash. Plus damnit if it rarely ever rains there. dry, dry dry.

Miami is meh unless you're in certain neighborhoods--but you have to REALLY pay to live in those. Coral Gables is just lovely.

South beach is fun. And of course, it's Miami! yay!

If I had my choice I'd chose Miami, but I can't be trusted, because I'm biased, being a Floridian for 12 years.

S.D. = very expensive 2 live and no culture 4 certain folks

Miami = very expensive

Iowa = bored 2 tears with NOTHING 2 do and very lil culture 4 certain folks

Dallas.................might be the move.

San Diego is in California, a state that is too close the bankruptcy.

Des Moines is freaking boring, just from reading about Iowa and all of the corn fields.

Dallas is a safe choice, except that all of Texas is very close to a police state, never mind the speed traps.

I would moved to Miami, Florida. But be sure you learn all of the ways out of the city during hurricane season (the weather system, NOT the college football team!).

Efan said:

jone70 said:

Des Moines is not that bad...I've been to worse places. I've never been to Miami, Dallas, or San Diego, but I went to college in Des Moines (and grew up in Iowa). Why are you looking to move?

If you are looking for affordability, no "rush hour" traffic headaches, bars that close at 1am, not much diversity (culturally/racially/religion/etc. wise), or want to work in the insurance industry Des Moines may be worth looking into. It is the capital and largest city in Iowa. Drake University is located there, and has a very good academic reputation. It is also 40 minutes from Ames, Iowa, where Iowa State University is located. I can't speak to the public schools in Des Moines; but I used to lifeguard at the West Des Moines (a separate suburb) Public Pool with several kids from WDsM and yes, West Des Moines would be considered "posh" for Iowa. Valley and Dowling High School are both good schools. (The kids from Valley were proud that their high school was ranked as one of the snobbiest in the country...) I would say, that in general, Iowa very much values education. The Iowa Test of Basic Skills (obviously) and the ACTs were both developed in Iowa. Des Moines may not be as culturally/ethnically diverse as the other cities, but the Des Moines Art Center has a wonderful collection of modern and contemporary art and there are concerts, theater, live music, if you know where to look.

Granted I only lived there while I was in college (and during the summers) so I wasn't paying "real rent" prices, but Iowa in general is probably going to be more affordable than those other places.

Weather wise, the winters can be brutally cold and the summers stiflingly hot and humid.

Personally, I'd choose Des Moines before Dallas. You couldn't pay me enough to live in Texas/the South.

.

[Edited 3/27/11 21:55pm]

I agree with all this, except that I think the bars still close at 2 a.m. there.

You are probably right. I haven't been to Des Moines in so long, when I do go back to Iowa, I usually just go to the little bar in my tiny home town, which closes when the bartender is tired and wants to go home.

Kim, you may also want to orgnote Mars23, I think he may be from Des Moines, or at least live in Iowa. Deja/Handclapsfingasnaps grew up in Des Moines, but I'm not sure what username she uses here now, or if she's even around.

TonyVanDam said:

Des Moines is freaking boring, just from reading about Iowa and all of the corn fields.

So you've never been there, yet you know it's boring and all corn fields? You would be wrong. Des Moines is not a farm town. It's a large city, most of the people who live there are not farmers. You can be bored or not bored anywhere - it's your choice, but thanks for generalizing Iowa like the rest of the country does.

Dallas. the best choice considering cost of living, amenities and climate.

if money is no object, choose Miami if arts and entertainment is your thing.

if climate is a big deal, choose San Diego.

i'd only choose Des Moines if you were over 60.

jone70 said:

Kim, you may also want to orgnote Mars23, I think he may be from Des Moines, or at least live in Iowa. Deja/Handclapsfingasnaps grew up in Des Moines, but I'm not sure what username she uses here now, or if she's even around.

TonyVanDam said:

Des Moines is freaking boring, just from reading about Iowa and all of the corn fields.

So you've never been there, yet you know it's boring and all corn fields? You would be wrong. Des Moines is not a farm town. It's a large city, most of the people who live there are not farmers. You can be bored or not bored anywhere - it's your choice, but thanks for generalizing Iowa like the rest of the country does.

1. TWO WORDS: King Corn!

If you didn't see the documentary, you will NOT get the sense of dark humor.

2. And just so you know, I did say "from reading about Iowa". Therefore I was specific enough. So get over.

TonyVanDam said:

jone70 said:

Kim, you may also want to orgnote Mars23, I think he may be from Des Moines, or at least live in Iowa. Deja/Handclapsfingasnaps grew up in Des Moines, but I'm not sure what username she uses here now, or if she's even around.

So you've never been there, yet you know it's boring and all corn fields? You would be wrong. Des Moines is not a farm town. It's a large city, most of the people who live there are not farmers. You can be bored or not bored anywhere - it's your choice, but thanks for generalizing Iowa like the rest of the country does.

1. TWO WORDS: King Corn!

If you didn't see the documentary, you will NOT get the sense of dark humor.

2. And just so you know, I did say "from reading about Iowa". Therefore I was specific enough. So get over.

Yes, because everything you read is completely true. I lived in Des Moines for four years. I never saw a cornfield within city limits. Contrary to popular belief, the entire state is not one big cornfield.

thanks to everyone for your thoughts....it really does help.