Des Moines area : good idea? (Colo, Hawkeye: license plate, horse, cars)

[Tek_Freek]

Originally Posted by RonnieJonez

Well you definitely aren't the brightest crayon in the box.

You misspelled "spell".

And your username has two misspellings in it.

And I misspelled cant. On purpose. But I suppose that kind of humor is too much for you to understand.

My screen name is not my name. Yours is. Or you purport that it is. Mine is spelled correctly for what it needs to say. I assume your last name isn't Jonez.

The problem I have with your posts is that they are always slanted. Even when you are trying to be neutral in your opinions you manage to find a way to bring out the negativity. You are simply tiresome to put up with.

[ElleTea]

If a person has not met someone from the east coast, west coast, or south that lives in Des Moines, they aren't looking very hard.

In my circle of friends:
One is from Georgia
One is from Texas
One is from upstate NY
One is from Washington state

just to name a few.

Also, when I was a hairstylist I met a TON of people from all over the US who had moved here (and loved it).

As for driving in Des Moines...one of my annoyances is the street set up in West Des Moines neighborhoods. I always say "everyone wants to live on a cul de sac" because the streets don't follow basic E-W-N-S patterns, they tend to curve around. Never think you can turn down a residential WDM street and think you are taking a shortcut, you will likely end up back where you started

AND, on this ISU/Iowa thing that RJ keeps insisting is a HUGE problem here...again, it is who you surround yourself with. It's never a topic of conversation among me and my friends. No one I know really cares.

[econboy]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

One thing I can't understand is the constant statement that goes something like "almost everyone that lives in Des Moines have moved from other parts of Iowa." I don't get why this is a constant talking point. So, what? As I said, I have always lived in Iowa, and had many personal reasons for not moving too far from my hometown. I didn't necessarily stay in Iowa because I love the state or don't know anything about the rest of the world (as I think is implied). I have actually ALMOST moved across the country more than once, but circumstances kept me here. The time wasn't right then.

Life sometimes takes us far from where we grew up, and sometimes life keeps us rooted closer. Again, so what? And growing up in a fairly rural state like Iowa, its a natural move to head to the larger metro areas for a variety of reasons. People from small towns in California move to LA. People from smaller towns in Illinois move to Chicago. People from smaller towns in New York move to New York City. People from smaller towns in Minnesota move to Minneapolis. Etc. You get my point.

Again, so what?

Thing of it is that isn't really even a totally true statement. The actual breakdown of where people have relocated from is not as completely 'rural Iowa' as Ronnie would have people believe.

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by econboy

Thing of it is that isn't really even a totally true statement. The actual breakdown of where people have relocated from is not as completely 'rural Iowa' as Ronnie would have people believe.

I imagine you are right. IME people from the really small towns like to stay in small towns, and I know a lot of people in Des Moines who are from other Iowa metros (Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Quad Cities).

[tollfree]

You do see those "Native" bumper stickers ALL the time.

The overwhelming majority being from Iowa, not always rural Iowa. Not a huge difference.

For someone from another state, the Iowa pride thing can be a bit much to handle (if you aren't used to it or believe in it yourself). Just take the Arby's ad from a few months ago...I mean come on. There is a full-grown baby mentality in Iowa about even the slightest thing.

Arby's Commercials Edited After Iowans Cry Foul

Watch both videos. Not a big deal at all. Only in Iowa. 854 comments, basically vaudeville provided by Iowa.

[steel03]

Originally Posted by tdagarim

Well yes almost anything is a step up from the part of Illinois I am from. I'm not super outdoorsy so that's not a big issue. When I visited Omaha a few months ago the drive on the interstate for 75% of the drive was depressingly bare. I know I'm thinking KC and Pittsburgh are probably the more exciting of the areas. Do you think Omaha really has more going for it that Des Moines? I know it has lower unemployment but that's all I know.

Omaha is bigger than Des Moines by about 200k people, but I don't think it has all that much going for it, no. That's another really great mid-sized city, though. But the trade-off is that it's a little more isolated than Des Moines. There are only a few cities that are really easy to get to from Omaha (Sioux Falls, Lincoln, Kansas City, Des Moines), whereas Des Moines is more centrally located within the western half of the Midwest and has easier access by to more cities. And as you say, the drive across western Iowa can be hellish.

[tollfree]

Basically the same, not much difference although both sides will argue they are.

[duster1979]

Originally Posted by RonnieJonez

You do see those "Native" bumper stickers ALL the time.

What "Native" bumper stickers are you talking about? Because, quite frankly, I'm pretty sure I've never seen one.

[smpliving]

Originally Posted by duster1979

What "Native" bumper stickers are you talking about? Because, quite frankly, I'm pretty sure I've never seen one.

I'm wondering the same thing.

[duster1979]

Originally Posted by iagal

I'm wondering the same thing.

I Googled it and found this blog. So now I know what they are. Still haven't seen one. Except for the one on the car in the picture posted in the blog, and the blogger says that photo was taken in California.

A not for those who click on the link and read the blog: The Meskwaki aren't native to Iowa. There were European settlers living here before that nation immigrated here from Canada via Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois.