There’s a way bigger discussion here the point is that the Pandemic changed everything and ignoring that or pretending that it didn’t is foolish. In terms of the “live work play” thing you could be right, maybe it’s a longevity thing that gives other places the chance to continue that, but due to whatever metric you want to use it’s not going to happen for Des Moines. Des Moines had a chance back in the late 2000’s and 2010’s to make it stick but a variety of things colluded to kill that. Des Moines went from the “best place for millennials, super hip mid sized city” to “best place to retire” in a span of 15 years. It’s not a coincidence imo that coincided with the rise of Neo-Fascist Republivanism/MAGA. Then throw in the pandemic and it’s over. Downtown Des Moines won’t come back until the politics change and even then it’s not a sure thing due to pandemic mindset changes. Cumming, Adel, and Bondurant are the new “downtown”.