This is a serious question that I hope will get some serious answers.
How do people actually afford the new houses in Waukee/West Des Moines/etc unless they make a $200k+ as a household. Then have a large SUV, boat, etc? We went to DSM last weekend just to look at houses for fun and all the new one were $380k +
I know the answer is "They make more than you make" or "They have lots of debt" but those aren't really helpful answers. Sometimes it baffles me how many wealthy people there are in Des Moines. We make 2.3x the average Iowa household income (no student loans but 2 kids in daycare) and we feel like we'd have to move to a house under $200k to have any sort of life.
We love the South of Grand/Waveland neighborhoods in DSM but my wife wants that character with a new house. To get a newer house with that character we'd be stuck out in the far-flung suburbs. The area west of Jordan Creek was weird - it seemed very random.
I guess this is all to say that coming from a smaller town we can be involved in lots of community projects and I fear if we lived in a tract house in Waukee/Grimes there really wouldn't be the same type of community feel. Does that make sense?
We do Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring, fundraising for the several local non-profits, wife is in a position of community leadership for a non-profit etc. I fear in a brand new suburb none of that would exist because everyone is wealthy and "from somewhere else".
/word vomit
Just like the old commercial states, "We're in debt up to our eyebrows."
Part of it could be luck on timing of when they bought their house too. I'm glad my wife and I aren't looking right now. I had a house in Altoona, sold it and moved over to the west side with her. We both bought our houses in 11/12' when the market was just starting to barely rebound. She got a tremendous deal on it at the time by doing her research. The assessor letter just came back saying it is worth $300K and that's with an unfinished basement. Lot of these houses selling for $350+ nowadays I wouldn't step foot in. We'd be downgrading in space so our plan is to eventually finish the basement.
I'm sure the end all answer is a compilation of such: they make more, they have more debt, timing of when it all started, and luck.
I like Urbandale and see no reason to move. It's in a cookie-cutter neighborhood (not my favorite part), our neighbors are friendly, but I guess you get out of it what you put in. Plenty of options for charities around DSM, you'd probably find quite a few fairly quickly.
I guess my advice would be to continue on with some research. You started off right by asking your fellow fan base, which is trustworthy in my opinion versus a tavern hok's opinion of the metro. We have friends is Ankeny, Johnston, West Des Moines, Waukee, Beaverdale, South side, etc. and it seems each of pros/cons and quirks they like and dislike.