Ankeny Living
- Thread starter JY07
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Agree with this. The night life scene in Ankeny is practically non-existent. Also, there is almost nothing (shops, restaurants, even fast food for the most part) open past 10 PM most nights.
If you're building out west, it'll likely be 150th+ street, which is farther from the interstate than I'd like to be.
They have some developments on 128th st, which would be very convenient, but they're ~500k minimum
That makes sense, being close to an interstate is nice and a lot of people don't take that into account.
I'm a lifelong central Iowan who's been a homeowner in Ankeny for nearly 11 years. We first lived on the SW side, right near Crocker Elementary, as that area was growing. We lived there when Prairie Trail got started but not during the major growth of the last 2-3 years. I'm glad we got out of that area because TRAFFIC. It was getting more difficult to get in and out.
Four years ago, we moved up to NE Ankeny near Otter Creek and we're very happy in that area. And now it's starting to really take off too. Construction is booming; property values are way up in that part of town. But the traffic situation is much better - the new interchange at I-35 and NE 36th St. has really opened things up. The quick access to I-35 is a real game-changer, IMO. It's even much easier to get to Oralabor or SE Delaware to shop because it's faster to take I-35 than drive through town. Ames is less than 20 minutes away; my wife works on the SW side of downtown DSM and her commute is about 20 minutes.
I think whether you will like Ankeny depends on a lot on your place in life. If you've got a young family with kids (or will soon), it's great. Good schools, good amenities like parks, etc. But if you're a 20-something with no kids who likes to go out, there's probably not much for you.
I would agree with others that the higher-end restaurants and retail (like you'd find in the Jordan Creek area of WDM) are lacking. That said, I think it's a matter of time. The new I-35/36th St. interchange area is primed to explode.
Shopping, however, is one thing I think is completely overrated in 2015. Then again, maybe not everyone is like me and looks to buy everything online first.
Four years ago, we moved up to NE Ankeny near Otter Creek and we're very happy in that area. And now it's starting to really take off too. Construction is booming; property values are way up in that part of town. But the traffic situation is much better - the new interchange at I-35 and NE 36th St. has really opened things up. The quick access to I-35 is a real game-changer, IMO. It's even much easier to get to Oralabor or SE Delaware to shop because it's faster to take I-35 than drive through town. Ames is less than 20 minutes away; my wife works on the SW side of downtown DSM and her commute is about 20 minutes.
I think whether you will like Ankeny depends on a lot on your place in life. If you've got a young family with kids (or will soon), it's great. Good schools, good amenities like parks, etc. But if you're a 20-something with no kids who likes to go out, there's probably not much for you.
I would agree with others that the higher-end restaurants and retail (like you'd find in the Jordan Creek area of WDM) are lacking. That said, I think it's a matter of time. The new I-35/36th St. interchange area is primed to explode.
Shopping, however, is one thing I think is completely overrated in 2015. Then again, maybe not everyone is like me and looks to buy everything online first.
Absolutely. We just got our assessment in the mail and our property assessment went up about 13%. Combine that with the already high property taxes and its a bit ridiculous. If we owned the same house in Waukee or Urbandale, we'd pay about $1,000/year less.
Lived in Ankeny for awhile and couldn't get out fast enough. Found it to be the most boring, vanilla area I had ever spent time in. As Stewo pointed out, it lacks any type of identity. There is nothing that makes Ankeny, Ankeny - so to speak.
Overall it's a nice enough area, but I think it's better suited for the soccer mom/quieter lifestyle.
Overall it's a nice enough area, but I think it's better suited for the soccer mom/quieter lifestyle.
But in fairness, what really makes West Des Moines, West Des Moines? Or Johnston, Johnston? It's not as if those places have unique cultural identities either. They're all basically the same, the only distinguishing factor is the proximity to whatever is most important in your life at that time.
I'd say this is pretty accurate. There isn't really a big difference between Ankeny and WDM or any other suburb. FWIW I live in the burbs, we made our choice based on proximity to work because they all have access to pretty much the same amenities.
It is getting worse in some areas, but is still miles better many WDM spots.
These both make me chuckle a little bit. Although I don't disagree that traffic is getting heavier in areas of the DM metro area, there is nowhere in Iowa that should complain of traffic. I guess it's all perspective. Non the less, still valid points.
Have lived in Ankeny for 11 years and agree with most of what has been said here. We have 4 kids and it feels like Ankeny is definitely more suited to our type of scene. Lived in WDM before we had kids and liked that too but we were out every night then. We can watch our kids walk into the door of their school each morning and are a 5 minute walk from the sports complex where we spend most of our weekends. VERY safe community. Good friends with a couple cops and the excitement comes when they have to track down a stray dog.
Totally agree on restaurants and wish we could get a few more originals here. Love me some Smokey D's and honestly one of my favorite restaurant in all of Central IA is Ranallos on third street.
Sportspage is a welcome addition in our area as it has turned into a neighborhood bar/restaurant and you always end up there with a lot of people you know. Rumor for quite some time is that the Other Place is coming to town and lets not forget about the excitement of a new Hardee's on the south side...
Totally agree on restaurants and wish we could get a few more originals here. Love me some Smokey D's and honestly one of my favorite restaurant in all of Central IA is Ranallos on third street.
Sportspage is a welcome addition in our area as it has turned into a neighborhood bar/restaurant and you always end up there with a lot of people you know. Rumor for quite some time is that the Other Place is coming to town and lets not forget about the excitement of a new Hardee's on the south side...
I joined the Fitness World that just opened across from Jethros 2 months ago. I have been very pleased with it. There is a running track around the second floor, plenty of machines and free weights, and it usually isn't too busy. I wish it was open 24 hours, but joining gets you access to all of the Fitness World locations, and the North Ankeny location is open 24 hours, and the WDM one is just down the street from me at work, so I can go over lunch if I wanted to. I haven't tried out the pool, but it is licensed as a therapy pool, so the temperature is hotter than a normal indoor pool, so it sounds pretty nice. You get two free personal training sessions when you sign up, and all of the classes are included.
I agree with what most others have said, I have enjoyed my 10 years in Ankeny. I live on the SW side, very quiet and I don't often leave for anything other than major shopping or a date night. Family time is easy to take care of with what is already in town.
I think the people complaining that Ankeny has no identity just don't fit in with it's identity. If you tried to pigeon-hole it as a town full of "Soccer Moms" then you aren't far off.
It is a town/suburb full of active young families who love the outdoors hence all the parks, schools, bike trails, thriving sports programs and youth activities.
If you are complaining about all the chain restaurants, then aren't looking hard enough for the "Authentic" establishments.... Ronallos, Yankee Clipper, Fire House Brewery, Leaning Tower, Bench Warmers, Casey's Pizza
and more
It is a town/suburb full of active young families who love the outdoors hence all the parks, schools, bike trails, thriving sports programs and youth activities.
If you are complaining about all the chain restaurants, then aren't looking hard enough for the "Authentic" establishments.... Ronallos, Yankee Clipper, Fire House Brewery, Leaning Tower, Bench Warmers, Casey's Pizza
and more
Added my thoughts. I never thought Number 7 would work out but resurrecting Bears/making it a Wallabys type place/Making it a steak house would be great.If you are complaining about all the chain restaurants, then aren't looking hard enough for the "Authentic" establishments.... Ronallos (Good, just a tad pricey for some families), Yankee Clipper (Typical bar food), Fire House Brewery (No kitchen, only food carts), Leaning Tower (excellent pizza), Bench Warmers (A little better than typical bar food IMO), Casey's Pizza (You can get that at like 2,000 places)
edit: And a similar Leaning Tower type place is Sonny's in Saylor. Great pizza there too.
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Had such high hopes for Number 7. That was a huge disappointment. I do like Firetrucker quite a bit though, just wish I could spend more time there.
