Ankeny soon to be bigger than Dubuque

[JP4CY]

I wouldn't call Ankeny boring but I would call it a big town with no real downtown or distinguishable mom and pop places. That's somewhat because of rapid growth.

 

[RubyClone]

I dunno. Do you count Indianola or Norwalk as suburbs?

The only thing in Indianola is a WalMart

Waukee?

Is there literally ANYTHING in waukee? I know they got a Hy Vee this past year. Anything else.

I don't have a love or hate of Ankeny. But for some reason, my DSM-native wife has put it off limits when we look about for a new house.

 

[cyhiphopp]

I've lived in Ankeny for 11 years and for what we like to do it has been perfect. Very active town and around 5:30-6 each morning it is buzzing with walkers, runners, and people heading to the bike trails. Schools are some of the best in Iowa, and when the expansion of the town was being planned they did an excellent job planning greenspaces. There are tons of parks all over, multiple in some neighborhoods. I have a 6 acre park right out my back deck that I sit on in the spring and fall and watch pick up baseball games and football games. Its made up of a lot of people that came from small towns around Iowa so the small-town vibe is alive and well in most of the neighborhoods and our kids pretty much play all over the neighborhood and come home for supper.
That being said, dining in Ankeny is not very good. I'd put Ranallos up against almost anyone but the rest of the town is nothing but a bunch of chain restaurants. Surprisingly however there are some great Mexican options in town if you like that. There is not much for a young adult scene. Save for the beer tent at Summerfest, unless you have kids I can see how you could get pretty bored in this town. It does not have and will never have the bar scene of Court Ave or even Main St in Cedar Falls. Only place I could ever see that happening is if a developer purchased uptown and turned several of those storefronts into bars. There are plenty of cookie cutter houses but what growing suburb doesn't have that?

Parks and greenspace are awesome.

 

[wartknight]

I'd actually almost put Indianola above Ankeny and here is why; there at least is a defined, central area in Indianola with the town square. Ankeny has no such feature.
.

yet Ankeny continues to explode and Indianola is looking to join either a conference with 3a schools or DSM metro schools. Not sure why having a central area is a big deal. It was just a small town 20 years ago. Everything here is very young. Pretty new and shiny, and that is what a bulk of 20-30 year olds want. Theres no architecturally significant area of town or historic areas because not much at all is older than 25-30 years

 

[cloneswereall]

If you count Simpson, then yes. Still not very exciting.

I just think that and the clock tower thing they have is way more defining than anything in Ankeny. Unless Tone's and strip malls are considered defining.

 

[wartknight]

I don't know about everyone else but where we live we can be at ISU in less than a half hour for all sorts of fine arts and or/sporting events and the same is true from downtown DSM. Big plus

 

[cyhiphopp]

yet Ankeny continues to explode and Indianola is looking to join either a conference with 3a schools or DSM metro schools. Not sure why having a central area is a big deal. It was just a small town 20 years ago. Everything here is very young. Pretty new and shiny, and that is what a bulk of 20-30 year olds want. Theres no architecturally significant area of town or historic areas because not much at all is older than 25-30 years

For people that want an all purpose town, I agree that Ankeny might not cut it. It doesn't have a "downtown" or a solid bar district. It does have everything you could want for a family though.

Luckily for Ankeny residents, you can hop on the interstate and be in downtown DSM in about 15 minutes and drink on Court Ave to your hearts content.

 

[cyhiphopp]

I don't know about everyone else but where we live we can be at ISU in less than a half hour for all sorts of fine arts and or/sporting events and the same is true from downtown DSM. Big plus

I remember when Ankeny was a full half hour away from Ames or seemed like it. Now from the new North Side it seems like Ankeny is only 15 minutes away from Ames. Driving almost 80 mph helps too I guess.

 

[longtimeclone]

Waukee?

Is there literally ANYTHING in waukee? I know they got a Hy Vee this past year. Anything else.

I don't have a love or hate of Ankeny. But for some reason, my DSM-native wife has put it off limits when we look about for a new house.

Other than the triangle it is pretty much a town full of schools. I think most of the people must live in cornfields or the DM Country Club, because I have no idea where they all come from.

 

[Clone1138]

I've lived in Ankeny for 11 years and for what we like to do it has been perfect. Very active town and around 5:30-6 each morning it is buzzing with walkers, runners, and people heading to the bike trails. Schools are some of the best in Iowa, and when the expansion of the town was being planned they did an excellent job planning greenspaces. There are tons of parks all over, multiple in some neighborhoods. I have a 6 acre park right out my back deck that I sit on in the spring and fall and watch pick up baseball games and football games.

That's great and I'm glad you enjoy that. But my issue is that you have all of those things in the western suburbs plus a whole lot more. Ankeny doesn't have anything at all that distinguishes itself from other cities. There aren't any attractions, restaurants or stores there that you can't find somewhere else. The only plus in my mind is that it's 10-15 minutes closer to Ames than WDM, Clive, Urbandale, Johnston or Waukee.

 

[VTXCyRyD]

Sorry if you live there, but Ankeny bores the hell out of me. It's bland and has very little character to it. Delaware is such a depressing stretch of road that, much like Duff in Ames, they tried to see how many strip malls, fast food joints, and big box stores they could cram along it.

But how many auto parts stores does Delaware have?

 

[wartknight]

That's great and I'm glad you enjoy that. But my issue is that you have all of those things in the western suburbs plus a whole lot more. Ankeny doesn't have anything at all that distinguishes itself from other cities. There aren't any attractions, restaurants or stores there that you can't find somewhere else. The only plus in my mind is that it's 10-15 minutes closer to Ames than WDM, Clive, Urbandale, Johnston or Waukee.

If you wouldn't have cut off the second half of my post you would have found that I posted something very similar. The only thing about a "whole lot more" in the western suburbs that I utilize is Jordan Creek and that is maybe 3-4 times a year. (plus I work in WDM so I'm there anyway)

 

[Freebird]

If you count Simpson, then yes. Still not very exciting.

Indianola has an identity. What is Ankeny's?

 

[wartknight]

Indianola has an identity. What is Ankeny's?

One has 50+K, another has 15k. Are they really two towns to be compared with each other?

 

[im4cyclones]

Indianola has an identity. What is Ankeny's?

Is white trash, red neck, meth heads really an "identity" to brag about?

laugh:

 

[Freebird]

One has 50+K, another has 15k. Are they really two towns to be compared with each other?

You are missing the point. I am not comparing the towns 1:1.
When I say Indianola you think of Simpson College, the town square, etc.
Now when I say Ankeny what do you think of? The town has no identity. It is nothing beyond cookie cutter homes, town homes, strip malls, and big box stores.

 

[wartknight]

You are missing the point. I am not comparing the towns 1:1.
When I say Indianola you think of Simpson College, the town square, etc.
Now when I say Ankeny what do you think of? The town has no identity. It is nothing beyond cookie cutter homes, town homes, strip malls, and big box stores.

Actually the guy before you said what I was thinking but I wasn't going to go there. I've probably been to Simpson a hundred times and IHS several more times and not once has anyone every brought up or have I noticed the town square. Pella, yes right away, town square. Indianola, right away the skoal special on every store sign comes to mind

 

[Freebird]

Actually the guy before you said what I was thinking but I wasn't going to go there. I've probably been to Simpson a hundred times and IHS several more times and not once has anyone every brought up or have I noticed the town square. Pella, yes right away, town square. Indianola, right away the skoal special on every store sign comes to mind

You aren't going to hurt my feeling on Indianola.
I get why people live in Ankeny. I get the convenience, shopping, schools and all that. Hell we almost moved there because all logic points to it being a great town to live in. Heck, it probably is a great town to live in.
My only point of contention is that it is the absolutely most generic town in central Iowa that seems to have no real sense of itself and for whatever reason that bothers me personally. For most it is probably no big deal.

 

[wartknight]

You aren't going to hurt my feeling on Indianola.
I get why people live in Ankeny. I get the convenience, shopping, schools and all that. Hell we almost moved there because all logic points to it being a great town to live in. Heck, it probably is a great town to live in.
My only point of contention is that it is the absolutely most generic town in central Iowa that seems to have no real sense of itself and for whatever reason that bothers me personally. For most it is probably no big deal.

I think what you speak to there is why so many people that had lived in the town for a long time fought so hard to keep 1 high school even right up to the split into two. Like many SMALL towns, Ankeny's many titles at a lot of different things (heck I didn't even know there was a national title in show choir until last year) in the school was the identity of the town. Its going to take a little bit to either rekindle that or find something new to latch on to. I'd say most in this town would say bike trails or John Deere are its identity. Seems like a very high percentage of people in town are either school employees or JD employees. The city leaders are trying at the other stuff. One of the few "Miracle Parks" in Iowa (one in DSM and one being built in Parkersburg) and the fundraising I think is now complete for the Ankeny Pavilion which they envision being kind of a hangout spot in the middle of town (yes, right off the bike paths)

 

[chuckd4735]

Ankeny would win in a landslide for the title of "most bland/boring suburb of DSM"

Waukee takes offense to that.

How so?

Its the fastest growing community in the state and the 3rd largest community in the metro. A lot of people like Ankeny, and its obvious by those numbers. That puts your opinion in the minority.