Goodbye Des Moines #2 (The Recognition)
Des Moines has got it going on.
Forbes says we’re the top city for young professionals and the best city to raise a family. We’re the richest metro (U.S. News & World Report), in the top 10 cities for the next decade (Kiplinger), first in bargains for real estate (msn.com) and renters (Time), the top place to “go green,” (National Geographic) and second happiest state (MainStreet.com). We’re also the top city in adjusted median income (aka you get the most money out of your paycheck.)
When Es and I first found out about the job in Des Moines, we did our research. None of the above information was available at that time though. We knew there was a lot of finance and insurance business, and that’s about it.
Es and I had very different expectations from each other when we came out to interview. Es was expecting a cornfield. I was expecting a sprawling metropolitan city. Somehow Des Moines ended up falling squarely in the middle; small town personality with big city passion.
Music, art, coffee, film, bikes, the outdoors, DIY, technology, shopping local, eating local, entrepreneurship…all of these things and more are what have caused me to fall in love with Des Moines.
Es and I spent the first year we lived here trying to explain to our friends and family back home what exactly Des Moines was like. We tried to compare it to other towns or cities, but without very much luck. There isn’t really any other place like it, and I think that’s because Des Moines doesn’t really want to be like any other city. Just like an awkward teenager, as it continues to grow it seems to just become more confident in it’s own personality and it’s own skin.
I really do love this city. My wife and I have spent the majority of our life together here. My son was born here. We took risks here. We help create a community here. I accomplished musical dreams here. We discovered new passions here.
So as we move back to California and end up in some city, town, or suburb on the west coast, I can confidently say that the biggest thing that will remind me of Des Moines is my wife and son. My family. It’s forever a part of us and who we are, and I’m really thankful for that.
