Pros and Cons of Living in Ankeny Iowa

[@Sheepy19801]

Life long Central Iowa resident who attended DMACC Ankeny. Ankeny struggles with not being able to keep up with amount of growth it has seen. I35 on/off ramps are clogged as well as all the streets connected to the ramps. Delaware Ave is clogged nearly every hour of the day. Outside of a few developed areas (like Jethros Lake area) the city is pretty boring with little in the way of landmarks/culture/events. You go to the towns around Ankeny for that. Also property taxes have gone up so much during the last 10 years that many people are being squeezed out if they don't work a 6 figure job. It's defiantly a commuter/suburb.

[@livingincentraliowa]

Thanks Tim!

[@111Ronaldinho]

The average salary in Ankeny, Iowa is $41k per person.

[@livingincentraliowa]

@@111Ronaldinho yep, I know a lot of people who live in Ankeny and don't work a 6 figure job. They're doing just fine!

[@111Ronaldinho]

@@livingincentraliowa Agreed. I know quite a bit of people also that live in Ankeny, most of them have more than 1 roommate so they have a reasonable budget rather than paying rent by yourself.

[@RandiMusgrove]

My husband and I are planning to move to the area next summer 2025. Thank you for these videos. We are from California and have never been to Iowa so these are wonderful!

[@livingincentraliowa]

Glad they're helpful! Let me know if there's anything I can do to assist with the move. Would love to help! 515.414.6281

[@RandiMusgrove]

@@livingincentraliowa we are planning to come out this summer. We are looking into the new construction homes. We need a minimum of 4 bedrooms but would prefer 5. We can afford $3,500 to $4,000 a month for the mortgage payment. I’ve been looking on Zillow and that seems doable.

[@livingincentraliowa]

@@RandiMusgrove give me a call when you have a chance! Would love to discuss with you and see how I can help. My cell number is 515.414.6281

[@None-q8l]

@@RandiMusgrovestay away you guys ruin every state you migrate to. Stay in your own ruined state

[@JanYoungblood]

Ankeny used to be a great place to live. Now it's traffic and noise. Iowa has one of the highest rates of cancer in the country.

[@jdrum3053]

I left Ankeny because I can’t drive, riding a bike up in the Delaware district is terrible and is not very walkable either. My mom Deb Stokka is a realtor with ReMax Precision, the good thing was with uptown before the bowling alley closed I had everything I needed, then times changed things. DART only has busing to downtown and on demand, where the only transportation options for me. Until 6PM Mon-Fri I am now by Merl Hay Mall and Urbandale is growing westward and doing some cool things with its bike infrastructure unlike Ankeny. Busing to downtown until 11pm 6 days a week! Transportation and personal support is better, having more family and friends here now too. I also grew up in Urbandale before moving to Ankeny. You guys should check out some options there too.

[@livingincentraliowa]

thanks for your thoughts!~

[@mrsj8839]

Used to live in Grinnell IA, and I used to come up with any excuse to go to Ankeny.

[@livingincentraliowa]

It’s a great place!

[@p.w.f.]

Love living in the Prarie Trail area. We’re just south of the HyVee on State!

[@livingincentraliowa]

Prairie Trail is beautiful!

[@timandhannahnewman6538]

I grew up in Ankeny! Was a lot smaller then, I graduated in 2008 I now live in Miami FL. Have not been back for a while I miss a lot about the Des Moines area (but don’t miss the winter)

[@livingincentraliowa]

It's changed a TON

[@adidasjoel17]

Thanks for this video :) My wife and I are open to relocating and just checking it out. Some of the info I find worthwhile is seeing a map of some different areas/neighborhoods and at least a quick overview of general prices, styles, cultures, what’s near what, and so on. Also, general driving times to and from different areas locally as well as Des Moines proper, but I could possibly be missing the point of the video lol I appreciate some of the details you guys mentioned though. Seems like a nice place :)

[@livingincentraliowa]

Thanks so much for the feedback, Adam! I really appreciate it. This "making videos" thing is very much a learning process for us. We were battling illness this week but I'll be sure to incorporate into next weeks video 👊

[@BenMiller-j3f]

There is always an accident I live in Ankeny Iowa

[@antonykyalo2075]

Walkable and Ankeny should never be used in the same sentence.

[@livingincentraliowa]

Depends on which part of Ankeny you live in

[@Andrumen01]

With my wife we are moving to Huxley, best of Ames and Ankeny at our disposal! Couldn't love Iowa and this area more!😊

[@livingincentraliowa]

Let me know if you need any assistance finding a home in Huxley! I have some clients up there - love that town

[@Andrumen01]

We already have a house there, we will be closing on it soon. Thanks though!

[@joshlafferty1059]

What do you have in the urbandale vicinity for between 250 and 300k? With at least three bedrooms and a basement

[@livingincentraliowa]

Could you send me your email? I’d be happy so end some options your way! [e-mail]

[@lynn_phoenix]

As I was recently a first time home buyer, it's important to note that it felt like Ankeny neighborhoods are getting taken over by HOAs. That's a huge turn off for a lot of people. I ultimately ended up crossing off Ankeny on the search a few weeks in because of the HOA invasion. It was becoming a waste of time because HOA wasn't in the listings and my agent kept having to disappoint me when he dug deeper.

[@livingincentraliowa]

Great feedback. It seems like new construction neighborhood all over the place ALL have neighborhood HOAs

[@rozi2089]

Loved this video and look forward to watching all your other videos. Have recently looked into visiting your state from Oklahoma to go to the John Wayne & Donna Reed Museums along with taking in an Iowa Cubs game. Are there any other attractions you would recommend if I were to visit the Des Moines area?... Just subscribed btw.

[@livingincentraliowa]

Thank you! When are you planning on visiting? Some of our attractions (farmers markets, state fair, etc.) are seasonal Some other favorite spots of mine are some of our historic neighborhoods (East Village, Highland Park, Sherman Hill, Valley Junction, etc.)

[@gottacos]

I came to commemt about the stop sign but you mentioned it...

[@livingincentraliowa]

lol yep Jim is actually a very safe driver. I think I caught his one mistake in like 10 years

[@gottacos]

It's was actually funny. I mean I was watching all the videos then. You feel like your in the car. Trying to see which part of Ankeny then boom.. squirrel, as in I would have done the same. Love your vids

[@livingincentraliowa]

@@gottacos Thank you! Appreciate the kind words

[@River-d3r]

I grew up in Ankeny personally I hate the growth and miss the smaller town it used. To be

[@livingincentraliowa]

I can see why - it's changed a lot!

[@RetireYoungAndCheap]

Ok, this is going to sound really odd maybe but me and my dad and my dog take these "vacations" for 5 or 6 days at a time, one because we want to have fun.. but two we are looking to see if we would like the areas. Omaha, NE is an area we really liked (yes, Omaha) but we are visiting and looking at all kinds of areas (as time and money allow us to do so). We are coming to Ankeny on 9/26/25 for around 5-6 days and another thing that is important to me, is pet/dog friendly things to do. It might be trails (which you seem to mention Ankeny has a lot of ) but also pet friendly stores and restaurants and things of that nature. Anything you can speak on regarding that? Thank you.

[@RetireYoungAndCheap]

Also, anything that is "local" that is a must see? Anywhere to stay away from (Omaha had it's places to avoid for example)?

[@livingincentraliowa]

Hey I'm sorry I missed this! My family was moving and remodeling our home for a few months so I wasn't watching this closely. Let me know if you plan another trip soon!

[@MisterMcKinney]

Ankeny isn’t car-dependent enough!!!!

[@livingincentraliowa]

Hey there! You'd like it to be more car-dependent?

[@toddm9501]

Is that Matt Dillon's grandkid?

[@livingincentraliowa]

not that i know of

[@maxxbenzz7842]

Grandkid? How old do you think Matt is 90?

[@timolson6168]

Was going to comment,nah

[@user-qr7ee2cp4y]

You're out in the middle of nowhere, not many liberals there so I hope you're OK with trumpers and Iowa gets a bunch of bad weather in summer and a lot of storms in winter.

[@ldakotatransplant6485]

“trumpers”? Hard to define “trumpers” after his Bronx rally. Go watch the videos and stop stereotyping.

[@user-qr7ee2cp4y]

@@ldakotatransplant6485 what rally, hardly anyone showed up...

[@evan9-g5b]

💀 bro thinks it matters what political ideology the residents have to have a good living environment

[@XrayTheMyth23]

@@evan9-g5b Well if you're black you wouldn't want to live in a sundown town... Not that it's an issue in Ankeny but it is still a factor to know if the locals are conservative and will harass you or not.

[@evan9-g5b]

@@XrayTheMyth23 I’m in ankeny lol and my dad is white and my mom is black and they are fine lol conservatives here aren’t racist 😭😭

[@dougcjohn]

Why move here from CA, Winters cold, Humid Summers, Ragweed, alergies, more conservative values. Adapt the culture, don’t bring CA’s.

[@misternaem2103]

Conservative values is why there are less homeless people, crime and people who don't know what gender they are, Doug. I'm saying this as someone born in Los Angeles.

[@dougcjohn]

@@misternaem2103​​⁠couldn't agree more... Conservative maintains core Christian values which are Country's foundation of law, society and behavior. The CA norm certainly isn't in line with your expressions... At least not in the last 25 yrs.

[@Aakashputtur]

America is boring,

[@livingincentraliowa]

Respectfully disagree!

[@Aakashputtur]

@@livingincentraliowa it look so i can feel it from india,

[@evan9-g5b]

@@AakashputturYOU ARE FROM INDIA WYDM ITS BORING

[@evan9-g5b]

N O O B 😡😡