I’ve been thinking that eventually, we should have a section of this blog that features the things we love about Des Moines. When I moved to Iowa from New Jersey in 1992, it took me a while to settle in and see how great this city really is. Granted, it’s much improved in the past 20 years, but the reality is that I can’t imagine myself living anywhere else, and this section of the blog will start to point out why. From the great restaurants, galleries, events, and sports, Des Moines offers so much to do on any given day. And once you pick something, you’ll find minimal traffic, free or cheap parking, affordability, and really nice people.
But there’s something else that makes Des Moines amazing: there is almost zero barrier for entry into whatever you can dream up. I could tell you about the amazing experiences I’ve had over the past couple decades involved with several different boards and events around the city, but there’s no time for that. Right now, Start Up Weekend Des Moines has a group of entrepreneurs staying up late and cooking up app ideas: how to use what’s in your fridge to make delicious (My Kitchen Genie); to virtually slashing the tires of someone that doesn’t know that you learned how to drive in New Jersey, and should therefore get out of her way (RoadRageous). There’s a group working on an app for people sports-knowledge challenged, but their theme song says that girls don’t know about sports, and they don’t say anything about soccer, so I’ll post a link to my soccer blog instead. Just kidding….you can find Cram 5 Sports, but it’s at your peril.
A city that’s startup friendly is going to be an incubator for all sorts of cool things like Dwolla.com, StartUp City DSM, and well, you know…cool 1887 historic homes that get renovated into spaces where you can learn about local food, local art, or just have a welcoming place to stay. Just the first of many reasons you should come check out Des Moines.
Hatton House Diaries 