Driving in Des Moines Metro

Things to do and things to avoid when driving in DSM.

1. First, do you need a car?
   • Honestly, the DSM metro area is quite spread out and getting around without a car can be pretty tricky.
     
     So, my verdict is YES, you need a car.
     
     UNLESS…
     
     You find a place that’s near everything (walking distance) you need: Work, grocery stores, shopping, and something to DO (like I play volleyball so it’s helpful to be near a park). Then you could walk and bike for most of your activities.
     
     Otherwise, there are Ubers and Lyfts to help you get around and, of course, buses. Not knocking the buses but the bus stops tend to be in the middle of side walk with no seating or coverage so I just think summers and winters with buses can be brutal.
     
     What there’s not: NYC Taxis, endless amount of electric scooters and bikes (Some parks have electric bikes but not many)
     
     BEWARE: Early or late night rideshare options are nearly impossible to find, especially in the winter. So just beware of that 10pm arrival!
     
2. So you have a car, do you need to register it in Iowa?
   • Yes, within 30 days from the date you establish residency. Iowa registration is required, even though your license plates may still be valid in another state.
     
     Your insurance company won’t require you to be registered, weirdly (at least mine didn’t), but you could get a ticket for out of state license plates if you take too long.
     
     But wait!
     
     When you register and get your new license plate, don’t go throwing away your old license plate. You might need to mail that in to your original state to avoid fees. Florida required it so check with your state website to know if you need to.
     
3. Oh great, that means DMV.
   • Don’t worry, it’s not that bad!
     
     There are a lot of DMV options. If you need an appointment right away and are willing to drive a little further (30-45 min), you can find an opening relatively easily. Obviously the ones near Downtown will be busier but still have reasonable appointment slots.
     
     ALSO, these people don’t seem to hate their job as much as other big city DMV employees. It’s awesome to talk to them without so much of that on edge feeling.
     
     The best part: Your appointment time is pretty spot on. You might wait a few minutes but never hours!
     
4. Car, registration…Insurance
   • I’ll keep it brief:
     
     It’s CHEAP. Cheaper than any big city. I went from low tier insurance $600 for 6 months in Miami to $345 for premium coverage in Iowa for the same 6 months.
     
     Yes, you need it. It’s a breeze so sign up and heck, pay in full.
     
5. You might be wondering about Iowa tolls
   • Well, worry no more. They don’t exist! Breathe easy my Floridians and Californians who were caught in tolls at every turn, those days are behind you.
     
6. But think twice before putting Ethanol in your car
   • It’s cheap and it’s EVERYWHERE.
     
     Actually, finding gas WITHOUT ethanol in Iowa can be pretty challenging.
     
     But thankfully, Hy-Vee tends to be pretty reliable on this front, so if you look for a Hy-Vee gas station, you should be ok.
     
     The problem with Ethanol is that not every car can take it but because some gas stations ONLY have Ethanol gas, you think it MUST be ok to use. It’s not.
     
     Safest Bet: Avoid E85, keep to 15% or less ethanol, and check your car’s manual.
     
     Check out this post from Consumer Reports for more info.
     
7. Parking, does it cost an arm and a leg?
   • Unless you’re going to an Iowa Cubs game and parking at the stadium, you can pay $5 or less for all day parking in downtown.
     
     My recommendation is to always go somewhere early and find street parking. But honestly, parking here is very reasonable.
     
     
8. Driving conditions, however, are not.
   • Pot holes galore.
     
     I think they blame the snow and then the salt that they put out to melt the snow. I don’t know… It’s everywhere.
     
     I recently cracked my radiator on one of these big pot holes so trust me, drive slow and pay attention to the road conditions.
     
     You might be tempted to gaze at the corn fields but only do that as a passenger.
     
9. Luckily, there is little to no traffic.
   • Locals think there is traffic but really, there’s not. Never halting traffic at least. It can get on the slower end but it’s almost always smooth flowing.
     
10. Talking about speed, the speed limits here are…
    • SLOW. If you’re coming from a big city with high limits, prepare to feel frustrated with the almost sluggish speeds of the street roads.
      
      Highways are better but still slower than other big city ones.
      
      I’m not complaining. Much less accidents. But it’s definitely an adjustment.
      
11. Just like driving in the snow
    • Actually, we all overthink that. The key is just drive even slower than the speed limit.
      
      Turn carefully and don’t trust your brakes.
      
12. You might be wondering, how do people drive here?
    Nicely.
    
    Let’s keep it that way.
    
    Now, again, locals will complain about this and say the drivers here are bad. But they’ve clearly never driven on i95 so don’t get me started.
    
    But honking is minimal, no cursing at each other, no cutting each other off or running red lights. It’s chill. We moved here for a slower pace of life, so slow down.
    
    Seriously, don’t bring your crazy big city driving here with you. It’s really nice not to see the number of traffic deaths in the triple digits by the first quarter of the year.
    
    
13. Finally the last one — do you need an Iowa license?
    
    I’ve been here a year and don’t need one still but here’s some reasons you might need one:
    – Some jobs require it (city jobs)
    – Makes applying for a local credit card easier
    – Register to vote in Iowa
    
    Actually, just for that last one, YES, you need one.
    Get out there and vote 😉
    
    Safe driving!