Though the match doesn't come out until March, it looks like I will be going to residency in Michigan. I'm very excited. As far as things to do in Des Moines, the downtown area is pretty cool. They have skywalks that connect the entire downtown and there are lots of stores and restaurants. There are also a lot of lakes/parks with trails but that depends on the weather in March. They've got some pretty good malls and stuff as well. As you are LDS, Nauvoo/Carthage is 3 hours and so is Liberty.
The student herd is a migratory one! As I have been gone for the last 6 months, I am not really in tune with where the students are now living. When I moved here, Summerwood, Maple Grove, and Sun Prairie were big. People started bailing from Maple Grove for some reason. Summerwood (or whatever it is called now) is where I live but it changed ownership and increased in price. But it seems that students have returned in mass to Maple Grove. I would also check out Sun Prairie. I know some students that have been very happy with Washington Heights and Colonial Village Apartments. A fair amount of students live in the neighborhood of Valley Junction as well. They are older, small houses but can be rented fairly cheap.
Ilizarob may be better tuned into the student scene and Feelgood lives north in Ankeny and I don't know the situation there either. Feel free to jump in boys!
Let me know when you are coming and maybe we can meet for dinner or something with a few of the local SDNer's!
