I was invited to come shoot some nighttime photography as part of the local Des Moines area Flickr Group. You can see most of my shots from this outing at: Downtown at Night Photo Album.

You can check at all the participant’s photography by visiting: http://www.flickr.com/groups/1014797@N22/ or watching the slide show below.

This time, the 2009 MSN Real Estate Most-Livable Bargin Markets. From their site, here’s what they had to say about Des Moines.

Des Moines may be one of the best and most overlooked places to jump-start your career. The economy of this Midwestern state capital is solid, with a large number of well-paying jobs in the insurance, bioscience and agribusiness fields. Yet the median house costs just $150,000. Forbes has ranked it one of the best places for business and careers three years running.

It has some of the cleanest air in the country, its residents report low stress levels and there’s enough outdoor recreation, culture and fine art to keep most people happy (its Art Center was designed by I.M. Pei). “There’s so many things that are accessible here,” says Lauren Burt of the Greater Des Moines Partnership. “There’s a lot of volunteerism and ways to be engaged with the community.”

Cons: The extremes in weather might come as a shock to many relocating here. Winters are very cold, and there’s no shortage of tornadoes and floods. Moreover, it’s relatively isolated, with the nearest big cities — Omaha, Neb., and Minneapolis — an hour-and-a-half and three hours away, respectively. Plan on bringing your car; there’s not a lot of public transportation.

Population: 547,911
Affordability index: 2.70
Unemployment: 5.5
Job growth: -1.43%
Median home price*: $150,100
Home price appreciation**: -0.57%
Cost of living index: 85.4
Median household income: $55,545
Commute time (mins.): 21.6
% commutes greater than an hour: 2.63%

*All median home prices Q2 2009

**All home price appreciation numbers cover Q2 2008 to Q2 2009

Operation Downtown is conducting a survey to assess employees’ perceptions of downtown Des Moines. It only takes a few minutes and the feedback provides invaluable information to Operation Downtown; critical to employee retention and attraction, as well as recruiting new development to downtown.

Please click on the link below to share your opinions.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Lyg2q8buVnqoy2wB2a_2fUnw_3d_3d

For questions, please contact Amy Lego at alego@downtowndesmoines.com or 286-4962.