If you've been considering moving to Des Moines and you're not familiar with the area, you're probably wondering what to expect.

Is Des Moines (or Iowa in general) just one big corn field?

What do people do for fun? Are they going to expect you to go cow tipping?

Hi, I'm Heather Wright with RE/MAX Concepts. I'm a REALTOR in the Des Moines area. And before we get too far into this, I just want to clear up two things.

Number one, contrary to popular opinion, Iowa is more than just corn fields.

And number two, cow tipping is NOT a real thing.

Now that I've got those out of the way, you can clear your mind and we can focus on real things that might surprise you about moving to Des Moines.

And first of all is going to be the weather. 

I'm sure you're expecting four seasons winter, spring, summer, and fall. Of course, we all know four seasons exist.

But the truth is we have more like 13 seasons (and that might be conservative).

You can look forward to:

Winter
False Spring
Second Winter
Spring of Deception
Third Winter
Mud
Actual Spring (which lasts about a week)
Summer
Mosquitos
Hell's Front Porch (it's no joke)
False Fall
Second Summer
Actual Fall

And that doesn't even include potholes or pollen.

You might think it sounds terrible. Or maybe you think I'm exaggerating, but trust me, you'll get used to all of it.

Snow is probably your worst fear about moving to Iowa. I lived in Florida for 11 years and forgot most of what I learned about driving in snow. Not that I was any good in the first place, but if I can learn how to drive in snow without wrecking my car, then you can too.

And on the positive side, think of all the fashion options you'll have, whether it's layering your clothes or having a totally different wardrobe for fall than you do for spring. And then those cute little rain boots for mud season - you'll look great.

The second thing that might surprise you about moving to Iowa is the politics.

Now you might think I'm talking about Democrat versus Republican and that's true. Des Moines is a very political area to live in, but the TRUE politics that are possibly going to surprise you...

You're going to have to pick a team: Iowa or Iowa State.

There is no other answer. You might be able to get away with playing dumb, but be prepared to pick a team, go to a party, tailgate, and definitely discuss.

The one time when both sets of fans will unite is against Nebraska. But never if the other team is playing Nebraska. Anyway, now, you know, Iowa or Iowa state - pick one.

The third thing that might surprise you about moving to Des Moines is going to be transportation.

Sure we have public transportation and you'll probably have a car. There are definitely a lot walkable areas, whether it's near your home or where you're going to work, or maybe you drive to an area where you can walk from store to store.

But the surprising part of transportation is bicycles. 

Bicycles are a super popular mode of transportation, OR maybe it's actually more of a super popular mode of partying? But you're probably going to meet people who ride bikes. And at first you might think that means motorcycles, but it's not.

They ride bicycles and they're serious. We're talking about all day long bike rides. They're fast, they're furious. And if you're in the right group, they drink a lot and they're really fun.

So get yourself some compression bike shorts and prepare to get your pedal on. That's it. Now you know what's in store for you when you move to Des Moines.

Although your friends are going to think you moved to Idaho, which is the potato state. We're the corn state. So be prepared to tell all your friends, it's corn, not potatoes, get it straight.

Feel free to ask any questions in the comments below where I try to respond personally. You can also click the link below to visit our website where we have a lot more information on moving to and living in Des Moines.

Thanks for watching. If you liked this video click like, leave a comment and subscribe to my channel. Hopefully I can answer any question you have about the awesome place to live that I call home, and maybe you will to: Des Moines.