[Ofthewoodland]

Hi all!

My husband has a job offer either in Cassville, MO or Ava, MO--Both are unfamiliar to us, although I did spend some years in my childhood in Springfield, MO so I know some things about that area (or at least that area in the 90's.) We visited Eureka Springs a couple years ago and found it to be charming, so I thought--with the Cassvile job--we could possibly commute from ES. It seemed tourist-y so I wondered what people thought about living there.

What I would love to hear about from the locals are the general impressions of living in the area? Pro's and cons? We have a college-aged son and a kindergarten-aged son. Any thoughts about the elementary schools around there or jr colleges would be great to know. Any and all POV's welcome... Thanks!

[sub]

Eureka Springs is a tourist trap and pretty isolated. Kind of neat, but doesn't strike me as a place to live. The commute from there to anywhere would get tiring and tedious in my opinion.

Cassville seems a little nicer than Ava. Similar in size but offers slightly more.
In either one, you're going to Springfield (and/or NWA for Cassville) if you need much more than what Walmart offers or for any decent level of healthcare. Expect an hour's drive give or take.
Cassville has the advantage of being about halfway between those two larger areas.
Ava is deeper into the hills but has a good, fairly straight highway in and out of it unlike Eureka Springs.
Pro's are that they're pretty cheap places to live. Safe enough. Good area if you like hunting and fishing.
Con's: not much to do. There is a bit of a drug problem, but not terribly hard to avoid.

[Take a History Class]

I would live in Cassville or just outside. Eureka is fun to visit but the roads get extremely curvy and it would not be a fun commute in my opinion. I personally value being able to get places quickly, and from Cassville you could be shopping at the Pinnacle in Rogers, AR in just over 45 minutes. HWY 37 coming south out of Cassville is a decent road, and AR has made improvements to HWY 62 going into Rogers. The south side of Springfield, MO would actually be 30 minutes further away.

Getting to I49 through Neosho would be relatively easy as well if you need to go north to say, Kansas City.

As for schools, I don't know anything about Cassville public schools, but Crowder College in Neosho has always had a good reputation and I've known several people that got Associate degrees there. NWACC in Bentonville is also a good option.

[TRex2]

Originally Posted by sub

Eureka Springs is a tourist trap and pretty isolated. Kind of neat, but doesn't strike me as a place to live. The commute from there to anywhere would get tiring and tedious in my opinion.
...

Eureka Springs is also having trouble with not enough housing that is affordable for working class people, so a lot of workers commune into ES from other towns. And they don't really have a lot of land to build on, so I don't expect this to change any time soon.

[Ofthewoodland]

Appreciate the input! Yeah, I noticed properties/houses are so expensive in ES, yet they don't seem to sell quickly either. I just want to live in a town that's kinda fun, but yet close to quiet and rural-- ES seems to kinda fit. Husband is willing to drive 30--40 mins to and from work. Maybe halfway between Cassville and Branson could be a good spot? Thanks for chiming in!