Missouri help PLEASE... (Kansas City, Columbia, Lee's Summit: real estate, how much, home builder) - (MO) - City-Data Forum

marcandjami · 08-04-2007, 08:38 PM

OK, I will just start with my bombardment of questions. My family and I (wife and 2 kids, 6 and 4 yrs old) currently live in DC. We will be moving out of here in the next year to year and a half and have to choose between Texas and Missouri (Families in both places). Mother-in-law lives in Boonville. Is there anywhere that we might be able to live within an hour of Boonville as well as to either KC or STL to support having an IT career? I've got 6 years of experience and wouldn't mind a commute of about an hour or so. I'm also certified to work on HVAC systems and have also been a generator and diesel engine mechanic. My wife would love 1-5 acres of land and I would just love a place where there is golf nearby, water recreational activities (rivers, lakes), and a population anywhere from 1,000-50,000/60,000. My wife is very adaptable as well. She currently works for a home builder in MD and is also enrolled in a Certified Paralegal Course. Prior to this job, she was a great realtor for 3 years.

We are in our late 20's and would/could probably afford a home in the $200,000-$250,000 range if needed. We of course would love a more family oriented community and an area with good schools. Lastly, and I hope this isn't an ignorant question and doesn't offend, but we are a multi-racial family (I'm hispanic, wife's white). Would this be considered a problem anywhere? To all who answer, THANK YOU so much and we really appreciate it!

Lake Junkie · 08-04-2007, 09:47 PM

Marc...welcome to City Data! I know you'll get some help, but this isn't a really fast moving forum so be patient...keep coming back! (As they say in some other circles!)

1. Boonville is closer to KC than St.L...so I'd go that direction.

Someplace like Marshall, pop 13,000, might be a good start. But if you could be closer to "work" than "mo-in-law" it might be better...suburbs of KC and all. Yr gonna go through culture shock moving from DC to a tiny burg. Plus the tolerance levels, ya know.

2. There's a lot of land everywhere in rural MO...so the acreage shouldn't be a problem...just keep in mind that you may not need 5 if it lays right.

And to get acres, you're going to be outside of town...

3. There are rivers and lakes ALL over and God love ya...you should be able to get water when ya need it.

For instance, Marshall is only a short drive from the big river in a couplea directions.

4. Yaaayyyyy for your wife...real estate is an honorable profession.

5. For the record, I'm not in that area...but I've moved around some in MO since we got here from CA...anxious to help.

mrschilicook · 08-05-2007, 02:24 PM

My husband and I searched both TX and MO before deciding on MO (we are retired) so I can share my thoughts with you.

I would think your profession(s) would be adaptable in most cities. Your wife's occupation(s) should be adaptable anywhere too.

The ethnic mix is pretty common in Texas. People don't even think about it. In your age group, I don't think people think too much about it anyway. Mixed ethnic families exist in MO, and I haven't seen any indications of problems for any nice upstanding family. I personally welcome diversity.

We found that property in both states is relatively affordable depending on the "where"....Texas has no income tax, MO has lower property taxes but has income tax. It's definitely more affordable in either place than in DC. You can find something "near" but not in cities in either place. I would highly suggest, however, that you consider closer rather than further on the commute thing. An hour commute does get old after several years and with young growing children, you may want to reconsider spending alot of your time commuting (just a suggestion although it sounded kind of "mom-ish".

Good luck in either case. There are pro's and con's for either.

I would highly suggest you visit a few areas before you leave DC.

marcandjami · 08-06-2007, 11:26 AM

wow, thank you both very much for all of the information. i hope to be able to visit each area before the move and try and figure some things out. thanks again for all the help.

Carlidin · 08-06-2007, 01:29 PM

What is wrong with settling in Boonville. I live in New Franklin which is three miles from Boonville and commute to Columbia. 23 miles east. Columbia would give you all kinds of possibilities for IT careers as well as many, many other options if you are so inclined. There are three colleges and four hospitals there plus many, many other possibilities. Boonville is a very mixed-race tolerant community. I see it all the time and have not see any problems. Course there could be there but I'm just not aware. But I have friends who have mixed marriages/relationships and they have never mentioned any problems.
Boonville schools are excellent with lots of opportunities for the kids. Columbia would also be an option for you if you really don't want to commute. I work at the University of Missouri and have for 29 years and the commute is about 45 minutes. As you probably know Boonville is located in the center of the state and halfway between KC and SL. We are also very close (1 hour) from the Lake of the Ozarks with all its water/vacation options. Hope this helps some.

Carolyn

edgeofhell · 08-09-2007, 09:39 AM

I too would steer you towards columbia, I feel its the perfect size, perfect mix of people, lots of parks
coming from dc I think you would suffer from "lack of" culture shock going to boonville or marshall..............seriously these towns are completely dark after 10pm (yes yes I know, except for the casino in boonville)

rccaldwell · 08-09-2007, 07:18 PM

for the size of town you are looking for, columbia. no question. i grew up there then moved to phoenix for the last 10 years and columbia is the only town i would move back to (or near) in missouri. i recently visited and was astonished at how much it had grown, and i have been living in the 6th? biggest city in the country. you are 2 hours from the st. louis airport and 2.5+/- from kansas citys airport. by the way hickman high school just made the top 1500 high schools in the country! (1254th actually). so if you want to get away from the CRAZY city life yet feel you are still in the 21st century, columbia is the place in missouri. (i also spent 10 years in boonville, and a few in marshall they are VERY small but boonville does have good schools)

Northwoods Voyager · 08-09-2007, 08:11 PM

There is no doubt about it. Columbia and the surrounding areas offer so much. On our trips to the VA hosp. I have driven around some and really like what I see. Prices are not out of range for the state and there are some affordable homes on small acreage, if that is what a person is desiring. Just across Hwy 70, north of Columbia there are a few areas worth looking into.

Just go to Realtor.com and type in Columbia MO and on the advanced search, key in surrounding areas also. Just key in the prices and # of Bedrooms and Bathrooms and any additional features.

Good luck to you.

eacurry2 · 08-11-2007, 09:25 PM

Even though it is not thought of as a "traditional" IT powerhouse, Missouri has a lot to offer. I agree with the other folks who mentioned Columbia; the only reservation is that it is a college town, so there is definite ebb and flow of the population at different times of the year. With it being a college town, however, there are ample opportunities for both you and your wife to re-start your respective careers.
Kansas City (or outside of it to the southeast) is also a good choice. Even though it is in Kansas, the World Headquarters for Sprint are located there, along with a number of other IT firms; or companies with a heavy interest in IT. In addition, there is a lot of growth in the Lee's Summit area, so real estate is plentiful - to both buy and sell.
If you do decide on moving to Missouri, prepare for culture shock...but, not all of it will be negative. Best wishes!

-beth

Clipperlover · 08-17-2007, 11:27 PM

I'm on the Columbia bandwagon with everyone else. A couple of other things:

Huge agreement with the culture thing. Going from DC to a city of less than 10,000 people is going to be a major shift. Columbia is bigger than its size in terms of things to do, and that's a plus for you and will be for your children too

Housing prices. The biggest hitch for Columbia is going to be 1-5 acres of land...but there's still quite a few 2400 sq. ft., 4 bedroom places on lots of around .75 to 2 acres in Columbia that are in your price range. At the very worst, you'd have to go a few miles from Columbia, toward Hallsville, Harrisburg, or Midway.