Moving to West Plains, MO (Springfield, Rolla: real estate, car registration, affordable house)

[barbwirheart]

I'm getting ready to move to West Plains, in with my parents, in about a month or so. Any information about the area that anyone has to share I would really appreciate it. We're hoping to find our own place by the first of the year in Springfield because of job availability.

Thank you.

Katherine

[ern036]

It's not a bad area. There is not much to do. My boyfriend was relocated there for work in January and I am moving out there soon. Job wise it's challenging I can say that much!

[sticks_dweller]

west plains is one of the larger "small towns" in south mo. it seems to me to be growing and has a lot of the amenities other larger towns have. but in 3 minutes you can be in the surrounding rural area.

[OA 5599]

As said above, West Plains is pretty much the largest small town in South Central Missouri....for quite a ways actually. Closest larger towns are Springfield, Rolla, and Mountain Home, AR...and all of those are 1-2 hours from West Plains. Because of that it is growing quite a bit, and has been for a number of years. It is still a nice, friendly small town, but has places to eat, and being the commercial center for that part for several counties around, places to shop (several grocery stores, large Wal-Mart, several clothing stores, lots of other stuff).

The people in the area are quite friendly. The job market is somewhat limited though, most of the jobs will be in service industries, and they are also a number of factories which have moved to the area because it is centrally located and cheap to do business (Marathon Electric, Catepilliar, ect). Its also pretty centrally located for outdoor stuff....the North Fork River, Alley Springs, Greer Springs and the Eleven Point River, plus Bull Shoals and Norfork lakes are all fairly close.

[We.Pl. Mommy]

Bottom line.... This town is a hub. The main road in town is the highway that you must take to go to anywhere else, so its always PACKED with truckers, so this town constantly has an awful diesel smell. You cannot disagree with me on this one, its way to obvious. not to mention the smog. its pretty dirty for a small town. AND, the people here are RUDE! talk about stuck up. There are NO jobs and if you are lucky enough to get hired, its because you know someone. I have never dealt with as many rude drivers since i moved to missouri from arizona. Az has very rude drivers, and the trend has definetly been set here. they all try to race you to be the car in front of the pack of traffic and it just gets to redundant. and walmart....holy cow....watch out for people because they are trying to drive those carts just as bad as they do on the roadway. you are always waiting in line for restraunts, and no.. its not more affordable to live her. nothing is cheaper... i dont know why people think that its cheaper to live in a small town. cost of living is just as comparable as anywhere else. our utility bills are EXTREMELY expensive and we only have 1500 sq foot of living area.

Weather is mostly nice, but if you havent noticed...we have had 3 tornadoes IN TOWN in the past 2 months. so I guess you have to just take your chances with that one.

OMC is still having budget issues which is making more people stressed because they are a pretty big employer who keeps cutting back on their employees. even their doctors! so, the doctors are getting paid less, will this reflect in the quality of care?? we will see...

This is not a good area to buy a house if you are trying to invest, and if you are trying to just get an affordable house to live in, be prepared to make a good offer because no one can afford to let their house go for less than they list it for. or at least they are greedy about it and dont want to sell for less, even if it means being on the market for over 6 months. (our neighbor has been listed for 18 months) And if you get a fixer upper, you better get a damn good inspector because they will surely ********* over too. ours did. and i am not just being bitter about it, its happened to more people than just us. the constractors here will always rip you off. I will not give any names coughDexterFrostcough.....

I would move... but we are stuck here until i finish school...

[OA 5599]

I completely disagree with the smog. I've never seen any there, at all. I grew up in the area and still spend a few weeks a year there and I've never seen it. 63 has quite a bit of truck traffic but it is absolutley nothing compared to I-44 or just about any interstate in general. Even on the worst traffic I've ever seen on 63 between West Plains and Willow Springs you can still go the speed limit or faster nearly the entire way, unless you get stuck behind a semi passing another one, which happens on any road. Driving on I-44 or any other interstate in Missouri is far, far worse. Diesel fuel smell? Again, never noticed it.

As far as drivers...I completely disagree again. The drivers are far, far nicer than any even relatively urban area. I don't think I've ever been cut off, honked at, or had any problems driving in West Plains, or really any in that part of MO in general. If you want to see smog and bad drivers try living in Washington, DC.

The cost of living is much cheaper because of how little it costs to buy a home. Again, compare West Plains to any even relatively small urban area...buying a house is much, much cheaper. Property taxes - also dirt cheap. My parents pay less than $500 a year for a 2400 sq. foot house and 7 acres. You'll easily pay several thousand dollars a year in any urban area. Car registration is in MO is also about half what it is in TX. Even the price of food is cheaper in rural Missouri than just about any larger city....eating out and grabbing a beer at a restaurant is also a lot cheaper. I've never had to wait more than 10 minutes for a table at any restaurant in West Plains, even on a Friday or Saturday night. Usually they sit you right down immediately after getting there. Here in Austin, I've had to wait more than an hour or more numerous times.

Again, if you think West Plains has smog, rude drivers, long restaurant waits, or is expensive to live...try living in any urban area. I lived in Howell County for 19 years, and have since lived in Washington, DC and Austin, and all of those things are far, far worse there, whereas in West Plains they are small problems or completely nonexistent. Does the area have problems? It most certainly does, just not the ones you mention.

[Versatile]

Originally Posted by We.Pl. Mommy

Bottom line.... This town is a hub. The main road in town is the highway that you must take to go to anywhere else, so its always PACKED with truckers, so this town constantly has an awful diesel smell. You cannot disagree with me on this one, its way to obvious. not to mention the smog. its pretty dirty for a small town. AND, the people here are RUDE! talk about stuck up. There are NO jobs and if you are lucky enough to get hired, its because you know someone. I have never dealt with as many rude drivers since i moved to missouri from arizona. Az has very rude drivers, and the trend has definetly been set here. they all try to race you to be the car in front of the pack of traffic and it just gets to redundant. and walmart....holy cow....watch out for people because they are trying to drive those carts just as bad as they do on the roadway. you are always waiting in line for restraunts, and no.. its not more affordable to live her. nothing is cheaper... i dont know why people think that its cheaper to live in a small town. cost of living is just as comparable as anywhere else. our utility bills are EXTREMELY expensive and we only have 1500 sq foot of living area.

Weather is mostly nice, but if you havent noticed...we have had 3 tornadoes IN TOWN in the past 2 months. so I guess you have to just take your chances with that one.

OMC is still having budget issues which is making more people stressed because they are a pretty big employer who keeps cutting back on their employees. even their doctors! so, the doctors are getting paid less, will this reflect in the quality of care?? we will see...

This is not a good area to buy a house if you are trying to invest, and if you are trying to just get an affordable house to live in, be prepared to make a good offer because no one can afford to let their house go for less than they list it for. or at least they are greedy about it and dont want to sell for less, even if it means being on the market for over 6 months. (our neighbor has been listed for 18 months) And if you get a fixer upper, you better get a damn good inspector because they will surely ********* over too. ours did. and i am not just being bitter about it, its happened to more people than just us. the constractors here will always rip you off. I will not give any names coughDexterFrostcough.....

I would move... but we are stuck here until i finish school...

This post should be removed because it disparages a person that is not here to defend themselves and culd most likely cause the person mentioned to lose quite a bit of business. I have no idea as to who the person is but he shouldn't be taken down by someone that is on a rant!

[Chamberman]

I find no real truth to the post from We.Pl.Mommy, other than someone really disgruntled with their own personal life that they want to take it out on some city where they currently live. No smog here, no diesel smell here, no tornadoes in town for almost 20 years. Rude would simply describe someone speaking lies without supporting information.
How can a person speak about a hospital lowering doctor salaries? And then tie that to the quality of health care? Lies to support the poor perspective of the post.
I think this post should be removed, as it reflects a negative attitude from someone who isn't happy with their life..The community didn't play a role in that. Plus, they make a statement on the investment value of real estate.
Trust me, this person didn't buy a home in West Plains, Missouri. Why should they make inflamed statements about real estate when they only rent.
I challenge City Data to remove this blatant lying ramble.
It isn't as if she bought a box of Cracker Jack and didn't find a prize.

[stepka]

I've never lived in West Plains, but I've visited there plenty of times and frankly I don't know what We.Pl.Mommy is talking about. Some of the friendliest people that I know from anywhere live there and smog? Huh? That's a new one on me. Yes there are trucks, but that would be true of anywhere. It's not the most exciting town for nightlife, but if you are into the great outdoors, you should find plenty to do. You're right smack in the middle of the Ozarks, and there is a big music festival coming up in June. And lots of swimmin' holes.

[Beckycan]

I love West Plains. I live about 60 miles w of West Plains and commute to school there. Missouri State University has a growing campus there. Smog from Hwy 63?! What a laugh!
It's small-town living at its best, IMHO. Good luck with your move!