Columbia or Jefferson City - very important to my family - PLEASE HELP ! (St. Louis: fit in, apartment)

[miky2000]

Hello friends ,

I have three questions; can somebody please help me to answer them?

My young family is planning on moving to Columbia or Jefferson City and we wondered three things:

First, can somebody please give me their impression regarding these two schools: Columbia College and Stephen's College? What is their standing and value considered to be in the community, especially due to presence of MU? Are they considered lesser schools and do graduates normally have lesser chance of finding a job than MU graduates?

Second, being an immigrant family (from Europe), but we are both young and very "Americanized," would we feel welcome in Columbia and/or Jefferson City? Would our let's say "different accents" make it difficult to find jobs or "fit in" (I am sorry to even ask this, but neither one of us is really familiar with Midwest or Missouri)?

Third, can somebody please point me to good neighborhoods to buy a home in both cities (I heard South or Southwest) and if possible PROVIDE SOME ZIP CODES?

By what I have seen and researched so far, I love both of these cities and they seem to be very cultural, beautiful, and open minded.

I would really appreciate anybody's help,

Thank you so much!

[ajf131]

I would recommend just living in Columbia because there is just more to do there in Jefferson City and Columbia is also quite a bit larger from what I am aware of. Columbia is IMO one of the finest college towns in the Midwest, giving Bloomington, Indiana and Champaign-Urbana a very good run for their money. I would say that Missouri is overall a fairly accepting state in terms of ethnic diversity and toleration. Have you considered St. Louis by chance? I know for a fact we are very tolerant of immigrants in terms of jobs, or are you just not interested in moving to a big city, which is understandable...lots of people I know prefer the smaller towns. Missouri i have found is overall a pretty tolerant state as far as immigrants go.

[TGS]

Originally Posted by miky2000

Hello friends ,

I have three questions; can somebody please help me to answer them?

My young family is planning on moving to Columbia or Jefferson City and we wondered three things:

First, can somebody please give me their impression regarding these two schools: Columbia College and Stephen's College? What is their standing and value considered to be in the community, especially due to presence of MU? Are they considered lesser schools and do graduates normally have lesser chance of finding a job than MU graduates?

Second, being an immigrant family (from Europe), but we are both young and very "Americanized," would we feel welcome in Columbia and/or Jefferson City? Would our let's say "different accents" make it difficult to find jobs or "fit in" (I am sorry to even ask this, but neither one of us is really familiar with Midwest or Missouri)?

Third, can somebody please point me to good neighborhoods to buy a home in both cities (I heard South or Southwest) and if possible PROVIDE SOME ZIP CODES?

By what I have seen and researched so far, I love both of these cities and they seem to be very cultural, beautiful, and open minded.

I would really appreciate anybody's help,

Thank you so much!

I have lived in both cities for long periods of time. Columbia is a better match for you. Jeff City is very conservative and, in my opinion, not all that open-minded. Columbia is a great town with lots of culture and is very open. Immigrant families will be something "special" in Jeff City, whereas in Columbia there are so many foreign students that people won't give it a second thought.

Coumbia College is not as well regarded as MU, and takes pretty much anyone who applies. Stephen's is a historic private woman's college (that now take a few men) with a good reputation. Stephen's graduates are well regarded, though people wonder why their students would choose to pay such high tuition instead of going to MU. If you think grad school is in your future, go to MU or Stephen's.

The zip code that is probably the best in Colubmia is 65203. However, since Columbia is so small, that covers a huge part of the center and southwest area of the city, as well as a large rural area. It isn't like a major metropolitan area where you go a mile and you are in a new zip code. If you look on a map, the areas around the Country Club of Missouri and Rock Bridge Park are very nice. In Jeff City, there are only two zip codes: 65101 and 65109. The areas to the West of town are the nicest, but the new subdivisions on the Eastern outskirts are nice also.

[2beamissourian]

Originally Posted by miky2000

Hello friends ,

I have three questions; can somebody please help me to answer them?

My young family is planning on moving to Columbia or Jefferson City and we wondered three things:

First, can somebody please give me their impression regarding these two schools: Columbia College and Stephen's College? What is their standing and value considered to be in the community, especially due to presence of MU? Are they considered lesser schools and do graduates normally have lesser chance of finding a job than MU graduates?

Second, being an immigrant family (from Europe), but we are both young and very "Americanized," would we feel welcome in Columbia and/or Jefferson City? Would our let's say "different accents" make it difficult to find jobs or "fit in" (I am sorry to even ask this, but neither one of us is really familiar with Midwest or Missouri)?

Third, can somebody please point me to good neighborhoods to buy a home in both cities (I heard South or Southwest) and if possible PROVIDE SOME ZIP CODES?

By what I have seen and researched so far, I love both of these cities and they seem to be very cultural, beautiful, and open minded.

I would really appreciate anybody's help,

Thank you so much!

Wow you have lots on your plate!!
Good Luck on whatever you decide ...
I would pick Columbia I think its more culturally acceptable < does that make since? I think you will have more choices and a nicer college feel out of the selections. Once there you can always go check out other areas to decide on a home purchase.

Good Luck in your new adventure.

There is another board on here .. under Education .. you might get more imput on the 2 colleges there .. Lots of info!

[Northwoods Voyager]

miky2000: you are on the right track..check the site below, you
are almost there from here

www.city-data.com/city/Columbia-Missouri.html


Columbia is a great town. Very diverse in many aspects. You can also do extensive research from some of the links on the aforementioned site. Wish you the best and keep us posted...

[slahgirl]

Sounds like your family will be very happy in Columbia. Stephens is liberal arts, very highly respected for that type of college. You'll love it!

[miky2000]

Thank you all, I appreciate all the information and look forward to visiting Columbia!

[Boof]

milky2000,

It is with great regret that I can offer no helpful information. Since moving to MO 3 mos ago, I've barely ventured far from Springfield. However, what I found especially helpful in my research, was doing a search of the threads to see what other's have discussed previously. So, I would recommend doing a search here on CDF for the cities & schools you're interested about, and see what comes up. (Some threads might have links to other helpful info.) In the meantime, hopefully more well informed people will come to your aid with the guidance you seek.

One thing I have found about Missouri in general, is, like the people on this forum.....they are very friendly people, always willing to lend a hand when they can. You may find the very small towns less 'welcoming', but I don't think it would have anything to do with your European roots.

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful. Good luck in your quest for information. And if you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask....that's what we're here for.

Best Regards,
Boof

[slahgirl]

BTW Milky-
Can't answer you on what neighborhoods to live, just depends on your price range! I would suggest just driving around and seeing what appeals! Just make sure you dont' do it on a Saturday of a home game-before or after the game, it will be really crazy! Have fun on your visit!

[mangator]

miky2000- on the outside chance you haven't moved to MO as yet, take it from someone who has lived in Jefferson City, Columbia and St. Louis and has travelled and spent months in Europe and now live in Florida. Most of these replies seem to be biased by people who assume YOU want to "do" the things they want to, which is typical of interstate highway American college-town life: drinking, drugs, and attending football games. The by-product of this is trash-littered gutters, rampant petty crime, transient homeless and the usual "ghetto" blight that tends to snuggle up to college campuses. You have to take into account that Columbia was a large flat agricultural farm town that in the 1960's was thrust into too much growth and sprawl with blue collar and service jobs, where there is a lack of law enforcement control over the local youth. There is a disproportionately high number of children who are limited to attending only public schools, where the teen drop out rate is higher than most towns this size. This is Columbia. Many people from Jefferson City attend MU and amore than a few commute to work there, but they mostly maintain permanent residence in JC.
On the other hand Jefferson City is a much older, established river town that has been accustomed to decades of immigrant people arriving by river steamboat, rail, and built commerce and diversity early with German, Irish, Italian, African roots, among others. (One of the oldest black universities in the nation, Lincoln University is located there) Columbia College has a campus there, if you are interested. The city has a legacy of long traditions, like youth oriented sports programs, an active local little theatre, large parks with top notch facilities and a balance of public and private schools that provide many choices for residents. One of the largest Catholic high schools in the state, Helias, has long attracted students from distant towns, including Columbia. Downtown Jefferson Cityscape is dominated by the state capitol building and numerous high and mid-rise buildings, shops and entertainment built on conservative careful planning. Yes, JC is smaller and sleepier than Columbia, but JC also is connected by interstate-quality roadway to beautiful Lake Ozark, where many Jefferson City residents own second homes and enjoy watersports. There are so many more qualities about both towns that I may have overlooked, but I would urge you to simply rent an apartment in one town, then the other. See which you prefer, then buy. In this economy there are probably many more homes foreclosures in Columbia and you could get some great deals.