Considering Missouri..... (Kansas City, St. Louis, Columbia: fit in, HOA, condo)

[Calico696]

Hello, my husband and I are considering moving to MO and we need some information on what areas/towns to look. We will be taking a trip out soon to drive around and look at places in person, but need some starting points.

We would be moving from NJ, but we are not from the part of NJ that matches the TV stereotype. We live in a small town of about 2,500 in northwestern NJ close to the PA border. Our current area is friendly with minimal crime and farms are all around. We would be looking for something similar in MO. There are no children involved, so schools are unimportant.

At this point, we aren't sure if we just want to buy some land for now to build on later or purchase an existing home with some acreage.

We would want to be 1 to 1 1/2 hours outside either St. Louis or Kansas City for airport convenience, but not too close to the "city". We currently live a little over an hour from NYC and 1 1/2 hours from Philly and that suits us fine.

No further than 20-30 minutes for groceries, Walmart etc. would be ideal. Currently it's 15 minutes to the closet supermarket and about 25 minutes to Walmart, Home Depot etc. So we are used to driving a bit to get what we need.

My husband is an avid hunter and we both fish, so areas with that type of activity close by would be great.

Thanks in advance for any info.

[FrankMiller]

On the StL side, I'd suggest taking a look at the Lake St. Louis area, which I've heard good things about for that sort of lifestyle.

[MUTGR]

Originally Posted by Calico696

Hello, my husband and I are considering moving to MO and we need some information on what areas/towns to look. We will be taking a trip out soon to drive around and look at places in person, but need some starting points.

We would be moving from NJ, but we are not from the part of NJ that matches the TV stereotype. We live in a small town of about 2,500 in northwestern NJ close to the PA border. Our current area is friendly with minimal crime and farms are all around. We would be looking for something similar in MO. There are no children involved, so schools are unimportant.

At this point, we aren't sure if we just want to buy some land for now to build on later or purchase an existing home with some acreage.

We would want to be 1 to 1 1/2 hours outside either St. Louis or Kansas City for airport convenience, but not too close to the "city". We currently live a little over an hour from NYC and 1 1/2 hours from Philly and that suits us fine.

No further than 20-30 minutes for groceries, Walmart etc. would be ideal. Currently it's 15 minutes to the closet supermarket and about 25 minutes to Walmart, Home Depot etc. So we are used to driving a bit to get what we need.

My husband is an avid hunter and we both fish, so areas with that type of activity close by would be great.

Thanks in advance for any info.

Based on what you said, I'd look at farm/rural property smack dab in the middle of the state outside Columbia Missouri and I-70. All the shopping you need would be in Columbia, a midwestern College town - and access to quality medical, etc, but you would be about 2 hours m/l from St. Louis and KC.

[attrapereves]

For small town living, I'd recommend Boonville. It's close to Columbia, but only about 1.5hr from Kansas City. You might also check out some of the smaller towns outside of Kansas City, near Warrensburg or Sedalia.

[DinsdalePirahna]

I would seriously consider Lake Saint Louis.

as an ex-east coaster, and Californian it was one of the few places in Missouri I really liked. Beautiful area that made you forget you were in Missouri.

Although I consider myself a liberal, I had no problem with the area being conservative (the Walmart is on Ronadl Reagan Boulevard - how's that for conservative). Overall there was a good mix of people and most got along just fine.

What a lot of people didn't like was that the community Association had a lot of rules to protect the visual ambience of the community. No Fences. You need permission to cut down older trees. Don't leave your garage door open or trash cans out over night.

The Annual CA fee of $450+ was also a turn of for many cranky libertarians who saw no benefit in maintaining the lakes, a beautiful club house (with decent dining and a bar), the pools, the tennis courts and golf course. (makes me laugh because my Condo HOA is $450 a month)

Two private lakes were very good for fishing and boating activities.

[FrankMiller]

Originally Posted by DinsdalePirahna

Beautiful area that made you forget you were in Missouri.

[Calico696]

Thank you all for the suggestions. I will look into all of them.

[brushrunner]

Boonville is Good, have Hunting and Fishing close. You might consider Lexington and Branson.

brushrunner