Southwest Mo. (Springfield, Joplin, Carthage: houses, college, camping)

[GW99]

I would like to know what other people think of Monett or Carthage? We are planning to make a move to one of these towns.

[spfd4um]

Carthage is beautifull city in my opinion I always like to visit in the fall during the maple leaf festival. Carthage has a lot to offer, and keep that small town feel. Monett i am not as familar with.

[GW99]

I was hoping to here from more people. My wife and I are going to relocate in southwest Mo. and would like some other opions. We have visited Monett twice along with Carthage and Joplin once each. We liked all of them. We want to semi retire to a warmer climate with 4 seasons and a less hectic lifestyle. We would like a small town but realize we should be near good health care and shopping. I would love the small rambler on 10 acres with a small pond and a shop but also a nice house in town with a white picket fence around it would not be so bad either. I am familiar with the Stockton area as I had a favorite aunt that lived near there and I visited her quite frequently. So does any one have any suggestions? My wife and I would greatly appreciate any help or ideas on other towns in the area. Thanks.

[razzy]

Carthage and Monett are both decent towns for their size, compared to other towns in this area of that size.

Carthage might be better because its closer to medical facilities and shopping, which are located both in Carthage and 20 mins away in Joplin. Plus I think its a nice town, lots of nice old houses. Lots of old money there.

Monett is smaller and more isolated than Carthage is. There are also a lot of hispanics moving into that area, mostly to work in the poultry plants.

Joplin is the largest town in that area, but I dont personally care for it. A bit bland and too many run-down areas for my tastes.

Hope this helps. I live in Springfield, which is quite a bit bigger than you might like.

Neosho is another town to check out. Also a little town called Seneca, which is a few miles south of Joplin pretty much on the Oklahoma border, is worth checking out. I thought it was a nice quaint little place.

[GW99]

Thanks razzy, I noticed that about Monett also and we did look at a house in Neosho. Nice town I thought. I will look up Seneca and keep that in mind. We also did really like Carthage and some of the old houses there. Also,how about local taxes in some of these towns? Thanks for any responses.

[razzy]

I couldnt tell you about the taxes. The taxes are generally low in this area, and there probably isnt a whole lot of difference in the tax rates between each place.

Seneca is just 5 or 10 miles west of Neosho, and 15-20 miles south of Joplin.

Many of the towns in that area are a bit run-down, mostly because there used to be a lot of mining in that area, which dried up years ago. Towns like Webb City, Carterville, Granby, etc are particularly not so easy on the eyes.

Another area to check out is the Cassville area. Its 25 or so miles south of Monett. And also Noel, which is in a nice setting, but in an area with a lot of poverty and Hispanics.

I wouldnt sweat the taxes. They are low here, and the differences between the towns are pretty inconsequential, I would think.

[Ozarks21]

You may also want to look into Mount Vernon, Bolivar, or Marshfiled. They are all within 1/2 hour of Springfield and are pleasant small towns. I particularly like Bolivar.

[GW99]

We have been to Cassville and thought that was a nice area especially with the trout fishing. I would imagine Noel is pretty and hilly but why the poverty and hispanics? We drove around Boliver on 13 heading north but didn"t stop to look around but I have given that area some thought. I wouldn"t mind being close to Springfield. Don"t know anything about Marshfield. Boliver would be close to Stockton Lake for camping and recreation. Thanks for the help. I really appreciate it.

[razzy]

Bolivar (not Boliver ) is another nice town. I havent spent a ton of time there but it is close to Stockton lake and Pomme De Terre Lake, and also close to Springfield if you want a bit more to do. The town is growing, has a Bible college there, and most people I have talked to have had good things to say about the place.

Poverty and Hispanics in Noel? Well, there are a lot of poultry plants in the area, and the hispanics (many of them probably illegal, but who knows) tend to work in those plants. McDonald County, the county that Noel is in, is kind of a dive. Not very well kept up, and just got the feeling that there aren't a whole lot of well-to-do people there.

If you want to be close to Springfield, check out the Branson area. The terrain is much more hilly in that area than it is in other areas of SW Missouri.

I wouldnt live too close to Branson, if you dont like all the tourists and traffic, but there are many nice settings to live in in the surrounding area. Plus, Branson has tons to do, places to shop and eat.

[GW99]

It"s been about 8 years since i"ve been to Branson,have been there probably 6 or 7 times. I guess it would not be a bad place to live either. May have to check in to it a little more. Like you said , in the surrounding area. It"s really pretty country down there.