Questions about Kirksville (Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield: skateboarding, home, job market)

[bobdolethefish]

Hi everyone. Our family is considering a move to Kirksville (for Truman State). We have elementary, middle-school, and high-school-aged kids and I'm trying to figure out if this would be a good move for them. We'd be moving from a similarly small, college town, so the size and relative remoteness of Kirksville from "big cities" don't concern me.

I'm more concerned with the "personality," I guess, of the town and the schools. I've heard a bit about the "conservative" bent of Kirksville and that it's hard to know people if you're not a member of a particular church. Our family is easy to get along with. We're good neighbors. We try our best to accept and get along with people, but we're also what most would call "liberal." We don't affiliate with any religious organization, and our boys aren't interested, really, in sports. Skateboarding, music--these are more their kinds of interests. Do you all think they'll find friends and be accepted in Kirksville?

Also, I came across what I consider to be a horrific blog (racist, sexist, full of hate) by a Kirksville citizen and I have to admit, it both made me sad and terrified me. Is this an anomaly for Kirksville? I have to believe it is...

On the other hand, I heard that a gay bar remained open for less than a week under pressure from the community. I don't know anything at all, however, about the surrounding circumstances...

Any information ya'll could give me would me much appreciated. It's a big move, a big change, and I want to do the right thing for my family.

[kareybear]

Originally Posted by bobdolethefish

Hi everyone. Our family is considering a move to Kirksville (for Truman State). We have elementary, middle-school, and high-school-aged kids and I'm trying to figure out if this would be a good move for them. We'd be moving from a similarly small, college town, so the size and relative remoteness of Kirksville from "big cities" don't concern me.

I'm more concerned with the "personality," I guess, of the town and the schools. I've heard a bit about the "conservative" bent of Kirksville and that it's hard to know people if you're not a member of a particular church. Our family is easy to get along with. We're good neighbors. We try our best to accept and get along with people, but we're also what most would call "liberal." We don't affiliate with any religious organization, and our boys aren't interested, really, in sports. Skateboarding, music--these are more their kinds of interests. Do you all think they'll find friends and be accepted in Kirksville?

Also, I came across what I consider to be a horrific blog (racist, sexist, full of hate) by a Kirksville citizen and I have to admit, it both made me sad and terrified me. Is this an anomaly for Kirksville? I have to believe it is...

On the other hand, I heard that a gay bar remained open for less than a week under pressure from the community. I don't know anything at all, however, about the surrounding circumstances...

Any information ya'll could give me would me much appreciated. It's a big move, a big change, and I want to do the right thing for my family.

Well I really can't help you. I drive to Kirksville to shop such as Wally World, Pet store and Health store and to eat different foods. It seems like a regular town to me but I could be wrong since I don't actually live there. I live in Macon, MO which is south of Kirksville and I have lived here for 5 months and still have not made any friends but have stranger come up and talk to me and very friendly. My daughter who is eight made friends right away. Sorry I am not much help but just wanted to give you my insight. Good Luck!!!

[aragx6]

I had friends who went to college there, so while no expert, I had a few things to share with you.

It's a cute small town, but there really is nothing around it. You say you are used to the remoteness, but you might not realize how remote it really is. You'll be the largest town for gosh- like at least 100 miles. You're 3+ hours from Kansas City, St. Louis and Des Moines. There are no interstates anywhere near the area.

It's a very conservative area. I think the university creates a small bubble, as you get a lot of kids who come from St. Louis for school, but Kirksville, like most of rural Missouri is Mike Huckabee territory, and people would like it to stay that way.

I suspect eventually you would be fine in the town, but know that most of its residents are social conservatives; if you're not, it might not be the right place for you.

[TGS]

It sounds like you would be much happier in a different college town like Columbia, Fulton, or Springfield. Fulton is of a similar size, but much less conservative. Columbia is bigger, but would a great place to live for kids that are into music and skateboarding. There are a lot of great up-and-coming bands that play in Columbia and they have a skate park.

[hiker4]

I lived in Kirksville for 5 years and worked at Truman. Yes, the town is very remote and that is why we left, but I would say the town is very friendly. If you work at Truman the people there are great. The whole campus has it's own little atmosphere.

[SharpHawkeye]

Ah, Kirksville.

Kirksville is a neat, safe, and friendly little town. It is somewhat right-leaning, though it's probably more moderate than average given that area of the state. The university community there is probably center to left leaning, but less so than at the big liberal arts colleges. The schools are great, but there isn't a terrible lot to do if your kids are easily bored. Truman is a great school with a good reputation (I considered going there), and I have no doubt they would treat you right.

Churches do seem to have quite a social pull down there, and tend to be on the evangelical side to boot. However, if you're working at Truman...you'll have a social network of your own, so you shouldn't have any trouble making friends.

It is somewhat remote, (2h from Columbia, 3h from St. Louis), but not exactly North Dakota remote. I imagine St. Louis would be very doable for an extended weekend trip or back-to-school.

The bottom line about Kirksville, I think, is that it's a town in the middle. It's only about 10-15 years since it was the kinda backwater-ish home of NMSU. I think the atmosphere of the new Truman is slowly changing the town...along with the aging-out of the stuck-in-the-mud townies. I think in the next 5-10, maybe 10-20 years, as Truman gets bigger and better...there's going to be big changes in the atmosphere of Kirksville. The problem is, I'm not sure if those changes are going to happen fast enough for you to enjoy living there now.

[aragx6]

Good post. My sentiments on Kirksville exactly.

[SharpHawkeye]

My hope is that if they do a few things right, eventually they'll be a quirky little mini-Columbia. First, they need to finish that 63 bypass they've been talking about for years. Second, they need to get some forward-thinking people in their city government. Third, they need to keep moving away from an agriculture/manufacturing base and diversify their job market. And last, they need to keep letting Truman and KCOM grow.

Kirksville right now just has a lot of potential. I hope they realize it.

[MapleStreet]

Like you mentioned, Kirksville is kind of remote and you may tend to make weekend trips to Columbia (90 miles), etc.

You mentioned a certain blog. I assume it starts with the letter "V". Lets just say this person has family roots but also lays low so that if you don't look for him, you'll not even know he exists.

You mentioned being liberal. Yes there are some of us here and you can form your own subculture. Being associated with the 2 colleges in town will definitely increase your odds of meeting other liberals.

Hope this helps

[MapleStreet]

Oh, I hadn't heard about the gay bar (and I've been here for 6 years). However, if such is important to you, Truman has an active LG organization.