What is Maryville like? (Kansas City, St. Joseph: rent, crime, how much)

[Airmeister]

My wife and I live in a Michigan town of 50,000, and I am being recruited by a company located in Maryville. What are the pros and cons of living there? Are there new homes going up, or is it an older status-quo community? Good restaurants? Friendly? Thank you for your help.

[northbound74]

I don't know much about Maryville, but since there isn't much talk about it on these forums, and I've actually been there once, I'll give it a shot.
It's a college town. Northwest Missouri State is there, which might give it a bit of a youthful feel.
It's in the middle of a bunch of cornfields. The terrain is rolling hills, not too flat. It's kind of scenic in the summer.
There looked to be a fair amount of newer housing there.
Most places in Missouri are friendly enough. The drive-through at the local McDonald's was the only cuisine I sampled while there. There were a few restaurants, but not many. St. Joseph, with a fairly large population (75k I think), is a short drive, maybe half an hour. Kansas City is only an 1 1/2 hours away, with boatloads of things to do on a day trip. I think Omaha is a similar distance in the other direction.
There's not a lot of outdoor activities in the general area. Lake Mozingo is in Maryville, though.

[jesse78]

I went to college in Maryville and lived there for 2.5 years. The population is around 11,000 and have your basic needs covered(WalMart, Hyvee, Applebees, fast food). As mentioned above St Joe, KC and Omaha are within 30-90 minutes of Maryville. It's a very nice town, nice mainly local restaurants, I think it has a Applebees now. It is very friendly. I haven't been down there in a few years so I'm quite sure about the housing situation.

[the ville]

I hope this message still finds you considering Maryville. My husband and I moved here from Michigan 23 years ago. At first I wasn't sure this was the place for us, but it sure is home. The town is small (11,000), but KC in only a little over an hour away and the KC airport is the easiest to get in and out. The University brings a terrific asset to this mid-west town. Much has developed over the last 10 years and the forward thinking continues. Mozingo lake is a great place to hike around and the golf course is beautiful. The downtown square is in phase two of a revitilization project and the school systems offer a quality education k-12. We even have a Catholic grade school (K-8) that is top-notch and it doesn't even matter if the kids are Catholic. The feature I cherish the most is that my kids can be kids. They must use the buddy system, but when they are about middle school age, they might be gone all day riding their bikes and having fun (checking in on a regular basis is still required). And from a parent perspective, if they are doing someting a little ornery you usually find out about it. The people here are the best. When we moved here I left a very large family and support system in MI that can never be replace, but these people here in the mid-west sure know how to fill the gaps and then some. I wish you all the best in your decisions and hope to see you in the "ville".

Peace

[Maxine3]

"And from a parent perspective, if they are doing someting a little ornery you usually find out about it"
Yes, word spreads at lightning speed in M'ville. I've known that town for over 50 years.

[billy wood]

i don't have much to complain about as far as living here, my husband said it is the good old boy network and its alive and doing well. the politics are mainly republican. his friends hang out at the city counsel meetings, the place is quaint and easy to manuver crime is low taxes are low and you are in the middle of the map of the north /south route of the us. so relatives headed either way,can stop and rest and visit. we have distinct seasons and they are all in your face wonderful. just when you think can take another week , you need to change your clothes. people are open and if a clamity arises people help you without hesitation or invitation. my husband likes it here and we have a group of wonderful people we hang out with,but he is a hunter.fisherman so he returns to the up/mich. every chance he gets. there is lots to do for you to choose from and if you want big city its two hours away a nice weekend drive.

[todd00]

you will find maryville doesnt have much in the way of shopping and places to eat, compared to a town of 50k. it has more fast food places, a superwalmart, sutherlands, and a few local stores. it has a good mexican place to eat, and of course some bars that serve food, for the college crowd. if the college wasnt there, there wouldnt be much there. true st joe, mo. is about 45 miles or so, but it depends how much you want locally, without driving out of town. i would be sure and travel there and take your time before making any decisions. i would not pick maryville as the place id like to live, but it may suit you. maryville does seem friendlier than some of the other small towns in the area, that have a local clique and can be quite unfriendly. also maryville gets its share of bad weather..t-storms/tornadoes in the spring and summer. if you are not use to that kind of weather, it may bother you. there are some new houses being built in the area, more on the edges of the town. the main part of town is more older homes, and some apts and converted houses that rent to nwm students. also if i was thinking of moving anywhere and had kids, i would check out the state index for convicted sexual predators, to see how many there may be in the area. best wishes.

[hooterville]

I grew up in Maryville, went to the Catholic school mentioned above- St Greg. and I turned out ok! lol! It has grown "some" since my time...but is still a predominant college town. If it were not for NWMSU, Maryville would have dried up & blown away! The nicest edition that I can think of would be the Lake Mozingo area & golf course. Its downfall is that it is a "typical factory/fast food" town (unfortunately) and so naturally are most of the residents.
Hopefully the talk of converting NWMSU to Univ. of MO will spark up again and actually happen- especially now with the retirement of Dean Hubbard. I think this could bring about several major changes, for the good of the county-communities! Good LucK!