Belle area...need advice please (St. Louis, Columbia: relocating, hospitals, housing)

[OPSMAN]

Hello everyone -

There is a possibility that I will be relocating from the Chicago area to a manufacturing site in Belle, MO. Looking at the map, it doesn't look like there is much around the area. Can anyone tell me what towns/counties I should look at for housing? I am married with 2 small children (5 & 2), so schools and community activity/involvement are important to us. I would be looking to spend in the $200-250K range.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

OPSMAN

[aragx6]

Belle is a really small town (less than 1500 I should think) about 45 minutes from Jefferson City (MO's capital and has about 40k people) and maybe 30 from Rolla, which has about 15k people. Other than that it's all towns as small or smaller than Belle.

I don't know a lot about those areas, except to say that 250k would probably get you a mansion.

You'll be near the Lake of the Ozarks which is alot of fun in the summer and about 1 1/2 hours from Columbia, which is where the university of Missouri is. It's a cool town with a lot going on. You'll also be less than 2 hours away from St. Louis (you could be in it's outer suburbs in just over an hour)

Maybe others can offer more specific info on which towns to look at. At that point you'll probably want to find a realtor who really knows the area.

[Silvermouse]

From Chicago to Belle? I don't even know where to begin...

[OPSMAN]

Originally Posted by Silvermouse

From Chicago to Belle? I don't even know where to begin...

Tell me about it. It's not going to be the easiest transition, that's for sure, but it is temporary (<2 yrs).

OPSMAN

[Silvermouse]

Have you thought about moving closer to Jefferson City and commuting? Belle people are the salt of the earth and very nice, but after being used to city living, I imagine you will feel like you are living in Hooterville.

[aragx6]

Jeff city will be one hell of a change too, but I agree with silvermouse it would probably be a better idea. Plus you'd have access to Columbia for weekend outings of the sort you're probably more used to.

Just out of curiosity where are you living in Chicago?

[Northwoods Voyager]

Originally Posted by OPSMAN

Hello everyone -

There is a possibility that I will be relocating from the Chicago area to a manufacturing site in Belle, MO. Looking at the map, it doesn't look like there is much around the area. Can anyone tell me what towns/counties I should look at for housing? I am married with 2 small children (5 & 2), so schools and community activity/involvement are important to us. I would be looking to spend in the $200-250K range.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

OPSMAN

Hello:

I've lived in this area for over 35 years. Nothing wrong with Belle. Small town living? You bet. As others have commented, not too far from bigger communities. You do have Rolla, Jefferson City, and a little further (30 mins.) Columbia and then east to St. Louis. South east to Cuba, another small community and further east to Sullivan. Hwy. 28 to Hwy 63 south to Rolla for some great restaurants. Even Washington, MO for more shopping, eats, and theatres. Hospitals in Rolla, Sullivan and Washington.

BTW, Belle has an excellent city Marshall. Super young man, very progressive and caring. If you are interested, the school system is very good. Prices for homes in town vary greatly depending on what you would need. As low as $90K and larger homes on small acreage up to $200K. And yes, you could get bigger home on acreage for more than that. As everywhere, location does matter.

I will DM you later today with additional information from a personal viewpoint.

[John Brown]

Belle, MO is very inexpensive. I grew up there and loved it. It will definately be culture shock for a city slicker, but it's a great place to raise kids. You can buy a whole lot of house for $150,000! In fact, it might be the nicest house in Belle at that price!!