Hopefully some great MO cities to choose from!! (Kansas City, St. Louis: waterpark, school district)

[STLCardsBlues1989]

Plus Springfield is near Branson, which is has shows and amusement parks. And I don't think it's that far from Lake of the Ozarks, which is great as well.

[Swanns6]

Thank you, Springfield is still one of my top choices.

[Swanns6]

Well looks like it will be a year before we move . We just signed a one year lease at an apartment here.

[jaded.mermaid]

I have lived in southern Missouri and now live in the middle and of the towns you listed, I would definately choose Springfield or Columbia/Jefferson City area.
I worked on the ambulance in Dexter for a few years. They are a tight town that do not accept outsiders very well. It took us years to make solid friends and the friends that we made were transplants also, not locals.
And the hospital leaves much to desire, unfortunately.
The Columbia/Jeff City area have great hospitals and teaching hospitals which are more up to date on current therapies. If you want smaller communities, there some to live in that are much nicer than southeastern part of the state. The scenery is prettier, cleaner and more inviting.
But Springfield is a pretty area also. It's the bootheel that is flat and dusty.

[kimnjim]

Hannibal is a very nice place, is currently adding a huge addition on their hospital, and is close to a pretty good sized town in Illinois called Quincy. A town just north of it, Palmyra is supposed to have a very good school district. Hannibal, Palmyra or Monroe City are where we are looking at moving to in the next couple of months. My wife is from La Grange, and I am from Michigan (lived in La Grange for a while though), and we are moving back there as soon as we can. I liked Hannibal a lot, and was impressed by what it had to offer when I was there. They have the whole Tom Sawyer/ Huck Finn thing going in the town, and it is pretty cool. There are caves you can tour, Mississippi boat cruises, and a waterpark fairly close called The Landing. The people there, or in that area in general, seemed very nice and helpful. As with any town, I don't know about living right down town, or schools right in the town, how things are, but outside the town a bit, things seemed pretty good. I know I am looking forward to moving back to the area, and I have 5 kids (4 school-aged) and think that they will do just great. As far as shopping goes, they have most any thing you might need there, and if it isn't there, then Quincy, IL is just up the road about 10-15 miles, and they have most everything else.

[hersbear]

Columbia is a nice spot. It's affordable and safe and I like the fact that it is a college town. The health care is good, too. [URL removed]

[distantviews]

I live in Springfield. I have lived here my whole life, even in the "bad" parts there is barely any bad things that happen, you almost never hear of a murder. If you want a nice house and complete peace live on the southside and send your kids to either Kickapoo or Glendale High Schools. Springfield is a really nice place to live and our downtown is really safe too. It is big enough to have things to do, yet not trashy enough to be another STL or KC. Springfield is great, esp. if you live on the south side! All of those other towns are boring IMO and probably more expensive.

[OA 5599]

If you are wanting a place with a mall, Springfield or the Jeff City/Columbia area would fit the bill perfectly. Springfield has the feel of a large small town, but still has a good-sized mall and plenty of other places to shop and eat. Columbia is a smaller college town with a small mall, and less places to shop and eat compared to Springfield...but IMO is a nicer town. If you want more of a college atmosphere go to Columbia, otherwise choose Springfield (Springfield has several colleges but it lacks a lot of the college town feel that Columbia has). Also Springfield has less snow and slightly warmer weather than Columbia...its amazing how much worse winter gets moving just 100 miles north in Missouri...

[Swanns6]

alright thank you everyone. Right now I am thinking either Springfield or Columbia. We'll be moving in the end of March or beginning of April of next year.

[saddis]

I currently live in Dexter MO and I HATE it the hospital here SUCKS. It is a very small town with ABSOLUTELY nothing of interest. The county courts and law officials are crooked and meth is a big problem here. I have a 16 month old and we are planning to move away from here ASAP. Does anyone know of a place outside of St louis called Lake St.Louis.anyone have any opinions of this place??