Good chance for Kirksville, MO (Kansas City, St. Louis: sales, crime, transferring to)

[bella98]

Hello. I'm searching for information on Kirksville, MO. My husband is considering taking a job there. We would be moving from Washington, D.C., a very diverse place. We have 3 small children who would all be school age w/ the exception of the youngest one. My concern is are there any people of color besides the college students in Kirksville? Thanks!

[TGS]

Kirksville is not very diverse. It is 90+% Caucasian, with a few Asians and African Americans. There isn't much racial discrimination or tension, though. There will always be a few knuckleheads wherever you go, but Kirksville isn't bad.

Kirksville is also pretty isolated. It is about two hours to the nearest large town (Columbia or Hannibal). It is even further than that from a major metropolitan area. If you like small town life, it a good choice. The crime is low, the schools are excellent, and the university adds a bit of culture to the town. It would be a great place to raise children.

[Marie'sBees]

I second what TSG said. Though Kirksville is not racially diverse, I would never think that you would encounter any sort of racial tension. It is absolutely a great place to raise your kids, and though it's a small town, it has all your necessary conviniences in town, i.e. a hospital, grocery stores, etc.

I have to warn you though to get some good exercise in your wrist before moving out there; I have carpal tunnel and the constant waving from passersby just about did me in.

Kirksville has its problems like any other town in the U.S., but it's advantages far outweigh its disadvantages, IMHO.

[aragx6]

That would be an adjustment to be sure. I had friends who grew up in St. Louis who couldn't handle Kirksville's small size and isolation and ended up coming back to St. Louis or switching to University Of Missouri because Columbia is so much larger.

Admittedly my knowledge of Kirksville is pretty slim as I've only visited for weekends, so I can't comment on any racial tension.

My advice would be to spend as much time as possible there before making any decision. If you're looking for a simple rural existence Kirksville may well be right for you and your family.

[aragx6]

Oh and here's the stats racial stats on Kirksville from City-Data:

Races in Kirksville:

• White Non-Hispanic (93.5%)
• Black (1.7%)
• Hispanic (1.5%)
• Two or more races (1.1%)
• Chinese (0.6%)
• American Indian (0.6%)
• Other race (0.6%)

[alwaystraveling25]

I definitely would visit before you move there. I am from Chicago, but lived in Kansas City for two years and drove to Kirksville once every two months to go to the main grocery store there (Hy-Vee). It is 90 miles, one way, to go to Columbia, MO, a college town of 100,000+.

If you expect a lot of diversity, you are not going to get that. I only visited there for work, so I did not hear/see any local news of racial tension, but you DEFINITELY will know everyone in the town. I always got a lot of strange looks from people in the parking lot and store, simply because they did not know me.

Another thing to consider - Mid/Northern MO is definitely in the bible belt. People (at least in my experience) in this area place a definite emphasis on religion. Living in Chicago, no one mentions church, the bible, or jesus on a regular basis, but I remember going out to dinner in Kansas City and the table next to me loudly discussing/arguing about the bible.

I am not knocking the very religious people, to each his/her own, but I am informing you that you will encounter people who are passionate about organized religion and eager to discuss it.

[afk211]

I grew up in Kansas City, lived in a small town outside Springfield, MO for several years, and then went to Kirksville to attend Truman State. I loved the school, but hated Kirksville. After living there for four years, I can tell you first hand how miserable it is for anyone that is not used to a rural area. I thought it wouldn't be much different from the small town (Bolivar) where I lived before, but boy was I wrong. Columbia is about an hour and a half away, and that is your nearest "big city" (population 100,000!) After about three weeks in Kirksville, I felt so isolated from the real world that I considered transferring to Mizzou just to get out of there.

I found the population in Kirksville to be antagonistic towards the students (there are about 6,500 students and the population of KVille when I was there was around 17,000). Shopping is almost nonexistent - there's a Wal-Mart, a Hy-Vee, and a few smaller "department stores," which are mainly scaled down Wal-Marts. There are fun bars downtown, though they cater to the college population.

I can't give you advice on raising a family there, I would just say to be very, very careful before you commit. Coming from DC and being used to diversity (and assuming you value it), you are not going to find it in Kirksville. You will find a rural population - complete with both friendly people and some people that are extremely closed minded. I second the comment on the "Bible Belt" nature of rural Missouri. Though I haven't encountered much of that in KC, St. Louis, or Columbia, it is rampant throughout SW Missouri and definitely in Kirksville.

[Thepreacherswife]

Kirksville's not a bad place. Pretty sleepy, but it the biggest thing for about 90 miles in any direction, as others have pointed out. There are two significant components of the population: town and gown. There's generally not much mixing between the two, and if you don't fall into one category or the other, it can feel mighty lonesome.

There is a significant rural economy, with a good number of family farms surrounding the area. Other than the university and the medical profession (there is a regional hospital and an osteopathic college) most work is blue collar variety.

Most of the "town" folks have lived their entire life there and have little desire to leave; some resent what a college can bring to a town (bars, parties, etc.) but we were mostly surrounded by student off-campus housing when we lived there and it was pretty tame most of the time. The academics of the school are fairly rigorous so screw-ups are not going to last long there.

The city has undertaken some pretty significant infrastructure projects in recent years with some success; they built a very nice aquatic center in 2000 and paid for the lion's share of a highway expansion project through sales tax dollars. As a result Highway 63 is now four lanes nearly the entire route from Kirksville to Columbia, which has cut down on traffic accidents dramatically. They are currently trying to build a bypass to take truck traffic around the city (lots of 18-wheelers use the main drag).

It's a very nice place to raise a family, but the only diversity you are likely to see, other than occasional influxes of hispanics that work some of the big corporate farms nearby, will be at the university.

You may want to check out the city's chamber site as well as peruse the local newspaper.

[homesick08]

Hi, I moved here in November of 2007, from a town 60 miles south of Chicago, there was many races living in this town. I myself have 4 bi racial children. All adults now with their own children. A week ago, my son, his wife, my daughter and 2 grandsons surprised me with a visit. I have to say the way they were treated by the majority of the people here was appalling. I thought we lived in the 21st century. Im not saying everyone was distasteful, we went into the helping hands mission and they could not of been nicer. We did go into one resturant, and could not get seated, the looks and the stares we received made my kids feel very uncomfortable, so we ended up eating breakfast at burger king. Being a college town, I never would of dreamed it would of been like this. I am at ends now about letting my 5 year old grandson come to visit me over the summer. So for that reason, I am going to have to relocate.
Kirksville is a nice little town, if your white. It doesnt have many stores, very few resturants, and not a variety of fast food. But I do have to say the rolling hills out in the coutry side are breathtaking. But as for diversity, there is none.

[ajf131]

From what my friends at Truman State have told me, Kirksville is a small and relatively isolated Midwestern town. As far as the Bible Belt goes, I can't comment except to say that if Kirksville is in it, since Kirksville is not very far from the Iowa border, then the Bible Belt also extends into Southern Iowa and much of Downstate Illinois, and I know for a fact that it is in much of Southern Indiana. Kansas I know is also in the Bible Belt. Honestly, from my experience, Mid-Missouri and Northern Missouri are not enormously influenced by the Bible like Southern Missouri...I certainly didn't think so from the many times I've been there. Rurally, it seems like there is a lot less tolerance in most I've been to for diversity. That's my offer on Kirksville. Have not actually been to the town myself, but have been to enough of Northern Missouri to share my two cents worth.