The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly about SW MO (Kansas City: appointed, sales)

[garth]

Help me out guys. I've heard/read many good things about SW Missouri, south of Springfield, through the Branson/Kimberling City area, and down to the Arkansas border. However, what's the downside to the area? In other words, we have the good, but what's the bad and ugly from your point of view?

Please understand, I'm not trying to bash the area at all. I'm just trying to get a feeling for it. Everything has it's downside and I need to hear what others think it might be for SW Missouri. It's all a part of making an educated decision.

Thanks in advance for your insights.

[razzy]

I dont know... I guess this part of the country is more conservative than most other areas would be. It is certainly the most conservative part of Missouri. Springfield itself isnt as conservative as it used to be, but the surrounding areas are. And Branson gets a lot of tourists, including many older people who are already starting to lose the motor skills required to drive, but then throw in the fact that many of them also dont know where the hell they are going when driving around in Branson, and that can lead to some general frustration.

If you want the amenities to be found in larger, more urban cities, you wont find that here in SW Missouri. Springfield is the best it gets, as far as that goes, but Springfield isnt Boston or Seattle or even Kansas City or St Louis.

All in all, I would say that traffic and religious conservatism (and depending on your POV, that might not be a bad thing) are the biggest downfalls of this area. The shows offered in Branson are a little on the corny side, in my opinion, and they wont attract the most sophisticated people in the world, but thats not necessarily a downfall.

As a place to live, I can honestly say that SW Missouri has more going for it than most other places in the country do. But it also depends on what you want. If you like beaches and the ocean, obviously, you wont find that here, though there are plenty of lakes. If you like really tall mountains, wont find it here, although there are smaller mountains and many hills. If you like really hot, or really cold weather, you'll get both of that here. Its more hot than cold, though. If you want big-city culture and sophistication, you wont find that here either, outside of what Springfield has to offer. The people are nicer here than you'll find in other areas.

[topjb]

The Bad....Missouri, in general, isn't very tax friendly for retiree's if that is part of your decision making criteria. They tax everything..Social Security, retirement, etc. Depending on where your coming from, car/licsense registration can seem a bit high.

Traffic can be tough to deal with during peak season/big events (Silverdollar city is between Kimberling City and Branson and can back up for miles during the Christmas season or any special event).

The area is pretty conservative and is part of the bible belt. But then again, the bible belt is almost anywhere in the mid-west. The conservativism isn't as obvious as it used to be, but it is still pretty much a conservative area. So it depends on where you end up. We've had property near Kimberling City for years. It's a nice area and has basically grown to meet W. Branson as far as a stranger could see.

If your looking for big city amenities, you'll be making trips to either Little Rock, Kansas City, Tulsa, or St. Louis....all about equal distance from Springfield/Branson.

The good....fairly low cost of living, reasonably priced housing, reasonable property taxes (depending on the county), friendly people, lots of things to do.. You didn't indicate your wants, but there is boating, fishing, sports (baseball in Springfield), shows (Branson), small theater (Springfield), colleges, good medical facilities, all the basic shopping you might want.

Branson/Kimberling city area is also nearly free of mosquitoes. We are on the lake and seldom see a mosquito. We have wasps (and of course snakes), but not having mosquitoes is a real bonus when you are outside on the water alot.

Branson has changed alot in the past couple of years. They have put in Branson Landing which is a retail/condo complex that is VERY nice. Nice water show, nice restaurants, nice shopping, etc. Several golf course communities have cropped up along with a few other master planned developments. If eating out is your thing, that area too has improved in both Branson and Springfield over the past several years. A few really nice restaurants, several nice dining establishments, and lots of eateries.

Housing prices, however, have gone up quite a bit in the past 5 years. Still reasonable compared to a lot other parts of the country (we're originally from the San Francisco Bay Area), but not as inexpensive as it used to be.

Overall, it's a beautiful area with more pluses than minuses. You get used to the minuses (or forget they are minuses). It's a fairly laid back area and no one is in a hurry (except when your stuck in traffic).

[MoMark]

Traffic in Springfield is what gets to me the most. It's almost as bad as what I was used to in Las Vegas....although Las Vegas has its infrastructure designed for heavy traffic...Springfield doesn't. There are few right turn lanes, even on the busiest thoroughfares, so anyone making a right turn stops the traffic behind him. So...guess what...everyone, even those who insist on going 25mph in a 40mph lane drive in the left lanes and people will pull out right in front of you and you're sure you're going to impact. There are a lot of car accidents in Springfield. I find the traffic is extremely frustrating and I don't shop at Sam's Club nor have I renewed my membership because the store is always so packed that most of my time there is waiting in checkout lines.
Springfield is a good place, and a great place to live, but I avoid the city during certain parts of the day to try to avoid exposure to the bad traffic.
Branson is standstill down the main road most of the time, but, it's worth it for the new Branson Landing which (as mentioned above) is spectacular.
If there was one wish I could have come true here, it's that the roads would be built with right turn lanes. The condition of roads is exceptional compared to other parts of the country, even out in the country. Greene County takes exceptional care of its roads...but..it needs to repair the reflective white paint that demarks lanes and road lane edges. Last night in the rain for example, I couldn't see if I was in a lane or not. It's dangerous in bad weather with traffic.

[Darren Stewart]

Just wanted to offer my point of view on the area as far as bad points, first I do love the area, and have lived here for most of my life, grew up all over the place so I feel that I have been lots of different places to compare.

Southwest Missouri is different, but above all I think the biggest issues we face that I would put into the "bad" category is the rate of growth has caused plenty of growing pains, which will take some time to fix if thats possible.

Traffic by far is a big one, basically Springfield is a grid of streets which makes for lots of stop lights at interesections, many of the main ways in and out and across town are an issue.

Taxes here I have heard both good and bad, depending on what your used to most of the folks that I have helped with their relocation have been pleasantly surprised at a low real estate tax while they say sales and personal property taxes are really high compared the other parts of the country.

urban sprawl as springfield and suburban areas have some issues dealing with the growth, smaller towns are trying to handle and direct the growth but many times they are overwhelmed with the rate of growth in the area.

You will have varying opinions on how to handle that growth and many times the local city and civic leaders may make headlines for standing up and asking for change or a differing direction, I think most folks realize that these are growing issues not so much personal issues but many times those issues are what makes the press and the nightly news, fairly low crime rate although i think that may be on the increase, its bound to be with the rate of growth we have but our police forces are growing and working smarter in my opinion.

Meth is a huge problem, while I have not seen this personally in the rural areas its cooked and sold alot in Southwest Missouri, Law enforcement is aware of this and there are many things being done to address this issue.

While it may not effect you personally if I was wanting a rural setting I would place a call to the police force to find out if there are any issues or had been any issues in the area.

One interesting note, in the Standard Missouri Deed of Trust when you buy a house there is a paragraph that addresses hazardous substances, so if anyone is wanting to cook meth or start that in their home, a mortgage holder if they find out can call the note due and payable.

Schools are great but in the more rural settings funding for some of the extra curricular activities can be an issue, and for me that was in an issue in making my decision, I wanted lots of options for my kids when we thought about moving to a more rural community and the school system we were in had tons more options than the one we were looking at.

All in all its pretty good but for those of you looking for a urban lifestyle there isn't a sense of that so much in most of the area, Springfield may start getting that feel, downtown with the redevelopment etc.

Last but not least, I am an ocean lover as well, and frankly if we had ocean front property here that would be awesome but from Springfield you can get to FL there are flights straight to Orlando, Dallas, Chicago and it wouldnt take long to get to the ocean.

Hope this answers some of the questions you have.

Important to note, there is not a local law school or medical school in the area if your looking to become a doctor or attorney.

[garth]

Thanks for the answers everyone. It sounds like traffic is the biggest issue affecting the day-to-day life. We'll jsut have to experience it for ourselves.

Thanks again!

[Ozarks21]

The traffic is a minor annoyance for me. I spent time traveling the I-70 and I-435 area in Kansas City and I've spent time in rush hour in St. Louis, New York, Boston, Memphis and other cities. Springfield's traffic is only bad at certain times in certain areas. For those traveling to Springfield from Ozark or Nixa, it's probably a nightmare.

Our biggest problem is aesthetics along Glenstone and Sunshine and numerous similar roads. Strip malls and above ground power lines are ugly, especially as the strip malls age. But much is being done from down town out into the Jordan Valley area to improve the beauty of the city. And many of the newer retail and office developments are very attrractive.

[razzy]

Much of Springfield was built between 1950 to 1980, a period in which some of the ugliest trends in architecture were in vogue. Much of the middle class housing, particularly the ones built in the 60's and 70's, also wasnt all that attractive, at least in Springfield. And the strip malls built during that period are ugly also. Some have been remodeled in recent years, however.

[gonefishing]

Originally Posted by Darren Stewart

... fairly low crime rate although i think that may be on the increase, its bound to be with the rate of growth we have .

Out of curiosity from your statement above I just did a search for crime rates in Springfield MO and I was very disappointed to find that you are right and this is from the 2005 final FBI crime reports for crimes in 2004:



Overall the Springfield, MO Crime Index is worse than the national average.
Break down

Springfield MO Violent Crimes WORSE
Springfield MO Murders BETTER
Springfield MO Rapes WORSE
Springfield MO Robberies BETTER
Springfield MO Aggravated Assaults WORSE

Springfield MO Property Crimes WORSE
Springfield MO Burglaries WORSE
Springfield MO Larceny/Thefts WORSE
Springfield MO Motor Vehicle Thefts WORSE

[SteveO813]

The Good: Big city amenities, small city feel

The Bad: It's been said, but it bears repeating: traffic

The Ugly: City Utilities - I won't get into it here, but just hope you don't ever lose power