Armstrong, Missouri (St. Louis, Washington, Moberly: real estate, house, buy)

[ackisonville]

I'm thinking of relocating from Ohio to Armstrong, MO....anyone have any details about the town that I should know about???

[jps]

http://www.city-data.com/forum/misso...armstrong.html

Not much going on there. If you want to get away from it all and grow pot or corn, it's a good place. It's quiet.

[Busterboo]

I like the idea of Armstrong, too, just from real estate I've seen, but I called a realtor and he said - about the house he was listing himself - I could sell that for $20k more if it was in Glasgow or Moberly; there's soemthing wrong with Armstrong. But he wouldn't tell me what it was.

So I started worrying - is it full of meth labs? vandals? drunken punks who'll throw beer bottles and mess up my flower beds? Everybody says people in MO are friendly, but I also read about a bad experience somebody had in Marceline, with young guys harrassing a black woman and threatening somebody else with a broken beer bottle. I live on an island in Puget Sound, in Washington state, but we want to have a farm and could never buy one out here, so Mo sounds good. A little too cold and a little too hot, but we can get used to that.

Can't get used to mean drunken punks, tho. How typical is that? Even tho I'm white, I made a commitment a million years ago when I was young that I would never accept racism, which means that if jerks are hassling somebody I always have to step in and I HATE that. I hardly ever get challenged with that out here, but what's it like in Mizz?

I want to love the state, I'm hoping the people are as beautiful as the land. So what's it really like? And what is that realtor talking about re Armstrong?

[ozarksboy]

Originally Posted by Busterboo

I like the idea of Armstrong, too, just from real estate I've seen, but I called a realtor and he said - about the house he was listing himself - I could sell that for $20k more if it was in Glasgow or Moberly; there's soemthing wrong with Armstrong. But he wouldn't tell me what it was.

Do you think there's something wrong with Armstrong simply because property there is cheaper than property in Moberly or Glasgow? I've never been there but I did a quick check and found it has fewer than 300 people. That means the tax base is smaller, the infrastructure is not as extensive and city services are not available. That is going to have an effect on property values.

Perhaps you should rethink moving to a hamlet or a small town. You sound like one of those folks who expect the conveniences of metro life with the simplicity of country life. Such ruralpolitan combinations are rare and expensive, but they exist.

Consider Saddlebrooke down in southwest Missouri. It has beauty, amenities and tranquility, and you never have to mingle with beater-drivin', tooth-missin', banjerpickin' rednecks (like me) there, for the covenants and restrictions prevent their presence.

Good luck

[Northwoods Voyager]

Originally Posted by ozarksboy

Do you think there's something wrong with Armstrong simply because property there is cheaper than property in Moberly or Glasgow? I've never been there but I did a quick check and found it has fewer than 300 people. That means the tax base is smaller, the infrastructure is not as extensive and city services are not available. That is going to have an effect on property values.

Perhaps you should rethink moving to a hamlet or a small town. You sound like one of those folks who expect the conveniences of metro life with the simplicity of country life. Such ruralpolitan combinations are rare and expensive, but they exist.

Consider Saddlebrooke down in southwest Missouri. It has beauty, amenities and tranquility, and you never have to mingle with beater-drivin', tooth-missin', banjerpickin' rednecks (like me) there, for the covenants and restrictions prevent their presence.

Good luck

Curious - what makes you think that Busterboo has that impression of Armstrong? Maybe before jumping on your wagon, repeatedly, to attack, perhaps you might desire to read a bit slower - in this instance, the poster was quoting the real estate agent; the agent is the one who made those statements. Good grief.

[ozarksboy]

Originally Posted by Northwoods Voyager

Curious - what makes you think that Busterboo has that impression of Armstrong? Maybe before jumping on your wagon, repeatedly, to attack, perhaps you might desire to read a bit slower - in this instance, the poster was quoting the real estate agent; the agent is the one who made those statements. Good grief.

I went back and reread the original post, and I don't think it's clear that the real estate agent said something is wrong with Armstrong. I can't imagine any real estate agent trying to sell property saying such a thing.

I could be wrong, though, for my reading comprehension isn't high. No doubt you're right. We'll have to let Busterboo shed some more light on the conversation with the real estate agent.

It sounds to me, though, like the "something wrong with Armstrong" is the fact that it is small, has little in the way of tax base, is probably made up of households with low to moderate incomes, and offers little in city services.

I don't see why Buster or you would jump to the conclusion or even entertain worries that the town is full of meth labs and drunken thugs.

Originally Posted by Busterboo

I like the idea of Armstrong, too, just from real estate I've seen, but I called a realtor and he said - about the house he was listing himself - I could sell that for $20k more if it was in Glasgow or Moberly; there's soemthing wrong with Armstrong. But he wouldn't tell me what it was.?

[Northwoods Voyager]

I don't see why Buster or you would jump to the conclusion or even entertain worries that the town is full of meth labs and drunken thugs.

Whoops, there ya go again. I did not mention any worries at all about the town. My comment was and still is in reference to the comment of the real estate agent to Busterboo.

And considering the recent notoriety that Missouri has been receiving from the media about our allegedly high place among meth labs and such, can you really blame anyone for wondering about a town???

[Cali BassMan]

Originally Posted by Busterboo

So I started worrying - is it full of meth labs? vandals? drunken punks who'll throw beer bottles and mess up my flower beds?
?

It was Buster who said it, Not the realtor. Can't we play nice? And should'nt we admit if someone was moving to a town of under 300 people, they might be concidered an outsider and even have some trouble with locals if they happened to be black? Would anyone recomend me (A White Boy, as I'm called here) to move to East St. Louis? just to be politacally correct?

[ozarksboy]

Originally Posted by Northwoods Voyager

I don't see why Buster or you would jump to the conclusion or even entertain worries that the town is full of meth labs and drunken thugs.

Whoops, there ya go again. I did not mention any worries at all about the town. My comment was and still is in reference to the comment of the real estate agent to Busterboo.

And considering the recent notoriety that Missouri has been receiving from the media about our allegedly high place among meth labs and such, can you really blame anyone for wondering about a town???

OK, you win. I will not argue. You're absolutely right: The real estate agent told Busterboo the property is much cheaper than property in a larger town because there is something wrong with Armstrong. The agent didn't say what that was but it could be meth labs and drunken thugs. I apologize for suggesting an alternative interpretation. Will you please settle down now? Here, I'll even give you a rep point. Does that make it better?

[Northwoods Voyager]

Now I think that I see the problem. You offer 'alternative interpretations' and the reader interprets them as statements of fact. Perhaps if you would clarify your statements in advance as being such, readers may then understand some of your posts in a more welcoming light without believing them to be argumentative But then that is just MHO.