Do not recommend living in Missouri (Kansas City, St. Louis: to buy, schools, calculator)

[Floorist]

Originally Posted by SunGrins

Keep it boiling. That's what you're good at.

So the truth hurts?

[Tia616]

Originally Posted by sub

The cities have some rough areas but there are some nice parts as well.

Keep in mind St. Louis city proper is pretty small in relation to its total metropolitan area. The really bad parts are primarily on the north side of the city. That's the part that gives it the reputation. The metro overall is plenty safe with a wide variety of suburbs to choose from.

Kansas City is similar, but the city itself takes up a lot more land area. Large portions of the city are newer suburban-style developments. Then of course you have a lot of good suburbs in addition to all that.
In KC, east Kansas City, at least the parts that are south of the river, are the areas with the worst crime.

Those two cities will be similar to Springfield in terms of affordability believe it or not, but you can make a lot more money to live off of in those larger cities.
Been there done that.
It's anecdotal, but our expenses in the KC suburbs were on par with the very rural town in the Ozarks that we lived in. Factor in gas to do.... anything at all, and the convenience of many more budget stores to choose from, the city may have actually been a little cheaper.
My personal experience with rural Missouri has been hit and miss but that's been my experience with small towns in any state I've lived in.

We tried living near Springfield in a small town for a while and tossed around the idea of moving there, or one of the adjacent towns like Ozark, but couldn't pull that trigger.
Springfield isn't the worst place, I do tend to defend it on here, but there's no denying it has an edge to it.
It doesn't look too bad passing through, but the more familiar we got with it the less we liked it as a place to live.


We lived in KC for many years and wouldn't hesitate to move back if life took us that direction again.
It's big enough to find people to connect with and for the most part it's pretty friendly.
I have family in St. Louis and have spent a pretty significant amount of time there. Folks seem nice there as well.
For city living, those two are better in my opinion than Springfield.

Can't comment on the singles scene but larger populations always seemed to make it easier in that regard as well.

Thank you very much for responding, and sharing your experiences with all the cities.

I do plan on visiting both cities, eventually. But now at least I know what areas to avoid. And it's good to know that they are considered affordable compared to most major cities.

Now, regards to Springfield. I completely agree with you, it's nice at first but it gets kinda old fast for there's not a lot to do. And everything is really spread out, so you have to drive from one side of town to the other just for shopping or entertainment. I'm also not really a small town person.

[Tia616]

Originally Posted by TRex2

A lot depends on what you are looking for. Many years ago, before the big cities got bad, I lived in one for a few years, and a small city for many more years.

It's not for me.

But it depends on what you are looking for: are you more Jason Aldean, or more Donna Summers?

If you want excitement and drama, the city is the place to be.

You asked:
"good for a single woman"

Good for her to remain single?
To get a job ?
To find a husband ? or another woman ?

I'm really not a small town person either.

I'm more of a Jason Aldean fan, but I don't drink alcohol or party.

To find a boyfriend/husband. I've been single my whole life and never had any real friends. So a city that's friendly.

Now, job wise I want to back to school, I'm leaning more towards a paralegal but nervous about whether there's jobs here for it.

[Floorist]

Originally Posted by Tia616

I'm really not a small town person either.

I'm more of a Jason Aldean fan, but I don't drink alcohol or party.

To find a boyfriend/husband. I've been single my whole life and never had any real friends. So a city that's friendly.

Now, job wise I want to back to school, I'm leaning more towards a paralegal but nervous about whether there's jobs here for it.

There are many good schools in Missouri. I live in a town of 8,000 and we have three colleges.

[WILWRadio]

Originally Posted by ben young

Heck I live in Pittsburg NH.at 1900 feet 3 miles from the borderand I can count on one hand the times in a Summer it gets to 70 degrees,17 degrees at the moment cloudy 3. 1/2 feet of packed snow on the ground and I love it.

Here's a similar story. Right after Reagan ended the Cold War, I went to Cabot, VT with my brother, cousin and his friend for a weekend in early December. My cousin's friend and wife owned a cabin they were building right near Cabot. Plenty of snow on the ground and minus 8 degrees F on Saturday night and we went to the Cabot General Store to get some things. I remember buying a couple of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream bars and went outside to eat them. You should have seen the look I got from a guy outside of the store watching me eat the ice cream. Turns out he was from Russia and I clearly recall him saying nobody in Russia would be crazy enough to eat ice cream outside in such cold weather.

I'm originally from the Hartford area of Connecticut and I too prefer colder weather compared to hot and humid. Summers are tough in much of MO unless you are up near the Iowa border where it does not get quite as hot and for most of the Summer like areas south of Route 36 and especially the southern third of the state.

[WILWRadio]

Originally Posted by Floorist

I have lived in Missouri most of my life. I have lived in several cities, but moved my business back home and never regretted it. Rural Missouri is just so laid back and peaceful. You can find yourself talking for 20 minutes in a store to a person you never met before. Very few major crimes. Houses are comparatively cheap. Utilities and groceries are affordable. Neighbors are friendly without being intrusive.

Agree with this having lived in a small town in western MO as a home owner and later on renting for a couple of years in the same area but a different town. If you avoid the property crime that is somewhat prevalent in some of the small towns then yes, people have a tendency to be cordial or friendly yet don't butt into your personal life in a negative and obtrusive manner. Unfortunately I have had to deal with far too much of that while living in Indiana and now in Louisville. Got some of it also while in the Cincinnati area. It was rare while I was in KC for many years and also the small towns in KS and MO where I lived at later times. Not sure why but people in the other states I mentioned have some problems with trying to get into your personal life when they have no business being there nor were asked to be a part of your life. They try to force themselves into your personal life and I for one will be moving after the year lease I signed at my apartment is up. Likely will be back in small town MO to stay or possibly IA. I didn't have to deal with that garbage during the years I lived in New England or NY or MN for that matter just like MO. Funny thing about this is that the only time I really had the same problem with someone getting too intrusive into my personal life while in KC was a guy from OH that I ran into at work on a daily basis. Eventually it stopped but he seemed overly concerned that I was not dating any women at the time and was trying to fix me up or get me a date somehow despite the fact I didn't have the time then and was working seven days a week. That kind of stuff irks me to no end. Butt out.

[Tia616]

Originally Posted by Floorist

There are many good schools in Missouri. I live in a town of 8,000 and we have three colleges.

The community colleges in St. Louis & KC have the paralegal program but they don't have it available online, so I have to find one out of state and that is online. I've found a few.

[ShowMeBryan]

I will never live in MO again long-term. I hate the heat and humidity in the summer, I am allergic to something almost all year round (esp. mold spore season in August/September and St. Louis is the worst area in the entire country for it), it can drop to zero in the winter, the state legislature is corrupt AF, and having to pay "personal property tax" on things like your car EVERY YEAR (imagine paying sales tax on something major you bought EVERY YEAR, right after the holidays!) are some of the many reasons. If I didn't have family there I probably wouldn't ever go back. It has some positives going for it but they're heavily outweighed by the negatives for me.

As for the cities, I've never been a fan of K.C. or St. Louis. Springfield is just a bigger version of Joplin and has way too many off-the-deep-end religious types. Columbia is the only town I ever liked. I will say Joplin has improved in the last 20 years but it took a tornado wiping out 1/6 of the town in 2011.

[branDcalf]

I moved to Missouri last summer from the mountain west. There were days that it was more humid in Wyoming than Missouri. Wyoming was definitely windier than I've seen here. My property taxes were higher in Wyoming. Winter does not last as long here and my job doesn't try to send me out when it's icy.

I have more choices of fresh fruit and vegetables than I did. My diet is heavily meat and potatoes, but trying some of those is fun. The cattle here in Missouri don't get much exercise and the beef (roasts, steaks) are a lot fattier. And I didn't just eat "grass finished" beef when in Wyoming.

The people are really friendly and helpful and willing to let me get involved and help with projects, too. But I've found that everywhere, so...

I live in a wooded area with a lot of agriculture. It suits me well. But when I want to, I can drive a fairly short distance to a lakeside restaurant and gawk at the boats like the boating-illiterate person that I am. I even take photos to send back home.

[SunGrins]

I was born and raised in a city but lived in a small Missouri town. Small towns are homey and friendly on one hand but somewhat judgmental and exclusive on the other. There are usually a few families that manage things, and they are mostly intermarried. There are lots of cousins and you might need a family tree to keep things straight. There are connections you won't even know. I accidentally hired a secretary some years ago who was a 1st-cousin, once removed from a person I was also a 1st-cousin, once removed. We didn't know it until a couple years later. At least you might know your neighbors and they will know you. I lived there 37 years, raised a family, was president of the local patriotic organization, built two homes, and it took 35 years for my bank finally to call me by my first name. Maybe I was finally a local by then? I moved there when I was 28. It was a good place to raise kids, but they all moved away as soon as they could.