Lake Of The Ozarks...

[Plains10]

Most rural areas in Missouri generally lack a lot of prosperity compared to the more urbanized areas. Rural Missouri typically has not done well with increasing non-farm employment over the years. Several counties in northern Missouri have lost over 30% of all non-farm jobs in the last 5 years alone according to the Census Bureau.

[kmodek]

I lived on the lake w/ my parents (who still live there) and it was the ONLY winter I've ever spent where we could still go outside and tramp through the woods (my daughter was 4 at the time and LOVED IT) and not hear a soul. It was BEAUTIFUL in the snow and when the lake froze over, we 'skated' with our boots. We've been away for 4 years now and my daughter still calls it her 'real home', even though we only lived w/ my parents for a year until I could get back on my feet. Even in the summer, we were able to go wade through creeks, swim in the lake, collect rocks and flowers, turtles, and even though I worked at Pier1 in the summer, my drive was 17 miles, but only took about 15-20 minutes (50-55mph speed limits) because there is NO RUSH HOUR! I was always telling myself how great it was to live there because what we got to do EVERY DAY, most people had to make a special trip and then go back to 'real life'. Even the drive to work was gorgeous and I got to drive by the same old donkey every day who stood in the corner of the field by the fence to get a honk or a wave. We even had deer, raccoons, and possum in our front yard every night. (The raccoons took a liking to my dad's pontoon boat and pooped on the seats reguarly!) We had a mama deer with TRIPLETS who came to visit in the middle of the day in the summer because they were too much for her to feed and my mom has tons of flowers, so we put out sweet-feed for them and watched them grow. One night, I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and saw the motion light on by the garage, so I went into the mud room and looked out the window and there was a huge buck standing literally 2 feet away from me....he'd come over to eat...and I just watched him walk around in the driveway scrounging for food.
It's a neat place to live if you're not out to go bar-hopping and clubbing and mall-shopping all the time. I took my daughter to the 'strip' every week and we'd play skee-ball and get ice cream and walk around the antique shops. She just loved being able to play skeeball all the time and get the little trinkets. It's neat to live where most people only get to visit!

[kmodek]

I lived on the lake w/ my parents (who still live there) and it was the ONLY winter I've ever spent where we could still go outside and tramp through the woods (my daughter was 4 at the time and LOVED IT) and not hear a soul. It was BEAUTIFUL in the snow and when the lake froze over, we 'skated' with our boots. We've been away for 4 years now and my daughter still calls it her 'real home', even though we only lived w/ my parents for a year until I could get back on my feet. Even in the summer, we were able to go wade through creeks, swim in the lake, collect rocks and flowers, turtles, and even though I worked at Pier1 in the summer, my drive was 17 miles, but only took about 15-20 minutes (50-55mph speed limits) because there is NO RUSH HOUR! I was always telling myself how great it was to live there because what we got to do EVERY DAY, most people had to make a special trip and then go back to 'real life'. Even the drive to work was gorgeous and I got to drive by the same old donkey every day who stood in the corner of the field by the fence to get a honk or a wave. We even had deer, raccoons, and possum in our front yard every night. (The raccoons took a liking to my dad's pontoon boat and pooped on the seats reguarly!) We had a mama deer with TRIPLETS who came to visit in the middle of the day in the summer because they were too much for her to feed and my mom has tons of flowers, so we put out sweet-feed for them and watched them grow. One night, I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and saw the motion light on by the garage, so I went into the mud room and looked out the window and there was a huge buck standing literally 2 feet away from me....he'd come over to eat...and I just watched him walk around in the driveway scrounging for food.
It's a neat place to live if you're not out to go bar-hopping and clubbing and mall-shopping all the time. I took my daughter to the 'strip' every week and we'd play skee-ball and get ice cream and walk around the antique shops. She just loved being able to play skeeball all the time and get the little trinkets. It's neat to live where most people only get to visit!
Oh, and I never met anyone who was on drugs the whole time I lived there. No accounts in the paper about drug busts either. Jefferson and Franklin Counties are the big hub for meth. I figure you're going to have druggies and drunks no matter where you go, but they don't live in nice houses in nice areas, so it's not hard to stay away from them.

[tcs1366]

Thanks for the replies .... one major reason we want to get out of the chicago area are taxes. with the cost of homes so high, the taxes are huge. currently we pay about 1.7% of the value of the home.

DH and I, when retired, he wants to be away from highways, airports and train tracks.... all of which we currently have. We want peace and quiet.... modest home, big garage and workshop and some land in which to have gardens.

so -- when the acquaintances of ours told us about Osage Beach, we started looking into it. They all actually lived 2 towns over from where we currently are now.... same high school too. and we happen to meet them in Wisc. [small world]

anyhoo -- Ozarks seems fabulous to us.... just far from friends and family.

[Plains10]

Originally Posted by tcs1366

Thanks for the replies .... one major reason we want to get out of the chicago area are taxes. with the cost of homes so high, the taxes are huge. currently we pay about 1.7% of the value of the home.

DH and I, when retired, he wants to be away from highways, airports and train tracks.... all of which we currently have. We want peace and quiet.... modest home, big garage and workshop and some land in which to have gardens.

so -- when the acquaintances of ours told us about Osage Beach, we started looking into it. They all actually lived 2 towns over from where we currently are now.... same high school too. and we happen to meet them in Wisc. [small world]

anyhoo -- Ozarks seems fabulous to us.... just far from friends and family.

This area is popular with retired people, especially from larger metro areas. However, be aware that winters in the Ozarks can feature several snowstorms and potential icestorms. The growing season is longer compared with the Midwest, but the winters catch many people by surprise considering how far south in latitude the area is.

[ajf131]

Originally Posted by Plains10

This area is popular with retired people, especially from larger metro areas. However, be aware that winters in the Ozarks can feature several snowstorms and potential icestorms. The growing season is longer compared with the Midwest, but the winters catch many people by surprise considering how far south in latitude the area is.

Compared with the Upper Midwest, yes it's longer. With the Lower Midwest, the growth season is relatively the same for most of the Missouri Ozarks. THe Missouri Ozarks are both Midwestern and Southern, more Midwestern the further north you go, more Southern the further south you go. A lot of people like to link the Missouri Ozarks together with Arkansas Ozarks...I have been to both places and there is a BIG difference culturally, dialectually, agriculturally, and yes even demographically. For that reason I would consider most of the Missouri Ozarks to be more Midwestern than Southern or a borderland, and the Arkansas Ozarks the South. I can say for certain that the Ozark foothills, which lie just on the outskirts of ST. Louis, are not Southern at all, and I have explored these areas all thoroughly in depth, likely more than the majority of people on here. But as per usual, people will challenge me, so push whatever you want on me, my opinion is solidly stuck in a block of concrete. Have fun with your attacks, they will do little to persuade me from changing my mind...I know when a place is Midwestern or Southern, having had decent exposure with family from both regions

[Plains10]

Originally Posted by ajf131

Compared with the Upper Midwest, yes it's longer. With the Lower Midwest, the growth season is relatively the same for most of the Missouri Ozarks. THe Missouri Ozarks are both Midwestern and Southern, more Midwestern the further north you go, more Southern the further south you go. A lot of people like to link the Missouri Ozarks together with Arkansas Ozarks...I have been to both places and there is a BIG difference culturally, dialectually, agriculturally, and yes even demographically. For that reason I would consider most of the Missouri Ozarks to be more Midwestern than Southern or a borderland, and the Arkansas Ozarks the South. I can say for certain that the Ozark foothills, which lie just on the outskirts of ST. Louis, are not Southern at all, and I have explored these areas all thoroughly in depth, likely more than the majority of people on here. But as per usual, people will challenge me, so push whatever you want on me, my opinion is solidly stuck in a block of concrete. Have fun with your attacks, they will do little to persuade me from changing my mind...I know when a place is Midwestern or Southern, having had decent exposure with family from both regions

I was saying that the winters can take some that live in the Midwest core or Upper Midwest by surprise. Also, I agree that the growing season is shorter in the northern Ozarks compared with areas further south. Overall, the climate in the Ozarks is quite a bit warmer even compared with Iowa.

[tcs1366]

thanks --- I do recall the winters there [MO & KS] being particularly brutal last year .... April time frame... we got hit hard too, but i dont think in comparison to that area.

My Dh is thinking the winters will be milder, but i think i have more of a grasp on it than he does.

[ajf131]

Originally Posted by Plains10

I was saying that the winters can take some that live in the Midwest core or Upper Midwest by surprise. Also, I agree that the growing season is shorter in the northern Ozarks compared with areas further south. Overall, the climate in the Ozarks is quite a bit warmer even compared with Iowa.

Ok, now we are in agreement. I lower my defenses hehe. Yes, of course the Ozarks don't compare to some place like Iowa. What I find relatively interesting is that Southwest Missouri gets much more severe winters than Southeast Missouri. Joplin and Springfield in particularly get a surprisingly large amount of snow and ice compared to most places east of them. It seems to me like the southern boundaries for the snow and ice and rain line generally follow a line that starts in the Southwest, extends through Oklahoma and northwestern Arkansas and roughly parallels the I-44 corridor to St. Louis, although the OHio River also seems to be a rough boundary as well for snow and ice. Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky however can get snow and ice as well. Perhaps the Ozarks and Great Plains combined give these places more severe winters. U.S. Highway 60, the OHio River, and the Ozarks and Highway 50, and even at times the Missouri River and U.S. Route 40 even all seem to act as boundaries between humid continental and humid subtropical in some form or another. Those are the general trends I've noticed in weather the past few winters...it seems to me though when Missouri gets snow, Southeast Missouri is often excluded from the snow. Central, Northwestern and Northeastern Missouri seem to get the most snow. The weather in Missouri is interesting in the way it behaves...very unpredictable and very variable. perhaps being half in a humid continental and humid continental/subtropical explains these anomalies.

[ckaaron1]

We moved to Lake of the Ozarks in May of 2001 and have loved it here ever since. Coming from El Segundo, CA (Southern California about a 1/2 mile from the beach) it has been a terrific change of pace and you couldn't force me back to California with a gun.

Whatever you do, it is best to bring savings - as it stinks to be broke here.

The resorts will pay you next to absolutely nothing and lay you off at the slightest drop of the tourist market.

The retailers are the same way, as they hire seasonally and fire the same.

Food service industry - well let me just say it's the same as above and worse, I know many people in this area of the job market and it hasn't worked well for them.

After spending the first 4 years here, we decided to move to Osage Beach, and have been more than happy with the place. Sure, there are things you'd like to see changed - but for the most part this seems to be the best of the lake. And yes, I did my homework - actually took a job as a local (Union) delivery driver for about 18 months just to learn the local area inside and out. I succeeded with this odd and labor intensive approach - finding the perfect place to live near enough to town and far enough away. I wouldn't live in the other underdeveloped areas around this lake for love or money.

Sunrise Beach lacks so very much, it can't really be called a community (did you expect to see fast food somewhere nearby for convenience?), and Camdenton is just old and run-downish. Then there's ummmm - nope that's about it folks, a place called anything else up here is another planet entirely.

Someone mentioned Lebanon earlier up and honestly it would be like Camdenton's big brother - although so very far away (50 minutes down the most dangerous 2 laner in Missouri - Hwy 5) that Jefferson City (state capital, and also old and run-downish) is actually closer by drive time and tons safer to travel to.

When it comes time to settle in, make sure that you call your own home inspector (or maybe 2) to look at your prospective home - as they wiggle around all kinds of codes up here. As a college trained electrician I can state this as a fact, not an observation. There are some terrific builders up here at the lake, but they don't sign the building when they've finished it - so it's hard to judge by appearance. As the earlier post up above stated about their builder and new home issues - buyer beware. Most builders do it for the money, and once they have it they are down the road.

Most importantly, drive safely up here and avoid the drunks as best you can. This is a tourist destination and it seems most come here to try to outdrink each other at every bar on the lake in the same night.

This is a great place to live, safe towns and great schools -