Specific questions about Columbia, MO neighborhoods (Springfield, California: renting, homes, to buy)

[TigerDoc07]

I have been reading the posts about where to live in Columbia, MO. The info is very informative, but seems to focus on schools. I understand that is important to live near a good school if you want to easily sell your house later. But, we are moving up to Columbia so that I can do my residency in pediatrics at MU. We have a 1 year old son and 3 dogs. We won't be in Columbia long enough for our son to begin school, so that's not too important to us. We really just want to know where the decent neighborhoods are located. We are also looking for a newer home (our experience in OK is that newer homes sell faster than older homes). Any info that anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Courtney

[KCWKEN]

Courtney,

If you're looking for a short term home in Columbia with new construction that's close to MU, you may have to settle for a duplex or condo. Most of the construction near campus lately has been multifamily or even apartment living. If you're willing to move out a little away from campus, the other posts above all apply.

The "school" focus is an indicator of the types of people living in the neighborhoods around those schools. So if there are good schools and nice homes, you're probably talking about educated adults who value education. If they're "iffy" schools, the adults in the area either didn't care that the schools were "iffy", or didn't do their homework. IMHO, bad schools = not so great neighborhood to buy a house, not just if you have school aged kids, but also if you prefer to live around educated adults. The one exception to this, as mentioned above, would be some of the older gentrified areas like the Old Southwest neighborhood, but that's not "new construction homes".

The newer McNeighborhoods in Northeast Columbia will get you a lot of house for your money. Good luck when you go to sell it 5 years from now.

Ken

[Monkeyswimmer]

Hi lil donna,
I would recommend (for middle schools) Smithton over Gentry or Lange because of test scores, where the school is located, and what students it takes. North side of town is the place you would want to stay away from, that is the gansta area of the town.

Smithton is good, they have a friendly environment and great teachers. One thing also about Smithton is they offer more theater involvment then Lange. And Lange goes to Oakland and I'm not completely sure about it but i've heard bad rumors...

I don't know much about Gentry except that they are the average joe school. So overall, if you can try to find a school that goes to the Smithton district.

[SWest]

Without a doubt, SW is the best area in Columbia, regarding the quickest growing for resale value and school district (Mill Creek Elementary/Rock Bridge High). We moved here from St. Louis and took 1 year to find the "right" neighborhood. We chose Mill Creek Manor neighborhood, have lived here almost a year, and love it. Neighbors are friendly- healthy mixture of both families and professionals. Mill Creek Manor is a very active, friendly neighborhood that has a nice mixture of families with children and couples without children. Best value for your money.

[SWest]

Without a doubt, SW is the best area in Columbia, regarding the quickest growing for resale value and school district (Mill Creek Elementary/Rock Bridge High). We moved here from St. Louis and took 1 year to find the "right" neighborhood. We chose Mill Creek Manor neighborhood, have lived here almost a year, and love it. Neighbors are friendly- healthy mixture of both families and professionals. Mill Creek Manor is a very active, friendly neighborhood that has a nice mixture of families with children and couples without children. Best value for your money.

Originally Posted by lil donna

I hope someone can help me.

The neighborhoods we are considering are:

Mill Creek Manor
Smithton Ridge
Thornbrook
Cascades
Heritage Meadows
Westcliff

Can someone be blatantly honest with me and tell me the good and the bad about these neighborhoods?

I'm concerned about Rock Bridge Elementary scores. I have heard it's a good school but the scores don't show this. Can someone tell me about this school or any of the other schools. Mill Creek, Paxton Keeley, or Russell Blvd.
Can anyone recommend one school or neighborhood over the other and WHY?

Thank you very much!
Donna

[teachcal]

Tiger doc,

If you haven't met him already, you will love Dr. Tom Selva. He will be one of your attendings. He's awesome!!

Warning: Columbia has way too much new construction. Land is cheap here, so building is EVERYWHERE. Actually, 20 yr. old homes in established neighborhoods near the university have the quickest resale. Neighborhood and school district is everything in columbia.

Tracy

[JimMuench]

If you want a great elementary school, do not overlook the Shepard school area. It is a great neighborhood with active citizens that is close to campus, the movie theater, and for commuting to Jeff. City.

Shepard's parents are phenomenal and involved. The principal and assistant principal do a great job and are good at instilling the importance of values and ethics in the curriculum. They are both wives of Christian ministers in town. The school laid a great foundation for my kids.

Of course, I am biased toward my neighborhood and school, as I am now chairing its neighborhood association and once served as Cubmaster at the school.

[JimMuench]

I also don't agree with the "SW is best" mantra being served up by many. While it may have been true once upon a time, please keep in mind that reputation is basically hearsay built up and carried on by people parroting their realtors over decades. People want to believe that they got the best deal on their homes because their found location and local school are just so much more awesome than somewhere else in town, and realtors use this to jack up prices in particular areas of town, namely the SW. Other parts of town offer more house for the money and a better lifestyle.

For instance, if you care at all about commute times to and from work, the road infrastructure carrying traffic into town from the SW is just plain awful, mainly because the "SW is best" mantra caused houses to be built farther and farther southwest with rather little thought given to how people would get from home to work.

[comofamily]

Two Mile Prairie is a great school in the North East that is often overlooked. The kids are excellent. The parents are involved. The staff is outstanding. There isn't a neighborhood that attends this school because it is fairly rural. Shepard is also a great school for the same reasons except for the fact that it is located in the middle of a neighborhood.

Supposed reputations can't tell the whole story about a school - you shouldn't make a decision about where to live based on that. In some cases, appearances can be deceiving.

[northside]

How is the southside so much better?