Need help deciding where to live? (Springfield, Ozark: home, prices, housing)

[slickcdb2000]

You know... I just remembered that my uncle is from harrison AR. We wouldn't be completely alone up there. He should be in on thanksgiving and i'll have to ask him all about it.

BTW... do they have any 4 wheeler rides and stuff over there? Mud riding or anything like that?

[christina0001]

Springfield is a great area, I am just starting to get to know it myself. I would recommend coming up for a week or so, and just drive around to different towns. You might prefer being near a large town; if not there are so many cute little towns an hour or so around Springfield.
I am about an hour north of Springfield, and the hunting is fine, I know several who hunt and have done well this year. I also know several people who ride 4 wheelers, it's pretty popular out here and I'm sure you would be in good company.
I would recommend other areas of MO too, but if you want to stay south and also not be too far from your uncle, than from what I have learned of MO so far (I've been here a little over a year), I would definitely recommend the Springfield area. Springfield is interesting because it seems to be the size of a small city, yet it does not have a city feel, there is no area that feels truly urban. There's a mall, two hospitals, plenty of shopping and restaurants, a few colleges...really just about everything you could want.
Best of luck in deciding on where to relocate. I have lived in PA, NJ, KS...MO is a great state. If you don't mind being further away from Springfield, you should be able to get a couple of acres and a house in or near your price range...obviously the closer you get to Springfield or any larger town, the more expensive it will get.

[OA 5599]

Originally Posted by slickcdb2000

You know... I just remembered that my uncle is from harrison AR. We wouldn't be completely alone up there. He should be in on thanksgiving and i'll have to ask him all about it.

BTW... do they have any 4 wheeler rides and stuff over there? Mud riding or anything like that?

Four wheeler riding is very popular in the Ozarks. Most people just ride around their property, on Forest Service land, or on gravel roads (which is illegal, but likely not enforced). As far as off road parks go, there is a large one near Seymour and another near Salem.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by OA 5599

Four wheeler riding is very popular in the Ozarks. Most people just ride around their property, on Forest Service land, or on gravel roads (which is illegal, but likely not enforced). As far as off road parks go, there is a large one near Seymour and another near Salem.

This is the prime reason why MO needs to develop a better trail system so people don't go in and mess up forest land.

[slickcdb2000]

Are there a lot of gravel roads on the outskirts of springfield?

[caturpilar]

It looks like your set on South MO which is a nice place, I like to ride around the mountains. Whitetail hunting I think is best in NW Mo. You can get a 2-3 bdrm with about 5 acres around 100k outside of the St. Joe, KC area. Holt, Andrew County. St. Joe is big enough for all your "city needs". It use to be a nice town with a rural small town feel but it has started growing pretty good. A lot more traffic than a couple of years ago. Cameron might be a good place as well. Again this is all coming from a deer hunting perspective. I have almost never failed to harvest a good size doe or buck.

[christina0001]

There are plenty of paved and gravel roads. The main roads are paved of course, but there are many roads in the more rural areas that are gravel and/or dirt. In Springfield itself I doubt there are many, if any, gravel roads. But if you wanted to live on a gravel road, you wouldn't have to go too far.

[OA 5599]

I believe all (or nearly all) of the county roads in Greene County (where Springfield is located) are paved. I remember hearing something about how they were one of the few counties in the state to have that done a few years ago. However, all of the surronding counties have hundreds of miles of gravel roads for your driving pleasure.

As far as whitetail hunting, catupilar is right about northern Missouri having better hunting. There are large numbers of deer across the whole state, but in northern Missouri they get a lot bigger (both body and rack size), due to all the soybean and corn fields they get to eat out of. In the Ozarks they live off of acorns, food plots planted by hunters, and grasses, and just don't get as big....but it isn't hard to bag one or more deer every year. The winters are also longer and colder in northern Missouri.

[ozarksboy]

Originally Posted by slickcdb2000

Well... that's it. Me, wife and brand new baby son are planning on moving from this state we call Louisiana and really considering MO. Where is the best place to go? What is the most perfect place in MO to go? I know, I know... impossible question....well how bout this. I'm wanting to kinda stay in the southern part.

Could I persuade you to consider Northwest Arkansas instead of Southern Missouri? I think it might be more what you are looking for.

[slickcdb2000]

Originally Posted by ozarksboy

Could I persuade you to consider Northwest Arkansas instead of Southern Missouri? I think it might be more what you are looking for.

Wow, funny thing you asked that. I just logged on to ask the exact same question. What does south Mo have that North Ar dont have? what does North Ar have that South Mo dont have and so on. The big thing that i'm worried about or mostly worried about is I would like to be within an hour or so from a decent sized city/town and live kinda rual, if that makes sense. whats the difference in taxes and so forth... and also the housing. More/less expensive? Thanks again to everyone that has posted... ya'll have been a real help.