Where in Mo? (Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield: for sale, foreclosed, rent)

[luvbnmom03]

Hi! My husband and I want to move from CA. My in-laws lived in Mo and can't stop talking about how GREAT it is. After I had my youngest child 1.5 years ago, they moved back out here (CA) to be closer to the grand-kids, needless to say they are "homesick" and moving back in the spring. Honestly, I'm tired of living in a high taxed state. I'm ready to move! I want to trust my in-laws that we should move to Mo, but they are retired and frankly I want advice from others. We are a family of 5, my husband and I (in our mid 30s) our 14, 11 and 1.5 yr old. We value family, my husband is an RN, we want to live somewhere where the kids can ride there bikes and we won't be sick with worry, somewhere where we'll wave hello to our neighbors and they won't look at us like we're crazy. I will appreciate any advice! Thanks!

[lone sailor]

So many options for a young and growing family in Missouri. I am partial to the southern region of the state, but there are great communities all over the state. We too are a family of 5 and we live in the Springfield metro area. I like living close to Springfield because it provides the larger city type shopping and bountiful restaurants alike. That, and in general, if you want to make a decent living, you have to be close to where the money is. And that is usually in a larger town(2 major hospitals in Springfield ). It is not so big that it has lost touch with reality though. While some claim high crime and uncontrollable drug problems here, I'd like to say that these are far from the most extreme problems this area has to deal with. Not saying crime and drugs aren't here, but show me a place where they aren't. It's saying we have bad rush hour traffic. Please, drive the 405 from Torrence and then come talk to me.
We actually live in a smaller town just west of Springfield and we have enjoyed or 5 years thus far(moved from the Dallas area). We live outside of that town and enjoy the peaceful country life where we can raise our young children without fear such as you have mentioned. Like I said, there are lots of places that would fit the bill for your family, and although I don't know where your folks moved from, perhaps that area would be best suited for you since there are already familiar with it. Maybe further info on what you're looking for or areas you folks are interested in may help us help you better?

[luvbnmom03]

Thanks for the response, lone sailor! My in-laws lived in Sunrise Beach. Like I said, they are retired so they didn't have to travel anywhere to work. I basically want to live somewhere where the kids can play outside, I know my neighbors, low crime rate, good schools, low taxes, friendly people, not over populated, not to far from "civilization", affordable housing...etc. Am I being realistic?

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by luvbnmom03

I basically want to live somewhere where the kids can play outside, I know my neighbors, low crime rate, good schools, low taxes, friendly people, not over populated, not to far from "civilization", affordable housing...etc. Am I being realistic?

Welcome fellow left-coaster. My wife and I are both native Californians and live in Sacramento. We're tired of many of the things you're tired of and we also wish for the type of environment you describe.

Our circumstances are different in that I just retired this month and all our children (seven between us) are grown and gone but with a total of nine grandchildren, we, too, want a child friendly and safe place for when they visit.

We've been researching places to move for quite a long time and we'll be moving to Missouri in the spring. I'm sure you can find what you want there.

Best of luck.

[MoNative34]

Originally Posted by luvbnmom03

I basically want to live somewhere where the kids can play outside, I know my neighbors, low crime rate, good schools, low taxes, friendly people, not over populated, not to far from "civilization", affordable housing...etc. Am I being realistic?

95% of the state would meet that! A big plus for you is your husband's RN career. Good luck to you!

[lone sailor]

Originally Posted by luvbnmom03

Thanks for the response, lone sailor! My in-laws lived in Sunrise Beach. Like I said, they are retired so they didn't have to travel anywhere to work. I basically want to live somewhere where the kids can play outside, I know my neighbors, low crime rate, good schools, low taxes, friendly people, not over populated, not to far from "civilization", affordable housing...etc. Am I being realistic?

You are being completely realistic. After all this is Missouri, not California. It just depends on what your exact ideal of those things are. Even though I envision what your mean with your wants, only you can ultimately determine which place is really the one for you and your family. Below I will make my own personal recommendations on what you're asking for from my perspective of what I "think" you would like.

Sunrise beach is in the Lake of the Ozarks area. It's more of a touristy area, and a lot of action in the spring, summer, and fall with lake travelers. It is north of Springfield, about a 2 hour drive. If you lived in the Springfield area, you'd still be far enough away from the folks to have your own space and close enough to visit any time you wanted. Not trying to sell you on it, just trying to give you my thoughts on the matter. Now, there are some good areas to the north side of Springfield that would be well suited for you, IMHO. I say north side since that has the least development thus far in the Springfield metro area. Places that come to mind are Fair Grove, Willard, Ash Grove, Pleasant Hope, and the outskirt town of Bolivar. I say outskirt because it is about a 30 minute commute to Springfield, but it is a nice sized town now. I believe they even have a Wal*Mart there now, lol. The other towns I mentioned are all 20 minute commute or less. Of those, I would start doing research on schools and so forth. Check city-data's info and ratings for schools too. I do know that Willard and Fair Grove get high marks around here for where parents would like to send their kids to school if they had a choice.

Maybe a possibility. If the folks are going to move anyway, perhaps letting them settle in somewhere here and then come for a visit and check some of these places out before committing to the move or a particular area. Just a thought.

Good luck in whatever you decide. I wish the best for you. Let me know if I can be of further assistance.

[luvbnmom03]

So I went on homes.com and looked up some homes in Fair Grove and Willard, a city named Republic also came up...WOWOWOWOW the house prices, a 4 bdrm for 179k?! WHAT?! My SoCAl brain couldn't believe it! You can't touch a foreclosed condo here for that, and yes even in today's market!!!! So any comments on Republic? What's it like? I'll keep doing research and I won't let myself go on just home prices. THANKS AGAIN for the replies!

[northbound74]

Originally Posted by luvbnmom03

So I went on homes.com and looked up some homes in Fair Grove and Willard, a city named Republic also came up...WOWOWOWOW the house prices, a 4 bdrm for 179k?! WHAT?! My SoCAl brain couldn't believe it! You can't touch a foreclosed condo here for that, and yes even in today's market!!!! So any comments on Republic? What's it like? I'll keep doing research and I won't let myself go on just home prices. THANKS AGAIN for the replies!

179k seems a bit steep to many of us Missourians.
Kansas City isn't remotely what you're looking for, so I won't even try, but around here, a nice 4 bedroom 2.5 bath can go for as little as 90k. There will be similar stuff, especially in the smaller towns, around the state. Some outlying areas of Springfield are trendy at the moment, so that would probably explain the higher prices around there.

The areas in and around Springfield are really nice.
I also like the Columbia area. There's some neat little towns around there like Fayette, Moberly, Booneville, and I hear Fulton is nice, and I'm sure there's others. Columbia is smaller than Springfield, but it's still a sizable college town, and has everything you'd ever need. It's also centrally located between Kansas City and St. Louis. Both would be fun as day trips, and both are about an hour and a half away. It's also close to many of the lakes in the northern sections of the Ozarks.

[STLCardsBlues1989]

Are your in-laws moving back to Sunrise Beach? How close do you want to live to there?

$179k sounds like a bit much, but 4 BR is pretty big. In STL or KC that's probably low, but I think is most rural areas that is high.

I searched Poplar Bluff (my general area). I searched for 4 Bedrooms $200k and under, and I got 39 results. The Bluff paper has a 1979 home, 4 beds, 2.5 baths for $175k, with 5 acres for hunting. It's kind of out in the boonies, though.

I live in a "town" myself. I think 10 years ago our 3 bedroom house cost about $30k, but I can't imagine it's worth much more now.

Of course, you could rent for a while somewhere before buying. It'd be more hassle with moving, but it'd give you some time to look over the area.

I noticed you said your husband is an RN. Do you have a certain kind of job you are looking for?

I believe there are a few hospitals in the Columbia area. Lots of them in St. Louis (Barnes-Jewish is one of the best in the country) and Kansas City. Probably any town over 15k-20k will have a hospital. But smaller hospitals may not pay as good, I would think. Springfield also has a few hospitals, and a couple colleges, and Bass Pro Shops.

Actually, the house down the street is for sale right now. 3 Bd, 1 Bath $79k and 1,236 Sq Ft. That seems a little high, though, especially being out basically in the middle of nowhere. You feel the pinch here when gas goes back up. Unless you work at the school, basically everybody has to commute somewhere, probably 20-25 miles each way.

Sorry, I'm rambling.

Really, I think there are a number of towns you could be happy in. Are you willing to commute?

Cape Girardeau may be a possibility. From what I've seen it's a fairly nice town, with a college and some good hospitals, but it'll be 4-5 hours from Lake of the Ozarks. Sounds like your in-laws live in a beautiful part of Missouri, but I understand being concerned about commuting.

Some suburbs of St. Louis might meet your needs, but the commute thing would be an issue as well. There are nice St. Louis neighborhoods, but it sounds like you want a smaller city/almost rural feel. Anyway, just throwing that out there.

I would suggest Columbia, Jefferson City, or Springfield areas. Not really that rural, but not the big cities either, and not suburbs.

I guess even a commute with scenes like this would get old after a while.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...57510153091295


If you do want to live near a lake, but not Lake of the Ozarks, there's Table Rock Lake near Branson.
Nice view here as well
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...,359.7789&z=12

Here's a place which looks to be near the water in Kimberling City
http://www.realtor.com/search/listin...lsn=2&srcnt=18

I've never been to Kimberling City, though. 20yrsinbranson could probably give you more info on that part of Missouri.

This one looks to be near water in Kimberling City also
http://www.realtor.com/search/listin...lsn=8&srcnt=18

This place in Osage Beach (Lake of the Ozarks) looks nice, but I can't find it on a map
http://www.realtor.com/search/listin...1817490&lsn=19

Wherever you choose: Good luck!

[OA 5599]

Your best bet would be to look at finding employment first and go from there. RN's usually don't have much of a problem finding jobs (as far as I know anyway) so you should be OK in that department, but also know that the cheaper housing costs in Missouri also come with lower pay. You should really make sure the salary your husband will be getting as an RN in Missouri will be enough before making the plunge, especially if only one of you is working.

Disregarding employment, it is always a good idea to take a trip to the state and see which areas you like. Your criteria could be met in just about any part of the state, and based on your post you will probably really enjoy Missouri. Republic, Willard, and Fair Grove are all in the Springfield area. Springfield is a large town (150,000-ish residents plus the surronding communities) and has plenty in the way of shopping and places to eat, and several hospitals for your husband to work at (Cox and St. Johns). Springfield is really the "big" town in that part of the state (as well as the 3rd largest city in MO) but it really still has more of a small town feel while still offering places to shop and eat.

Again, I strongly suggest making a trip to MO before you really begin to look at moving. Culturally, Missouri is a very different than Southern California, and while many Missourians have the values and sense of community you are looking for, you really need to experience it for yourself beforehand to be sure it is right for you.