Misery reaches out from California to Missouri (Mexico, Ozark: school, living)

[OA 5599]

Originally Posted by Inoxkeeper

You guys can add me to this list. I am hoping that a lot of people consider MO too rural and redneck for their tastes. A big plus is the large amount of public land in Missouri, i.e. there are roughly 20,000 acres of land near Ft. Wood that is all national forest.

That's a wonderful thing! It can never be developed and frankly it shouldn't since it's mostly ridges and hollows with about 2" of topsoil and tons of rocks.

My main concern at the moment is the 4.2 acres next to my 50. I really need to snap it up to prevent someone from moving in on my little bit of paradise.

I really like that too. Central Texas is very short on public land, so what land is public is packed. There is some nice Ozark-ish scenery around here too (although with junipers and cactus as opposed to oaks and shortleaf pines), but most of it is private. I enjoy being able to go explore some random hollow in the Mark Twain National Forest on just about any Saturday and not see another soul. Can't say the same for the Current River on a Saturday in July, but luckily all of the float streams aren't that packed.

I have no problem with people moving to the Ozarks who want to be good stewards of the land and embrace the Ozark culture. As I've said before and will say again, I think what everyone is complaining about...Californians moving in and wanting to "change" everything...is really very rare, simply because most Californians who want a Trader Joe's or Starbucks in their town would generally consider Missouri too "redneck" in the first place and never move. When I lived on the east coast and told people that I was from the Ozarks, they sometimes looked suprised that I was wearing shoes and was literate. The jobs aren't here to lure them anyway, but that doesn't pertain to retirees.

[joe stixpuck]

Originally Posted by OA 5599

As I've said before and will say again, I think what everyone is complaining about...Californians moving in and wanting to "change" everything...is really very rare, simply because most Californians who want a Trader Joe's or Starbucks in their town would generally consider Missouri too "redneck" in the first place and never move. When I lived on the east coast and told people that I was from the Ozarks, they sometimes looked suprised that I was wearing shoes and was literate. The jobs aren't here to lure them anyway, but that doesn't pertain to retirees.

Yeah, people are going to move somewhere that has what they need or suits them more rather than whip out a magic wand and transform a place they don't like into where they were before.

And the issue of jobs is huge too. Even if the cost of living is much lower here, it just won't weigh out for most Californians when it comes to the relative pay or earning potential. We went out there for a job offer with obscene pay, but otherwise never would've considered CA, although we enjoyed the experience of living out there a great deal.

Funny about the 'east coast' folks comment...same reaction I had moving from MO to southern Jersey. Didn't have that reaction in CA though, although some of my friends would tease me (kindly) about the redneck factor. Many of my CA pals were originally from the Midwest, South, PacNW or West hicktowns also though so it was reciprocal.

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by STLCardsBlues1989

I'm not too worried about our land prices going up. This state is pretty vast, and from, what I've seen, fairly rural in most places. It would take a lot of Californians settling in every part of the state for the average real estate price to go up I would think. I can understand your concern, but I'm not too worried about it.

I was shocked when I was in rural Laclede County in October. It's always been just country with modest older houses of people whose families have been there for generations (mine included). When I was there in October there were huge, magnificent, NEW houses sitting on land my dad walked all over barefoot as a kid 70 years ago. It's been the same for all these years and now it's changing.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by luzianne

I was shocked when I was in rural Laclede County in October. It's always been just country with modest older houses of people whose families have been there for generations (mine included). When I was there in October there were huge, magnificent, NEW houses sitting on land my dad walked all over barefoot as a kid 70 years ago. It's been the same for all these years and now it's changing.

I don't know why people would retire in Laclede County. It never struck me as a very friendly place when I visited a few years ago. The demographics are not great either. Also, many urbanites like to build in MO due to the severe lack of any codes, especially in the rural areas. I assume places in Laclede have high speed internet and a few other ammenities?

[simplewife&mom]

In each of four years prior to June 2008, more people left California than moved in from other states, a reversal of a decades-long trend in which the state took in more than it lost.

In my little neck of the (CA) woods, the people I know who want to move mostly want to go to Montana, Idaho, or Wyoming. When I've mentioned Missouri, they generally guffaw and ask, "Why?" It would be interesting to find out which state recent newcomers to MO moved from. If anyone knows where to find some stats like that, please put it on here.

[OA 5599]

Originally Posted by joe stixpuck

Yeah, people are going to move somewhere that has what they need or suits them more rather than whip out a magic wand and transform a place they don't like into where they were before.

And the issue of jobs is huge too. Even if the cost of living is much lower here, it just won't weigh out for most Californians when it comes to the relative pay or earning potential. We went out there for a job offer with obscene pay, but otherwise never would've considered CA, although we enjoyed the experience of living out there a great deal.

Funny about the 'east coast' folks comment...same reaction I had moving from MO to southern Jersey. Didn't have that reaction in CA though, although some of my friends would tease me (kindly) about the redneck factor. Many of my CA pals were originally from the Midwest, South, PacNW or West hicktowns also though so it was reciprocal.

California is actually a backup plan for me right now if I can't get a job elsewhere. There are a lot of really interesting jobs in my field in the Bay Area. It looks like at the moment things are working out where I'll be able to return to Missouri, although to a a slightly less interesting job than I could get in CA, but MO is so much more livable and the closeness to family more than cancels it out.

My east coast time was a summer I spent in DC. DC is full of transplants, and most of them don't care too much where you are from, but the several of the people actually from there had a lot of negative preconceived notions about the redneck factor of the Ozarks/Midwest. Of course some of it was kind teasing, which I also do to people, and some of it wasn't as much. I run into that sort of thing a lot less in Texas, although I've been told I'm "pretty normal for a Midwesterner" (half jokingly of course) and a girl I went on a few dates with was surprised with my music tastes, because apparently Missouri isn't that "cultured". And of course there is the occasional "wow, you don't have an accent" although a lot of people in the Ozarks definitely do have accents. Oh well, I like the fact that a lot of Missouri is "off the radar" so to speak, and won't be changing rapidly any time soon.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by OA 5599

I like the fact that a lot of Missouri is "off the radar" so to speak, and won't be changing rapidly any time soon.

Shh! I'm counting on it.

[OA 5599]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

Shh! I'm counting on it.

Since you'll be heading East anyway....is there a chance you could bring along a few organic food stores, yoga instructors, vegan restaurants, and some traffic with you? They might all fit in an extra-big U-Haul

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by OA 5599

Since you'll be heading East anyway....is there a chance you could bring along a few organic food stores, yoga instructors, vegan restaurants, and some traffic with you? They might all fit in an extra-big U-Haul

That would be a resounding, "NO!"

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

I don't know why people would retire in Laclede County. It never struck me as a very friendly place when I visited a few years ago. The demographics are not great either. Also, many urbanites like to build in MO due to the severe lack of any codes, especially in the rural areas. I assume places in Laclede have high speed internet and a few other ammenities?

I don't think they are retiring there; I think they are raising families there. I don't know about high speed internet. In the rural areas, I'd say probably not.