Columbia - questions about commute/neighborhoods (Boonville, Centralia: rental, crime, chapel)

[dkline]

We're moving to Columbia this summer. My husband is teaching on the north side of Columbia and I'll be commuting to work downtown, but a few days a week I'll need to drive to Boonville and Centralia. We have a son - he's 2 - so schools (especially elementary) will be important.

We'd like a house in a safe, family-friendly neighborhood. Friends have recommended the SW side of town (they live in Mill Creek?), but it sometimes takes them 20-25 minutes just to get downtown, and that seems like quite a long commute for a city as small as Columbia, especially if I'll need to get to I-70 several times a week.

Does anyone have recommendations of good neighborhoods on the north or east side of town? We like established neighborhoods, but we're not opposed to new construction if the area is safe and family-friendly. We're looking in the $200K price range, if that helps.

Thanks!!

[cyrano]

I wish I could give you more specific info WRT neighborhoods, but I wouldn't interpret the drive time from SW Columbia to downtown or the MU area as necessarily indicative of drive times throughout the area. What causes traffic jams in Columbia is, typically, a lot of people trying to get to one location (i.e., MU or the businesses off Grindstone Parkway from 63) at the same time. Most of the rest of the time, there's very little stopped traffic. An exception would be the 63/I-70 interchange, which can get hairy at a number of times. The SW part of town is where most of the newer construction has been over the past decade.

We live in a near-town neighborhood called Old Southwest where the homes are 40-70 years old and is nearly perfect for us and a lot of other people because of proximity to so much of what makes Columbia special for us-- the university, downtown, the public library, the MKT Trail. We'd sell you our house tomorrow for $200k, but it might not be such a good deal for you-- $150k might be closer to its true value, and I was kidding about selling-- we're not going anywhere. While prices in Old Southwest can go over $500k, there are decent houses for under 200, and a lot of kids live here.

The city has a number of site-specific crime resources on their website, including what looked like a really cool Google Maps app showing crime locations by month. Be very, very careful about choosing your neighborhood-- there are some newer neighborhoods, especially in north Columbia, that have what look like recent construction but have a LOT of crime, probably as much as anywhere in town. Use that Google Maps app.

[dkline]

Thanks - what would be the boundaries of the Old Southwest area? Is it close to schools and parks? I like the idea of it being close to a library and downtown. Would there be any parts of that area to avoid?

Thanks also for the link to the Google map - that is VERY helpful!

[cyrano]

Get a street map of Columbia-- I'd do it on Google Maps for you if I could but I don't know how-- the boundaries would be W. Broadway on the north, Garth Ave. on the east, and West Blvd. on the west. The southern boundary isn't a street but the area where teh MKT hike and bike trail runs...although Stadium Drive forms the very western edge of the southern boundary. It can spill over somewhat, like say west of West Blvd., where the houses are still quite interesting. What you'll be looking for is the smaller houses in the neighborhood, because like I said, they can get pricey.

I can't think of an area in there I would avoid. The cheaper houses are owned by the type of university people who make an ok living at MU, could make more somewhere else, but live in Columbia as a lifestyle choice. The more expensive houses tend to be Mu faculty and some professionals, doctors and lawyers who don't want to live near a country club or near people who want to live near a country club. Nothing against country clubs but that's someone else's life.

There are a fair number of kids in the neighborhood-- we raised two here, and it was wonderful for them. Through elementary school, everything was within easy walking distance.

You might want to also consider the East Campus neighborhood, the area teh other side of MU from where we live. That's more amorphous, meaning anything east of College Avenue. The disadvantage there is that there is some rental housing which means students which means some rowdiness, but there are some lovely, interesting houses over in there too-- we know young faculty who live there and love it. There's some run-down areas in there too-- I couldn't tell you specifically which ones, I just know them when I see them. It's probably even more important to look at that crime map if you're looking there.

I really can't say which parts of north Columbia are safer than others. There are some of the newer schools up there so there must be children. I'm thinking in the area around Brown School Road and west of where it intersects 63.

[dpgtfc]

I would personally avoid the areas between Broadway and I-70 from about Stadium to N. College. Also along Paris road is sketchy.

Nowhere is super dangerous, but those areas stick out in my mind. I rented over in the SW region and it was pretty nice. There were some traffic issues around Chapel Hill and Scott, but they put in a light and it seems a bit easier to get in and out of now.

[ahoffelt]

I would recommend the area near Shepard Elementary. I'm not really sure about housing prices in that area, but it is a convenient commute due to it being near Old 63, regular 63, and 70. It is close to Stephens Lake Park, which is my favorite park in Columbia, which includes nice walking trails and a water park. Plus, Shepard Elementary is fantastic.

[dpgtfc]

Some nice houses over there. I was driving around there the other day (had an hour or two between dental appointments there at Pro-Dental) and was awed at some of the beauty around in there. I imagine those houses to be 350k+.

[dkline]

Thanks for the tip on the Shepard area - the proximity to both downtown and 63 looks wonderful. My only concern would be the housing prices - we're looking to stay around $200K. When we're looking online, would anything with Shepard Elementary be in this area or are there other developments that go to that school that we should avoid?

[Clipperlover]

The Shepard area is nice, but the homes seem to start at around $250,000. I'd take a look at homes/neighborhoods around Fairview Elementary. It's a very good school, you're not too far from Stadium and the I-70 exit/onramp, and are very near shopping. There are a variety of subdivisions, estbalished and newer, so you'll have some choice about home age, size, cost, etc. In general, you should be able to get into a 4 bedroom home for around or under $200,000.

[dkline]

Does anyone know anything about southeast Columbia? Our realtor suggested we check out some areas out there - Eastland Hills? and the Vineyards. She said that area is really close to 63 and 70 and that it's overlooked. She also said it's growing quite a bit and that some of the roads are being expanded. I noticed that some houses out there go to Cedar Ridge Elementary - do you know anything about that school?

Thanks - you've been very helpful! There's only so much a realtor can tell us!