Looking for opinions on Relocating to the Ozarks (St. Louis, Springfield: sale, rentals)

[Christy]

We are also moving to missouri. My mom was born and raised til she was seven. Her parents weren't born there but her grandparents were. We are hoping to be there by summer. We have our house to sell as well as other things to get in line. We are still in disagreement on the exactness though. We are defenitely wanting to buy land to build. I want to go around Ozark..my husband says around Poplar bluff..Any opinions on either place would be greatly appreciated..
Oh we have 4 kids ...3 are teens and the youngest is 3..so we defenitely want to be in a good school district..

[citybythebay]

Originally Posted by midwestlo

There seems to be a heavy trend of individuals either moving from California to save money or purchasing long distance investment property in Missouri due to the perceived low cost of housing here. I hear good things about the Ozarks, but I generally only talk to those who already know they want to live there.


John Mattingly
[moderator cut]

I'm just curious....did I miss something with this post??? It seems it had been edited by a moderator???

Anyhow... in response to your post midwestlo, yes, you are correct. Many people are moving away from a state such as CA where the average home price is $400K and that's in a not so nice neighborhood...You can't find anything for less than that. Factor in a 30 yr mortgage and you'll be looking at a house payment that will never be paid off. It's just reality.

I'm originally from the midwest...I've only been here for less than 6 months and I can't wait to go back!

CA, IMO is a nice place to visit...but I would highly discourage anyone from wanting to relocate here.

[markablue]

Originally Posted by citybythebay

I'm just curious....did I miss something with this post??? It seems it had been edited by a moderator???

Posts in this forum are only either edited or deleted by moderators if they are spam or contain some form of advertising.
Regards,
markablue, forum moderator

[SW Missouri Dave]

Have lived in the suburbs of Springfield nearly all my life. Happy to help anyone with any questions.

Christy - I can't speak for Poplar Bluff - as it is on the other side of the state, but in the Springfield area, Nixa and Ozark are the fastest growing communities with excellent school systems (fastest growing in the state also). Ozark seems to have less traffic congestion compared to Nixa and some of the others, excluding Rogersville.) Republic and Willard are also seeing growth spurts, with good school systems. And Rogersville is starting to see some interest as it has good access to SW Springfield. All 5 of these towns seem to be in a contest to see who can have the newest and largest school buildings. :-) I live outside Marshfield, which sees a slower growth as the populations seeems to be stretching from Springfield towards Branson.

As far as the question about religion, you should have no concerns here. It is the Bible Belt and you will see a church on every corner, but you are not an outcast if you are not a member.

And Camdenton and Branson's are traffic nightmares in the summer - both very popular vacation spots.

I lived in Orlando for 5 years and is no comparison. What people call a traffic jam in this area, is like normal traffic on I-4. If you love the outdoors, you will never run out of things to do. If you are more into the nightlife - well they are trying. Most of the suburbs roll up the sidewalks except for their Wal-mart Supercenters fairly early - but Springfield is trying to build up their downtown area into a nighttime outspot. But on this - you'll have to travel to Branson, St Louis or Kansas City to find anything that could compare to other big cities.

[Christy]

I am the one wanting to go to ozark. I've heard nothing but good. My husband wants to go to poplar bluff so we aren't as far from Indiana which is where our family lives.
I want to be in no mans land. I want to walk out my door and see nothing but trees wildlife ect. BUT i don't want to be far from a town that has all the stores I enjoy..ok. wal-mart there i said it lol..I also want to be in a good place for kids. Which is why i have chosen ozark..it's a good area from what i've heard and not far from a city where there is plenty to do. BUT I do need to find out about poplar bluff since hubby wants to possibly go there. I figure if we have all the info we can way out why my choice is better lol..o.k. if we have all the info we can then decide which place would fit us best..thanks for helping..i do appreciate it. I can look up all day long on the interent but it doesn't compare to talking to an actual person that lives there. Thanks Christy

[SW Missouri Dave]

And it's driving the prices way up too. Compared to California it's still cheap. But for those of us who have grown up here - it's definetly having an effect. Especially in the country.

[SW Missouri Dave]

Christy - I grew up in Ozark and its no small town anymore. 10M+ and growing and fighting Nixa to be the fastest growing town in Missouri for the last decade. And they don't have a Wal-Mart - they have a brand new Super Center... (check your pulse I dont want to get you too excited).

To walk out your door and see nothing but nature - that can be a little tough around Ozark and probably a whole lot easier around Popular Bluff (which definetly has a Wal-Mart - all towns here do).

Ozark is 10 miles south of Springfield, as is Nixa, and everyone is rushing to buy a house in the bedroom community. The problem is - everyone is trying to get out of the city - and turning Ozark into one. It's Catch 22.

[SW Missouri Dave]

For those of you wondering about tornado's in the Ozarks... here is a National Weather Service report on the lastest outbreak - has some very detailed maps of counties also

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/crnews/displ...=1799&source=0

[Christy]

I hated to hear that. I was so set on living in the country of ozark.
Do you know anything about williamsville or Wappapello?
I'm sorry to hear about the tornado. Are you and your family o.k.? I seen the ozark newspaper online and I was amazed at the damage. I feel so bad for all of you. You are in my prayers.
I have relatives in Missouri. I need to ask my mom what their names are and post on here in case anyone knows them. Who knows some might live in Ozark. My mom did have family in Bragg City. But she doesn't know if they still live there or not. My mom, grandparents great grandparents and great great grandparents were all from missouri..so i actually have second cousins that are probably still there..NOw if only I had been born there lol..

[SW Missouri Dave]

Christy

Be careful taking any one person's opinion. I can give you mine but everyone has their own. Obviously a lot of people disagree with me because Ozark is booming.

Also, just to make sure we aren't confusing things... there is an Ozark, the town, which I have been talking about... and Ozark, the county, which I have not. If you are asking about Ozark county, I can't really help you with details. And I haven't heard of either of the two towns you mentioned. Sorry.