Columbia

[kareybear]

Originally Posted by newenglandgirl

In the same boat, but retiring (literally) on a shoestring....I'm noticing houses in Columbia that look nice online, reasonably priced. RE taxes seem half of what they are in NE. The counties around St Louis seem reasonable and nice too. I loved living in St-L. I guess a trip is in order to check it out.

I live North of Columbia and going to my first house hunting tomorrow in Columbia..... I can't wait to find out if this is where I really want to live. It all depends if the house are decent and affordable..... I will keep you all up date.

[kareybear]

Here is a site & map for Crime rate in Columbia or you can look up any city and state.
Search CrimeReports.com

[MoNative34]

Originally Posted by kareybear

I live North of Columbia and going to my first house hunting tomorrow in Columbia..... I can't wait to find out if this is where I really want to live. It all depends if the house are decent and affordable..... I will keep you all up date.

Good luck on the house hunt! Let us know how it goes

[Retiree951]

Originally Posted by newenglandgirl

In the same boat, but retiring (literally) on a shoestring....I'm noticing houses in Columbia that look nice online, reasonably priced. RE taxes seem half of what they are in NE. The counties around St Louis seem reasonable and nice too. I loved living in St-L. I guess a trip is in order to check it out.

Yes, I need to plan a trip as well, but not likely until after the first of the year. Property taxes in Columbia are supposedly about $0.00992 per $1,000 of assessed value. bestplaces.net/COL/ is very useful when comparing two locations. I suspect the STL area is a little more expensive than Columbia based on my research. I lived in Ballwin when I was there, and wouldn't mind Kirkwood if I could afford it. Maybe we can keep this thread going as we progress. Thanks!

[Retiree951]

Originally Posted by kareybear

Here is a site & map for Crime rate in Columbia or you can look up any city and state.
Search CrimeReports.com

Yes, keep us all up-to-date, and good luck!

[Retiree951]

Originally Posted by Retiree951

Yes, I need to plan a trip as well, but not likely until after the first of the year. Property taxes in Columbia are supposedly about $0.00992 per $1,000 of assessed value. bestplaces.net/COL/ is very useful when comparing two locations. I suspect the STL area is a little more expensive than Columbia based on my research. I lived in Ballwin when I was there, and wouldn't mind Kirkwood if I could afford it. Maybe we can keep this thread going as we progress. Thanks!

Actually $0.00992 times the assessed value. So a $200,000 house would have taxes of $1984.00. Sorry.

[newenglandgirl]

Originally Posted by kareybear

I live North of Columbia and going to my first house hunting tomorrow in Columbia..... I can't wait to find out if this is where I really want to live. It all depends if the house are decent and affordable..... I will keep you all up date.

Kareybear, best wishes on your house hunt! We will be very curious to find out what you experience. What price range are you looking in?

[newenglandgirl]

Originally Posted by Retiree951

Yes, I need to plan a trip as well, but not likely until after the first of the year. Property taxes in Columbia are supposedly about $0.00992 per $1,000 of assessed value. bestplaces.net/COL/ is very useful when comparing two locations. I suspect the STL area is a little more expensive than Columbia based on my research. I lived in Ballwin when I was there, and wouldn't mind Kirkwood if I could afford it. Maybe we can keep this thread going as we progress. Thanks!

Thanks for the info. I remember mid-Mo was quite hot and humid in summer, but not as bad as Southern states. In the years I lived there I never got overwhelmed by the weather, and never had a tornado, though was there in the floods of 91. St-L area, esp St-Charles, got hit pretty hard. I'm also curious about some of the small towns around Columbia, like Boonville. Anyone have info on that area?

[Melissa E]

I don't want to live in Columbia forever, but it's a nice place for someone feeling the MO vibe. The housing is very affordable - especially compared to what I've seen in Oregon, ect., where I'm looking to move. You can buy a dream home here in Columbia for the price of a trailer there, pretty much. It's a pretty city here ... The vibe, something about it ... the people, or something, don't flow well with me, but it might work great for you. I'd come check it out and just trust your intuition. There is quite a bit of interesting things to do here, and also .. I'm a dork I guess but the library here is freakin awesome!! They have an excellent selection of everything. There are lots of educated people here, too, so it has an intelligent vibe.

[newenglandgirl]

Originally Posted by Melissa E

I don't want to live in Columbia forever, but it's a nice place for someone feeling the MO vibe. The housing is very affordable - especially compared to what I've seen in Oregon, ect., where I'm looking to move. You can buy a dream home here in Columbia for the price of a trailer there, pretty much. It's a pretty city here ... The vibe, something about it ... the people, or something, don't flow well with me, but it might work great for you. I'd come check it out and just trust your intuition. There is quite a bit of interesting things to do here, and also .. I'm a dork I guess but the library here is freakin awesome!! They have an excellent selection of everything. There are lots of educated people here, too, so it has an intelligent vibe.

Yes, there's many more exciting places than Mid-Mo... but a lot depends on the stage of life you're in. Probably a good place for older folks like me...and too "staid" for younger folks who want more going on in town. Oregon has very high unemployment I hear. And housing can eat up a lot of income. But, it's probably closer to a lot more outdoor activities.