Columbia (St. Louis, Springfield, St. Charles: 2009, HOA fees, crimes)

[gimme it]

Originally Posted by ozarksboy

Columbia ought to be the locale of choice for most outsiders wanting to buy property in Missouri while still being what they consider civilized. White, male, heterosexual Christians are probably a minority. so it is definitely diverse.

Do you mind clarifying? I have no idea what you are talking about. Thanks.

[cyrano]

Originally Posted by ozarksboy

Columbia ought to be the locale of choice for most outsiders wanting to buy property in Missouri while still being what they consider civilized. White, male, heterosexual Christians are probably a minority. so it is definitely diverse.

Yeah, you're right-- since the population is probably evenly divided 50-50 male/female, every gay, non-white, or non-Christian male eats into that purported majority status. But I know what you mean. Furthermore, we were fairly early adopters for a no-smoking ordinance. And we have lots of bike lanes and hike-bioke trails, lots of Priuses on the streets, and the Unitarians have one of the largest congregations in town. At least four places I know of serve fresh sushi, as does one of the grocery stores. We've got two brewpubs, an Irish pub, two gay bars, a good tapas bar, and at least five international specialty food stores that I know of (Mexican, Middle Eastern, two Chinese, and a general international one). I've been to lots of parties here where just being an American citizen put me in the minority...but I've invariably found that them furriners are smart, interesting, and almost always dynamic, driven, ambitious folks-- that's why they're here.

People who are threatened by diversity, or change of any sort, or the energy of smart, ambitious, energetic people, would undoubtedly feel uncomfortable here. But that's the great thing about diversity-- anyone's welcome, so long as they act like adults and don't expect us to be like Jeff or Springfield or Joplin. We're not. And we chose to live here.

[ozarksboy]

Originally Posted by gimme it

Do you mind clarifying? I have no idea what you are talking about. Thanks.

Read cyrano's post; it embroiders what I said in a couple of sentences. Someone from New York will find Columbia the most comfortable place in Missouri.

[kareybear]

Originally Posted by Clipperlover

When you go north and get near or go past Highway 63, you move out of city limits/jurisdiction. Again, just my opinion, but subdivisions in those areas have more of a problem with public services (including police). There are more areas with lots of duplexes and rentals, which often (not always) means a less permanent population. In Columbia, crime seems to be more a problems in those areas. You might save $10-20,000 on your purchase price, but I'm not sure it's worth it. Anyone else want to chime in on this?


But it's not really an issue of being rich...Columbia has plenty of good houses in good neighborhoods for reasonable prices. This house, on 806 Medina, is a about a block and half from me, in Parkade North.


806 Medina


It's kid central around here...Parkade North is a very family friendly subdivision. It's a 4 bedroom with over 2000 sq. ft. for under $160,000. The websites for Housesmart realty and homes.com show that there are over 30 homes of over 1900 sq. ft. for under $150000, and more than 50 for less than $160000.


The area by Rock Bridge State Park is really nice. It can be kind of a pain to get to either Highway 63 or (even more) I-70 from there, though, if that's an issue.

Thank You for the info. I will keep that in mine... Since I am looking for family oriented neighborhood. I can't seem to find rock bridge state park on the yahoo.com/maps.... Is it southeast or northeast side of Columbia?

[gimme it]

I think it's south central.

[newenglandgirl]

Originally Posted by cyrano

Yeah, you're right-- since the population is probably evenly divided 50-50 male/female, every gay, non-white, or non-Christian male eats into that purported majority status. But I know what you mean. Furthermore, we were fairly early adopters for a no-smoking ordinance. And we have lots of bike lanes and hike-bioke trails, lots of Priuses on the streets, and the Unitarians have one of the largest congregations in town. At least four places I know of serve fresh sushi, as does one of the grocery stores. We've got two brewpubs, an Irish pub, two gay bars, a good tapas bar, and at least five international specialty food stores that I know of (Mexican, Middle Eastern, two Chinese, and a general international one). I've been to lots of parties here where just being an American citizen put me in the minority...but I've invariably found that them furriners are smart, interesting, and almost always dynamic, driven, ambitious folks-- that's why they're here.

People who are threatened by diversity, or change of any sort, or the energy of smart, ambitious, energetic people, would undoubtedly feel uncomfortable here. But that's the great thing about diversity-- anyone's welcome, so long as they act like adults and don't expect us to be like Jeff or Springfield or Joplin. We're not. And we chose to live here.

Has Columbia over the years retained its "old families" quality, or is there a feeling of welcome to outsiders not connected (anymore) to the University? What kinds of venues are there for age 60-ish folks (not quite retirees) to fit in?

[cyrano]

Originally Posted by newenglandgirl

Has Columbia over the years retained its "old families" quality, or is there a feeling of welcome to outsiders not connected (anymore) to the University? What kinds of venues are there for age 60-ish folks (not quite retirees) to fit in?

The old families, I think, are losing their grip on the town. It's an ongoing process. I moved here a decade ago and yeah, I encountered a lot of standoffishness from people who'd lived here all their lives and their family names were street names. But from my perspective, there's enough of us whose families haven't lived here forever that there's a feeling among us of screw those people, we'll just socialize with each other. And, there's enough people who've lived here all their lives but who are sick of the same old people they and their families have always known, or they're kind of outcasts because they're artistic or lesbian or something, that we kind of find each other.

And the power of the intertubes has really made a difference. Check out CoMo Whine and Dine and Show Me Eats, just to get a sample of the food experience here. Trust me-- if old Columbia still ran everything, everyone would still be eating at Jack's Gourmet, Heidelberg, and Boone Tavern. (we had a marvelous meal tonight at Bleu on 8th st.- not really edgy except perhaps for mid-Missouri, but great food, fine experience.) Check out what foodies say about Columbia on chowhound.com.

Check out The Columbia Heart Beat for an outsider's view on politics-- and the outside voices are effective. The designated Next Mayor, Bob Roper, was hounded out of the race because those of us with internet voices pointed out that he's an empty suit whose only claim to leadership is that he used to run a bank here and his family's lived here a long time. That crowd still has an outsized influence on things, but it's waning.

Look, if you want a roll out the red carpet welcome for newcomers, go to Phoenix. This ain't Phoenix. Very few people move here to reinvent or restart their lives. There IS an establishment here, and they can be annoying sometimes, but usually I can ignore them and do what I please. They don't call this the show-me state for nothing. People are going to stand back and observe a bit. And MU still dominates a lot...but if you're going to have something dominate where you live, better it be a 30,000 student research university that attracts people from all over the world than, say, a prison. Or a bunch of strip malls.

Only you can decide what's important to you. It sounds like you're verging on an adventure of some sort. Only you can decide the boundaries of that adventure and what you need, what you want, and what you can put up with. This is still a small enough town that I live in the same block with the AM station's best-known talk show host and a county commissioner, AND a block away from the guy who runs the best live music venue in town and last month's street blues and BBQ festival. I know two of last election's mayoral candidates on a first-name basis, as well as the town's best drug lawyer. I live across the street from a public library that would be the envy of a town three times our size. Columbia is a neat town despite the people whose families have lived here forever.

Go read some blogs, get a flavor for the place. If you just read the articles and the editorials in the Trib, you're reading Old Columbia. (but the comments are something else entirely) And wherever you go, you'll find that the responsibility is on you to make your life the best one you can,to put yourself out there. My writers' group is full of people who moved here, outsiders who don't fit in. Go see what groups have formed on meetup.com in Columbia. If you don't like them, start your own. The library's website (dbrl.org) lists the classes and stuff they put on there, and the city's site (gocolumbiamo.com) has their recreational stuff. Look for "Leisure Times." I'm over 55 and I'm not ready for the older folks' stuff yet, not by a mile. I took "confident city cycling" last month and loved it. I've done fencing and was in a running club for a while. Then there's always the outdoor sex and dope parties! (just kidding) (don't want Ozarks Boy to call the National Guard in on us)

[newenglandgirl]

What interesting things in the arts are going on these days in Columbia? Anything more unusual/contemporary? I remember Stephens College had a great theater.

[newenglandgirl]

Columbia thread quiet! No responses on the arts...

Has anyone moved to Col from somewhere else to retire, and if so what are your impressions as a retiree there?

[MOBee]

Originally Posted by Alicia Bradley

COLUMBIA IS HEAVEN ON EARTH. No joke. I've lived all over the U.S. and my heart is still in Columbia. It's still got enough of a "small town" feel so that you'd recognize it from years past, but it's a very sophisticated place these days - the per capita gourmet/cutting-edge (but still affordable, in many cases!) restaurants is insanely high, and the number of cultural offerings and interesting shopping way outranks most cities of its size. It's got old homes near the hipster downtown area (but far enough away from campus so that you're in a peaceful setting), and new suburban homes with large lots on the edge of things. If you're into biking and outdoorsy stuff, Columbia is paradise.. I live in the Washington, D.C. area and cannot ride my bike down the street now without getting hit. In Columbia, I used to bike all over town, even at night (yeah, it was totally safe.. I had a bright headlight ) and could easily bike to fantastic biking/walking/hiking trails both large and small in the foothills of the lovely Ozark Plateau. I couldn't recommend the Columbia area highly enough!

While I would encourage most people to move to Columbia, you also need to check out the crime rate increase over the past year. Many of my friends and I have made the comment many times in the past year about the increase in robberies, stabbings and shootings. Yes, some of that can be blamed on the economy, but a lot of it can be blamed on the gangs that have moved into town. The Columbia PD was caught flat footed when the gangs came into town. They had no real experience in dealing with that type of crime unit. Let us also recognize that MO now holds the title of the Meth capitol of the US.

We are not without our problems.