Help me find an inexpensive, rural MO town (Kansas City, Springfield: relocating, real estate)

[christina0001]

Some relatives are considering relocating/retiring to MO within the next year. They ideally want a modest home (3 bed, 2 bath, stick homes only - no trailers or manufactured) on at least 10 acres of land, for under $200k. They love old homes and would have no problems fixing one up, although they aren't looking for a huge project to contend with. Are there any towns/counties you would recommend? My husband and I are relocating to the Kansas City area so in our opinion, the closer to KC, the better. However these relatives want to be in a rural setting, so it definitely needs to be at least 1-2 hours from the city. But any recommendations are welcome.

[2beamissourian]

We went down to Mo. to look around.. We found Ava very reasonable... but I think if they are retiring what are they wanting out of life must play a part in it. I wonder do they want to be far out in the sticks ... and want to drive 30 + minutes to get to there organizational activities.

[tenn or ozark bound]

Originally Posted by DeborahWade

We went down to Mo. to look around.. We found Ava very reasonable... but I think if they are retiring what are they wanting out of life must play a part in it. I wonder do they want to be far out in the sticks ... and want to drive 30 + minutes to get to there organizational activities.

Do you know if there are organization activities in Ava? What kind? Are there reasonable grocery stores, hardware stores, etc? We are looking for 40+ acres and found some possibilities in the area around Ava.

[kmflan]

Kearney

[Plains10]

Originally Posted by kmflan

Kearney

I do not think Kearney would be far enough removed from KC. It is in a semi- rural setting but definitely fairly close to the metro area.
Bethany Missouri is in a rural area (Harrison County) with very low real estate prices and is easily accesible by I-35. It is also 1-2 hours away from the KC metro.

[crashcop]

Originally Posted by christina0001

Some relatives are considering relocating/retiring to MO within the next year. They ideally want a modest home (3 bed, 2 bath, stick homes only - no trailers or manufactured) on at least 10 acres of land, for under $200k. They love old homes and would have no problems fixing one up, although they aren't looking for a huge project to contend with. Are there any towns/counties you would recommend? My husband and I are relocating to the Kansas City area so in our opinion, the closer to KC, the better. However these relatives want to be in a rural setting, so it definitely needs to be at least 1-2 hours from the city. But any recommendations are welcome.

Richmond, Lexington, Holden, Butler, and Cameron and the areas around them would be worth a look.

[Pirateman]

Hannibal is nice town for people that are retiring and artists

[CamdentonMO]

Hi,

There are some nice towns in Jackson, County Missouri. My husband and I looked there, but ended up in Camden County. We are absolutely miserable. So, take my advice and stay as far away from Camden County Missouri as possible. The people here do NOT like outsiders and treat them like crap. I wish we had move to Jackson County or closer to Springfield. We can't sell the brand new house we bought because it doesn't me fire codes and a group of rogue attorneys run this county. We are stuck in hell! Be very, very careful when it comes to moving to Missouri.

Longing for Civilization...............................

[jesslo]

I lived in Sedalia, Mora, and Cole Camp MO for a few years and honestly LOVED most of my time there. Mora is quite small, when our family moved there we brought the population up to 17 I think. It has a lumberyard and a post office(or at least it did, it has been a few years since I've been there). It is about a 15 minute drive to Sedalia, which has groceries, wal-mart, hardware stores, etc. Mora has many neighbors with lots of acreage, friendly, wonderful people!

Sedalia is much bigger, not at all rural, I think around 25,000, although I loved the town, and the people there were SOOOOOO friendly!! Perhaps some land just outside of there? I'm sure there's plenty. It's also just a few miles from Whiteman Airforce base, I remember seeing b-2's and what not flying overhead daily.

I DO NOT reccomend Cole Camp. We stayed with family who lived there when we first arrived in MO and it was HORRIBLE. The people were absolutely rude, judgemental, and I think a bit behind in the times a few hundred years. They were NOT welcoming of outsiders, we stayed for about three months and got the heck out of there!

I also would visit Warsaw a lot. BEAUTIFUL place. Right by Truman lake. I think anywhere in Benton County would be nice. Open spaces everywhere, although I think a bit more expensive due to the lake properties.

I would suggest anywhere in west central to northern MO, although everywhere else is nice, too. We were about a 3-4 hour drive from KC, if I remember correctly. Like I said, it's been a few years, so things might have changed...

[jesslo]

Whoops, sorry, I should correct myself a bit. I think Benton County does have quite a few trees, so not exactly "open spaces", but it is breathtaking, still beautiful. Also, Sedalia is in Pettis County, worth checking out...