Which area and why? (Kansas City, Springfield: crime rate, homes, job market)

[Scooby]

We will be heading to Missouri in 3 weeks and we are undecided about which area to settle in. We have looked all over the state and have several areas that look very appealing to us. Now keep in mind, our search has all been limited to online so far. Much of the information we have gathered has been from all the wonderful people here on this forum. We will be looking for an older home (up to 1930) with a small bit of land preferably, just outside of town. Don't want to live right directly in the heart of town. Its time for us to finally have some peace and quiet. Please tell us why you would choose one city over the other and the pros and cons for each. The areas that we like, and in no particular order are:

Saint Joseph (a bit big)
Chillicothe
Hannibal
Shelbina
Columbia (also a bit big)
Mount Vernon
West Plains

Employment is also a consideration but not as critical as it would be for most. I have reached the point in life that I am going to work somewhere that I can be happy. I am very fortunate to have several backgrounds but am also considering something totally new. My background includes; journeyman machinist, welder, all phases of construction after framing, extensive background in auto repair and restoration. I was also the operations manager for a local structural steel company, which included more duties, and responsibilities than I care think about.

Thanks for your help,
Scooby

[lacyelet]

I went to Chillicothe once. It was THE greatest town I think Ive ever been to. It was so pretty and reminded me of Mayberry. It has this perfect town square, with all these super sweet people that kept giving me things for no reason. Bowling passes, free ring cleanings.... If I ever move from the Springfield area Chillicothe is where I would go

[Carlidin]

Since you listed a couple of larger towns have you given a thought to living in a smaller town close to one of these bigger towns. I live in New Franklin which is 23 miles from Columbia. I commute there daily for my work. Boonville is a community located on Interstate 70 which is also larger than New Franklin but also close to Columbia. Both towns are great to live in but Boonville does have more to offer than New Franklin. Yet, Columbia is close enough to drive to for entertainment, dining and shopping. There are options in Boonville but certainly not as many choices as in Columbia.
Boonville is a Historical community with lots of classic older homes available. It has beautiful clean (for the most part) tree-lined streets. I am not familiar with your other options having done no more than driven through some of them. But most Missouri towns are pretty much the same....attractive green, tree-lined streets with welcoming people.

[Scooby]

Thank you both for the replies. I wasn't real clear that we are intending on a smaller town outside of, and not directly in Springfield, Columbia or Saint Joseph. We love the older historical towns. We are thinking we are probably going to like the area between Saint Joseph to Hannibal the best but were not ruling out the others until we see them in person and hear pros and cons for each.

[northbayeric]

My wife and I are planning to move to St. Joseph around April 2008, give or take a couple of months depending on employment opportunities. Based on your posts, I would recommend (based on information I've read here and on other sites) Savannah and Plattsburg. Savannah is about 15 miles north of downtown St. Joe, and I think it would offer a good combination of small town, slow-paced living yet close enough to Interstate 29 and St. Joe that it wouldn't be like you're out in the middle of nowhere. Plattsburg is SE of St. Joe, between I-29 and I-35. Both towns have a lot of older homes. There's also the historic town of Lexington, on the (hopefully fast-receding!) Missouri River about 35 miles east of Independence. That might be a little too far away from a major town, but I would check it out. Wentworth Military Academy is located in Lexington, too. Some of the homes there are on the National Register of Historic Places. But I don't know if that means you'd be restricted as to how you would make home improvements, so that would be something to consider. It looks like a great, slow-paced town with a lot of Civil War history to it. Oh, before I forget, there's also Weston, on the Missouri River halfway between St. Joe and Kansas City. Another small, quaint town. Hope this helps! Check out each of their city websites if you haven't done so already.

[crashcop]

Originally Posted by Scooby

Saint Joseph (a bit big)
Chillicothe
Hannibal
Shelbina
Columbia (also a bit big)
Mount Vernon
West Plains

Scooby

Chillcothe and Cameron are both beautiful cities. Columbia is rated as one of the most livable cities in America year after year, most anywhere in the area would meet your criteria. Savannah, Lexington, and Richmond would also be of interest to you. Harrisonville south of KC is also a quaint city with easy access to KC metro and I-70. Good luck.

[Scooby]

Thanks for the help. Savannah looks like a wonderful little town. I do like the idea of still being within reach of a larger city. Northbayeric, I'm just curious, being as your from my neck of the woods, whats prompting your move if you don't mind my asking. Also, what made you choose that area?

[Ozarks21]

Lexington is my favorite town for historic homes. My wife and I stay at a bed and breakfast there regularly.

[CaboolBound]

HI,
My hubby and I are moving to Cabool, it is a small town east of Springfield. It is beautiful, clean and inexpensive to live there. We bought a 1600 sq. ft., 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 3 tier deck with pool on 5 acres for $65K. Our taxes are $273 a year. We are floored at how cheap it is down there, we are coming from a fairly big city in Michigan. We are in the country but we are only a few miles outside of town. We fell in love with it. We are not too far from Houston, there is a Super Walmart there. We are not sure about the job market, we didn't have to worry about that because hubby is on disability. The crime rate is low. People are real friendly too. Just wanted to plug Cabool.

Good luck and God Bless.

Kim and Jim