Made it to Missouri..now where to live? (Kansas City, St. Louis: home, employment)

[onjicamnden]

Hi all! Just wanted some opinions on a good area of Missouri to live in. My husband, four children and I have lived in the Lake Ozark region for about a year and a half now after moving from around Chattanooga, Tn. We relocated to Mo. after finding some property that we decided to buy, only to find that we had been scammed.

Anyway, to shorten a long story..we love this beautiful area with its rolling hills, clean lakes (or compared to Tennesee's anyway) and abundance of outdoor activities. We have also grown pretty fond of Missouri in general. The only problem is, as you might imagine, there is little to no work around here which keeps my husband unwillingly away from home and out on the road, drving a truck to make ends meet.

So this is where you come in. If you would be so kind as to tell me which of the bigger cities, KC, St. Louis or Springfield would be best for a family like ours to move to. If possible we would prefer to live in a small, charming possibly historic town on the outskirts of one of these lovely places. Did I mention that we need to be around a place with a good amount of work and that we love outdoor activities (fishing, boating, camping, etc.)? We are also hoping to find an area with reasonable housing costs. Thanks in advance for you input.

[onjicamnden]

Ok, so was it something I said..or didn't say??

[misplaced1]

Been sort of less than hopping around here lately. I'll send you a private message.

[stlcitygirl]

I lived in Springfield for five years. It's a really great city to raise a family. I loved the Ozark mountains and there are a lot of places to camp.There were a few towns I found charming, but very small :Ozark, Republic, Sparta are towns that come to mind. Springfield is a medium size city, so it will have your typical shopping.
For jobs you might want to look at St Louis, I read that a huge percentage of the Missouri Economy comes from the St Louis area. Smaller towns around the city that come to mind are: St Genevieve (very historic), Pacific, Dittmer, Defiance, Augusta and Hermann. Depending on where you get a job, expect a commute.

[stlcitygirl]

Breakdown of Missouri economy: per a seminar presented by Marty Romittie from Missouri Economic Research and Information Center. I assume Illinois and Kansas are not counted.
% of Missouri GDP:
St. Louis 46%
KC 22%
Others 32%

[kshe95girl]

Originally Posted by stlcitygirl

I lived in Springfield for five years. It's a really great city to raise a family. I loved the Ozark mountains and there are a lot of places to camp.There were a few towns I found charming, but very small :Ozark, Republic, Sparta are towns that come to mind. Springfield is a medium size city, so it will have your typical shopping.
For jobs you might want to look at St Louis, I read that a huge percentage of the Missouri Economy comes from the St Louis area. Smaller towns around the city that come to mind are: St Genevieve (very historic), Pacific, Dittmer, Defiance, Augusta and Hermann. Depending on where you get a job, expect a commute.

I am making the move to Sainte Genevieve this summer. (Its my hometown)
However, I am going to have to commute to STL for work.
There is a pretty high unemployment rate in SG right now.
But if you can stand the commute, its only about an hour to STL, depending on where you can find work.
Its a beautiful little town, with a beautiful state park in the county.

[onjicamnden]

Thank you for your input..it really helps. So far I have the impression that St Louis is better for employment and Springfield for the fun, outdoorsy stuff, is this correct? Do you think either city has a good balance of both? I did notice that there seem to be few lakes around St. Loius so therefor I am assuming that it wouldn't appeal much to the avid outdoors person.
I'm not to concerned with the shopping therefor "typical" sounds good enough for me, so long as there are a few decent stores, good resteraunts and maybe a little something going on around the holidays.

[stlcitygirl]

Both STL and Springfield have plenty of outdoor activities.

[ILoveMyMissouri]

Hey! This is a late reply, it seems--but, i currently live in Pacific, Missouri!
St. Louis sounds like the best bet--St. Louis is obviously quite historic (Lewis and Clark trail--you can't miss that when passing through!), has better employment possibilities and, has (i believe) the most fairs in the state. Plenty to do, you just need to look a bit! There's always the Pageant, art museum and, historic museum, though. Forest park is quite fun, as well.
As for those towns--i'm quite young (13), so, i sadly don't know much about the other small towns. Pacific has small events and quite a bit of the citizens partake in the events of other surrounding town's events ( [mod]link removed, linking to competitors sites is not allowed[/mod] ). Though, thinking of your children and their future, education in Pacific is not at it's highest. The Missouri Assessment Program (for grades 3 - 8) aren't very high--which may make it harder for them to get into better colleges (and, in this economy, people are fighting for college scholarships--you can check end of course exams and MAP scores here: [url=http://www.greatschools.org/test/landing.page?state=MO&tid=28]MO Missouri Assessment Program test scores - Missouri MAP test results - MO MAP test scores[/url] ). Though, Pacific high school currently has an A+ program which gives a free two years of college to certain Missouri colleges ( [url=http://www.ks.mvr3.k12.mo.us/PHS/departments/aplus/aplus.html]Pacific High School A+ Program[/url] ). If you have any kids in eight grade, then (if they were to get the Eagle's team at the school, i don't know about the other teachers) they will have some incredible teachers/rolemodels that they can really look up to (best by far--i just graduated from that ol' place! Kinda don't want to leave...). The school's website is here: [url=http://www.mvr3.k12.mo.us/education/district/district.php?sectionid=1]Meramec Valley R-3 SD - Home[/url] .
Of course--a problem with being in this area is that "everyone" is on some sort of drugs (or that Franklin County is the Meth capital of the world--which is controversial, though, Jackson county was given the title by Kansas City Star--Springfield, as well, by another newspaper). Either way, the outlook on drugs seems quite relaxed in the town due to many(?) of the people using them. Either people are very relaxed about it or get touchy and uptight about it--parents wanting to protect their children... Of course, all areas have high risks of using drugs (some people say cities are worst because of gangs, some people say towns are worse because teenagers are stupid and bored...). Of course, if you have good relationships with your kids and such, none of this is really too bad (i live here and don't have the best family living conditions but, i'm quite clean--unless taking perscription antibiotics counts as "drugs", aha).
Pacific also is called "the gateway to the ozarks"--it also has route 66 coming through it, as well ( Pacific, Missouri - Gateway to the Ozarks (http://www.legendsofamerica.com/MO-Pacific.html - broken link) ). It is only a 30-minute drive away from St. Louis and has Six Flags only an exit away--the Meramec caverns are also a small drive away! Most of the kids my age love hanging out at Six Flags over the summer, hunting, camping, driving down to Branson, Kansas City or, to St. Louis. There's also a conservation called the Pacific Palisades (in Jefferson county area of the conservation, you can hunt). The Union Pacific railroad runs through the town (formerly Missouri Pacific railraod), Burlington Northern railroad and, Fox creek run through the town, too. Also:
"The Old Downtown Commerce Area is mostly located along First and St. Louis streets. The Historic downtown buildings, built in the late 1800s, have been fully or partially restored and new businesses have moved into the buildings.

Red Cedar Inn, on the east end of town, was a meeting place for people around the country seeking out one of the oldest restaurants still standing on Route 66. The restaurant closed in 2007 and as of early 2008 is on the market."

Hmm--no clue if you were considering Pacific or if this has changed your opinion on anything but, i hope it has helped in any way.

[DeanMoore]

if your husband is a truck driver, Springfield is a hub for several large carriers. its close to all you say you want, and there are quite a few great smaller towns close by. Nixa, Ozark, Battlefield are all all great. I'm from Tennessee, and i love it out here in Highlandville (pop 850) but 10 minutes to nixa.