I looked up Ozark, MO (Springfield, Nixa: sales, crime, home builders)

[TornadoAlley]

Crime looks good. Houses are reasonable. How are the schools and jobs?

[Ozarks21]

Schools are very good and well supported by the community (which also means slightly higher taxes). Jobs are probably going to be in Springfield if you live in Ozark. It's less than 10 miles away.

Our area economy is thriving. Jobs should not be a problem for most people.

[TornadoAlley]

Originally Posted by Ozarks21

Schools are very good and well supported by the community (which also means slightly higher taxes). Jobs are probably going to be in Springfield if you live in Ozark. It's less than 10 miles away.

Our area economy is thriving. Jobs should not be a problem for most people.

Sounds good. Would you raise a family there? What are the taxes there?

Thanks for your help!

[Ozarks21]

I am raising a family here. I actually live in Battlefield (Springfield scools). And I'm considering a move to a more rural setting. I am considering Rogersville, Republic, Ozark, Nixa or Springfield schools. I would not rule out Billings, Clever, Pleasant Hope, Willard or Highlandville, but they are probably too far from Springfield for my city-girl wife and we both prefer the South side of Springfield for shopping and dining.

[TornadoAlley]

Are gangs a problem? What is the property tax there? Sales tax?

Again, thanks. Positive feedback was left!

[cat]

Just a word of caution if you buy a property in Christian County.
According to an article in the "Opinion news leader", dated Dec. 14, 2004, Christian County, like many other southwest Counties in Missouri does not require building permits. This may or may not be a problem for you. You may want to find that article and read it..Its very informative.

[TornadoAlley]

Originally Posted by cat

Just a word of caution if you buy a property in Christian County.
According to an article in the "Opinion news leader", dated Dec. 14, 2004, Christian County, like many other southwest Counties in Missouri does not require building permits. This may or may not be a problem for you. You may want to find that article and read it..Its very informative.

Is that the county for Ozark?

[cat]

Im not sure about the county where Ozark is, but according to the article, a lot of the Counties don't require building permits...Yu should be able to find the article on the internet, or call the County your interested in and get the information. Things may have changed since I received the article.

Here is the wording of one of the paragraphs from the article I mentioned in my previous post.

"Christian County, like many other counties in southwest Missouri, does not have building codes. In fact, among Ozarks counties, only Greene County has building codes for unincorporated areas. And not even in Greene County do building contractors have to pass a test to become legally authorized home builders. While this is not an ideal situation, it is not necessarily reason for panic."

[DeeMac]

I don't want to step on the toes of those living in Ozark, Nixa, and to some extent, Republic (which is a very nice town), but they are really being taken over by the city of Springfield - big, big sprawl! When you drive from Springfield to either Ozark or Nixa, you can no longer tell where Springfield ends and they begin.

I checked the census bureau's site and they have the population change for the past 16 years:
Ozark: 1990 - pop. 4,243; 2000 - pop. 9,665; 2005 (estimate) - pop. 15,265
Nixa: 1990 - pop. 4,707; 2000 - pop. 12,124; 2005 (est) - pop. 15,925

Some complain that the population of our town doesn't seem to grow (somewhere around 4500 - up from 3700 in 1990 Woo-Hoo!! ), but I'm glad we haven't grown at the rate of towns closer to Springfield and we're only 25 minutes away.

[TornadoAlley]

Originally Posted by cat

Im not sure about the county where Ozark is, but according to the article, a lot of the Counties don't require building permits...Yu should be able to find the article on the internet, or call the County your interested in and get the information. Things may have changed since I received the article.

Here is the wording of one of the paragraphs from the article I mentioned in my previous post.

"Christian County, like many other counties in southwest Missouri, does not have building codes. In fact, among Ozarks counties, only Greene County has building codes for unincorporated areas. And not even in Greene County do building contractors have to pass a test to become legally authorized home builders. While this is not an ideal situation, it is not necessarily reason for panic."

Wow. That's pretty bad. I know if I said that needs to be changed I would here from you guys "here we go". But this is something to look into