"Mayberry" near Springfield/SW MO? (Nixa, Ozark: wood floors, rental)

[Currently a cheesehead]

We are looking to relocated to Missouri in the near future. I am looking for that quaint small town with the redone downtown (old style) and friendly folks. You know the type with the old cafe, courthouse, antique shops, etc..The one you drive to on the weekends to shop in the small shops and get a cone. Doesn't need to have alot in it, but needs to be near a larger town (husband does construction/concrete work so needs to be near areas building up). We have been looking West, South, and East of Springfield mainly within 40 miles. Have you been to my "Mayberry" or live in it? Most of the chamber of commerce sites I look at don't give me enough pictures to know if what I am looking for is there. I can't drive to every small town out there so I thought I would ask those who live or visit there. We do require acreage for raising horses so the area can't be completely wooded and must be reasonable for price. Anyone? Am I dreaming?

[8 SNAKE]

How would you define "reasonably" priced? There are a lot of small towns around Springfield that would seem to meet your needs, but the cost of land will vary based on the proximity to Springfield.

Ozark has a nice downtown area that you would probably enjoy.

[redneck central]

Cheese, South of Springfield, and also the Branson area is where most of the construction seems to be. Living in that area would make the most sense. Prices will be a bit higher there as well, but should be cheaper than Doyles Nightmare! I talked to the guy I buy my eggs from, as he is an electrician. He is currently doing much of his work in the Branson area. He mentioned that most of the new home construction currently are the executive types. Small and medium home construction is very slow. Also the company he works for has 30% of the electricians laid off. Usually they get laid off in winter, but this year its starting early. Something to keep in mind when job hunting.
What part of Cheeseland are you from? Good luck with your escape!!

[Currently a cheesehead]

That depends on the home itself. I would say new construction runs around $80-$110 per sq around here. With best case scenario with us ending up with at least 20 acres for horses I assume we won't be on top of the little town I am looking for. I DO NOT want to end up in a subvision or "in town" to be near the town either. I have lived 15 minutes or more from any size town my whole life so we won't pay more to be 2 miles closer, near the school, etc.. We also just built 2 homes in the last 7 years so I prefer turn key/newer home. Will pay more for upgrades, but do have a top price and realize that it is a buyers market. Don't worry we aren't expecting anything for "free", but know that prices are dropping everywhere including on our own. So that being said I think you can just name the town and I will be able to find something near it from what I have seen. I just don't have the time to drive thru every "small town" in SW Missouri and hoped for some help. I have heard good things about Ozark, but worry with its growth and popularity that I will end up in too populated an area and feel like I am in Springfield. BTW we do have a realtor we are working with as well, but personal experience/input would be helpful.

[8 SNAKE]

Ozark and Nixa are practically extentions of Springfield now. Both have a bit more of a rural feel to them, but they're certainly not remote. The reason that I suggested Ozark is more for its downtown area. Most of the small towns around the area are not going to have much of a downtown shopping district. If rural life is more to your liking, you might check out Highlandville and Spokane. Both are located between Springfield and Branson with easy access to both cities.

[Lake Junkie]

...but there's nothing wrong with that!

If you haven't investigated Forsyth, you probably should.
It's a nice small town that is the county seat and is seeing quite a bit of growth. You'd be close enough to Branson and all that activity/business to make a good living...but the folks in Forsyth say it's more like a regular small town...a "Mayberry"...but with cell phones.

Forsyth Missouri Home Page

It's in the middle of lots of lakes & rivers and the "gateway" to the Ozarks Outdoors. (I'd be glad to send you a helpful little DVD if you like...)

BTW...the problem with what you are asking is this: Any small town that is close to a larger town will have had it's downtown commerce destroyed by the proximity to that above mentioned larger town.

Usually.
~sigh~
But I applaud you in your efforts...keep the faith, baby.

[greggoff]

HI,
I have often called our town mayberry.
we live in hartville missouri, actually our address is mansfield, but we are closer to hartville.
its a small town, we have a small school. my son graduated last year, and his class was 60 kids. he knows the police officer by name, and the kids call her by her first name.
the kids didnt put locks on there lockers because there was no need to.
hartville is the county seat of wright county. so we have a court house,library,feed store a couple of resturants, a few gas stations, a movie rental place, title company, 2 banks. grocery store, pharmacy, med clinic, a comunity center a ymca.its very small but we are about 30-40 min from mtn grove, marshfield, lebanon , where you have wallmarts and some larger stores, and springfield about 45 min away where you have everything you want.
in mansfield, where laura ingles lived , died, and wrote her books, there is a festival every year. actually every town has there own festival each year.
everyone knows everyone, and I guess that could be bad in some eyes, but everyone is also there for you in bad times.
as I posted in another forum, due to health reasons we are having to sell our house. below is what I posted in the other forum.
Hello,
I just found this site, and see that you are looking for deals.
Due to health reasons, we are getting ready to walk away from our house. we are seeing an attorney today, and have considered the auction route.
we have just ran adds in the papers.
we have 40 acres , a 2400 sq ft house 10 years old, outbuildings, centural air/heat, oak wood floors through out. 3 bed, 3 bath. two master suites, one with huge whirlpool, jetted tub (oversized) mobil home hook ups.
in dec, it was appraised for 229.000 the apraiser aparantely cant read the tape because he shorted the square footage of the house by aprox 400 ft.. so by his own standars ( per sq ft cost) that would make the house around 245,00
we have decided in an effort to save our credit. we would put 20,000 with what we owe on it, and sell the 20 acres for 169,900 .and the additional 20 acres could go for 35000
we have a neighbor interested in the other 20
it has marketable timber, a very nice place.
we are about 45 min from springfield, 25 min from marshfield.

[G4inMO]

Hello Cheesehead....
I moved here a little over 2 years ago. I too have horses. I did buy in a subdivision that allows horses. I have 10 acres with 2 horses, 2 dogs and 4 cats with access to more acreage for riding. I live in Strafford. It is a few miles from Hwy 65 / Hwy 44. It is a small town. Kinda like the description given by GregOff. I love that my town is small enough and close enough to what I need, yet enjoying the country view. We are only 10 miles to Marshfield which has Wallmart, Farm and Feed stores, restaurants etc. Strafford a few gas stations and banks, TA truck stop, McDonalds, Taco Bell, pizza and a local feed store. I am close enough to Springfield to get anything I need. I know your decision making is going to be hard in choosing. Check us out if you can and also Marshfield. Good luck in your journey.

[Cali BassMan]

G4
is there alot of places to ride in your area? or do you have to trailer for trail riding??

[G4inMO]

Originally Posted by Cali BassMan

G4
is there alot of places to ride in your area? or do you have to trailer for trail riding??

I am able to ride on other peoples property that I know and yes I do have to trailer to ride to most places. Not the case in everyone. Just where I live there is not trails everywhere for me to ride.

This weekend my friends and I are doing a charity trail ride in a place called Long Lane. I attended it last year. This year we are actually staying over on Friday and riding on Saturday. It is a great ride.