looking for a nice town (St. Louis, Springfield: real estate, house, good schools)

[sick of CA]

we have lived in northern ca almost our entire life and we are sick of the cost of living(today #2 diesel $3.59) that is killing us and would like to find a town with about 20 to 30 thousand people with good schools and hospitals.
We would like to live on the outskirts on a little farm 5+ acres room to ride our dirt bikes with out the enviromentalist giving us hell and some where to ride our atvs and go hunting and fishing with out people telling us what bad people we are.
Homes here are crazy we live in a 3 bed 2 bath on a 50x100' lot and it cost$350,000 and it is nothing more than a spec house.
we were looking for a home with 5 acres in the out skirts around here and it would be $650,00.
we have one son,14 so we do need a good school.

thanks
chuck

[Springfield1]

Does your son plan on playing sports in high schoo?

[Zoltani]

Originally Posted by sick of CA

we have lived in northern ca almost our entire life and we are sick of the cost of living(today #2 diesel $3.59) that is killing us and would like to find a town with about 20 to 30 thousand people with good schools and hospitals.
We would like to live on the outskirts on a little farm 5+ acres room to ride our dirt bikes with out the enviromentalist giving us hell and some where to ride our atvs and go hunting and fishing with out people telling us what bad people we are.
Homes here are crazy we live in a 3 bed 2 bath on a 50x100' lot and it cost$350,000 and it is nothing more than a spec house.
we were looking for a home with 5 acres in the out skirts around here and it would be $650,00.
we have one son,14 so we do need a good school.

thanks
chuck

Northern, California - Look at the area around Ozark, Nixa or Forsythe. All nice with excellent school system A+ rated in Christian County (Ozark.) We just bought in the city of Saddlebrooke, MO; which is located just off Highway 65 between Branson and Ozark. Currently living in Southern California and will be building in Saddlebrook within the next 12-18 months. Absolutely gorgeous and you don't have to press #1 on your telephone keypad for English. SW Missouri is what Californa was like 20-25 years ago.
You'll love it ... and congratulations on your positive decision to expatriate yourselves from the golden state.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by sick of CA

we have lived in northern ca almost our entire life and we are sick of the cost of living(today #2 diesel $3.59) that is killing us and would like to find a town with about 20 to 30 thousand people with good schools and hospitals.
We would like to live on the outskirts on a little farm 5+ acres room to ride our dirt bikes with out the enviromentalist giving us hell and some where to ride our atvs and go hunting and fishing with out people telling us what bad people we are.
Homes here are crazy we live in a 3 bed 2 bath on a 50x100' lot and it cost$350,000 and it is nothing more than a spec house.
we were looking for a home with 5 acres in the out skirts around here and it would be $650,00.
we have one son,14 so we do need a good school.

thanks
chuck

Many states have ATV TRAIL systems for those that ride. I think Missouri is behind the times in this regard because they tend to not have trails in place in many areas. The good thing about trails is that it keeps most people away from the environmentally sensitive areas like National Forests and other such areas.
As for towns I would look at any in Christian County. Nixa and Ozark are basically suburbs of Springfield and are the high growth areas. However, housing development there tends to be fairly low density. I do not think it would be too hard to find a house on a few acres

[mrschilicook]

There are lots of nice towns around here and further NE up around Lake of the Ozarks and SW of St. Louis. Depends on how close you want to be to a major city for shopping, work reasons.

The nice thing about this area, is you don't actually have to live IN any town. There are lots of small communities or individual ranchettes (A Cal. term...but it works for this discussion) around the area. Highlandville, Sparta, Forsyth, Hollister, and more depending on how far out you want to go. The closer to the lake, the higher the price, the more land the higher the price until you get out further....but you don't have to go far like in Cal. where you have to go out to the sticks and then commute 2 hours into the bay area (we're from Pleasanton and have been here for 6 months) for work.

And for your price range you'll have a choice of homes and/or price ranges
depending on the "where". Our home is a 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, 3 car garage (about 26K-27K sq. ft.) on an acre and was under $400K. Saddlebrooke is a bit pricey area compared to some of the other areas but it's a beautiful development with a few ammenties (pool, tennis, parks). The more land, the higher the price of course. They do allow ATV's but don't have many official trails. It could be something the Lorances might consider if there were enough interest.

Good luck...check out Lake Junkie for real estate info. She's one of the local realtors on city-data that tries to help the newbies.

[Lake Junkie]

Originally Posted by sick of CA

we have lived in northern ca almost our entire life and we are sick of the cost of living(today #2 diesel $3.59) that is killing us and would like to find a town with about 20 to 30 thousand people with good schools and hospitals.
We would like to live on the outskirts on a little farm 5+ acres room to ride our dirt bikes with out the enviromentalist giving us hell and some where to ride our atvs and go hunting and fishing with out people telling us what bad people we are.
Homes here are crazy we live in a 3 bed 2 bath on a 50x100' lot and it cost$350,000 and it is nothing more than a spec house.
we were looking for a home with 5 acres in the out skirts around here and it would be $650,00.
we have one son,14 so we do need a good school.

thanks
chuck

Something told me to check in just now...just thought I'd say hello. My heart goes out to you...I remember what it felt like to be choking from the crime, the pollution & the rest. I'd be happy to talk anytime. Love helping my CA peeps.
You might love living down here in Taney or Stone County...we have a lot of infrastructure and amenities for such a small town area because of all the tourism.
It doesn't take long to drive to the sticks. And beyond...

[mrschilicook]

Oh yea...except for Springfield (150K+ population), most of the towns around here are under 10,000. If you want something a little bigger I would suggest searching around on City-Data or the Atlas. Perhaps somewhere like Joplin which is a bit bigger most but much smaller than Springfield. Other towns like Columbia, Jeff City, may be more in line with the population numbers you mentioned.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by mrschilicook

They do allow ATV's but don't have many official trails. It could be something the Lorances might consider if there were enough interest.

Missouri really does need to develop a better trail system so that the wilderness and national forests areas can be better preserved. Missouri also needs better monitoring in National Forest areas because ATVs can easily damage steeply wooded areas. Some people just do not have any respect for the environment I do not know what you mean by Lorances However, a trail system may be a good idea considering the increasing population density in those areas.

[kdnxdr]

Hello Chuck,

My daughter and her husband have their house for sell. It's on the edge of Ozark/Sparta and is convenient to EVERYTHING even though it is in an area that is still "small-town, rural". It's only 2 years old, 8 acres, and in the Ozark school system. I think you would find it to be all that you are looking for in a home and in a community. They are motivated sellers and the house is in excellent condition. You can have animals on the property and ride your ATV's. There's trees and a wonderful view off the back deck.

Elaine Parny

[mrschilicook]

Plains: The "Lorances" are the developers for Saddlebrooke. They are trying to keep this area environmentally friendly while still accomodating things like ATV activities. For those folks who indicated that they were looking here, a discussion with the developers could result in more ATV trails. I totally agree with you. The more designated areas we have for ATV's, bikes, etc..the more we can preserve our forests and wilderness areas.