Moving to Birch Tree

[Darlynn0217]

Yep, the newlyweds might like a day, ya think?
I'm sure you can fill a day in Springfield! Lots to do!

[tat2willa]

Hiya-
The more I read about Springfeld the better it sounds. I can be out in the quiet & still get to play in the city too- I can't really find anything out much about Birch Tree- but I am sure it will work out- I have never lived anywhere East or West that I couldn't find a way to fit in. As for bugs- they mostly don't like me (I must not seem tasty) so hopefully I will put off my first chigger experience for a LONG time.
I will jump on the list as soon as I have a 'puter hook-up & see what the Coffee Klatch group is up to!

[panda62]

Thinking on putting an offer for a house in Birch Tree, leave the high life behind and try to ride out the depression as low key as possible. Tat2willa, how is life treating you down there? I would really welcome anyone's advise, so please do not be shy on chiming in. Thanks.

[OA 5599]

The big question, is where are you from now? Chances are if you are coming from even a smaller city, you'll get a nice dose of culture shock moving to Birch Tree.

Birch Tree is a pretty isolated and small town. The population has been hovering around 600 people for awhile now. I'm not even sure that it has a real grocery store...although Mountain View and Winona both have them (about 10 miles away in either direction). The people are nice, but like many towns like that in the Ozarks, most people they are multi-generational and there aren't too many outsiders.

If you want to ride out the recession (not quite a depression...lets hope it doesn't come to that!) in a low-key manner, Birch Tree is a good place to do it. It is "off the radar" for sure, although US 60 either is just now 4-lanes through the north end of town or will be soon. Shannon County has the best scenery in Missouri, if not all of the Midwest, in my opinion, along with amazingly crystal-clear springs and float streams. Probably half the county is protected land which you can hike, fish, hunt, and canoe. Shannon County is also the poorest county in Missouri and one of the 100 poorest counties in the whole United States.

But, a lot of the residents really do live off the land to some degree, even to this day. Everyone hunts (some of the local school districts give students time off for firearms deer season), lots of people have gardens, and just north of Birch Tree, across the Jack's Fork River is Greenwood Forest, a community where many people have been living off the grid for years.

My biggest recommendation is to visit Birch Tree before you make an offer on a house (althoguh I'm sure hosing is dirt-cheap). It is quite different from the rest of the "modern" world, and while that is not a bad thing, it is something you need to see and experience for yourself before making a commitment.

[graytabbie]

You might want to check out West Plains for church...they have a Unitarian Universalist church. It would be closer than Springfield.

[Silvermouse]

Originally Posted by OA 5599

The big question, is where are you from now? Chances are if you are coming from even a smaller city, you'll get a nice dose of culture shock moving to Birch Tree.

Birch Tree is a pretty isolated and small town. The population has been hovering around 600 people for awhile now. I'm not even sure that it has a real grocery store...although Mountain View and Winona both have them (about 10 miles away in either direction). The people are nice, but like many towns like that in the Ozarks, most people they are multi-generational and there aren't too many outsiders.

If you want to ride out the recession (not quite a depression...lets hope it doesn't come to that!) in a low-key manner, Birch Tree is a good place to do it. It is "off the radar" for sure, although US 60 either is just now 4-lanes through the north end of town or will be soon. Shannon County has the best scenery in Missouri, if not all of the Midwest, in my opinion, along with amazingly crystal-clear springs and float streams. Probably half the county is protected land which you can hike, fish, hunt, and canoe. Shannon County is also the poorest county in Missouri and one of the 100 poorest counties in the whole United States.

But, a lot of the residents really do live off the land to some degree, even to this day. Everyone hunts (some of the local school districts give students time off for firearms deer season), lots of people have gardens, and just north of Birch Tree, across the Jack's Fork River is Greenwood Forest, a community where many people have been living off the grid for years.

My biggest recommendation is to visit Birch Tree before you make an offer on a house (althoguh I'm sure hosing is dirt-cheap). It is quite different from the rest of the "modern" world, and while that is not a bad thing, it is something you need to see and experience for yourself before making a commitment.

Good post OA.