Springfield "Crunchy" Rating (Ozark, Fayette: homes, tech jobs, gardening)

[OkieDaddy]

Hey all! My wife and I are looking into the the Ozarks for our next chapter of life. I work in tech, and she's a stay at home mommy. We've been looking at both Northwest Arkansas and Springfield area, and I'm quite torn between the two. I really like Fayetteville, seems pretty progressive, crunchy, and all-around eclectic with a bit of hippy thrown in, but tech jobs are hard to come by unless you want to work for the monolith that is Walmart and their suppliers. Without getting into politics/ethics, I'm just not sure I'm ready to throw my hat into that ring.

Springfield, on the other hand, has a bunch of tech jobs. However I'm not too familiar with the area. What would you guys say the crunch factor is there? Think ability to find good locally grown produce, craft beer, decent food/coffee scene, outdoorsy type stuff. Also do they allow midwives in hospitals there? I will say, the land there is much cheaper than the NWA corridor, which would be nice for homesteading.


Cheers,
OkieDaddy.

[MOforthewin]

Fayetteville seems a bit more liberal than Springfield. You won't find a lot of hippies in Southwest Missouri.

[countryboy73]

Local produce is not hard. Craft beer is probably there, but not a big deal. Take that part with a grain of salt, because I dont drink beer. Prefer whiskey. Coffee scene is better. I dont drink it, but wy wife and two girls do. Outdoors is marvelous. That's what we have the most of. National and state forests, rivers, springs, caves, trails. And groups that do it all, hiking, trail riding, spelunking, floating, organized bike rides, etc. hunting and fishing are great, with good lakes north, south, and east of Springfield. Pomme de Terre, Stockton, Bull Shoals, Table Rock, Taneycomo, Norfork. Even Truman if you drive a couple hours up 65. Fellows Lake is just north of town. Bennett Springs has trout fishing. One of the better parts of the country for homesteading, too. Although raised beds work better for gardening in most places due to the soils or lack of same in some areas. Unsure about midwives in the hospitals here. Perhaps a local healthcare professional will chime in. There's a lot to like about the area. There's a lot to dislike too. Which one you find depends on which one you are looking for. Come visit, hang out in town, try out the woods and lakes, see what you think. You already know what the weather is like, its a little better than Oklahoma, but pretty much the same. Fewer tornados, less hail, temps pretty similar. Check it out for yourself. I like NWA too, but this area is better, I think, although I am not sure how"crunchy" I am, since I don't drink special beer or coffee and tend to value traditional more than eclectic. But there are all kinds all around Springfield, and you will have friends if you are friendly.

[Mosep]

LOL what is "crunch factor"?