Should I move to Branson? (St. Louis, Springfield: apartment, to rent, house)

[LovableGoober]

I've been tentatively offered a position to manage a new store that will be opening in Branson in September.

I have until the first part of May to give my boss an answer. I have visited Branson on a few occasions, just doing the tourist stuff. But I know nothing about Branson as far as housing, schools, climate, etc.

As far as housing I would like to rent a 3 bedroom house at first. If that is not an option we could do an apartment for a bit. But we really need to rent for the first year or so while everything else settles down. Also, we are owned by a cat and a sugar glider so we would need a place where pets are allowed.

Schooling, we have a 10 year old boy who will be going into the fifth grade next year. How many elementary schools are there in Branson and are any of them better than the others?

I assume the climate will be just a bit cooler than it is here in OKC but I don't know that for sure.

Also, my wife may be looking for a job in Branson. Most of her skills are related to customer service in some capacity. How is the job market in Branson?

I'm sorry if these questions have been asked and answered before but I couldn't find any answers to these specific questions.

Thank you very much for any help you can give us...........

[melissajo]

The job market is great-from April until December. After that the "off season" hits and many businesses shut down or cut way back. Branson's schools are good. There are other smaller towns that neighbor the city (like Hollister) that may have alright schools. I am a teacher and have attended a few events held at Hollister's elementary and I always thought it was really nice. A little farther North are Ozark/Nixa which have great schools and lots of housing options. However, it is about a 30 minute drive to Branson.

I love Branson. I don't know why. Everyone talks poorly about it being "honky tonk" or "redneck". I am absolutely neither of those things, yet I still always manage to have a great time. If I was you, I would be excited to move there, but I am biased

[Darlynn0217]

Branson isn't quite as seasonal as it used to be! A lot of the shows are open until New Years, and I noticed that many of the businesses that used to close, were open all winter last year.
I hear the schools are excellent! The job market, while not the highest paying, remains strong!
Branson is an excellent place to relocate. Just get used to finding a back way, off the strip, to get around town. Or, prepare for a "scenic" trip down Hwy 76!
Good Luck in your relocation!!

[blu banks]

Originally Posted by Darlynn0217

Branson isn't quite as seasonal as it used to be! A lot of the shows are open until New Years, and I noticed that many of the businesses that used to close, were open all winter last year.
I hear the schools are excellent! The job market, while not the highest paying, remains strong!
Branson is an excellent place to relocate. Just get used to finding a back way, off the strip, to get around town. Or, prepare for a "scenic" trip down Hwy 76!
Good Luck in your relocation!!

I like to read your posts and really enjoy your humor ..Thanks for the smile Blu

[Lake Junkie]

Originally Posted by LovableGoober

I've been tentatively offered a position to manage a new store that will be opening in Branson in September.

I have until the first part of May to give my boss an answer. I have visited Branson on a few occasions, just doing the tourist stuff. But I know nothing about Branson as far as housing, schools, climate, etc.

As far as housing I would like to rent a 3 bedroom house at first. If that is not an option we could do an apartment for a bit. But we really need to rent for the first year or so while everything else settles down. Also, we are owned by a cat and a sugar glider so we would need a place where pets are allowed.

Schooling, we have a 10 year old boy who will be going into the fifth grade next year. How many elementary schools are there in Branson and are any of them better than the others?

I assume the climate will be just a bit cooler than it is here in OKC but I don't know that for sure.

Also, my wife may be looking for a job in Branson. Most of her skills are related to customer service in some capacity. How is the job market in Branson?

I'm sorry if these questions have been asked and answered before but I couldn't find any answers to these specific questions.

Thank you very much for any help you can give us...........

You're in the right place to find out about climate...city data has lots of good info! Although...I think the past year has been more extreme than usual. Starting last summer with our string of over 100 degree days (ok it was only like 6 days but still...) and then last winter's ice storms and now the February & March rain storms filling up all the reservoirs and causing so much flooding... The climate is certainly not the reason to move here!

The cost of living and the friendliness of the people and the relaxed "vacation" lifestyle is what I like about living in Branson. The lakes, too, of course.

We have excellent schools. Not only Branson, but Reeds Spring & Hollister. I always recommend people visit the schools and ask for a tour. The administration is usually happy to oblige if you make an appointment, and then they can "sell" you on their strong points!

There are jobs. More seasonal than many areas, but it really depends on the person and on the timing. Right now the season is just getting started, the job fairs take place in January & February. It's a great place to start your own business, if you are service-oriented.

Have you visited here?

[dgt103]

I cut and pasted this that I posted to another person relocating to Branson:

I lived in Springfield for 12 years and Branson for 8. I would recommend Branson hands down. We also raised our kids there, one graduated with full honors and scholarships, the other did well with less scholarships. The HS is new and the elementary school is fairly new, and I would rank them as very good academically (remember that Branson has a lot of money, and that the stars' kids attend these schools). The area is nice, the people are generally friendly-except the 'stars'. The performers tend to be mostly standoffish to snooty...this includes the 'backup' performers as well. Stay away from living in Forsyth, Rockaway Beach, and most of Hollister-Branson proper would be best.

Ozark and Nixa are nice communities between Springfield and Branson. Living there means a 30+ minute commute, but they are more affluent than most of Springfield. If you choose Springfield-the west and north sides are poorer and more troublesome, then the east side, forget north central and central, south central is ok, south would be best.

Don't be put off by the negatives I've stated, the positives greatly outweigh the negs. I did not have any troubles that I didn't create for myself. In fact, if I had to 'do it all over again', I'd raise my kids in Branson.

Hope this helps.

[Junk Bond]

What kind of a store is it that you will be managing? Will it shut down post season? IF not are you a salary or hourly manager? Take these things into consideration. AS I recall rents in Branson Proper are pretty steep and you need to make sure you can weather the downtime. Sure the season starts in Spring but there is some buildup until that point where it hits the busy season at the end of May. That lasts until the July lull and then you slowly build up to Christmas. After Christmas it's dumpsville and hourly mangers usually have their workload halved which of course is reflected in the paycheck. Do your homework. Branson is a cool place to live if you can play the game right but it talkes planning to make sure you don't end up begging in the down months.

[mrschilicook]

The Branson area is a wonderful place to live. We' moved to the area last year after visiting each year for 25+ years. We've heard nothing but good about the schools, although I can't speak first hand on that one.

Climate isn't that much different than OKC. Lower tornado risk (see city data stats). We have friends that live outside OKC and they seem to be talking the same weather and this past year they were definitely colder than we were here in the Branson area. The also seem to have more mosquitoes (they are outside the city).

Branson, and Springfield, are much smaller than OK City so you'll find less 'stuff" if that's your thing. But for a city fix KC, St. Louis, and Little Rock are all within about 3.5 hours. We do St. Louis 2-3 times a year and it's an easy trip for a day or a weekend.

If your opening a store I'm assuming you won't be particularly impacted by the seasonal thing directly. The type of business will depend on the market impact. Several of the women in the town I live in like working in Branson 'cause it lets them work seasonally and be home in the winter. Totally depends on what type of work your other half is looking for as far as seasonal, part-time, full-time. But like LJ said, there are opportunities here for entrapenuers.

[d_weava]

Originally Posted by dgt103

Ozark and Nixa are..... but they are more affluent than most of Springfield.

Not true. ozark or nixa are both filled with rednecks and people who cant afford to live closer to springfield.

[Junk Bond]

Originally Posted by d_weava

Not true. ozark or nixa are both filled with rednecks and people who cant afford to live closer to springfield.

I'll agree that Nixa and Ozark have their fair share of rednecks but as I recall so do most places in SW Missouri. Springfield's NE side is pretty trashy as I recall. I think what is being referred to are the Doctors and wealthy business owners who purchased land out in the rural areas and built. Nixa and Ozark have lots of those people as I did field work all over when I was back in college. Those types are technically Springfielders who just drive home and sleep in the outlying communities.
Every city is going to have it's marginalised pops. I remeber in Branson at about every restaurant I worked at the kitchen staff were mostly meth and pot heads who lived on subsidised rent and spent the rest of thier money getting high. And thats a large percentage of the town's population that actually live there year round.