movin to springfield area (Nixa, Ozark: rent, homes, neighborhoods)

[snellie]

My family and I are relocating to Springfield area and am trying to find out which satellite communities of Springfield ie: rogersville, nixa, ozark are accepting of outsiders-meaning those who weren't born there, families not born there, didn't grow up there. come from rural community in Kansas with population of approx. 2000 and want to find a new community where as not to culture shock my children ie: size of school district. Any tips or helpful advice much appreciated.

[Ciaerin]

all of those are good choices snellie. small enough to be little town... yet close enough to enjoy the big city life. my preference is rogersville or ozark.

[20yrsinBranson]

Originally Posted by snellie

My family and I are relocating to Springfield area and am trying to find out which satellite communities of Springfield ie: rogersville, nixa, ozark are accepting of outsiders-meaning those who weren't born there, families not born there, didn't grow up there. come from rural community in Kansas with population of approx. 2000 and want to find a new community where as not to culture shock my children ie: size of school district. Any tips or helpful advice much appreciated.

Willard has a very "small town" feel to it, yet is quite close to Springfield. In fact, it is very convenient to the I44 Interstate, the West By-Pass and the airport. There is a great mix of rural farms and the standard suburb type subdivision. I'd definitely check it out.

20yrsinBranson

[mrsgenealogy]

I like Cia's choices and will add that Nixa is another good choice and their schools are top notch. I'm not sure about the size of Rogersville schools but Ozark and Nixa are big enough to not have new kids stand out, if that tells you anything...and both school districts are good. I think Rogersville is, too. Nixa can be more pricey than the others but there are older homes and neighborhoods that may make that statement untrue. Are you planning to buy or rent and do you want city or country life? How soon are you moving?

Btw, one thing I learned here in MO is that when a city gives their population they only mean within the city limits...but they have A LOT of people living in the country and "feeding" into the school population. Just FYI.

I bet others could come up with other good locations. What website are you using to look at homes and locations? It helps if we know more about what you are looking for. Care to elaborate?

[lynnvandenberg]

Springfield and the surrounding towns are a GREAT place to move to. I'm a transplant and live in Strafford (NE of Springfield). I love it here. It's middle of the road Americanna with lots of nice people. I'm a Realtor and have found that what helps best is to come and visit the community during the school term and choose where you want to live by the school system. The school administrations are all great and will meet with you and will take you on a tour of the school. Then figure out where you will be working. I find it very amazing that in the bedroom communities, you find many people fiercely loyal to their school system. (Rogersville, Strafford, Fair Grove, Pleasant Hope, Willard, Republic, Nixa, Ozark and Sparta are all close to Springfield) Good Luck!

[mrsgenealogy]

Welcome to the forum, Lynn!

I just knew someone would come along with more great choices...and here you are!

I don't have kids in school so I can only go by what I read in the paper but I can't help but wonder how many families can pull their kids out of school while school is in session just so that they can visit schools out here, though. Maybe they should let their fingers do some walking...and read some newspapers online or ask Realtors for advice. Even if they did all of these, it's hard to know anything for certain...kwim?

I'm sorry...I hate to be negative but I think it's kind of like a pink elephant in the room that we can't ignore. The fact is that you can minimize risk...but you can't eliminate it. When all is said and done, "ya takes yer chances".

By the way, if anyone wants to know about newspapers around MO, here is a list: Missouri Newspapers news

Here's a link to the weekly Ozark area newspaper: Ozarks Newsstand - Christian Co Headliner News - Top Stories - CCH
You will notice at the top of the page that there are several other area newspapers listed (including Nixa's) and you can click the link to read them, as well. I subscribed to receive this in my Inbox each week...for FREE!