California to Springfield Questions (Kansas City, St. Louis: real estate, trip , corporate)

[Ozarks21]

It would be hard to say anything too negative about Ozark, except maybe the commute to Springfield isn't great during peak traffic. It has some growing pain issues. The area has seen such rapid growth that it's difficult for infrastructure to keep up. But I think these are only temporary problems.

As for livestock, there is a lot of countryside outside of Ozark. South and East are your best bets I think.

[G4inMO]

Hey Gripster.... I was surprised to see the thread up on the first page again. I like to hear that you enjoyed your visit! I hope you have seen enough to help make the choice to move here. I told your husband today that we can make the flight out there, then me, you and the girls can fly back and have the boys make the drive back. I hope there are enough people in CD that are from Ozark to help with getting more info.

[mrsgenealogy]

Originally Posted by gripster2

Empire 920 thanks for your imput. I am not in Springfield yet. My husband just got back from there after 3 1/2 weeks working there. We are in Orange County, Southern California still trying to sell our house. The subprime loan problem has unfortunately kept buyers from qualifying so therefore the buyers are few. We may rent our house instead of sell, not sure at this point. My husband really got a feel for Springfield from working there, he really likes Ozark and they seem to have very good schools. I am still worried about the weather, I love the warm sunny days here. It is amazing how many people here are leaving and how many people tell us they want to but don't have the guts to do it. There really is a mass exodus here, the question is can you sell your house to get out? That is VERY interesting about a California Connections group, I would be interested if anyone knows anything about that group. I will also miss the beach, in fact we have beachfront camping reservations in Carlsbad near San Diego next week for our kids springbreak. Taking the RV to the beach for what may be our last trip there, I will have to soak in all in. Thanks everyone for all your imput, I love this website it has given me alot of valuable information as we go forward with our plans. I look forward to alot more info to come. I am glad to hear so many ex-Californians like it there as I always thought I would end up in Prescott Arizona or Boise Idaho the 2 other places we were looking until this job opportunity literally fell in our lap. I just started research just a few short months ago. When you tell people you are moving to Missouri you sure get some strange comments and people think you are crazy although most of them no absolutely nothing about it or where it is for that matter. Well life goes on and we shall see when and if we get there...................

Hi, Gripster!

My dh and I left SoCal in March 2006 and knew that we were part of that mass exodus that is continuing still! At some time in the months preceding our move, I remember hearing a radio show say that history had recently been made when there were more people leaving than coming into CA! As a Californian, you know that is significant! And the funny thing is how many Californians have moved here, as you said. I meet transplanted Californians who "wized up" and moved to Missouri all the time! It's really amazing!

In 2004, we saw what was beginning to happen to the CA housing market and are grateful we sold when we did (it took us about 9 months to sell) because we wonder if we would still be there now. Both of us are native Californians and had tried to move out of the madness by moving up to Crestline, in the mountains, but it wasn't enough and we finally had all we could stand and eventually bought 2 1/2 acres outside of Sparta, southeast of Springfield.

We both hated the heat of CA so we really suffered in the humid days of summer here in MO last year. Then, we were here for last year's unusual winter and survived the ice storm, albeit with no real problems like others did.

We actually love the thunderstorms here and consider the risk of tornadoes to be low, even though we were kind of freaked out at all the warnings at first. We still take them seriously...just not AS seriously as before, knowing not to assume it is headed for us even though we're on a tornado watch or warning, whatever.

I must tell you that we got those funny looks, too, and heard the comment, "Why on earth would you want to move to 'Misery'?" until I thought I would scream.

I actually became sarcastic and reverted to my childhood, saying, "Hahahaaa! So funny I forgot to laugh!" and "Gee, I haven't heard that one before!"

Then, I figured out a better response. Leaning in close and lowering my voice, I would say, "Missouri is one of America's best kept secrets. It's beautiful and so affordable and we're excited to be moving there!" I'll tell ya, that stopped the negativity pretty well. I think some people actually got that glint in their eye of wishing they had the guts to do the same!

We've seen and heard of some of the problems in this area that have been discussed here in this forum and have weighed them with the problems of where we moved from... and we haven't regretted our decision or move once. We know that people are different but we, personally, haven't missed the big city or traffic once. Telephones and internet keep us in touch with our family out there, even allowing us to share pictures and videos almost instantly!

By the way, we looked into Prescott, AZ and even Idaho, too. We drove through about 20 states (some repeats) in 3 months last year and somehow found ourselves missing the beauty of Missouri. We love the trees and hills of the Ozarks! By the way, while driving around this lovely state looking for a place to move to, we took some photos which I uploaded to webshots.com. If anyone is interested in seeing them, here's the link:
Missouri Memories pictures from missouri photos on webshots

Hey, do you remember that childhood taunt, "Na na na naaa na!" Well, I find myself looking out at our beautiful valley and singing in that same tune, "Weee live in the countryyy!"

I think we all know there is no perfect place to live but we are all hoping to make that final move of our lives so it's wonderful to have this forum to come to have our questions answered. I wish I knew about it back when we were going through our search.

Actually, I don't know if you realize how "gutsy" many of you are. There are many brave people in this forum. We are definitely not "the norm". "Change" is like "the C word" to most people and "move" is definitely "the M word" so I'm impressed at how many people are brave enough to dream...and step out to realize those dreams. We have to put up with a whole lot of "naysayers" and it's hard not to give in to their (and our) fears and negativity.

Touche', everyone! I applaud you!

[psmyers74]

Hey, my friend that I had lunch with JUST told me that Springfield is getting a Trader Joe's! How about that? Anyway, we love Springfield. Moderator cut: advertising Farmer's market is wonderful, and there are orchards where you can pick your own berries and fruits, too. Silver Dollar City and White Water are just 45 minutes away, too, so that's nice. Schools are great - I should know, because I have 3 kids! Summers are hot and humid, winters have been fairly mild the last couple of years. Tornadoes are no big deal. It seems like they miss Springfield the majority of the time!

[gripster2]

Are you kidding they really are getting a Trader Joes? How reliable is her info? I am going to call the corporate office tomorrow and ask. The only bummer about Springfield was not having my Trader Joes to shop at. I have been shopping there for many years and buy all my groceries there, they have the best food and everything else. I went to Price Cutters and Harter House and the prices were double what I pay at Trader Joes. I will look at your house but my hubby wants to get a few mini- cows so I know it will limit where we can buy and we want to be in Ozark. Thank you so much for the info.

[allmuxedup]

Add me to the list!!! I'm also from SoCal, my mother was even born in Glendale, CA where I live. I bought a 50 acre farm just 2 miles from the Lebanon, MO city limits afew years ago & am trying ot get things set so I can move there! We have a TJ's (in Glendale) & I've been there several times & have always left empty handed. I really prefer to grow my own. I'll be back to the farm this summer, to buy cattle. I'll be raising Organic, grass finished beef, better'n anything TJ's has, I assure you. No grain of anytype means no worries about BSE (mad cow). They'll be under my control from the time they hit the ground to the time they go to the packing house. (I chose a packing house that specializes in wild game deer, to avoid BSE from other peoples cattle.) Doing it all so my grandchildren can have clean beef. When I'm full time on the farm, I'll also be raising chicken & goats to send to them.
What worries me most are the bugs! When I'm on the farm, I pull several ticks everytime I walk out of the house. When I first bought it, I couldn't figure out what this big mirror was in the garage. Then, I found myself using it to check for ticks & knew that's exactally why it was put there! I've got several skeeter vacs, but I can't get my tenant to set them up in time to really do a lot of good. I'll be spreading DE (organic tick killer) as soon as I get back there, but who knows if it'll do any good!

But, no matter what type of parasitic bugs are in Missouri... they can't be as bad as the leeches who've taken over California!!! Glendale has been hit very hard. There's a particular group that's taken over Glendale & has stated that they want to drive all the natives out so they can have it for themselves. That's OK, they'll end up giving me 3x what I paid for my house, 5 yrs ago. We're talking a 7 figure price tag. What will I do w/ the $$? Buy nearly 1,000 more acres in MO!!! It is unfortuante that many of the people who've taken over my home town are now moving to Kansas City. They're following me!!!!! I've tried to warn people in MO abou them & the people are so niave... they tell me they'll just shoot them, "if that try that stuff here!"

[psmyers74]

Yes! Let me know what you find out about Trader Joe's! My friend raves about the prices. I'd give anything to stop shopping at Wal-Mart, because they are horrible on the environment (don't even get me started). I'm not sure what your criteria is for a house, but Ozark and Nixa schools are great. Ozark has a HUGE new high school that was just built a couple of years ago. The area is booming with new homes - almost too many. If you are looking for pretty countryside, Ash Grove is absolutely gorgeous, and it has easy access to I-44 and Springfield. We've looked at some houses there, and I hear the schools are great, too, especially if you like smaller schools. South of Springfield is really getting over-ran with 'urban sprawl', and people are re-thinking their move in that direction and starting to head north. Just depends on if you want small town schools, low traffic for commute to work, etc. Happy hunting!

[lhermey]

Hello,

I LOVE Trader Joes and that was the one thing I was really going to miss when I move to Springfield. Please let us know if you hear anything more about this. If they do come to this area I'm going to be soooo happy. I buy most of my groceries there. There are 2 Trader Joes in my area and both are 2 miles away from me in opposite directions. They are both always very crowded. The food is great and so are the prices!

[Ittybitty24]

I looked up Trader Joes and it has a list of "coming soon" stores and Springfield is not on that list. Maybe it's just wishful thinking?

[gripster2]

Well I called the corporate office, they informed me it is only rumor but they would pass on my request for a Springfield store to the real estate department. I also called the St. Louis store who informed me Trader Joes has only been in Missouri for about the last 2 years for 3 out of the 4 stores and the 4th has been there 4 years, so they are new and growing. He had heard a rumor about a Springfield store and a Kansas City store but said it is 1-2 years before it will happen as they are still getting situated in Missouri. Anyway I just thought I would share that with you and keep posting a request on Trader Joes website, the more the better for all of us Trader Joes lovers.