California to Springfield Questions (Kansas City, Ozark: how much, homes, neighborhood)

[NOLA2SGF]

I lived in College Station, Texas from 1984-1996. Texas has a lot to offer, and the people I knew there were really "salt of the earth", sincere, hard-working people. Housing prices there are not much different from those in Springfield.

The property taxes there were really, really high!! But then, with no income taxes I guess they have to fund things somehow.

College Station is really nice, but we want to retire to Springfield.

[nostress13]

Adding a Trader Joe's is not going to alter Springfield negatively, but rather enhance it. Springfield already has just about every big box store that exists and a large mall (with just as many stores as we have in our California mall).It's not as though gripster was suggesting a "change"; just an addition to the already commercialized area. Remember, Springfield is the 3rd largest city in Missouri and businesses thrive there for just that reason. It hasn't been rural for quite some time.

[gripster2]

Where is the closest snow skiing to Springfield and how long of a drive is it?

[MoMark]

Originally Posted by nostress13

Adding a Trader Joe's is not going to alter Springfield negatively, but rather enhance it. Springfield already has just about every big box store that exists and a large mall (with just as many stores as we have in our California mall).It's not as though gripster was suggesting a "change"; just an addition to the already commercialized area. Remember, Springfield is the 3rd largest city in Missouri and businesses thrive there for just that reason. It hasn't been rural for quite some time.

I wasn't chastizing anyone wanting a Trader Joe's or the Gripster. I like that store too. If you consider Battlefield Mall the equivalent of a typical California mall, I would be truly surprised. As for big box stores, which do you mean? I'm curious now. From what you've stated, it doesn't sound like you know Springfield well yet.
We have as far as I know:
-Sam's Club
-Wal Mart- the one off of I-44 is a supercenter
-Kohl's
-K-Mart
-JC Penny
-Target
-Famous Barr
-Dillards
-Lowe's
-Home Depot
Springfield is the third largest city in Missouri, it's true, but it's also smaller than Modesto, California at 150,000 people, or Fresno, or Stockton, etc. Even your city of Palmdale is 141,000 according to the Palmdale Municipal Govt. sources. That's only 9,000 less than Springfield. Springfield is not a large city. California has over 36,000,000 people. Missouri has a 2005 estimate of 5,800,000 people. It's a question of scale.
Tulsa, Oklahoma for example is almost three times the size of Springfield at just under 400,000 people.
No one has said Springfield is rural. But the areas surrounding it most definitely are. Springfield has the advantage of being well linked to the rest of the state with I-44 which helps a lot.
And many people I know who live here travel to St. Louis on Saturdays to do their shopping at specialty stores. It's pretty common and not that big a deal. I don't go to St. Louis to shop.
I can find what I need here. I don't have expensive tastes and the local Dillons works for me. I don't shop at Price Cutter anymore because their produce is raggy, their stores aren't consistently restocked, and they have terrible check-out service.
Plus...they're more expensive than Dillons which has excellent produce, clean stores, and quick quick quick check out

[nostress13]

I toured the Battlefield mall last summer to get a feel for the area and it definitely had more to offer than our local mall. There are some extravagant malls in So Cal, but many are just mediocre attempts to bring convenience and tax dollars to suburban areas. The comparison I was making was to my area. We have most of those stores you mentioned and we also have a Trader Joe's (after many years of convincing). After noticing the selection of stores, we kept our eyes open for some of the ones we patronize on a regular basis. I hope that most of those looking to relocate would not want to change the area as it is wonderful the way it is. We know it will take some adapting and as we were researching the area, we were curious as to what familiar sites we may encounter as to ease this transition, i.e. TJ's. As much of an exciting experience it will be to make the move, there is a fear of the unknown. I would think anyone looking to relocate to SW Missouri from California is wanting a change of pace and would not want to bring the negatives with them, I know that speaks for us. Oh and you're right. I don't know Springfield very well yet. Just what I gathered on our several day trip last July and have read on this forum. I was pleasantly surprised and I'm eager to learn much more about the area.
So, Is Dillon's a chain? Are there other supermarkets out there? I only noticed the Price Cutter markets on our trip. Thanks for your input.

[toddm]

Another interesting tidbit you'll hear around election time once you live in Missouri is the huge amount of power the St. Louis area has on statewide politics and issues. Over 1 in 5 Missourians (about 1,365,000) live in the 574 square miles that makes up St Louis City and St Louis County.

Guess that leaves 69,135 square miles for the rest of us to hang out it

[toddm]

An interesting tidbit that you will hear around election time once you get to Missouri is the tremendous amount of clout that the St. Louis area carries in the political arena. 1 in 5 Missourians (about 1,360,000) live in the 574 square miles that make up St Louis City and St Louis County.

I guess that leaves 69,135 square miles for the rest of us to run around in

As for the California "migration", we have neighbors on both sides of us in our subdivision in Ozark that have made the move. Really good people and seem to be adjusting well. However, I'm sure that some of our respective views/habits/etc are sure to amuse and confuse the other. Lord knows, this Ozarks Hillbilly/American would be more than a bit culture shocked if I moved out there

[MoMark]

Originally Posted by nostress13

I toured the Battlefield mall last summer to get a feel for the area and it definitely had more to offer than our local mall. There are some extravagant malls in So Cal, but many are just mediocre attempts to bring convenience and tax dollars to suburban areas. The comparison I was making was to my area. We have most of those stores you mentioned and we also have a Trader Joe's (after many years of convincing). After noticing the selection of stores, we kept our eyes open for some of the ones we patronize on a regular basis. I hope that most of those looking to relocate would not want to change the area as it is wonderful the way it is. We know it will take some adapting and as we were researching the area, we were curious as to what familiar sites we may encounter as to ease this transition, i.e. TJ's. As much of an exciting experience it will be to make the move, there is a fear of the unknown. I would think anyone looking to relocate to SW Missouri from California is wanting a change of pace and would not want to bring the negatives with them, I know that speaks for us. Oh and you're right. I don't know Springfield very well yet. Just what I gathered on our several day trip last July and have read on this forum. I was pleasantly surprised and I'm eager to learn much more about the area.
So, Is Dillon's a chain? Are there other supermarkets out there? I only noticed the Price Cutter markets on our trip. Thanks for your input.

I hope you and your family find your dream. As for Dillons, I don't know how many there are, but after constant frustration at Price Cutter ( in various locations), I finally went to Dillons and got the discount card they offer. I really do save quite a bit of money there and I noticed prices are generally significantly lower than Price Cutter, besides their stock being better stocked and the stores cleaner with fresher produce.
I forgot to mention there is a Food 4 Less on Battlefield Rd. I've not gone there here, but I used to occasionally shop years ago at one in California.

[Ozarks21]

I like the Price Cutter near me - SW part of town. We don't have a Dillons nearby, but when I've shopped there in the past I found that the lack of a discount card made the prices much higher.

[Sorcerer68]

Originally Posted by gripster2

My family and I are considering a move from Southern California to Springfield Missouri. We have friends there that love it. My concerns are the following:
How difficult is it to adapt to the cold winters?
How about the humidity in the summer?
Was it a culture shock?
Fear of tornados?
We have kids in Boy Scouts and soccer. Are there ample opportunities for the kids to be involved in these activities?
I am currently a very involved parent and have found good schools in Strafford and Rogersville so looking in these areas.
How hard is it to fit in when you are the new kid on the block?
Thank you for any information you are able to give me.

I'm an L.A. native who also lived on the Central Coast. I lived in MO for exactly 9 months. One winter did me in. I couldn't do it. I packed my stuff and left at the end of February that year, headed straight for Florida where I thawed out. I found the Missouri summer unbearable. May and October are the only bearable months weather wise. I sweated continuously from June to September. If you live outside of town, ticks and chiggers will latch to you. Chiggers can live in your lawn, shrubs and woods and are tiny little creatures that latch onto you and burrow under your skin and cause terrible itching. Ticks will find their way into your armpits and genital areas, attaching with a cement like substance. I still have a scar from one in a private place. There are also lots of snakes.

Culture shock...like you wouldn't believe. You'll miss things you didn't realise you even liked. Most people hadn't ever heard of most of the things I liked. None of our relatives who visited from other states would come back.

It wasn't all bad. I found many people genuinely nice. The "redneck" undercurrent was a little scary. Missouri was the first place I ever heard someone use the "N" word and really mean it. Expect low levels of education, people who have never been anywhere or read anything and lots and lots of poverty. I was shocked at the lack of dental care and rampant bad personal hygene. Lots of adults spell Arkansas with a "w" on the end. Illiteracy is sadly common. I'm not saying all people are like this, there are educated, decent people as well. Meth is a terrible problem in Springfield. If you like lots and lots of white people, you'll be happy. I missed cultural diversity. Public school was surprisingly decent. There was a great sense of community. Antiques are dirt cheap. There are some beautiful old houses and a few cute storefronts. Fall is very pretty. Our neighbors were very nice and had a wonderful sense of community. Most of them had lived there all their lives and had never been further than northern Arkansas and northeastern Oklahoma. The Ozarks can be quite scenic and houses are cheap. Some of the small towns to the east are really cute with old fashioned town squares. West Plains has pretty houses. Houses in Southern Mo are cheap for a reason...

Yes, there are lots of tornados. I thought they were cool but know that Springfield is in Tornado Alley. Before you make your move, take a look at Kansas City. Summers aren't quite as hot and much less humid and it doesn't have the shortcomings I listed above with the exception of the bone chilling winters. It has great culture and is really beautiful and very liveable. I know many transplants who are happy there and consider it a hidden gem.

Good luck wherever you end up. I'm moving back to L.A. and never leaving again.