Wright City & area - family looking at moving, desire horse mini-farm (St. Louis: ski resort) - Missouri (MO) - City-Data Forum

snobrdchic · 02-06-2009, 03:20 PM

my family is considering relocating to MO from CA. I'm actually looking at Wright City. It seems like there are some inexpensive horse friendly mini-ranches that way. Given the two lane highways and possibly the weather, is it unrealistic to commute to STL or Chesterfield? Does anyone know this area? I'm towing two girls 9 and 12 (bribing them with the hope of owning a horse and promising to build them a chicken coop as soon as humanly possible....oh...I'll have to heat it wont I? That just dawned on me...hey, I AM a city girl but I can be gritty :P ), is the area kid friendly?

Is $50k unrealistic with my husband working full time and myself working part time? My husband is a former VP of operations for a reprographics company. I have management, accounting, shipping / rec, and admin experience. Our household income has previously teetered close to six digits but jobs are all but impossible to get here. My husband has been out of work since October and has had ONE interview in that whole time, no one else is even calling back. I know things are bad everywhere but I rather scrimp and starve to pay 1500 a month for a house and property vs a two bedroom box on top of another box...and that's just rent. The box would cost me 450k should I wish to purchase it.

Silvermouse · 02-06-2009, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snobrdchic

my family is considering relocating to MO from CA. I'm actually looking at Wright City. It seems like there are some inexpensive horse friendly mini-ranches that way. Given the two lane highways and possibly the weather, is it unrealistic to commute to STL or Chesterfield? Does anyone know this area? I'm towing two girls 9 and 12 (bribing them with the hope of owning a horse and promising to build them a chicken coop as soon as humanly possible....oh...I'll have to heat it wont I? That just dawned on me...hey, I AM a city girl but I can be gritty :P ), is the area kid friendly?

Before you get too het up, you better head to the Springfield/Branson page of the Missouri forum and look up "What have I done?". The OP moved to Wright county and it might give you some things to think about.

ShadowCaver · 02-06-2009, 03:43 PM

Just so don't get confused, Wright County is near Springfield, Wright City is outside of St Louis... However, the main point Silvermouse may be making is that before ya jump into rural/country Green Acres life style, make sure yas are really knowing what yas are after.

With that said, IMHO the commute to Chesterfield and/or StL proper will depend on your preferences too... do you mind driving/sitting in traffic for how long? How long is too long? Morning and Evening? Regular travel can get you from WC to Chesterfield in ~45 minutes, more or less, depending on your style of driving and other situations. Have yas been to Wright City or the greater/general area? Let us know more about what you want, like/dislike, etc. will assist.

PS: Mod note - I am moving your post into its own thread, so can get attention it deserves...

snobrdchic · 02-06-2009, 05:28 PM

Thank you. I thought for a moment I had my Geography off. I did read the referenced thread though coincidently....if it's the one about the chiggers and ice storms.

We haven't visited yet. That's why we're trying to get as much info as possible so that we can plan a route of areas we'll need to visit, trying to get realistic opinions from people who live there. I must admit that the chiggers don't sound like much fun, but I can't imagine it being much worse than the itch after a brazilian starts growing back......oh the things we women endure in order to appeal to our partners :P

We're really up to anything at this point. We've both long been tired of the superficiality of CA and that "keeping up with the Jones's" mentality. Can you believe that almost EVERY child 11 or older has their own cell phone? Some much younger than that. I have long been against conformity: our household has not had TV for over 6 years and my children have never owned a Video Gaming consol...or whatever you call them. I make them stay busy by being active, playing with friends, reading, or creating something and would love to keep them busy maintaining outdoor animals. My oldest has been riding English for the past two years and Western since she was little (though not formally trained). We haven't been able to afford much in lessons....at $50 for a half hour lesson. But horses are a passion of both myself and my eldest. The younger one is big into gymnastics (wants to be a stunt woman when she grows up, haha) so knowing if there are any gymnasiums around would be great. Or acting troups as well.

I'm pretty comfortable living a country life. Although I was raised in Fountain Valley, my parents divorced and my father lived in Big Bear the rest of his life, so it was my second home. For those who don't know it, it's just a small town at the top of the San Bernadino Mountains that's mostly a local Ski Resort (but not the "fancy" kind). I have to admit, though, that the winter temps there range around 30 degrees F, so even MY idea of cold is still not comprehending YOUR kind of cold. How are most of the houses heated there? It must be very expensive to heat your houses, if you could give me an idea on that, it would help me estimate a budget. I have tons more questions but need to take off. Thanks!!

MoNative34 · 02-08-2009, 03:30 PM

That's an easy commute and it would be under 45 minutes.

Silvermouse · 02-09-2009, 08:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snobrdchic

Thank you. I thought for a moment I had my Geography off.

My bad! I'm sure you will find a lot more of what you're looking for in Wright City than Wright county!

aragx6 · 02-09-2009, 09:15 AM

I think that area might be a good one to consider as a "country newbie" since you'll still have relatively quick access to big St. Louis suburbs.

The only thing I worry about is that your hubby might find a job in St. Louis city itself, and then your commute would be nightmare-ish indeed.

I definitely don't think that you and he, when properly employed, would have a problem making in the 50K range. Maybe it would make the most sense to rent somewhere in the exurbs first, find good jobs, and then look to purchase some land. That would allow you to look in an area that would hopefully offer you a better commute if you or he end up working somewhere south or east for example.

Wright City may seem super far out, but sprawl is moving westward and there's been quite a lot of building out that way in recent years, so you may find it more suburban and less rural than you might have imagined. Just something to think about.

I love the St. Louis area, and I think you'll love the prices, just make sure you really spend some time out this way so you don't romanticize it too much. I suspect winters will be a jolt for you, though St. Louis doesn't get as many ice storms as they do down near Springfield (like in that other thread on Wright County you read) but we do get snow and plenty of cold weather.

Good luck and please let us know if you have any other questions!

Uncuffu · 05-22-2009, 11:49 AM

My wife and I are moving from Nevada to the Warrenton/Wright City area. We have heard Wright City isn't exactly the safest area to live in due to demographics? We would like some input on the area just south of Highway 70 off of exit 199 off Roelker (?) road? We have found a new tract over there Trotter's something and were wondering if it would be fairly crime free. Or is the new area off of Bell Rd north of exit 199 a better bet? Thank you