Moving to Missouri-have questions (Springfield, Joplin: house, to buy, inspection)

[movingtomo]

My Husband and I are retiring in Missouri soon. We like the Joplin area. Have a few questions that hopefully someone has the answers to. Are there many mosquitoes in Missouri? Any termite problem? What is the worst bug problem? We have heard that there are a lot of snakes. True? How is the soil in the Joplin area? Can you grow a good garden? Is it true that taxes are high on retirement income in Missouri? Appreciate any answers anyone can give. Thanks.

[lacyelet]

we do have an abundance of mosquitoes, termites on occasion, I dont know if its anymore common here than it is everywhere else though. I came across a whole family of snakes last month in my yard, but they usually are just around in the spring. hope that helps, I know that the soil in Springfield is not the greatest, however I guess it could be somewhat different in Joplin. good luck on coming to the Ozarks!

[nmnita]

We are about to give MO a try for retirement as well. Last week we did some looking in NW Ar and NE Ok. we too had heard about the snakes, supposedly both those states have a huge snake population; according to the realtors, if you live on the water you will have a few more, but both said they had hardly ever seen one. Heck we lived in Calif and had a rattle snake or two in our garage. As for mosquitoes, thank goodness they do not like me, but if you are worried, there are lots of sprays out that will keep them away.

BTW we are going to do some looking in Neosho, just a short drive from Joplin.

Nita

[firebll31]

We do have quite a few mosquitos in the Joplin area, but some cities such as Carthage spray for them. Also, it depends on if you live near lots of brackish water. A termite inspection is always a good idea, although they are not a tremendous concern. Other bug concerns are chiggers (invisible-found in high grass), itch mites(invisible-found everywhere) and ticks(small but easily seen and removed). All are easily repelled with OFF. We do have quite a few snakes in rural areas, usually black snakes which are beneficial or nonpoisonous water snakes. We have rattlesnakes, copperheads and water moccasins, but I do not know anyone personally who has been bitten by one of these as they prefer to flee rather than fight. Our soil is very rocky, so digging fences and deep holes is a royal pain. However, many people grow gardens and there are lots of Farmer's Markets around where you can buy local produce.Tomatoes, sweet corn, zuchinni, string beans, potatoes, squash, pumpkin, all kinds of veggies do very well. There are many places you can buy topsoil by the load if you want to supplement your garden.

[DocGSD]

I live in Joplin. My garden is about 15 ft by 25 ft. It is very rich soil, but I did add a pickup load of soil to it about a year ago. There are lots of rocks but it is fine for your basic garden and lawn. I truly love the Joplin area. I think if you moved here you would enjoy it. Hurry, home prices are jumping!

[da jammer]

Originally Posted by movingtomo

My Husband and I are retiring in Missouri soon. We like the Joplin area. Have a few questions that hopefully someone has the answers to. Are there many mosquitoes in Missouri? Any termite problem? What is the worst bug problem? We have heard that there are a lot of snakes. True? How is the soil in the Joplin area? Can you grow a good garden? Is it true that taxes are high on retirement income in Missouri? Appreciate any answers anyone can give. Thanks.

Boy do the skeeters love me! I have bites all over my legs and shoulders but I wear shorts and tank tops and am outside all the time so it's my fault. I have the OFF stuff but always forget to put it on. I have come across one copperhead on the property and a pencil thin bright green snake in my garage and I have no idea what kind it is. Anybody know what kind of snake this is??? I have heard the state is working on reducing/eliminating retirement income taxes???

"House expands proposed tax cuts for retirees

by The Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The House expanded a proposed tax cut designed to help retirees.
A bill pending in the House would exempt Social Security benefits and pension plans from state income taxes. It was projected to cost $130 million. House members expanded the bill on Wednesday to also exempt up to $6,000 annually in capital gains and retirement plan interest. That likely would add $100 million to the cost of the bill.
The House did not vote on the overall legislation. Debate likely will continue on Thursday.

House Speaker Rod Jetton is a supporter of the tax cut. He believes the cost will be partially offset by increased state revenues. Critics say the money should be used to turn back cuts made to state programs in recent years. I'm almost certain I heard this has passed but I'm not positive!

A few of my neighbors have built gardens up off the ground using railroad ties and bringing in sand (as a base for drainage) and soil for their gardens. They seem to be working out pretty well.

[firebll31]

Da Jammer, what you probably saw is a rough green snake. Check out this link and scroll down to the green snakes. They are beautiful and harmless.

Snakes of Missouri: Non-venomous Snakes (http://mdc.mo.gov/nathis/herpetol/snake/snake1.htm#nv20l - broken link)

[da jammer]

Originally Posted by firebll31

Da Jammer, what you probably saw is a rough green snake. Check out this link and scroll down to the green snakes. They are beautiful and harmless.

Snakes of Missouri: Non-venomous Snakes (http://mdc.mo.gov/nathis/herpetol/snake/snake1.htm#nv20l - broken link)

Thanks for the info! Yes it was a really neat looking snake, in fact I called my 14 y.o. daughter out to take a look at it. Now if my wife knew there was any kind of snake in the garage she would freak out.

[mrsgenealogy]

Well, you've gotten some great responses already so I don't have much to add. We live southeast of Springfield and we have a clay type of soil with rocks in it, too...so we don't think our soil is very good. We definitely had to add to it before planting. Someone already mentioned raised beds so I thought I'd mention that my husband has built one raised bed for a few vegetables this year and plans to do more as we go along...maybe even in the fall. I recommend this type of gardening. There is another type that we haven't tried yet but have recently heard of a book called Square Foot Gardening that is sweeping the nation. You might want to check it out, too! Here's a link to amazon.com's website where you can even read a sample from the book: Amazon.com: Square Foot Gardening: A New Way to Garden in Less Space with Less Work: Books: Mel Bartholomew

I just have to mention that we looked to buy in Carthage, Neosho and the countryside of Joplin and I think we would have been happy in any of them but for whatever reason, things didn't work out and we wound up here. We trust God to direct our lives and absolutely love where we are! We completely believe that we are in the best place for US but would recommend any of the other towns to anyone. Hope all goes well for you in your search!

[movingtomo]

Thanks for the replies. I really appreciate them. Keep them coming! I would like to hear more about the retirement tax situation. Is there a web site I could read about it?