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Hello again, I'm probably going to be asking you good folks a lot of questions. You might have read on the other thread (We're going to Missouri) that we are considering Missouri as a place to retire. We are about 10 years away from that, but want to start researching now. We are planning a trip for late April or early May to come out and have a look around. We have been to the St. Louis area, Kansas City area and Columbia area previously. We are hoping that you might be able to point us toward some counties and/or towns that we should take a look at.
Since this is a retirement situation, work is not an issue. We are from a small town (2,500) and are looking for something that resembles that as that is what we are used to. However, we want to be within 1-2 hours of an international airport for travel and hope to find somewhere that we don't have to travel more than a half hour for shopping etc. Which is pretty much what we are used to doing now.
My husband is an avid hunter and we are not sure whether we want to buy 15+ acres and build on it, find an existing home with that much acreage or purchase a home with a small property and then purchase a separate hunting parcel somewhere else. He is concerned after reading about CWD issues in the state. He saw a map online showing which counties seem to be affected the most by this. Unfortunately, that knocked quite a few areas off of my short list.
Right now, these are the counties on our list for this particular trip. We plan on doing more than one. Pike, Lincoln, Montgomery, Cass, Johnson, Lafayette, Maries, Pulaski and Phelps. May I have your thoughts on these? Anything we should cross off, anything we should add? Are there specific towns within these counties that you would recommend, or that we should stay away from? Do I sound like a raving lunatic? I'm an OCD, Type A, accountant and all I do is research so much that my head hurts.
Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide.
Missouri is lovely and visiting and vacationing here over the next several years prior to retiring will surely be enjoyable!
I've visited several places on your list and all would potentially be appropriate for you. My only caveat is that Cass county seems to have been growing steadily over the past several years and in my opinion doesn't really have a small town feel for the most part. Just my opinion though.
I totally get that you want to be near an airport - I would suggest if you haven't already ruled it out, to perhaps consider the Springfield area. I'm also an NJ native that relocated to MO and I started out in the KC area but eventually found the Springfield area more to my liking. Many of the towns surrounding KC are nice but have that blah-suburban feel that was a little too familiar to me. Southwest Missouri to me is more friendly and has that small town feel. The airport in Springfield is great, it takes 15 minutes or less to get through security and parking is a breeze. The downside is that they do not have any direct flights to NJ/NY. If you are open to looking at southwest Missouri, I might suggest Greene, Polk, and Cedar counties.
Good luck!
Hello again, I'm probably going to be asking you good folks a lot of questions. You might have read on the other thread (We're going to Missouri) that we are considering Missouri as a place to retire. We are about 10 years away from that, but want to start researching now. We are planning a trip for late April or early May to come out and have a look around. We have been to the St. Louis area, Kansas City area and Columbia area previously. We are hoping that you might be able to point us toward some counties and/or towns that we should take a look at.
Since this is a retirement situation, work is not an issue. We are from a small town (2,500) and are looking for something that resembles that as that is what we are used to. However, we want to be within 1-2 hours of an international airport for travel and hope to find somewhere that we don't have to travel more than a half hour for shopping etc. Which is pretty much what we are used to doing now.
My husband is an avid hunter and we are not sure whether we want to buy 15+ acres and build on it, find an existing home with that much acreage or purchase a home with a small property and then purchase a separate hunting parcel somewhere else. He is concerned after reading about CWD issues in the state. He saw a map online showing which counties seem to be affected the most by this. Unfortunately, that knocked quite a few areas off of my short list.
Right now, these are the counties on our list for this particular trip. We plan on doing more than one. Pike, Lincoln, Montgomery, Cass, Johnson, Lafayette, Maries, Pulaski and Phelps. May I have your thoughts on these? Anything we should cross off, anything we should add? Are there specific towns within these counties that you would recommend, or that we should stay away from? Do I sound like a raving lunatic? I'm an OCD, Type A, accountant and all I do is research so much that my head hurts.
Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide.
As a St. Louisan, I would say Pike, Lincoln and Montgomery counties might fit the parameters you set out very well. You'd be close to 70 for a straight shot to Lambert Airport and relatively close to hospitals, shopping and other amenities the greater St. Louis area offers when needed or wanted.
I know from what I hear those areas are great for hunting and are mostly very rural but near the metro area but not necessarily part of it. As someone considering leaving the suburbs of the STL metro I've been eyeing up Pike and Lincoln counties myself. Not sure I'll ever pull the trigger, but they are on my radar and I've been in those areas and really appreciate them.
Missouri is lovely and visiting and vacationing here over the next several years prior to retiring will surely be enjoyable!
I've visited several places on your list and all would potentially be appropriate for you. My only caveat is that Cass county seems to have been growing steadily over the past several years and in my opinion doesn't really have a small town feel for the most part. Just my opinion though.
I totally get that you want to be near an airport - I would suggest if you haven't already ruled it out, to perhaps consider the Springfield area. I'm also an NJ native that relocated to MO and I started out in the KC area but eventually found the Springfield area more to my liking. Many of the towns surrounding KC are nice but have that blah-suburban feel that was a little too familiar to me. Southwest Missouri to me is more friendly and has that small town feel. The airport in Springfield is great, it takes 15 minutes or less to get through security and parking is a breeze. The downside is that they do not have any direct flights to NJ/NY. If you are open to looking at southwest Missouri, I might suggest Greene, Polk, and Cedar counties.
Good luck!
I did look into this area. The airport in Springfield, as you mentioned, is limited for direct flights and that would be a problem for us. We fly internationally almost every year and I'm sure we would also look to return to NJ from time to time. Also, Polk and Cedar Counties are CDW management areas regarding the deer population. You have me reconsidering looking at Cass, Lafayette and Johnson now if your opinion is that they are basically suburban sprawl areas.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MUTGR
As a St. Louisan, I would say Pike, Lincoln and Montgomery counties might fit the parameters you set out very well. You'd be close to 70 for a straight shot to Lambert Airport and relatively close to hospitals, shopping and other amenities the greater St. Louis area offers when needed or wanted.
I know from what I hear those areas are great for hunting and are mostly very rural but near the metro area but not necessarily part of it. As someone considering leaving the suburbs of the STL metro I've been eyeing up Pike and Lincoln counties myself. Not sure I'll ever pull the trigger, but they are on my radar and I've been in those areas and really appreciate them.
Thank you for this information. We will definitely keep these three on the list then.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Okey Dokie
I have to cast a vote for the Springfield area, too. Have you looked at all in northwest or north central Missouri? Excellent hunting up there.
We have, but the majority of the north central counties are CDW management areas and the north west counties seem like they are even a little too rural for us.
The map in this link shows the counties that are highly affected by CDW. As you will see, it's a good portion of the counties that seem to fit the bill of what we are looking for. I was interested in the Ste. Genevieve or even the Cape Girardeau area, but this information wrecked that idea.
I did look into this area. The airport in Springfield, as you mentioned, is limited for direct flights and that would be a problem for us. We fly internationally almost every year and I'm sure we would also look to return to NJ from time to time. Also, Polk and Cedar Counties are CDW management areas regarding the deer population. You have me reconsidering looking at Cass, Lafayette and Johnson now if your opinion is that they are basically suburban sprawl areas.
Thank you for this information. We will definitely keep these three on the list then.
We have, but the majority of the north central counties are CDW management areas and the north west counties seem like they are even a little too rural for us.
The map in this link shows the counties that are highly affected by CDW. As you will see, it's a good portion of the counties that seem to fit the bill of what we are looking for. I was interested in the Ste. Genevieve or even the Cape Girardeau area, but this information wrecked that idea.
If you are 10 years away from moving, I'd say it's safe to say that the CWD maps will not look the same as they do today. I don't know if they will be better or worse, but I wouldn't restrict your search based on how that map looks today. Also, the way that Missouri has handled CWD is that any county that borders a county where it was found is included in the management zone.
You have me reconsidering looking at Cass, Lafayette and Johnson now if your opinion is that they are basically suburban sprawl areas.
The person who wrote that Johnson County is a "suburban sprawl area" is probably confusing Johnson County, Kansas, with Johnson County, Missouri. There's a HUGE difference. The Kansas county is a poster child for overbuilt suburban sprawl. But the Missouri county with the same name is very rural and is more than 60 miles from Kansas City. The county seat of Johnson County, Missouri, is Warrensburg.
Lafayette County is very rural too. I wasn't aware that they had any suburban sprawl in Lafayette County. Where are they hiding it?
The northwestern half of Cass County, especially the Belton and Raymore area, have practically become suburbs of Kansas City over the past 25 years. They have lost their small town appeal. (Full disclosure: I grew in Belton in Cass County more than 50 years ago, when it was a small farming town of less than 2,000 people. The population today is more than 25,000.) But that's only a small part of the county (about 5 square miles). Once you head south of Belton/Raymore the county becomes very rural.
Ten years ago there was no CWD known in Missouri. Ten years from now the issue will either be resolved (unlikely) or universal. The disease vector has been notoriously disrespectful of political boundaries.
Ten years from now your interest in international travel may still be strong, reduced, or have dissappeared entirely. We change far more as we age than we like to admit.
I hope you enjoy your stay. If you have any interest in history, wander over to Fulton and see the Churchill museum. You may like the area as well.
If you are 10 years away from moving, I'd say it's safe to say that the CWD maps will not look the same as they do today. I don't know if they will be better or worse, but I wouldn't restrict your search based on how that map looks today. Also, the way that Missouri has handled CWD is that any county that borders a county where it was found is included in the management zone.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arrby
Ten years ago there was no CWD known in Missouri. Ten years from now the issue will either be resolved (unlikely) or universal. The disease vector has been notoriously disrespectful of political boundaries.
Ten years from now your interest in international travel may still be strong, reduced, or have dissappeared entirely. We change far more as we age than we like to admit.
I hope you enjoy your stay. If you have any interest in history, wander over to Fulton and see the Churchill museum. You may like the area as well.
Thank you for your replies. The moving might be 10 years away, but if we find some property we really like, we would buy it now. If that turns out to be the case, my husband would be coming out yearly for hunting.
Regarding the Churchill Museum, we visited that when we stayed in Columbia some years back. A great place for sure.
Lafayette County is very rural too. I wasn't aware that they had any suburban sprawl in Lafayette County. Where are they hiding it?
l.
Oak Grove is in Lafayette County, and it’s slowly becoming the next stop on the I-70 development train. First it was Blue Springs, then Grain Valley. I guess Bates City will be next after O.G.
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I'm an OCD, Type A, accountant and all I do is research so much that my head hurts. 
