Questions About Columbia and Jefferson City (St. Louis, Memphis: apartments, rent, house) - Missouri (MO) - City-Data Forum

dakota79 · 10-21-2008, 06:19 PM

I am researching various smaller cities in Missouri for possible relocation and wanted to ask a few questions about Columbia and Jefferson City.

First, I know the airport that serves the area is the Columbia Regioanl Airport, which has very limited service. I know there is shuttle service from Columbia to both STL and KC airports. Does anyone know of a service that provides transportation from Jeff City to one of those airports?

Next, which do you feel is safer and easier for walking? I know neither may not be a walkers paradise, but which one is more walkable around the main retail areas? I am mainly concerned with safety and sidewalks, not so much distance.

Third, the city-data stats say that the average apartment rent in Columbia is in the high $600s. I know it is a big college town. I searched the Tribune Classiieds and found most listings were for quite a bit less, like $450-$500. Which amount seems more like what I should expect for just a basic one bedroom?

Finally, is the growth that Columbia has seen really overwhelming. Is the city handling the growth well? Where do most of the new people seem to come from? I see the population has gone up by 40,000 since 1980. Is this true growth alone, or was annexation a factor?

If you have an answer to any of these questions, your help will be greatly appreciated.

GetmeoutofAR · 10-21-2008, 07:05 PM

Columbia is an alright place, kind of a rude city but its not too bad. Lots of pretty areas around town and it has the whole college town atmosphere which is cool

Thepreacherswife · 10-21-2008, 07:59 PM

You're right about the airport not being worth much. Until recently they just had flights to KC or St. Louis, which wasn't much different than driving or catching a shuttle. Now at least you can go to Memphis and connect on Northwest to other places. Columbia is also a Megabus stop (downtown), which can take you to KC, St. Louis, or Chicago and beyond.

I don't believe there's a shuttle from Jeff City to either KC or St. Louis. Amtrak does run to both places, however, but not to the airports.

Columbia is a very walkable place. There is a highrise residence in town for wheelchair bound folks, and you see them zipping around town quite often. That's in downtown anyway, which does have a quite a good bit of shopping, although the mall and three (count 'em) Wal Mart Supercenters aren't exactly in pedestrian-friendly areas.

Jeff City also has a fairly walkable downtown, but the shopping alternatives aren't as great, and there's some pretty serious hills there.

Can't help you on rent prices, but you seem to have a handle on that.

As far as growth in Columbia, I would say there's been very little annexation (in the last 7 or 8 years, every annexation attempt has been shot down). Mostly there's a lot of folks from the east and west coasts coming to town looking for affordable housing with some land. They seem to be teetering right on the cusp of 100,000 in the "metro" area, but new business growth has slowed a bit and some established blue-collar employers have closed up shop. The biggest problem they face is unplanned and mostly unregulated growth in the unincorporated surrounding areas. Go outside the city limits and there's all manner of wastewater treatment from house to house. No sewer hookups out there for the most part, just septic or lagoons.

dakota79 · 11-06-2008, 02:51 PM

Thanks for the info that has been provided.

Right now, the job situation is looking better in Jeff City. I actually have been able to locate a shuttle service from St. Louis. It is $197 round trip, but that still may be cheaper than flying out of Columbia at times.

Would you consider the city to be safe? Which parts of the city should someone avoid. It looks like there a lot of apartments Downtown. Will I be safe if I live there?

Also, are there sidewalks along Missouri Blvd heading west from Downtown?

TGS · 11-06-2008, 07:56 PM

Jeff City is pretty safe just about anywhere. There are some less desirable areas directly east and south of downtown, but nothing seriously bad. Stay away from the trailer parks.

Missouri Boulevard is not pedestrian friendly. Think of it as miles and miles of strip malls and fast food places.

If you can find a way to work in Columbia instead, it is a lot more pedestrian friendly. The area around the campus of MU is especially good for walkers, and the nearby downtown area is well-developed. There are also good bike/walking paths that run all over town.

dakota79 · 11-06-2008, 08:33 PM

Its good to hear that the city is pretty safe.

At least if Missouri Blvd is lined with strip malls and restaurants, there should be parking lots to walk through, instead of on the side of the road or in grass. From what I could tell from an aerial map, there are some spuradic sidewalks.

By the way, I read something about Jeff City recently passing or trying to pass some kind of sidewalk ordanance. Does anyone know the details of that?

I will also still pursue Columbia, but I need to be prepared either way.

Northwoods Voyager · 11-09-2008, 10:46 PM

Both of these cities have quite a lot to offer you. As others here have posted, sidewalks in Jeff City's shopping areas are pretty nil. Keep in mind that the atmosphere is very different in each city. One being a more political setting and the other a more college life situation. I like both and would choose Columbia myself. However that is only because of a few personal requirements, hospital, shopping and such. Good luck to you no matter which you choose. Please check out the individual web sites for these 2 cities.

dakota79 · 11-10-2008, 08:04 AM

I am coming to visit both cities soon, so that should help.

As far as the whole atmosphere thing, I know that Columbia is a big college town and Jeff City is the base of state government (and a much smaller university), but are there "other" people in each city. By that I mean,

Will it seem like everyone in Columbia is a student or connected with the colleges?

Will everyone in Jeff City be a government worker or be tied to someone who is?

I have lived in college towns before, and they can be good and bad. I've never lived in a state capital. I am 29, and can defintiely say that I seem to get along better with a more mature crowd. I don't drink, party, go clubbing etc...

Thepreacherswife · 11-10-2008, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dakota79

Will it seem like everyone in Columbia is a student or connected with the colleges?

To a certain extent. There are about 100,000 people in Columbia (about 160K in the "metro area"), 16,000 faculty and staff at MU, and 29,000 students. Throw in 3,500 or so faculty/staff/students at Columbia College and Stephens and you have maybe a 1 in 2 or 1 in 3 chance of that happening. If you consider that MU Health Care employs another 6,000 or so folks, it can sometimes seem that everyone is connected with the University.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dakota79

Will everyone in Jeff City be a government worker or be tied to someone who is?

There's about 40,000 people in Jeff City and about 60,000 state employees, although obviously not all of those positions are located in Jeff City. I don't know that there is a reliable statistic, but I would estimate about half the adult population are state employees of some sort or another. Given the smaller city feel of the place, it's probably much more likely to seem as if everyone either works for the government or is directly related to someone who is.

GetmeoutofAR · 11-10-2008, 05:17 PM

Can I honestly say without getting pounced on that I don't really care for either city. If I had to pick I'd say Columbia because it is a far more interesting place to live compared to Jeff. There is alot more to do in Columbia. I really dont see a reason that someone would pick Jeff City unless they have deep roots there or work in state government, it is a pretty town however.