A Tale of Two Cities

[mrschilicook]

I can't tell you about Columbia, by I can tell you why we have lived part-time in the Springfield area (closer to Branson) and why we are moving there this spring.

Springfield/Branson is a fairly large "small city"...most of the ammenties of a city, but a lot of the culture of a small town. People are friendly and helpful in our experience. It's close enough to Kansas City, St. Louis, and/or Tulsa that if you need a big city "fix", it's an fairly easy day trip.

The area is pretty conservative, but not so much as some of the other smaller towns in MO/Ark. I think that may be due to being a college town and the fact that lots of people are from somewhere else now. We've run into many people from areas of Calif., Wash., and upper midwest areas...most larger cities. A variety of reasons for escaping into the area. We used to live in St. Louis several years ago, and always enjoyed the Springfield area...there was just something charming about the area. We actually prefer the areas south of Springfield itself, but enjoy the ammenties of the city.

Dining options have improved significantly over the past several years. There are sports options, theater options, and concert options. Not a wide number of options, and not big theatrical budgets, but at least there are options. If you want more options, Branson is about 30 miles away for shows (which are also improving), dining, etc.

Lots of sports activities...boating, waterskiiing, fishing, baseball, hiking, hunting (if your into it), etc. The area is just beautiful.

Reasonable cost of living, especially compared to some areas (We're from No. CA and currently legally reside in Las Vegas NV). We've been going out to the area for years and love it. We've just pulled the plug here and are heading out in April.

What we like less about the area? Bugs & Critters, humidity (but we know you get used to these things), and the lack of Trader Joes (Ok..this is silly I know, but they do offer great quality at a great value).

[cobolt]

Oh I hear you on the Trader Joe's. There is one within walking distance of my overpriced, WA apartment in the hood!! Yes. I really miss the midwest. The year before last I was visiting a friend who lives on the Indiana/Kentucky border, near Louisville. I was visiting in the summer and all those neat and endearing things about growing up in the midwest came flooding back. Yes, I know about the critters. We had HUGE centepede nasty looking things in our basement when I was a kid---used to scare the you know what out of me!! But--I"ve lived in NC and there are some pretty "interesting" looking bugs there as well. I've lived in alot of states but I think what I am looking for is what Springfield has to offer. The PacNW is beautiful and the hiking and scenery is wonderful, but the people are very cold---I"ve made no real close friends since I've been here. The nicest people I've ever met (so far) were in Texas. I miss that.

I am looking for a fresh start. I've just gone through a personally traumatic experience in my life, and I now need to move forward. (I was left high and dry before I ever got to the altar, after I resigned a very good job to move and get married). I'd like to relocate where I can afford property, where there is a sense of community, where I can give back to the community through volunteering, and where I can enjoy the outdoors. Okay, enough already. I'm going to visit.

Thank everyone for your input.

[garth]

teachcal,

I've read both of your posts about Columbia in different threads. They sounded interesting.

What caught my interest was your recommendation of Catholic organizations in part of your posts. This one mentions the Catholic Knights of Columbus men's organization in support of the conservative part of the community and the other post recommended a private Catholic school for a child's education. It caught my interest, since I've always thought of MO as a highly protestant state and I assumed that Columbia would follow suit.

Here's what I found when I looked up the numbers. Columbia is decidedly low on Catholic religious preferences. Here's the religious numbers for Catholicism in the city:

Only approx 7% of the population is Catholic as compared to almost 22% of the US population. It goes in step with Columbia's less religious population of 41% as compared to an average of 50% of the US population. These numbers come directly from Sperling's Bestplaces website since they're not available on City-Data.

The crime stats for Columbia also surprised me a little. They appear to be approaching the national average for crime, which is not a good thing. I would expect that a town of Columbia's smaller size would be lower than a national average number. However, crime is what you get when you have a college in town. It brings an age group into the community who have a statisticly higher proclivity towards criminal activity. It's just a matter of fact that the teenagers through people in their twenties commit more crime pre capita than any other age group. It appears that it's holding true in Columbia.

I just wanted to point this out since it surprised me in light of the information that was presented on the community. I was disappointed when I expected to find a different picture than what was revealed by the numbers.

[teachcal]

Garth,

Looks like you have a lot of time on your hands....

The references I made have nothing to do with the Catholic population here (although the churches are packed). There is a waiting list for Columbia Catholic School for kindergarten and it has been at full enrollment historically.
I made no references to the size of the Catholic population in Columbia.
For your reference, REGISTERED Catholics (belonging to a church) is 8800 (stats from diocese office) which is 10 percent of population. There are a lot of Catholics who are not registered, esp, if they seldom attend mass.

Crime is increasing somewhat but still below the national average. You're right, however, it is not low crime but I would consider it safe. In my neighborhood we can leave doors unlocked during the day.

People post to the forum to get first-hand knowledge of an area. If they wanted pure stats they could go to Sperlings OR city-data.com. I don't work for the chamber of commerce, so I have nothing to lose giving my opinion.
In my opinion, this place is Mayberry RFD.

I would appreciate the thought police taking a break, okay?

Theresa

[garth]

Please don't get personally upset, Theresa. I'm reading a lot on this forum because I'm looking for specific things for myself, which is why your post caught my eye. I found what you wrote interesting, but portions were ultimately questioned by other sources that I investigated. It turned out to be a disappointment to me and a valid quality worthy of discussion.

If you don't like discourse, I'm sorry but I can't help that. However, if you consider valid discussion "thought police," then so be it. It still doesn't make name calling a nice thing to do.

Good luck with your neighborhood. Perhaps the problems can be addressed more successfully than other communities have been able to do.

[MO~orphan]

Jefferson City, for being the capitol of a state, really doesn't have much there. I was quite surprised. There's not even a Home Depot! lol...had to throw that in. Cobolt, last fall I visited Kansas City, Mo. Wow! I am going back. There are all kinds of things to do, places to see, good food, entertainment, art section of town, etc. If I was in your position, I might look at a map and give myself a 30-40 mile range from KC and see what I can find. I'd be away from the city, but a short drive away if I wanted to do something. Good luck. Maybe when you decide, you will let us know what you chose and how you like it.

[cobolt]

Thanks MO Orphan,

I'm not really interested in W MO. Reminds me alot of Kansas and the Texas plains. I need a bit more hills and green. I am going to focus on Springfield for now and see what I can make of it. I'll be visiting soon.

[NNickolaus]

While Columbia is heavily protestant, Jefferson City has a much higher catholic population. I could only guess at the specific numbers, but probably 30%. Jefferson City has a catholic high school and three k-8 schools. Every little town around here has a catholic school, including many that don't even have a public school. There is a high Luthern population here as well. This reflects the german roots of much of the town.

Jefferson City tends to be more conservative than Columbia.

Cost of living in Jefferson City is lower than the rest of the state and slightly lower than Columbia. Unemployment is low. High school sports are big.

It is a great place to raise a family.

What else can I tell you?

[Inoxkeeper]

From what I have read it sounds like the Springfield area is your best bet to satrt with. You might want to consider Jeff City, it is sort of in the middle of the two and is in a beautiful setting.

If you do your homework you can't go wrong with either, my daughter will be at Mizzou next fall so we have been touring Columbia a lot lately, it's a true college town, we felt safe walking around.

Springfield is my favorite but that's because of a little store called Bass Pro.

[slahgirl]

With what you describe, I would vote for Jefferson City, very safe bet for a single woman, and lots of single guys to meet, who are not into the bar scene. You can meet them through volunteering, or getting involved in church, intramural sports, or tons of civic organizations. You can buy a very nice house for well under $200K and you are a close enough drive from just about everything. Two great wineries, and the Katy Trail is close. I was just driving through JC last night with the window rolled down. I couldn't believe I could barely hear the radio because of the crickets. It was amazing. You can't get that in St. Louis! Make sure you visit, you'll love it.