Mosquitoes? Roads? Schools? (Springfield, Ozark: tornadoes, living, moving to)

[Luvmy5cuties]

I like to move a lot. I've lived in CA, MI, MT, CO, and WV. Now I'm thinking about Springfield, MO. I've never been there. I always move places without visiting, although we may take a trip there in February just to see what it's like in the winter.
My favorite place so far has been WV. I love the trees. The hilly, winding roads, not so much. There also seems to be an overabundance of government regulations. I love that I can sit outside in the summer and not get eaten by mosquitoes, like I did in MT.
How are the mosquitoes in Springfield? Can you be outside in the summer and fall without having to cover yourself with DEET?
How are the roads? Everything in WV is a twisting two-lane. I drive like a grandma, especially in the winter. I hate that cars can't pass me and would like to live somewhere with either straighter roads, or roads with more lanes that allow for passing. Also, is the city good about plowing/salting the roads in the winter?
I am very unhappy with the schools where we are. How are the schools in Springfield?
If anyone has been to WV, how does it compare to the Springfield area (we are in the Morgantown area)?
When we were moving to WV everyone warned us about humidity, snakes, bugs, spiders, hillbillies, and wet, wet weather. I found that none of those things are bad here (or at least it doesn't bother me). Are the bugs, humidity, snakes, and wet snow worse in Springfield, or about the same? Looking at the info. on this website, it looks like the average humidity in Springfield is actually lower than where we are now.
Thanks for any info.

[Curmudgeon]

Did anyone bother telling you the Springfield is in the Ozarks? That means twisty-turny, uppy-downy, narrow two-lane roads. It also means snakes, mosquitos, spiders, the black howler and worst of all, rednecks and hillbillies. Why them thar critters might could ruin yur whole day! And weather? We serve excitement. We have tornadoes, straight-line winds, snow storms, ice storms, heat, humidity, thunderstorms that will rage around you for hours at a time. This is the aux arcs. It's wild, untamed and backwards.

[christina0001]

I've driven through WV and that's about it. Springfield is a large town. If you're talking about being in Springfield, the roads are what you would expect anywhere in a large town. The roads here are MUCH straighter and flatter than what you will find in WV, even well outside of town. We just don't have the kind of mountains you have there (which are beautiful, BTW). Roads here are generally well-maintained although all bets are off if a bad ice storm comes through. Dealing with ice is much more difficult than dealing with snow. I've been here for 6 years now and I don't really recall any wet snows like we have back east.
Mosquitos: again in town they just don't seem that bad. Living out in the country, it's a different story, but again, no different than any place in the country that I've ever been to (I've moved around several times myself).
I can't speak for the schools, I don't have kids. I did go to MSU in Springfield for my graduate degree and that was a great experience, Good school and very affordable.
Gov't regulations are less here than on the east coast in general (although I cannot compare to WV specifically). Towns will have some; live out in the country, in a place outside of township limits, and there are even less regulations.

Come visit! There's no way of knowing if a place is right for you without experiencing it, IMO.

[brushrunner]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

Did anyone bother telling you the Springfield is in the Ozarks? That means twisty-turny, uppy-downy, narrow two-lane roads. It also means snakes, mosquitos, spiders, the black howler and worst of all, rednecks and hillbillies. Why them thar critters might could ruin yur whole day! And weather? We serve excitement. We have tornadoes, straight-line winds, snow storms, ice storms, heat, humidity, thunderstorms that will rage around you for hours at a time. This is the aux arcs. It's wild, untamed and backwards.

Hey just tuff up! And enjoy.

brushrunner

[Floorist]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

We have tornadoes, straight-line winds, snow storms, ice storms, heat, humidity, thunderstorms that will rage around you for hours at a time. .

And sometimes we have all these the same day.