Springfield, MO is calling to me (St. Louis, Washington: real estate, mortgage, home)

[kknoeb]

I live in Bellevue, WA with my husband and 2 kids, and have had a huge itch to move back to the midwest. I spent my grade school and high school years living in Hutchinson, Kansas so midwestern living is not new to me, in fact I really miss it. For the past several months, Springfield, MO has become interesting to me, even though I have never been there. From what I have been able to find, Springfield is the same size as Bellevue, just much more spread out. I would love to know what Springfield residents think of their city - the weather - etc.

[8 SNAKE]

There's lots of information here about Springfield. I'd suggest sifting through some of the threads to get a general feel for the area. Coming from Kansas (originally), I'm sure you'll have absolutely no trouble adapting to life out here. If there are any specific questions that I can answer for you, feel free to ask. Best of luck to you!

[Junk Bond]

Originally Posted by kknoeb

I live in Bellevue, WA with my husband and 2 kids, and have had a huge itch to move back to the midwest. I spent my grade school and high school years living in Hutchinson, Kansas so midwestern living is not new to me, in fact I really miss it. For the past several months, Springfield, MO has become interesting to me, even though I have never been there. From what I have been able to find, Springfield is the same size as Bellevue, just much more spread out. I would love to know what Springfield residents think of their city - the weather - etc.

What do you do for a living? You might want to check out the job market before you come. In my experience living in the Oaarks jobs either pay a fair sum or not much at all. Sadly, I fell into the latter group when I moved there years ago. With several years of experience in an in demand field you can make a reaonable living. But if your line of work isn't that profitable you can end up slinging hash on two jobs to make ends meet. Lots of people who had union gigs get into that kind of trouble if they don't check into the local figures. Even if you can land a union job in Springfield the Union Pay is significantly lower than elsewhere. Do your homework and avoid troubles later on.

[mrschilicook]

The Springfield area can be very nice for many people. But it is VERY different than Bellvue (my aunts and uncles have lived there for years and years). This is not considered an affluent area like Bellvue. You also won't have fresh seafood, cooling breezes, and while most things are available, you won't have easy access to ANYTHING you need/want shopping-wise if that's important to you.

The pay is less, the cost of housing is less. We have income tax, personal property tax, and currently, tax on social security (it's being phased out over the next few years). Real Estate taxes can be more or less depending on which county and depending on Bellvue rates (I'm only familiar with Clark County taxes).

Check out city-data for stats (remembering that not all stats are just averages and don't tell the whole picture). Come visit...more than once. Come in the winter, come in the summer. Visit with people, look for things you think you can't live without.

And if you decide to come, we'll welcome you with open arms and warm hearts. Most of us love it here. But it depends on each person's circumstances.

[mommaof2]

We moved here less than 2 years ago from IL. Having lived in larger metropolitan areas and smaller suburbs, thought Springfield would be a good fit. How wrong we were! The people here are not friendly, especially if you have an opinion different from the AG's (Assemby of God) or Baptists. Greene County has the highest child abuse rate in the state I believe, or at least close to St. Louis. They have to send kids home from school on weekends with backpacks of food they can open themselves as parents are too dumb? or lazy? or poor? (lots of money for beer, tattoos etc though) to take care of the little ones. Schools are not that great; son is in honors classes at HS & even those teachers don't bother to post grades for 2 or more weeks at times. He's thinking about going to a math & science academy after sophmore yr or grad. after jr. yr. Drug, alcohol problems are rampant in HS here, but they try to cover it up.

They are about 5-6 years behind the rest of the country in everything-from recycling, health care, transportation-only public transit is buses & they don't go to all areas. Again, we are ready to leave; love the KC area & hope to get out of here to move closer. Lucky we are professionals who have options. Many people here aren't as lucky.

[Junk Bond]

Originally Posted by mommaof2

We moved here less than 2 years ago from IL. Having lived in larger metropolitan areas and smaller suburbs, thought Springfield would be a good fit. How wrong we were! The people here are not friendly, especially if you have an opinion different from the AG's (Assemby of God) or Baptists. Greene County has the highest child abuse rate in the state I believe, or at least close to St. Louis. They have to send kids home from school on weekends with backpacks of food they can open themselves as parents are too dumb? or lazy? or poor? (lots of money for beer, tattoos etc though) to take care of the little ones. Schools are not that great; son is in honors classes at HS & even those teachers don't bother to post grades for 2 or more weeks at times. He's thinking about going to a math & science academy after sophmore yr or grad. after jr. yr. Drug, alcohol problems are rampant in HS here, but they try to cover it up.

They are about 5-6 years behind the rest of the couountry in everything-from recycling, health care, transportation-only public transit is buses & they don't go to all areas. Again, we are ready to leave; love the KC area & hope to get out of here to move closer. Lucky we are professionals who have options. Many people here aren't as lucky.

Wow sounds like you really gt the bad end of it! Springfield isn't for everyone. I lived there for about 10 years and it served its purpose - mainly getting me through college as painlessly as possible. It was my own fault for not moving out of there sooner after I graduated.
You are correct about the poverty aspect. Its much more prevalent than people like to let on but there are lots of extremely poor people in Sringfield and surrounding areas. People connected to the social welfare industry see it all firsthand but you rarely read anything about it in the news.

My advice to anyone moving here has already been expressed "Look before you leap". If you are a person who's still struggling around and not secure in any one career field with at least 5 years experience I would say look elsewhere because Sprigfield can be kind of nasty to people on the lower rung of the career ladder. Big businesses are tough to climb up in senority and smaller businesses hate to pay up. In any case don't just read the propaganda because it never tells the whole story about any place. Come and investigate before you commit.

[8 SNAKE]

Originally Posted by mommaof2

Having lived in larger metropolitan areas and smaller suburbs, thought Springfield would be a good fit.

Why? I can understand the similarities with smaller suburbs, but certainly not the larger metropolitan areas.

I'm sorry to hear about your disappointment in the area, but you've clearly got an axe to grind here. Your description of this area isn't even remotely accurate, and I think you know it.

I'll be the first to admit that there are challenges here (along with every other community in America). However, it's hardly fair to take a few cases and portray them as the norm. This area is among the fastest growing in the state, and there's a reason for it.

Moderator cut: off topic

[kknoeb]

at the replies I've received about Springfield! Sounds like only about 10% of the population loves it there and the rest either hate it or don't want new comers moving there.....?? I'm not new to mid-western living....although I've been in Washington for the past 23 years, I lived in Kansas for 16 years prior to that. Kansas would be 113 degrees in the summer and -30 in the winter. I remember getting my legs burned on the vinyl seats in my car or spending 4 hours to dig out my car after the snow plows went through. And I SO miss thunder and lightening and fireflies! As for my job search - I was an Executive Assistant for 15 years at Microsoft in Redmond, and right now I am an EA for a CPA firm in Bellevue. As for housing - if we sell our home here, we would be able to (or close to) pay cash for a home out there (my ultimate goal) so there would be little or no mortgage to worry about. At this point in my life (I just turned 48) and after slaving at Microsoft (they work you literally to death there) I would be satisfied and more than happy working at a grocery store or drugstore! My husband is a barber - everyone needs their hair cut, right? I'm not a shopacholic - I prefer to shop online. We are not get-up-and-goers who have to have exciting things to do every weekend (my husband fishes and I watch old movies). Laid-back and easy is how we live now but it gets harder to do when the city begins pressing in on you and the costs are rising faster than your pay. I just want to buy a nice home outright (which we could do) and live slower. But I am concerned with the comments I've read about the schools. ARe they that bad????

[mongazid]

No, Most of the schools are Great. There are lots of areas around Springfield that will fit your bill better like Republic, Nixa, Ozark, or even Branson. Lots of fishing available on several area lakes and rivers.

[8 SNAKE]

Originally Posted by kknoeb

at the replies I've received about Springfield! Sounds like only about 10% of the population loves it there and the rest either hate it or don't want new comers moving there.....??

Don't let a few jaded opinions get you down. As you spend time reading about this area (on this forum), I think you'll see that the vast majority of the people who live here are quite happy indeed.