Would love your opinions! Springfield may be in our future... (Nixa: short sale, apartment)

[River Wood]

Hi everyone. I'm new to this forum.

I'd love your suggestions/opinions

The hubby and I are from Minnesota and are looking to relocate to a climate that may not be quite as bitterly cold as it is here, but that still has the 4 seasons......

I've researched the Springfield area and it sounds very nice, only complaint I have really heard most often, is that it is very hot and humid during the summer months...it can be here in Minnesota too.. but we are going to drive down to visit MO to see how much worse than Minnesota it is.

From what I gather and what I have studied, the housing market is MUCH much better in that part of MO that we are looking at then here for sure so that would be a plus.

Anyway.....can you share your relocation stories with me? I just don't even know where we would start...finding a job first of course...then did you sell your house and stay in an apartment for awhile until you found a home to purchase? or...buy your new home and then hope your house sells?...and I hear stories where one moves somewhere and the spouse comes later? One hitch is that we have about 16 horses as well, so that will make things a bit more difficult.

Probably a silly question...I just like to have an idea of what I am going to do...I suppose it depends greatly on how much you have too as far as $$$...

Thanks in advance hope to get some replies...

[20yrsinBranson]

Originally Posted by River Wood

Hi everyone. I'm new to this forum.

I'd love your suggestions/opinions

The hubby and I are from Minnesota and are looking to relocate to a climate that may not be quite as bitterly cold as it is here, but that still has the 4 seasons......

I've researched the Springfield area and it sounds very nice, only complaint I have really heard most often, is that it is very hot and humid during the summer months...it can be here in Minnesota too.. but we are going to drive down to visit MO to see how much worse than Minnesota it is.

From what I gather and what I have studied, the housing market is MUCH much better in that part of MO that we are looking at then here for sure so that would be a plus.

Anyway.....can you share your relocation stories with me? I just don't even know where we would start...finding a job first of course...then did you sell your house and stay in an apartment for awhile until you found a home to purchase? or...buy your new home and then hope your house sells?...and I hear stories where one moves somewhere and the spouse comes later? One hitch is that we have about 16 horses as well, so that will make things a bit more difficult.

Probably a silly question...I just like to have an idea of what I am going to do...I suppose it depends greatly on how much you have too as far as $$$...

Thanks in advance hope to get some replies...

With 16 horses you are going to have to start looking in the Springfield suburbs (unless you buy into one of those "equine" subdivisions which are very pricey). There are many wonderful smaller towns in the area - Ozark, Nixa, Sparta, Rogersville, Republic, Battlefield, etc. Most of the land being sold is developed land, however, you can still find some acreage occasionally that does not have restrictions.

Like so many places these days, if your credit is good, you might be able to negotiate with a bank for a short sale property. There are LOTS of places being foreclosed upon in the area (unfortunately).

There are also lots of older, smaller properties out there that are VERY well priced right now. If you have a pretty good down payment available, you shouldn't have any trouble getting financing.

Best of luck. This is a wonderful area to live in.

20yrs

[Junk Bond]

20 years is right. You'll have to have some rural ground for that many horses. My parents owned a spread of about 200 acres and we had about half that many horses but lots of our ground was farmland. Also you'll want some land to ride on and personally I would go south of Springfield as the views are much better however there's some nice land up North around the Dry Sac area just North of Springfield.
About employment....just make sure you land an acceptable job before you get here. The cost of living is low but so is the pay in many industries. If you are a professional with a degree and some work experience you shouldn't be too bad off but if you were in a union job or manual labor etc...something like that it's gonna be a shocker. The medical industry is always lucrative.

[River Wood]

Thanks for the replies, I really appreciate it. My husband is a heavy diesel mechanic but adapts to every type of mechanics and he has driven truck for many years in the past.

I'll have to study up on the availability of those types of jobs.

Thanks again.

[20yrsinBranson]

Originally Posted by River Wood

Thanks for the replies, I really appreciate it. My husband is a heavy diesel mechanic but adapts to every type of mechanics and he has driven truck for many years in the past.

I'll have to study up on the availability of those types of jobs.

Thanks again.

Prime Trucking's headquarters is in Springfield. They are HUGE, HUGE, I tell you. There are many other trucking companies as well, I do not think that your hubby will have any problems finding a good job there. Will you be working too?

20Yrs

[River Wood]

Yes I'll be working as well but I do clerical/office so I'm pretty open to many things.

Thanks for the tip on the trucking company..I'll have to jot that down in my note book that I have on MO

I appreciate everyones help.

[Lake Junkie]

Originally Posted by River Wood

Hi everyone. I'm new to this forum.

I'd love your suggestions/opinions
<snip>
Anyway.....can you share your relocation stories with me? I just don't even know where we would start...finding a job first of course...then did you sell your house and stay in an apartment for awhile until you found a home to purchase? or...buy your new home and then hope your house sells?...and I hear stories where one moves somewhere and the spouse comes later? One hitch is that we have about 16 horses as well, so that will make things a bit more difficult.

Thanks in advance hope to get some replies...

First of all River Wood...WELCOME!

15 years ago we investigated the area...a little...then just went home to Sacramento, put the house on the market, quit our jobs...and MOVED!

We made a couple of mistakes first off, by moving into a small town that hadn't seen much growth expecting that our dreams & CA lifestyle would be embraced with open arms......but eventually found the right spot for us here in SW MO.

You're right, everyone does it differently...and there are several threads you can follow that talk about that very thing!
(I'll see if I can find them...)

[River Wood]

Thanks so much Lake Junkie that is really sweet!!

[kpayers]

Originally Posted by River Wood

Hi everyone. I'm new to this forum.

I'd love your suggestions/opinions

The hubby and I are from Minnesota and are looking to relocate to a climate that may not be quite as bitterly cold as it is here, but that still has the 4 seasons......

I've researched the Springfield area and it sounds very nice, only complaint I have really heard most often, is that it is very hot and humid during the summer months...it can be here in Minnesota too.. but we are going to drive down to visit MO to see how much worse than Minnesota it is.

From what I gather and what I have studied, the housing market is MUCH much better in that part of MO that we are looking at then here for sure so that would be a plus.

Anyway.....can you share your relocation stories with me? I just don't even know where we would start...finding a job first of course...then did you sell your house and stay in an apartment for awhile until you found a home to purchase? or...buy your new home and then hope your house sells?...and I hear stories where one moves somewhere and the spouse comes later? One hitch is that we have about 16 horses as well, so that will make things a bit more difficult.

Probably a silly question...I just like to have an idea of what I am going to do...I suppose it depends greatly on how much you have too as far as $$$...

Thanks in advance hope to get some replies...

We relocated from mid-Wisconsin, and actually found that there was far less humidity here in Springfield in the summer because of all the lakes up north. We were very surprised to find that to be the case, but it is all relative on where you came from. Almost everyone in our neighborhood has a martin house, someone two, so the mosquitoes don't have a chance, either.

There are some properties that allow you to keep horses on your property, and there are also some great stables around. We live just a few miles south of a year-round stable that offers excellent facilities. If you are looking at a map of Ozark, MO, it is on Hwy NN going north just a few miles south before reaching Hwy 60 that runs east/west. Many of our neighbors also keep horses on their own property as well. That particular stable also offers training lessons, and even added polo a few years ago.

We rented when we first moved here because we were unsure of which area we wanted to be in. Right now the market is in favor of buying over renting, and rental costs have increased because they are in much greater demand. Purchasing, however, can bring a real opportunity if you are in a position to take advantage of it right now. That is a personal decision. This area feels very strongly about its education and pride in the Ozarks, so I think you would find highly favorable comments from nearly anyone you asked with regards to their thoughts about the best location in this market. That is probably a question only you can answer.

[mrschilicook]

We moved here just about a year ago from Las Vegas. We had a firm offer on the house and I flew out to buy the house while my husband packed us up. We had already been coming out here for several years so we knew the area pretty well and already had a few areas in mind so it wasn't like we were coming blind. In our married life we had moved several times, and they all seem to follow pretty much the same pattern. Sometimes we flew where we were moving and looked together, sometimes one of us would go reseach the area.

And welcome to the forum. Hope you find your perfect place. You just never know what part of the country meets your criteria. Some people love it here and some haven't been so happy with the move (not uncommon no matter where the "here" is). I'm on the "love it" side, myself.