Springfield area.........where NOT to live? (Nixa, Ozark: rental, crime, daycare)

[Luvmygirls]

We're moving to Springfield in the next couple months and soon after will be buying a house. We'd like to live in either Springfield, Nixa or Ozark. Is there anywhere in these towns that we should avoid? We are a family of 5 with 3 young girls. We are looking for a 4 bdr house with a finished basement. We'd like to find a nice subdivision in a good school district.

[LEAVINMO]

I hate to sound this way but I'd personally steer clear of Springfield and Springfield public schools!! Both Ozark and Nixa have EXCELLENT schools and are very nice communities. Nixa has had some serious growth issues in the last few years (they grew too fast for their waterworks and had to halt all building permits till they got it under control) and the traffic in Nixa is pretty heavy most of the time. Ozark has less traffic difficulties, is the county seat, has a library, and has done a fabulous job of controlling their growth rate. Would be glad to answer specific questions for you if you're interested. Good luck to ya!

[Jcoon]

If you choose Springfield.....stay away from nw Springfield

[daydreamer1836]

I recommend both Nixa and Republic. My family relocated there and loves it.
For rental housing check out <deleted by moderator>. They'll help you rent short term and buy when you're ready. The Nixa Chamber will send you a relocation package. Good luck.

[RancidBeans]

I would recommend staying away from the small, crowded, older neighborhoods in central Springfield. There's no doubt some good people live there, but there are also a lot of scary people there too. My family owns some rental property just south of Kearney and we've had a lot of interesting renters... and that's not the good kind of interesting either. I also helped my brother-in-law move his then girlfriend out of a house right off Kearney and the next door neighbors came by, doped up on drugs, trying to start trouble. This wasn't late at night either, it was 5PM in the summer!

[traker1001]

Stay away from the NW area, Around the Commercial,Grant, and Kearney Streets, Go a little further north just past norton and look at houses around that area, They are almost all on some land and have very nice people around you for what little you will ever see any of them. Or stay close to the southern springfield and you will be fine.

However keep in mind, I don't know where your used to living, But springfield "Bad" areas are not really that bad, Its nothing like living in the "Bad" areas of KC, Oklahoma, LA, Etc... Lets put it this way, I yet to see a gas station or daycare protected by bullet proof glass in springfield.

Good luck on your house hunt.

[oohdale]

How close to Spfd do you need to be? Bolivar, Stockton or Marshfield areas?

I would choose either Nixa or Ozark over "in" Spfd. I love the Spfd area but not to really live in town. There are areas that are great though, so talk to folks that actually live around here first before buying. I could list some areas to look at but, I would leave someones area out then we would have a posting feud here and we don't want that.

Highland Springs area or Saddlebrooke or see what I mean? I guess you will have to narrow it down some.

[commartsy]

I was raised north of town, and now I teach on the south side of Springfield and live on the north side of town. (I have also lived on the west side of town, and it was a smidge scary.) There are pros and cons to the edges of Springfield, and you'll run across the odd kook no matter where you go. However, I would not want to live in the midtown area.

I think it would be nice to head further north.

By the way, I may be a tiny bit biased, but I think Springfield schools are quite good! As a district, we do better than the state average on the MAP. The school where I teach has a great reputation, and the north side school where my own children attend is a jewel!

[Mr. O]

To be quite honest there is no "bad" place to live in Springfield. There are places that appeal undesirable to most but Springfield is a small city Crime is not bad here. I bought my first house here when I was 19 on Mt. Vernon St just west of Kansas Expressway. Many of my friends thought it was a run down side of town, it wasn't there was nothing but good people all around me. I raised my first child there for two years there is nothing to be afraid of over there. Soon after I got a much higher paying job elsewhere and bought a house over in Emerald Park, very very nice neighborhood.

These are the areas of Springfield that I think are very nice. East side (which is where I live), Southeast, South central, South west, & far north (north of Norton rd.)

All the other areas of Springfield are fine, you won't get stabbed or killed if you live in another area of Springfield. The thing is with the north & central side is that those areas are much older than those that I listed so they will look rundown a bit. Give the areas that I listed about 50 or so years and they may look similar.

One thing that is for sure is that you will notice a significant price increase in a house that is in one of the areas that I listed rather than one that is not.

[twogun]

Marshfield area is nice, unconjested and land and housing prices are very reasonable compared to the areas south of Spfld. such as Ozark-Nixa.