Bad news for Springfield (Nixa, Ozark: ski resorts, transplants, sales)

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by heaton

You guys are scaring me. I'm leaving Phoenix to get away from the drugs, crime and illegals. Starting to question if I'm making the right decision. So when looking for a home I should look around Ozark, Nixa, Battlefield, Clever area? This is the better part of town?

You are in for a big surprise, I think. Springfield crime rate is about the same as the city of Phoenix according to cityrating. It is 3-5 times higher than the rate of the more popular family suburbs in Phoenix like Gilbert. Lots of people, including me at one time, think littler means safer. Not so. It depends a lot more on income, employment and education. I would look at Ozark myself. It is more on par with a city like Gilbert.

[slyder1]

This topic is really starting to get on my nerves. The "People here are scared of outsiders" is a joke. Heaton, if your going to move here you will want to visit before making a decision, or at least thats what I would do. When you do visit you need to do the exact same things you do in everyday life, and then theres the entertainment side. If you like it here great, if you don't thats fine too. Good luck!

[slyder1]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

You are in for a big surprise, I think. Springfield crime rate is about the same as the city of Phoenix according to cityrating. It is 3-5 times higher than the rate of the more popular family suburbs in Phoenix like Gilbert. Lots of people, including me at one time, think littler means safer. Not so. It depends a lot more on income, employment and education. I would look at Ozark myself. It is more on par with a city like Gilbert.

It's great to see "fact" posts like this so residents like me can tell you what they really mean. The Violent Crime rate in Springfield is very low, and no it's not comparible to Pheonix on any level. Misdemeanor crimes are the problem here, BUT they stay confined to the areas in which they happen 99% of the time. Your chances of getting robbed or your car broken into here are slim to none.

[ozarksboy]

Originally Posted by Anonymous Political Junky

I think it is good. That would mean not so many people will want to move to the area.

Didn't you just move here from California? And now you want to keep others from moving here?

You really are a fine piece of work. I commend you.

[ozarksboy]

Originally Posted by heaton

I live in Phoenix and the illegals, drugs, gangs and not to mention AZ is second in the nation for kidnappings, Mexico being number one.

Isn't that called diversity? And isn't that the goal outsiders hope to bring to Missouri?

[northbound74]

I think there's obvious bias against towns like Springfield. Consider the source: MSNBC. Probably not enough diversity for them. Then I thought stuff like that isn't supposed to matter anymore in post-racial America, where we are blind to all that... unless there's too many white people in one place, then it's a problem.
I'm not racist in the slightest, but I also couldn't care less one way or the other when it comes to diversity. People of similar cultures and ethnicities will always congregate together, and no government program can successfully force them to live amongst each other.

That pathetic article seems to suggest that the more money you spend per student in the public schools, the better it must be overall as a city, right? Tell that to the residents who live in the Kansas City, MO school district.

My rant aside, Springfield is one of the nicer towns I've ever been to it's size. It's crime rate still isn't horrible. My goodness. Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City, Kansas, and St. Louis all made the top 100 best places.
There's your grain of salt.

For the sole purpose of raising a family, I'd take Springfield, not even Nixa or Ozark, but Springfield, over 75 of those towns on their top 100 list.
Springfield has issues. It has crime. Racism seems to be a bit more out in the open. There's some poverty. The meth issue is one reason I'm not drawn more to southern Missouri. It's a bad problem in the KC area as well.
Most people I talk to from Springfield complain about the low wages compared to other places... but it's a clean, safe town for the most part. There's lots to do in Springfield. I'd say there's more good to it than bad.

[DeanMoore]

yeah, I think you nailed it, its not perfect, but its a damn good place to be, compared to places MSNBC rated better...

[northbound74]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

You are in for a big surprise, I think. Springfield crime rate is about the same as the city of Phoenix according to cityrating. It is 3-5 times higher than the rate of the more popular family suburbs in Phoenix like Gilbert. Lots of people, including me at one time, think littler means safer. Not so. It depends a lot more on income, employment and education. I would look at Ozark myself. It is more on par with a city like Gilbert.

Comparing suburbs to a stand-alone town isn't going to prove anything. Well-to-do folks flock to the suburbs and endlessly try to build their utopias, and sometimes sort-of succeed.
A place like Springfield is just another smaller town where generations of families have lived. Some rich, some poor... it's a real town, not some fabricated Disneyland exurb where there is nothing bad, and all poor people have been priced out.
Springfield looks pretty nice next to many other cities it's size... that aren't suburbs, of course.

[skeating]

If you are afraid of the city of Springfield, go live in the outskirt townships, there is beauty and serenity. The reporter needs to live in the areas before making such foolish statements.

[lone sailor]

Another reason why you should never make decisions solely based on what you read on the internet.