Thoughts on Moberly? (Columbia, Auxvasse: crime rate, house, university)

[Aelius]

A search doesn't reveal much discussion of Moberly in recent years. I'm considering moving there and commuting to Columbia.

How is it? I'm particularly wondering about drug and petty crime problems, which all too often afflict small, relatively isolated cities like this. I'm also wondering what most people there do for work. For example, is there only one major industry there, and maybe one or two employers who, if they were to shut down, would devastate the town? How resilient is its economy in this way?

Thanks!

[roxyrn]

Why not Columbia? You don't have to worry about industry shut-downs. Or Jeff City?

[Aelius]

Originally Posted by roxyrn

Why not Columbia? You don't have to worry about industry shut-downs. Or Jeff City?

Respectfully, my reasons are my own. I've put a lot of thought into alternatives, so I'm not looking for opinions on alternatives here. I'm wondering about Moberly specifically.

[rrampage]

Originally Posted by Aelius

Respectfully, my reasons are my own. I've put a lot of thought into alternatives, so I'm not looking for opinions on alternatives here. I'm wondering about Moberly specifically.

You do have the Norfolk Southern railroad lines converging there, if you are a fan of trains.

[cyrano]

Originally Posted by Aelius

A search doesn't reveal much discussion of Moberly in recent years. I'm considering moving there and commuting to Columbia.

How is it? I'm particularly wondering about drug and petty crime problems, which all too often afflict small, relatively isolated cities like this. I'm also wondering what most people there do for work. For example, is there only one major industry there, and maybe one or two employers who, if they were to shut down, would devastate the town? How resilient is its economy in this way?

Thanks!

A fair number of your queries might be answered in our host’s true primary business, accumulating and presenting info not dissimilar to what you seek. The URL for Moberly is https://www.city-data.com/city/Moberly-Missouri.html.

Some of your queries (petty and drug crime) don’t fit easily into any of the ones on the otherwise comprehensive info found there, but a lot can be gleaned from reading between the stats. For instance, there’s not much mention there of the state prison except a mention that it had 1,713 inmates, not an amount to sneeze at. Prisons are much sought-after employers and need to be well-staffed. It’s been a long time ago but I used to go there to talk with clients, and the parking lot was active and full. BTW- just googled and discovered this web page: https://crimegrade.org/drug-crimes-moberly-mo/. Doesn’t look good crime-wise, although drug crimes scored B- compared with the overall crime rate of D+.

There’s also mention, if indirectly, about the large number of people who commute to work in Columbia. It looked to me like about 35-40% of the employed persons in Moberly go elsewhere for work. While there are warehouse distribution centers in other small towns, the vast majority of commuters are coming to Columbia, with its state university, substantial medical center, and growing businesses like Veterans United Mortgage. For those folks, Moberly’s lower cost of living and conservative values make it worth the 70-75 mile commute to columbia’s very liberal values and comparatively high-priced homes. (I live in Columbia, BTW).

Good luck.

[cfsagain]

This website does have a pretty comprehensive crime section including but not limited to over 10 years of historical info and comparisons to area cities and the rest of the nation & breakdowns of crime type by year etc. etc., it's not so easy to navigate to is all.

[url]https://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Moberly-Missouri.html[/url]

[nalabama]

You can get to the site of any city, place, and maybe zip code by inputing same on the front page of the city-data.com site.

[christopher2000]

As a person that has lived in Moberly, there are about 7 good employers, however, unlike many towns of this size the crime rate is moderately high. However, there is good education and with it having a cheap cost of living, it wouldn't be a bad idea to move here.

[ShowMeBryan]

Just about everyone I knew from Moberly had to commute elsewhere for work unless they had an in-town, lower-paying job or worked at Wal-Mart's distribution center. The town has been on a downhill slide for a LONG time. The downtown area looked pretty sad the last time I was there with all of the shuttered businesses.

If you're going to work in Columbia then why not live in Columbia? It's a much nicer city with much more to do. Both places have your typical property crimes. I've heard more doom & gloom about crime in Columbia and, while it has increased, it has not been by much if you look at the numbers. There are many nice areas of Columbia to live in. Moberly has cheaper housing but you're going to burn up those cost savings driving 100 miles/day round trip, not to mention lost time. I lived in Columbia for 13 years and then moved to the Auxvasse area (bought a house with some land) and commuted for 10 from there.