SoCal to Missouri (Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield: power lines, how much, houses) - Springfield - Branson area - (MO) - City-Data Forum

Mfamilyof5 · 01-13-2008, 02:35 PM

Hi I am living in Rancho Cucamonga, CA right now. Has anyone been here before? We are looking to move to Missouri. My husband is in MO right now (West Plains) and I am just wondering what town/city we should live in. I was thinking Springfield because it seems like there is a lot to do there.

How is Springfield? Is it nice looking? I really like the city i live in because of how much stuff they have here. There is an awesome mall and every restaurant you can ever want to eat at. Lots of shopping and what i like most about it is how clean it looks. So I am looking for some place that looks the same. Like nice landscaping,things like that. Something that wont be such a culture shock for me i guess. Any input or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Oh i should also add that we are looking for a place to raise our family. We have a baby and 2 toddlers so somewhere where there are a lot of young families, good schools, etc.

8 SNAKE · 01-13-2008, 02:41 PM

Will your husband be working in West Plains once you move?

Springfield will have a lot more restaurants, shops and attractions than other towns in Southwest Missouri because of the larger population base. With that said, I sure wouldn't want to commute from Springfield to West Plains every day!

STLCardsBlues1989 · 01-13-2008, 02:45 PM

If you want a large city, the largest are Kansas City and St. Louis. I'm not sure how far either is from West Plains. Both of these cities and Springfield would be great choices, a lot of it depends on your taste. All are reasonably affordable.

Mfamilyof5 · 01-13-2008, 02:46 PM

We are trying to decide first where we want to live, then hes going to go job hunting in whatever area is best for us. He is just staying there with family so he can check out Missouri.

Mfamilyof5 · 01-13-2008, 02:47 PM

Ok well i like 100,000+ population, my husband likes more of the small towns (hes from NE) so somewhere where we can meet in the middle. I guess I should also say he loves t o hunt and fish...so i soppose that would be in the list of must haves. lol

8 SNAKE · 01-13-2008, 03:03 PM

Springfield seems like your best bet. The population exceeds 100,000 but has the feel of a small town.

babyfaceminerals · 01-14-2008, 05:38 PM

Hi, we are from the Hemet/Temecula area out there and moved here in July. We researched this area for 3 years and just love it! Nixa and Ozark are great places to live and raise families with awesome schools. They are right next to each other and Springfield. Everything is just a sneeze away with everything being pretty close to just about anything. Getting around is simple too. The mall in Springfield is huge and there are lots of places to eat. You can have high end shopping or down home feel with country roads, it's pretty much up to you. I heard Nixa is getting an IMAX soon.

We came up with our own score system for choosing houses, I should post it here someday.....

Blessings,

Lake Junkie · 01-15-2008, 03:39 PM

I think you're looking in the very best part of the state. The Springfield-Branson area has enough "stuff"...and it isn't hard to get away from all that "stuff" if you take a notion!

If you wander through some of the threads on this part of city-data, you'll find lots of great information!

Try using the "search" button...put in keywords like "Springfield" or "restaurants" or "lake"...hee hee...

mrschilicook · 01-15-2008, 04:38 PM

Well, it's going to depend on what is important to you and your definitions of alots of stuff. And also where your husband is going to work. Is it West Plains? Might be a long commute from this area.

If you have choices as to employment then you may want to look around here (Springfield/Branson), St. Louis, and Kansas City. Lots of little towns around bigger cities like St. Louis and KC that are nice and have lots of great restaurants and shopping. KC is considered a "foodie" town now and St. Louis is a major metro area with all of the normal things you find in CA like Costco, Trader Joes, Nordstroms, Whole Foods, etc. Both are big sports, and theater cites and both are major airport hubs.

Springfield, on the otherhand, is a nice med. size town with lots of stuff to do in the surrounding areas. They have one fairly good sized mall with anchors like Sears, Macy's, Dillards, and Penny's. They have a pretty nice seasonal farmers market, but nothing like some of those found in So. Cal.
As far as a "pretty town"....not so much in my honest opinion. There are many very nice areas, but the downtown Springfield area is still in fairly early development stage of the "new urbanizm" movement...it will be a GREAT place in the future as will Ozark if all of the plans they have in the works come to fruition. They still have above ground phone/power lines in the city and no sidewalks in many commercial areas. But all in all most areas, people take pride in their homes and surroundings no matter what their means.
Lots of very nice subdivisions, country areas, lake areas, estate homes, golf course estates, etc. There is a wide variety of choice out here.

I don't want to turn you off to the area 'cause there are lots of reasons to love it here (we moved here from Pleasanton CA). Lakes, streams, rivers, sports, solid family values, sports activities, family activities, lower cost of living, etc. But this is NOT California by any stretch of the imagination. Everyone we know LOVES this area, but it's not a gourmet dining mecca nor a shopping mecca if those are your priorities. But there are lots of good dining options and more coming. Lots of stuff to do both in Springfield and Branson. High end shopping...go to St. Louis or KC.

This is a WONDERFUL place, but if I'm reading you correctly (it sounds like something I would have written before we moved here), you need to come check it out before you make any decision.

STLCardsBlues1989 · 01-15-2008, 04:47 PM

St. Louis and Kansas City are much larger than Springfield and both have major sports teams. The only sports team I know of in Springfield is the AA Springfield Cardinals (St. Louis Cardinals affiliates). My heart is in St. Louis, but Springfield is a wonderful town as well. St. Louis would give you more to do, though. A lot of it just depends on what you want. And St. Louis and Kansas City also have smaller outer suburbs which are great for raising families and close to anything you might want. STL, KC, and Springfield are all wonderful towns. St. Louis and Kansas City are much larger, though. Any of them should be affordable. If you do choose St. Louis, the suburbs might be better, unless you put your kids in private school or get them in a magnet or charter school.