Scared of moving to... SPRINGFIELD!!! (St. Louis, Columbia: crime, employment, schools)

[BatBrains]

Originally from Jeff City, MO. Now live in southern Indiana and absolutely sick of it here in The Horrible Hoosier State. Tired of small towns, but scared of K.C. and St. Louis. Spent time in Springfield, MO but not long enough to know anything. Need help PLEASE!!!
1. How's the water? Safe to drink? no PCBs or lithium? Indiana water is disgusting and toxic. Don't drink it! Lake Monroe and White River = GROSS!
2. How's the work? Easy to find entry-level jobs? Fast food, Wal-Mart, etc.? Good economy? It's bad up here. G.E. closed and lots of lay-offs. McDonald's not even hiring!!! Many, many people homeless in Marion/Monroe/Lawrence Co.
3. How's the crime? Safe streets? O.K. to go out at night? Not safe in Indiana.
4. How's transit? I don't have a car. Is Springfield easy to get around w/o car? Good bus system? Transit is really bad up here. Cabs are as expensive as Chicago.
5. Weather? Well, its the Midwest so I won't ask.
6. Are Springfieldians easy-going, laid-back, NORMAL and sweet? Too many nasty, violent, psychotic people here. Every one in Indiana is on one or more pharma drugs because of Eli Lilly in Indy. Very unhealthy and ungodly.
7. Is Springfield Judeo-Christian? Indiana University is atheist. They hate God. It makes me cry.
THANKS!!!

[littlemonkeys]

Be scared, very scared. :P The water is ok but doesnt taste very good. We use a filter. Jobs are low paying and there aren't very many unless you work in healthcare. Its safe at night but there is a lot of property theft. The bus system sucks and is mostly populated with homeless people. Weather, if you don't like it wait awhile and it will change. The people are either very conservative and Christian or they are the other extreme and redneck meth heads. Not a lot of diversity. Depends on what you like but God is not a bad word here. Its a country town masquerading as a bigger city.

[Vols44]

Originally Posted by BatBrains

Originally from Jeff City, MO. Now live in southern Indiana and absolutely sick of it here in The Horrible Hoosier State. Tired of small towns, but scared of K.C. and St. Louis. Spent time in Springfield, MO but not long enough to know anything. Need help PLEASE!!!
1. How's the water? Safe to drink? no PCBs or lithium? Indiana water is disgusting and toxic. Don't drink it! Lake Monroe and White River = GROSS!
2. How's the work? Easy to find entry-level jobs? Fast food, Wal-Mart, etc.? Good economy? It's bad up here. G.E. closed and lots of lay-offs. McDonald's not even hiring!!! Many, many people homeless in Marion/Monroe/Lawrence Co.
3. How's the crime? Safe streets? O.K. to go out at night? Not safe in Indiana.
4. How's transit? I don't have a car. Is Springfield easy to get around w/o car? Good bus system? Transit is really bad up here. Cabs are as expensive as Chicago.
5. Weather? Well, its the Midwest so I won't ask.
6. Are Springfieldians easy-going, laid-back, NORMAL and sweet? Too many nasty, violent, psychotic people here. Every one in Indiana is on one or more pharma drugs because of Eli Lilly in Indy. Very unhealthy and ungodly.
7. Is Springfield Judeo-Christian? Indiana University is atheist. They hate God. It makes me cry.
THANKS!!!

I'll try to answer as many questions as possible.

1. City water is okay, well water on private land is probably better. The rule of thumb is the closer to a natural source the better. IIRC Fellows lake isn't the worst place to feed the masses.

2. If you want an entry level job it's here. The people who get off their rear ends, don't call in sick and show up on time stay hired.

3. There are numerous threads about the different parts of town. Safety in numbers is your watchword.

4. The CU buses are adequate. I think it's 1.25 one way and .10 for a connection. They cover the city limits (only) from 6am to midnight.

5. The saying around here is if you don't like the weather wait 15 minutes. An example is a high of 50 today, but two inches of snow this evening with a low of 11 and sub zero wind chill.

6. Springtown is the Meth kitchen of Missouri and one of the worst in the country. When the older locals smell an out of towner they have the attitude that they don't like you if they don't know you. Much of the populace doesn't like change and would be perfectly happy living in Mayberry in the 50's.

Progressives are few and far between. Visionaries overcome their obstacles and create by will. The city has a cloudy future.

I can say by and large the area has it's share of friendlies and genuine people who want to help.

7. The area take pride in it's moniker of being the buckle of the bible belt.

[Cali BassMan]

Why would you want to move to somewhere your scared of??

[Flyover_Country]

Originally Posted by littlemonkeys

Be scared, very scared. :P The water is ok but doesnt taste very good. We use a filter.

Never had a problem with the water in that part of the state. The only places where the water really sucks is Columbia and near the Iowa border where the water is heavily chlorinated.

Jobs are low paying and there aren't very many unless you work in healthcare.

Missouri's U3 unemployment rate is about a percent lower than the national average. ( Unemployment Rates: Most Current Employment Releases ) There is an unusually large number of manufacturing jobs in SW MO compared to most places as well. Healthcare is of course going to be a big driving force in any region as it's a sixth of the overall economy and the Baby Boomers getting old and sick as well as a huge spike in the rate of obesity/diabetes/hypertension are significantly increasing demand. I don't think you'd see a significantly better picture unless you went to one of the oil boom areas like North Dakota or west Texas.

The bus system sucks and is mostly populated with homeless people.

Yeah, it's a bus system in a small Midwest city. Mass transit everywhere is predominantly ridden by people that don't drive. You'll only see people with higher incomes not driving in very large cities like NYC where it's not reasonably possible to drive. Springfield isn't too tough to drive and park in so there is still a lot of convenience in having your own car and thus nearly everybody drives.

Weather, if you don't like it wait awhile and it will change.

Same as in most other places. The west coast gets hit with rampant wildfires and mudslides. The northern Plains are windy and very cold in the winter. The northeast gets a lot of weather too, and you hear about every last little stinking bit of it on the news. "Super Storm" this, "worst xxx ever!!!" that, etc. The gulf coast gets hit by hurricanes (Andrew, Katrina, etc.) and can be very hot in the summer particularly inland.

The people are either very conservative and Christian or they are the other extreme and redneck meth heads. Not a lot of diversity. Depends on what you like but God is not a bad word here. Its a country town masquerading as a bigger city.

Springfield is not a big city. Being conservative and Christian is not necessarily a bad thing. If you want to live in a big city with a large anti-theistic population and few Caucasians, there are a lot of places that fit the bill that you could move to.

[BatBrains]

Thanx for info on Springfield. Sounds like typical Missouri. Better than indiana. How's the music scene? Any rock/metal bands? I play bass.

[aprilgirl51]

Most of Springfield is lovely and there is bus service, just not 24/7. There are always many activities, several colleges that don't yet belong to the left wing set and quite nice people. I moved here from Florida several years ago and have never regretted it. There are also nice small towns quite close to Sgf...Nixa, Ozark, Republic to name a few, but you will need a car to get around if you live there. Actually, it's best to have a car of some sort if you want to take full advantage of the area, so make that a priority. Nixa and Ozark are in Christian county, the fastest growing county in the state but still only around 20K population each (and outstanding schools.) There is affordable housing throughout the area. Crime is low compared to KC and St. Louis, both cities with nice areas but you'd be better off in the suburbs, Liberty (KC) or St. Charles, (St. L). I have lived in both, and currently live in Ozark where the water tastes good. Drugs? Yes, they're around...just don't go around them and you'll save yourself that grief.

[Vols44]

Originally Posted by BatBrains

Thanx for info on Springfield. Sounds like typical Missouri. Better than indiana. How's the music scene? Any rock/metal bands? I play bass.

Local bands are plentiful. The downtown bars and eateries host bands throughout the week. The best place to start is the 300 block of South St.

[w.monroerose]

I moved here over twenty years ago.. Springfield has a mixture of different people. You have your rude and totally mean people here but there are kind and helpful ones to. Its not a big city its a middle city but that works. Schools are not good but entire nation is suffering in that area. I think if your a hard worker you will do just fine here. You really need a car to enjoy everything the area offers but the buses are serve there purpose. Some areas are not safe but that is every city. Springfield loves God and I think thats great. As far as coven activity I've never seen any. I have heard its around so if you dont look for it , you will not find it. Drugs are a problem everywhere. No one approaches you though trying to sell drugs. Good luck.

[BigRedIdiot]

Originally Posted by Vols44

I'll try to answer as many questions as possible.

1. City water is okay, well water on private land is probably better. The rule of thumb is the closer to a natural source the better. IIRC Fellows lake isn't the worst place to feed the masses.

2. If you want an entry level job it's here. The people who get off their rear ends, don't call in sick and show up on time stay hired.

3. There are numerous threads about the different parts of town. Safety in numbers is your watchword.

4. The CU buses are adequate. I think it's 1.25 one way and .10 for a connection. They cover the city limits (only) from 6am to midnight.

5. The saying around here is if you don't like the weather wait 15 minutes. An example is a high of 50 today, but two inches of snow this evening with a low of 11 and sub zero wind chill.

6. Springtown is the Meth kitchen of Missouri and one of the worst in the country. When the older locals smell an out of towner they have the attitude that they don't like you if they don't know you. Much of the populace doesn't like change and would be perfectly happy living in Mayberry in the 50's.

Progressives are few and far between. Visionaries overcome their obstacles and create by will. The city has a cloudy future.

I can say by and large the area has it's share of friendlies and genuine people who want to help.

7. The area take pride in it's moniker of being the buckle of the bible belt.

Well-written essay that corresponds with most of my opinions about this cultural backwater that is far better than some other areas and far worse than others.

The more banal you are and the less educated the more you will likely enjoy this socially stratified area.