Moving to Springfield, MO and now I'm getting scared! (Kansas City: best city, apartment)

[DeanMoore]

I have come to understand that one of the reasons the reported crime rate is higher here, is that they have a higher rate of catching the bad guys. I have seen less evidence of meth useage in rural ozarks than California, The rporting says otherwise but its partly that in California its so common, that overtaxed police wont come until the methlab explodes, thus less reporting. dont get me wrong, there is crime here, but see if you an dial down to areas, I bet south Springfield has less than half the crime than north, northwest Springfield.

[CodyLynn]

Originally Posted by gonefishing

Colleges and Universities- There are three or four Bible colleges in the area-Evangel, Central Bible College and Baptist Bible College, along with Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Ozarks Technical Community College, College of the Ozarks near Branson . And of course, liberal colleges MSU and Drury. A big draw back is there is not a Medical degree or Law degree offered in the area- No local law school or medical school.[/LIST]

I'd just like to say that I am currently enrolled in law school in Springfield, Mo with a Major in Criminal Justice and a Minor in Law Enforcement and Policing. I also have multiple friends enrolled in Medical programs. So your statement that Springfield doesn't offer Law or Medical degrees is wrong.

[westvissouri]

Originally Posted by JessGS428

My goodness... Y'all are harsh! I have lived in this town for 20 years and LOVE it! My husband has to relocate next year and we are both dreading finding another home.

Crime: Live south of Sunshine and you will be fine! Again, we have lived here for 20 years and the worst thing that has ever happened was one year on Halloween we got some eggs thrown at our house. However, when I would go to work on the north side of town (Kearney and Kansas), our cars were being broken into on a regular basis. Just be selective when it comes to picking your neightborhood.
About the rapes and thefts and what not... Keep in mind that there are 3 big name colleges in Springfield: Evangel, Drury, and MSU. Most students at all of these live on campus and at MSU and Drury there are the typical Frat house type environments. This accounts for a large amount of the rapes.

Gangs: That info is just a bit outdated. My father worked for Special Operations for the Federal Government and specialized in gang activity. Even though he was stationed here in springfield, most of his work involved leaving the area and going to St. Louis, Kansas City, or Arkansas. The gangs in this area are under control and other than a little graphitti now and then (which gets cleaned up promptly), those of us that live here don't even give it a second thought.

"Popular in Springfield:" There is definately much more to do here than Nascar and Bass Pro. There is shopping, movies, great concerts, ice skating, rock climbing arenas... lots to do.

Job situation here is just fine. I have never had a hard time finding a job, and even my college job paid $10.50 per hour.

Traffic: Not near as bad as other places. You can get from one end of town to the other in 25 minutes flat... 30-45 during rush hour. Yes, the city is set up like a grid, but at times that proves to be very convenient because you have dozens options for alternate routes if you see that the road you are on is congested.

As far as cable goes... Yes, mediacom does have control, but there are also satellite tv companies that are very reasonable. Plus, mediacom will give significant discounts if you also subscribe to their phone and internet. In my opinion, digital cable with movie channels plus high speed cable internet plus phone service with all the extras including unlimited long distance for $90 per month is nothing to complain about.

Weather: This will take some getting used to. It is not uncommon to run your air and your heat in the same week-- if not the same day. Yes, it can be miserably humid in the summer and bitterly cold in the winter. However, it is rare that it gets into the negative digits. Single digits and teens usually are the lowest that we go. Typically upper 90's in the summer, a few days over 100.

Tornados: Unlike floods, hurricanes, or earthquakes, tornados stay on a direct path. Basically, a whole area will not be destroyed due to a tornado. It isn't uncommon for one side of a street to be demolished and another side just have a few broken branches. Again 20 years here, never more than a messed up backyard.

Other assorted complaints: If you live in town, you won't have a problem with ticks, chiggers, or any of the many types of snakes or spiders mentioned. That is if you live in one of the more "farmish" areas outside of springfield. Live in town, you'll be fine. There is plently to do here.. although you may get bored if you are from a huge city. If you're wanting a big city lifestyle, look elsewhere, because we are not a hustly-bustly place.

And lastly... We are quite polite here. We are not a group of backwoods rednecks. If you look for them... yes, you will find them. But not in town. Go to Chadwick, Bradlyville, Niangua, Rogersville... but not in springfield.

I would even venture to say that even not ALL of the north parts of town are all that bad. The only area you would probably not want to hang around too much is around is the pocket over by Commercial/Division and some places east of Kansas Expwy. (namely the area around Grant Beach). While they are not TERRIBLE (like something you would find in a much larger city, with much higher crime) you are more likely to experience a spike in crime. My car was burglarized when I was visiting a friend's house over in Grant Beach.

Springfield is an absolutely wonderful place to live. It will always hold a special place in my heart - it's the place where I met my wife, met tons of new friends, and gained new life experiences. I am a West Virginian at heart - but SGF is a place that will always be special to me.

[westvissouri]

Apparently, my spelling sucks in that last post. I apologize, lol.

I'd also like to add that the area on E Commercial, down towards Glenstone, past the railroad tracks is a pretty sketchy area. The biggest problem I saw with W. Commercial (up towards the railroad bridge) is homelessness. But, there are things being done in that area to take care of that. If I'm not mistaken - and if it's still there, there's a soup kitchen up there somewhere.

[bedr1]

I am from Chicago, far better than Kansas City or Tulsa (talk about tornadoes). I can tell you Springfield, MO has beautiful weather (early springs, long summers and very short winters) and in general with the exception of major league sports teams, Springfield is a far better place to live than Chicago, Tulsa or K.C. Better cost of living, everything is fairly new and crime is far less. The stats you gave were an anomaly. For example, if you take the Kansas City metro area on the Missouri side, it's far more crime ridden than the Kansas Side, which skews the numbers.

Springfield is located in the fastest growing region in the state, while St. Louis and Kansas City lost population Springfield has grown dramatically.

No you won't find a mass of strip clubs, urban decay, concrete jungle or a subway system in Springfield, but you will find a low tax, low cost place to live with friendly people and lots to do.

The metro statistical area is near 500,000 and within a 40 minute drive around Springfield there is more than a million. Springfield is generally considered mid south, but you get restaurants and stores from both the north and the south.

[bedr1]

South of Sunshine or on the far north side, north of I-44 are the best places to live. If you like loft living or even high-rise, downtown has a bunch.

Springfield has excellent hospitals and schools, there are over 10 colleges and Universities here, and Springfield has a huge college age population.

Greenway trails for jogging or biking abound, and if you like baseball there is a Cardinals minor league team.

[OwenFam]

Originally Posted by CodyLynn

I'd just like to say that I am currently enrolled in law school in Springfield, Mo with a Major in Criminal Justice and a Minor in Law Enforcement and Policing. I also have multiple friends enrolled in Medical programs. So your statement that Springfield doesn't offer Law or Medical degrees is wrong.

I have lived here all of my life (with the exception of 3 years living in Texas) and do not know of a law school or medical school in Springfield. My cousins, grandfather, brother-in-law and uncle had to move out of Springfield for law school. One of my cousins is now a judge so I'm sure she would know about this but I, personally, haven't heard of anything changing in the past few years.

Am I missing something??

[pams73]

We must have some sort of medical school, since there was a med student doing rotation on my floor for the past few weeks.

And we have a lot of nursing schools....which is also medical, technically.

[OwenFam]

Originally Posted by pams73

We must have some sort of medical school, since there was a med student doing rotation on my floor for the past few weeks.

And we have a lot of nursing schools....which is also medical, technically.

No medical school in Springfield. Also, there are plenty of doctors that will shadow specialists. And, yes, there are a couple of nursing schools here.

(I would venture to guess that some premed students will have required hours and might be working at the hospital). I am a physical therapy student and we have to complete a certain amount of hours at a hospital so it could be something like this.

[riley2112]

Originally Posted by MoMark

Your rudeness and chutzpah is appalling. Just don't come. I think we're better off as a community without the black hole of negativity you'd bring. Move to Miami, Detroit, New Orleans, or LA and find yourself somewhere you can spend your nights sleepless with worry.

Dude ,, chill out , you know just as well as I do that Springfield needs , well , some tender loving care, and some nice folks. I think maybe you are getting angry over nothing. So tell me , what is really bugging you ??