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| Forward Thinking, Fun City - 9/26/2012
Great place to live. Culturally diverse with forward thinking ideals. [read more...]
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| Ourt Town - 8/4/2011
Columbia is a great place to raise kids because the crime rate is so low. However, if you want something of interest to do, there isn't much of that here. More of a college town.[read more...]
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| como - 2/12/2011
Columbia MO is a fantastic place to live and to raise a family. There are so many fun things to do because it's a college town, yet it's still small and very friendly. There are excellent large employers and still the amazing mom and pop stores that I enjoy supporting. Getting outdoors is simplified with all of our parks and trails. There are bike lanes for those who bike around town. [read more...]
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| Temperature - 7/5/2010
Humidity has been terrible this summer.[read more...]
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| My Home for fifty years - 5/23/2010
I was born and raised in Columbia and have always loved the place. When I was small, the population was 10.000 with students and 8,000 in the summer. I went to school there, to Hickman High, then to Christian College--at that time it was a two year girl's Jr college. Now it is Columbia College--a four year coed college. I went from Christian to MU amd graduated from nursing school in 1957. I love Mo., but I live in Florida now with my daughter and find the climate here agrees with these old bones much better. There are many memories in Columbia. My parents are buried there as well as some other relatives. If you like lots of activities and different climate each season, then look the place over. Patricia James [read more...]
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| So What Would You Like To Do Today? - 5/22/2010
On any given day in Columbia, Missouri there are more things to do than you can 'shake a stick at'!
If you like sports, there is any sport in season. You can participate in one of the seemingly jillions of little league options. We have fields everywhere and more coming. Have you heard of MU FOOTBALL or BASKETBALL? Yes they are that big here. What you may not have heard of is the MU women's gymnastics or the Columbia College Volleyball. Yep, lots a sports. Don't let's forget high school soccer or lacrosse or the Senior Games! Or a walk, run or ride on the fabulous Katy Trail.
Already, I'm tired. Think I will go sit in the garden with a cup a tea. Smiles, M.A.
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HatLady@MAGroves.com
htttp://www.MoRelocation.com
[read more...]
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| wanna good school?? - 1/7/2010
Columbia is an awesome little spot. Right in the middle of St Louis and Kansas City. Great Downtown. 4 Great colleges.
Awesome place to live[read more...]
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| Nice place to live - 5/16/2009
I've lived in Columbia for nearly 20 years. I came here to go to MU and never left, which happens to a lot of people. If you want to go out to eat, you have loads of options. Want to see a movie, there are 2 multiplexes and an independent film theater too. We have chain stores but also a nice mix of cool independently owned shops. Downtown is vibrant. We get lots of good shows if you like to see live rock or alternative-type bands at a small club. We also get some bigger arena shows, and with the university, there are always chances to see bigger productions and plays. It is a pretty liberal place with. There are lots of great parks right in town. It's a great place if you like to take your dogs out (there are several leash-free areas) or if you like to hike, bike, or run on trails. I'm actually moving because I've always lived in Missouri and want to get closer to mountains and/or the ocean but it's not easy to leave this place. I was looking at posts from places I was looking to move and notice that most people seem to use this as a place to complain and vent and the Columbia posts are no different.[read more...]
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| COMO - 9/4/2008
COMO is the acronym for Columbia, Missouri -- home of the University of Missouri and Stephens University. It could also be called COCOMO -- Conservative Columbia, Missouri. With this being a center for upper education, I thought the average citizen would be more forward-thinking. But, I have found that Columbia is very slow to accept changes and look at issues from a broad perspective. For example, there is very little awareness of "living green".[read more...]
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| affordable - 7/18/2008
columbia is a laid back town but fairly affordable. A good place to raise children. Small enough to not worry about commuting issues. Nice public schools and wonderful public university.
Might not be too ideal for a young person trying to explore places after graduation.[read more...]
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| It's Fine - 6/9/2008
I have lived in several places in the U.S., and Columbia is mostly unremarkable. It is less liberal than Iowa City (another college town), but less conservative than other parts of Missouri between St. Louis and Kansas City. There are arts festivals, concerts, and parades, but none of them are super exceptional, compared to larger places. The True False Film Festival is probably Columbia's most notable arts event.
The people are very friendly. There are a number of comparatively affluent family-friendly neighborhoods, particularly in the south west area.
Traffic isn't really a problem, but the Columbia Pull-Out Virus is pretty bad. I challenge anyone to drive for 20 minutes anywhere in Columbia without having at least one driver pull out directly in front of you when there is clearly not enough room. It's not that they don't look first--they just look, see you coming, and pull out anyway. This is especially fun on a two-lane road when the pull-out-er chooses to drive 15 miles under the speed limit.
The local newspaper, the Tribune, seems small after a larger city (and it isn't delivered on several holidays), but it has a very interesting section called Trib Talk, featuring short comments from callers about local issues. It's a fun way to get a sense of different opinions from Columbia residents.[read more...]
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| Pleasant but unremarkable - 5/10/2008
Columbia is pleasant, but nothing special. In a way, it is kind of like the University of Missouri which is also pleasant but nothing special. Most of the national retail & restaurant chains are present (there is only one shopping mall). The weather is great in the spring and the fall, but the excessively hot summer period and excessively cold winter period are short in duration and easily survived. The University of Missouri dominates and the focus is on collegiate sports rather than academic excellence. There is the typical small town focus on high school athletics (but nothing on academics). The economy is driven by the university and the hospitals and this creates a stable, positive engine. People are friendly and crime is mostly isolated to the easily avoided areas (with university student-inspired property crime extending to student areas). Overall, Columbia is a solid C+ place to live. When you hear people praising it, they are probably from places which are less than a C+. If you hear people dumping on it, it probably just means that they used to live in B or A places.[read more...]
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| My Love for Columbia being a Deaf Man - 5/3/2008
Columbia, Missouri is the most underrated city in the USA, yet people don't realize the quality of life in Columbia.
I came to Columbia, Missouri from California, not planning to live there. I was there just to work for a few months building homes. The longer I stayed there, I felt so good about the town and decided to stay longer and found a home. I've been living in Columbia for 7 years and for personal reasons, I moved to Cape Cod, Massachusetts and lived there for 6 years and have regretted leaving Columbia.
I am planning to return to Columbia, Missouri by Fall and buy a home again.
Everything you find in a large city, Columbia has them and there's no need to drive far to the ends of the cities just to shop. Everything about Columbia is very convenient with great health care.
People in Columbia are very nice and friendly, regardless who they are!
I am a Deaf man and they got excellent Deaf Services program anywhere in the USA. They are quick to my needs whenever I need their attention. There are no frustrations.
Columbia is truly a Deaf-friendly town, boasting the only school for the deaf in the state, namely Missouri School for the Deaf. The school is located in Fulton, Missouri, about 25 miles east of Columbia.
Hey Columbia, Boone County, and the great state of Missouri, I'm coming home![read more...]
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| Best of both worlds - 4/9/2008
Columbia is one of the few places on earth where you can drink import beer in an independent film theater after a fine french meal, then drive ten minutes to hunt muskrats. The ratio of pickup trucks to hybrids is probably unique in the United States. There are tons of great bars and restaurants, a microbrewery, a University, three smaller colleges, and "the district" (what we're supposed to call downtown) hosts a multitude of shops and markets from all over the world for any taste. I went to one of the best public high schools in the state, which ranks as one of the best of any high schools in Missouri. Outside of campus/downtown, there are a lot of specialty stores, ranging from bass pro to organic grocery stores. Gas is cheap(er) and there are a ton of rental units and houses for sale.[read more...]
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| College Town, USA (?) - 2/26/2008
I've lived in Columbia for nearly a decade. Its positives definitely outweigh its negatives, so any criticism should be read in that light. Most of those positives center around the presence of the main campus of the U. of Missouri, and to a lesser extent,the other colleges (Stephens and Columbia College). Their presence pretty much insures that it is a more liberal, probably more tolerant place than most in Missouri-- good things, all in all, except that with the liberal mindset comes a fair amount of civic expenditure on items that, to me, aren't as important as making sure that the trash is picked up and the potholes fixed.
But my biggest gripe about Columbia is that, economically, it's a huge underachiever. Its counterparts in other states (Lawrence, Iowa City, Madison) are really starting to outpace Columbia as places where the presence of a major public research university is an engine for economic development. I don't mind our being late to the party-- we can learn from others' mistakes-- but our efforts are haphazard, tentative, and (not surprising, given that we ARE Missouri) subject to endless, withering skepticism from our hidebound neighbors. You see it in things like the local airport. Now, those of us who want Columbia to have good economic growth believe, strongly, that having a viable commercial airport is essential to that growth. People who want to do business with our entities aren't going to want to rent a car in St. Louis or Kansas City and drive for two hours-- or (worse, IMO), take the local van service. But the general sentiment in town is that, because the locals are ok driving to St. Louis to catch flights, we don't need commercial air service. It's that kind of hidebound short-sightedness-- and, more important, a total lack of leadership-- that makes me think that Columbia just is not going to match what its counterparts have done.
As a result, hundreds, maybe thousands of professionals like me, who live in Columbia, have to make 50-70 mile daily commutes to places like Jefferson City to work in our field. I would rather work in the private sector practicing law, but Columbia's slow growth means that opportunities are few-- so I work in state government.[read more...]
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| Columbia - Pros/Cons - 2/10/2008
Pros:
1. Low crime rate
2. Excellent school system
3. Affordable place to live
4. Home to the University of Missouri
5. Overall good place to live and raise a family
Cons:
1. UM is a big party school
2. High cost of housing
3. The economy is dominated by UM, so it's hard to find employment if you don't want to work there[read more...]
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| Excellent variety in a mid-size town - 12/23/2007
Mizzou football fanatics on fall Saturdays. Cardinal fans during the summer. Less than 2 hours to St Louis, KC, or the Lake of the Ozarks (go during the week in the summer for a quieter time). Several live theatre groups, coffee shops that aren't with a chain. Wide assortment of restaurants-not the selection of DC, but not the traffic either. Excellent public schools, university brings diversity, but public transportation reflects "drive my own" car mentality. Rush hour? If you think rush hour is waiting twice at a light between 4:30 and 5:30 pm, then we have a rush hour.[read more...]
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| Average - 12/2/2007
Columbia is a very interesting city. The cost of living is great. This is coming from the perspective of a full-time college student and full-time worker. Nice apartments in decent neighborhoods can be found as cheap as $375 a month. There isn't much crime. The weather is often very fickle. It can be a nice warm 65 degrees one day and a cold, rainy 30 degree day the next. There are some grade educational programs at the high school level; however, for elementary one would have to pay for a private school. There aren't that many good daycare centers that are inexpensive. The college campus is ok. A lot of construction is going on so it's a little difficult to manipulate around campus if you're driving. I would recommend it for families wanting to settle down. There isn't a lot for young people to do unless you plan on driving to St. Louis. The clubs close at 1am!! Also, there isn't a diverse collective of radio stations. I suggest investing in an ipod.[read more...]
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| Great town for conservatives - 10/23/2007
We moved to Columbia, Missouri from the West coast and its liberal, latte- drinking, religious-tolerant, environmental-loving attitudes. Now we enjoy nearly a monolithic political viewpoint on a variety of issues from education to health care, all presided over by a Republican-run legislature. It's like traveling back in time 60 years. People are still driving Lincolns and Chevrolet Impalas, and sipping Folgers and having a Camel cigarette with their bacon sandwich. It's heaven on earth. We love it![read more...]
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| Nice place - 8/22/2007
Lot's of good restaurants for it's size. Progressive family community.[read more...]
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