An amazing place to live - 11/24/2023

For a town of 165,000 we have entertainment options far above similar sized communities. Pro Baseball, Bass Pro, Hammons Hall. Art Museums, Wonders of Wildlife Aquarium. Many higher education options including opportunities for Doctorates, Crime is concentrated in certain areas like most towns this size. Fishing opportunities are amazing. The variety of species is hard to find anywhere else in the US. Wildlife has come back to the point where you may see deer grazing in your yard. In the rural outlying areas you can see coyotes, black bear, bob cats. Eagles are pretty common. I love living here.

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Growing City With A Small Town Feel - 5/2/2022

We're somewhat new to this area... having recently moved from AZ. We find the residents are more polite and generally much nicer here. Residents actually have a reasonable work ethic. There are over eight hundred restaurants of every type within 15 minutes of our home. Our cost of living is about 15% lower: for instance gas is a buck less. The surrounding countryside is beautiful, with lush hardwood forests, and rolling hills easily accessible via well maintained country roads. Lots to see and do with dozens of mammoth lakes, rivers and streams. Many parks, and nearby Branson is an entertainment mecca. We like the four seasons here with mild winters. There are an abundance of small and mid-sized local businesses that are growing and in hiring mode. A half million souls live in this market area and yet it still maintains a safe, small-town feel. So, all-in-all, it's no wonder the Queen City is healthy and growing. We're very happy with our decision to make Springfield our permanent home.

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springin' and dingin' - 11/1/2021

So much wrong in this town I don't know where to start. Apparently, all the a$$ holes of the state circle over Springfield. The do-nothing cops are worthless, as is the local city council. Does anyone actually WORK in Springfield, because as you drive around the neighborhoods everyone appears to be on govt cradle to grave subsidies; while every business has a "help wanted" sign out, and it's been this way for years.

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Stay away!!! Beware - 10/31/2021

Stay away! Worst crime in Missouri, meth heads everywhere you look, went through several jobs that SUCKED!! in 10 months!! Me AND my boyfriend. Loud cars on every street, like nobody has mufflers?! And if you find nice people, thank them because there aren’t many in this hell hole

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City needs to be cleaned up... - 10/7/2021

I went to a well-known department store in the better part of town yesterday and it was absolutely filthy. I find this to be common here, with hiring signs and homeless wandering everywhere. What a disappointment...

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City needs to be cleaned up... - 10/7/2021

I went to a well-known department store in the better part of town yesterday and it was absolutely filthy. I find this to be common here, with hiring signs and homeless wandering everywhere. What a disappointment...

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Springfield is run down... - 10/7/2021

I moved to this beautiful area recently and I was very disappointed. There is trash on the streets and highway as you come in to The Northern part of Springfield and homeless wander all throughout the city. It isn't too bad in the rural areas, on the most part most places are neat and show pride of ownership. It seems a lack of pride has crept into most of the city in places, except in the more affluent areas. In many areas there is clutter in the yards, grass not mown and many houses deteriorating. Even in some of the 'nicer' areas I was surprised at very little show of pride... I don't understand it, you don't need extravagant landscaping; neatness and mowing your grass takes very little effort. I am just so disappointed... the crime statistics are a little frightening. For the first time in my life when I drive through a city, I feel more comfortable locking my doors.

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Drug inforcement - 8/17/2021

I'm confused as to why the city officials. That have known about " Morgan's auto sales " or as the neighborhood calls it" Morons corner" for years now ! For its drug dealers and thiefs hookers and homeless people. In case you need directions its at the corner of E.kearney and Delaware..come by anytime they are open from 9.A.M.to 9A.m.

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Lovely scenery & good climate but poor politics - 5/22/2021

We moved to Springfield in mid 2018 for a job in a neighboring small town, which lasted until the pandemic hit. He was laid off in June 2020. Generally, Springfield is a nice small city with most of the amenities one likes. All the major fast food places, 2 Sam's Clubs, Costco coming in August, Missouri State University, Drury University, Branson is only 40 miles south, lovely scenery & trees. HQ of Bass Pro Shops. We have no school age children so we cannot opine on the school system. All 4 major TV networks have a station in Springfield, although the NBC & ABC affiliates are related. They share the same local news/weather/sports staff, which is rather weird. There is a AAA affiliate of the St .Louis Cardinals here but we have not attended a game. College sports is below average, especially football but MSU & Drury have average men's BB, pretty good women's BB & the other minor sports are average. The weather is generally nice. No triple digit summers like TX or OK & no terrible snow storms like the northern states. Severe weather coverage is sane & not bombastic like TX & OK. We've had one strong wind event while here which took out a couple of our neighbor's trees & we lost power for 6 or 8 hours, but nothing you have to seek shelter for. Politically all of MO is deep, dark Republican, although there are some pockets of Democrats, but not enough to affect State government or the Legislature. They are hell bent on subjugating women & have refused to expand Medicaid. In the last 2 elections the people of MO have passed 2 mandates regarding gerrymandering, political gifts & expanding Medicaid which the Legislature & Governor have studiously ignored. They seem bent on ignoring the will of the people. It's rather conservative Christian & close minded. There is a large homeless population that is not being addressed or helped. A few churches are active in ministering to those in need via food banks, life skills & active community ministry. Drugs & crime seem higher than average but it seems to be mostly in the lower socioeconomic neighborhoods. Drivers generally drive like they're in no hurry & assume everyone else is also in no hurry. People are friendly yet we have not made any "let's socialize or eat out" friends. We are at an age & stage of life that we know Springfield is not where we want to retire despite the lovely scenery, mild climate & our comfortable home. We plan to move away as soon as we can decide on where to go next.

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Needs to be cleaned up! - 5/2/2021

It’s a dump, downtown is absolutely invaded by homeless people. It’s not safe to go down there even during the day now. I wish the mayor would get off his lazy bum and do something about it. Downtown used to be lovely, a great environment. But now, you can’t even go down there and it smells horrible. The police need to do their job and the mayor needs to clean this place up!

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Slum town - 4/5/2021

Springfield is a slum town, especially downtown. I have never seen such a slummy dumpy town. At least half the commercial property sits empty; that tells you all you need to know,Does a downtown really need 3 bars on every city block?

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As Bible Belt as you can get, no diversity - 6/4/2020

I grew up here, moved to the west coast a year ago. If you're a caucasian white person who is an evangelical Christian, ultra conservative and care more about your personal liberties than the greater good, this place suits you perfectly. It's situated in the deepest red pocket of the state- nothing wrong with that but I'd go so far to say the city is quite radical in its political leanings. Personally, I prefer well educated, accepting populations who embrace residents where and as they are- Springfield could not be farther from this. A few years ago (2011?) the city council passed a non descrimination policy for LGBTQ people. Then, a councilor (a local 'big whig' pastor) brought it up again and convinced the council to repeal it. There is an overwhelming Bible Belt infuence, to the point that people assume you're a radical Christian; there are public prayers, billboards with advertisements that have Bible verses on them, commercials for local real estate brokers that are basically 60 second sermons. So don't expect any religious diversity, and the specific brand of religion will be shoved down your throat constantly. As far as urban amenities go, there really are none- almost no diversity of restaurants, it's mostly fast food, American and southern cooking; don't even try to find a vegan restaurant, this is drive through country. I got on Uber eats one time during a visit at 9:30 pm, and it said "there's nothing open near you." Yup. There's a reason college students come here to go to MSU, get their degree and get out ASAP. I will say, the nature of the Ozarks is unparalleled in its beauty- so that is likely to be a draw for some. You can really get out into the wilderness and forget about the world. But for me, the purposeful lack of any diversity- spiritual, racial, ethnic- is a deal breaker.

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Diversity is lacking - 4/15/2019

I lived in Springfield 2005-2007 and then again 2017-present (2019). I absolutely hate it now. My children are mixed black and white and the West Side of Springfield commutes kids to Willard High School a few miles out of town. All of my children have said the country kids at school say the N-word all day, every day with a hard R at the end, and that if they got into with every kid that said the word, they'd be fighting all the time and kicked out of school... So I'm on this site comparing other cities for more diversity with a comparable cost of living so I can move out of here. My youngest kid is 7 and she is white and I do not want her growing up around this type of environment and learning the type of ignorance I am witnessing here in SWMO... Previously I was closer to I-70 where there are more educated people who seem to value diversity and culture like I feel everyone would if it wasn't avoided and rejected by their local communities, schools, and churches. I really feel it is worse now living here in 2017-2019 than it was in 2005-2007. I didn't know why until I started looking at other areas as well and I realized everywhere else is worse now too with the racism I'm witnessing here... I finally concluded it must have to do with Trump's blatant vocal disregard for any and all minorities, whether disabled, women, black, Hispanic, or Asian... But I believe it has been since his hateful division presidential campaign, that I see is when the shift happened... simple rednecks, hateful racists, and extreme white supremacist have become very outspoken as if they are feeling socially accepted again because we have a leader who shares their viewpoints... these people are now out in full effect without fear of backlash since "the people" voted Trump in office despite his family's KKK affiliations being intact during his campaign and him continually throwing up 3 K's with his hand in every speech. That is sad to me, but anyway back to Springfield. Everything that everyone else said about "nothing here but restaurants, churches, and bars" is true as far as the eye can see... The city itself is ugly, but slowly improving its infrastructure and appearances on the wealthier south side, so their property values will continue to rise... meanwhile, on the north side you have every homeless person in the city north of Commercial Street and living around the northside Walmart, and inside the Walmart, the ppl are uglier than the average American (of course not all, but enough to notice it). Possibly the genetic trees don't branch as much as they should in Ozarks? Now one thing that is nice on the Northside is the Churches. The Christians are very proactive in building new churches and recruiting new Saints, but not in deeds, (not all but many) because a homeless man froze to death this past winter...that says something about this highly Christian community on top of the amount of homelessness only on the Northside... If there are any other religious ppl besides Christians, I have not seen them... In California, if there was an area of many churches, they were different religions... and you may even see Muslims in a circle praying daily in your local park, Here they are just different denominations, and if some Muslims tried to gather in a local park to pray I'm sure they would be harassed, maybe even assaulted. Oddly with all the Christians and churches, there is also one of the highest amounts of homosexuals I've seen in such a small city in the Bible belt... which isn't an issue to me, but I'm just saying it as something that also noticeably stands out compared to other cities in the bible belt of its same size... and in case you want to know... oddly they seem to be tolerated, maybe even accepted but definitely still judged by those that "shalt not judge"... The positives are Mike's Unique on West Bypass & Sunshine. It is a must-go too... and of course, if you like hills, trees, creeks, and lakes, there is plenty of outdoor life. It is a hunter's and fisher's dream, but I am neither. I've met some of the best ppl I know in Springfield and Willard, so I am not saying there are not good people here or some good things for the right people, but overall I give the city a D for barely passing... and only because they are making improvements in certain areas like finally revitalizing Commercial Street... but the neighborhoods surrounding it are still poverty-stricken... it would improve faster if code enforcement condemned and tore down all the mold filled houses but instead they let slum lords such as Chris Gately who owns something like 550 houses rent out to the poor with bad credit and past evictions, who can't afford or get accepted into something better... these houses are not livable... please avoid them and the subsidiaries that work for him like 417 rental and Holly Rentals. Oh and many people still only make the state minimum wage, so that is a problem that keeps perpetual poverty in Springfield and most of the Ozarks... I also believe no blacks would even have a job here if affirmative action had not happened in the Civil Rights Movement. This town has a history of hanging blacks in the townhouse square which I only learned about because when we moved here the first time it was the 100th anniversary of the last hanging where is said people came to watch in their Sunday best, so maybe that legacy is part of the problem... I know I tell my sons to please be careful when they leave the house but acknowledge that it is not on the level of the deep south, but it definitely wasn't a neutral part of the state in the Civil war and the roots still seem to run deep...

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What I like about Springfield Missouri - 7/29/2018

First, I am not going to talk about politics or religion. Every city is different in that respect. Okay, these are the things I like about Springfield. When it rains, the water has some place to go. It doesn't just sit around for a weeks. In the hottest part of the summer, it's still cooler than the South. The moist heat makes everything green and beautiful. The bypass system around the city works pretty well. There are enough law enforcement to enforce Public Safety and traffic laws. In some states, they would be busy battling drug trafficking. There is some crime in Springfield, but it's not like Dallas or Houston. To me, Springfield, it's just an important part of the Ozarks. The natural part of the Ozarks has got to be one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

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No. Just no - 4/12/2018

No wonder the cost of living is so low in Springfield there's nothing freakin' THERE. It's a dump people. There is no manufacturing, NOTHING is produced there. The hospital, gub'mit, and colleges are the only source of income for the population. And how did they let the N side of town get so fing bad???? It's like they just gave up and said go do your meth there there's nothing else to do.....A good fire would help this town a lot. You just know you're somewhere special when you come in the "Gateway to Springfield" the north end of town!!! LOL

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No. Just no - 4/12/2018

No wonder the cost of living is so low in Springfield there's nothing freakin' THERE. It's a dump people. There is no manufacturing, NOTHING is produced there. The hospital, gub'mit, and colleges are the only source of income for the population. And how did they let the N side of town get so fing bad???? It's like they just gave up and said go do your meth there there's nothing else to do.....A good fire would help this town a lot.

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On the Move - 3/20/2018

Springfield is having growing pains. People are moving here from all over the country, and as a result there is a lot of commotion...hustle, bustle, construction, etc. But for the most part, it's a good thing! More employment opportunities for everyone, more green industries, more artistic endeavors. There are lakes for fishing, trails for hiking, museums, art galleries, a wonderful zoo, beautiful parks and friendly people. I love it here!

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Seemed okay when I was there - 3/14/2018

The cost of living in Springfield is really low.

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Lived there for two years - 11/24/2017

Springfield has pros and cons. I'm personally more of a "big city" person, and I moved from Kansas City to Springfield for a job opportunity. If you prefer the city life, Springfield is probably not for you, but if you prefer small town life, Springfield is also not the best choice. It has the problems of a big city (inordinately high crime, traffic congestion) without the charm of a small town (anything you might like about small-town life, Springfield doesn't really have). First the Pros: Proximity to Branson. This is a fun place to get away to, and lots of great shows and the wonderful Silver Dollar City amusement park Outdoor recreation: Springfield Nature Center is a beautiful oasis right off the freeway, where you can go hiking with the family; Nathanael Greene Park is similarly lovely Battlefield Mall: Thriving mall with Macy's, Dillard's, JCPenney, all the great mall stores going strong Antiquing: Several antique malls worth visiting, especially Relics (others to check out are Mike's Unique, Ozark Treasures, and Urban Flea Market) Springfield Brewing Company: BrewCo was my Sunday night go-to, with live music, rooftop patio, craft beers, great service and awesome menu Climate: This is of course subjective, but I don't care for snow at all, and in two years of living in Springfield I remember only one day of significant snowfall; also it doesn't seem to get particularly cold in the winters (20s is about the lowest, and that's rare); summer can be very warm, 80s and 90s, which I don't mind Minor League Baseball: St. Louis Cardinals AA team, Springfield Cardinals, play in a beautiful ballpark called Hammons Field, downtown Cost of living: My apartment was almost 1,100 sq.ft. and included all utilities except electricity, and in a safe neighborhood in a well-maintained complex, and was less than $700/mo to live there Next the Cons: Traffic: Even though the James River Freeway was completed just a few years before I moved to Springfield, it hasn't been enough to aid traffic flow. Springfield has some of the worst traffic I have ever experienced. I think the infrastructure hasn't been able to keep up with the population. Crime: For a city of this size, Springfield seems to have high crime rates Arts scene: Coming from Kansas City, I found the paucity of art galleries and performing arts venues to be disappointing, but not surprising. They have an adequate symphony orchestra and the Juanita K. Hammons performance auditorium, which hosts touring shows like Stomp, which is nice but as far as arts there isn't a lot going on regularly There are certain qualities I look for in a city that are rarely, if ever, listed among filters or typical criteria. For example, I'm an architecture nerd, and I love the Art Deco and Googie styles. There are very few examples of these styles in Springfield, which was disappointing. Also, I enjoy driving a little more aggressively than most drivers in Springfield, and since the freeways are always clogged I don't enjoy driving there. Another thing I don't really like about Springfield is their downtown. Even with the square it feels claustrophobic, and other than BrewCo, I didn't venture into the downtown if I didn't have to. Overall, I don't consider Springfield to be very picturesque. There are a few nice areas, like the Nature Center, but it has a very industrial appearance, and not necessarily in that quaint, old-timey way. I'm a visual person and Springfield didn't appeal to my aesthetic. People there, kind of a mixed bag. Some are friendly, some are not, just like anywhere else. I will say this - it seemed as if half the people I encountered there were transplants, like me. People originally from all over live there; I've met residents from Tampa, Chicago, Phoenix, Wisconsin, Boston, California. So at least Springfield doesn't look at "outsiders" like they have three noses, because half the population has three noses, so to speak. I was content enough living in Springfield. I would probably have stayed put if it weren't for a miserable domestic situation I had to abandon for my own safety, but that's another story. I enjoyed my career and dearly loved my apartment. It wasn't everything I love in a city, it lacked a lot that floats my boat, but it wasn't a terrible place. Most of my "happy" memories of Springfield mean nothing to me now since I had to escape, but for someone who is either single or in a safe, truly loving relationship it could be a decent place to create wonderful memories. Best of luck if you choose to move to Springfield.

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Greenwood Laboratory School--2016 Best Private Sch - 2/2/2016

I thought there should be an uptated review of this school now that it is 2016. It was recently voted Best Private School in Springfield, MO through the local newspaper and it is ranked #14 in the state of Missouri against all other private schools in the state. I have two children in 2nd and 4th grades and have been at this school for 3 years. It consistently develops students who excel in mathematics, Spanish, music, sports and science. They place well in academic competitions and both parents and students are driven to succeed. We have had wonderful experiences with the principal and the new vice principal who started this school year has been a welcome addition as well. The principal was called upon when we felt our daughter was being treated unfairly by some of her classmates and the situation was dealt with immediately. The teachers are caring and strive to continually learn their craft, several of them working on their doctorates through the summer. It also allows college students from MSU to student teach in the classes and do research within the classrooms which introduces students to new ideas and processes. The PTA is active and parental involvement is strong as well. We really wouldn't be happier anywhere else.

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