re: Libraries
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8/23/2006
Interesting. We moved to Springfield 4 years ago from Orange County Ca. I have found the Library Center and Station to be EXCELLENT. Perhaps you visited an 'off campus' location. There is a coffe house, great use of internet access and accomodations for those of us who don't live close to the library. I can request all materials on line and they are delivered to the grocery store near me. I may also return materials there. There are many community programs offered at the library as well. I don't know what library you visited.
With that said, the libraries are one of the FEW positives about Springfield. We were born and raised in Southern California and the people there are SO MUCH nicer and down to earth. In fact, I just came back from a visit to California. How refreshing to be greeted and spoken to! Springfield, and the surrounding communities, seem to be either affluent or poor. There is not a lot of middle and it seems to be very important to keep-up-with-the-joneses. The first question I am typically asked, when someone actually speaks to you, is where do you live? As if it matters (although we have a beautiful home and live in an affluent area). The schools aren't great, our elementary school in California was MUCH better. The pay is awful, even for professionals. If we hadn't made money on houses in CA, we COULD NOT make a living here. The traffic is horrible because of the lack of planning on the streets. You must drive antiquated (no turn lanes or center lanes) side streets to get anywhere in town. The cost of living may be low, but you get what you pay for. There aren't great city parks and the city looks old and withered. Above ground power lines, old schools, etc......... I don't suggest any one move here. The out laying areas may have advantages, in some instances, but they are less expensive (again, you get what you pay for) and I suggest staying in Springfield. Remember, for a not-exactly small town, there is not any shopping to speak of. One mall (which is old and crowded and, frankly, ugly), one Target, one Home Depot, not any national chains of significance (Nordstrom, Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, Chevy's Mexican, etc). The city seems to want to supress any growth and is, really, run by one megalomaniac man named Hammons. If you live in an outlaying area, you'll have to drive to Springfield for shopping (except for Wal Mart) and fight the traffic. In fact, when we looked at areas, such as Nixa, the traffic n
melanie | Springfield, MO