Reviews & Comments
Columbia, MO
College Town, USA (?) -
2/26/2008I'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.