Lovely scenery & good climate but poor politics
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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.
Dorinda | Springfield, MO