Affordability of Missouri

[brreitsma]

I am from Minnesota and know the pay scale and wages vary a bit between the two states, however I just visited for about 5 1/2 days down in Missouri and at least where I was from what I heard housing seems to be very affordable. I was mostly in Liberty, a suberb of Kansas City and the rent on a 3 bedroom town home with a full usable walkout basement and attached 2 car garage was I think I heard either $500 or $550 a month. Also, Kansas City has a reputation for extremely low rents. One person said they recently had a small 1 bedroom apartment with all utilities included for $400 a month. Usually what rent is in an area is a pretty good indication of what the purchase price to own a home is. They tend to go together somewhat. This would indicate that at least in that area of the state a home would be fairly easy to afford. Is this typical of the state in general.

[salmonslayer]

Pretty much. We have small older 2 bedroom houses on 1/2 acre lots here in my little village for sale for 15K -25K and its not hard to find rentals in the $150 - 250 range. But the local wages also reflect that.

The closer you get to the urban areas the higher the housing costs are and the counties vary widely in tax amounts. My county is entirely zoned agriculture and our taxes are extremely low but we also get zero services (which we are okay with).

[poppy]

Originally Posted by salmonslayer

Pretty much. We have small older 2 bedroom houses on 1/2 acre lots here in my little village for sale for 15K -25K and its not hard to find rentals in the $150 - 250 range. But the local wages also reflect that.

The closer you get to the urban areas the higher the housing costs are and the counties vary widely in tax amounts. My county is entirely zoned agriculture and our taxes are extremely low but we also get zero services (which we are okay with).

That seems typical of many rural places. Your housing prices are the same as ours here is southern Illinois. Not much in the way of jobs but an excellent place to retire. Low crime and low taxes.

[Alice In TX/MO]

The question is .... Can you find a job?

Folks are leaving Missouri because they can't find work, can't make their self employment pay, etc.

[salmonslayer]

Originally Posted by poppy

That seems typical of many rural places. Your housing prices are the same as ours here is southern Illinois. Not much in the way of jobs but an excellent place to retire. Low crime and low taxes.

Exactly Poppy, we retired from the West Coast to here exactly for that reason but man I wouldnt want to try and support my family on the economy. We looked from Minnesota all the way down to Louisiana and found rural economically depressed areas in each state that would have met our needs.

[watcher]

You will almost always find that the cost of living is directly linked to the amount of money you can make in the area.

Had a kid tell me he was quitting his low paying job in central MO to move to TX where a friend of his had a job for him paying over 3 times more. In six months he was back asking for his old job. Seems the cost of living was so high in TX he could live better in MO making 1/3 less.

[tarbe]

I can't believe how low the taxes are on rural MO property.

Taxes on my still undeveloped 80 acres are $30/year. Will probably jump to double that after I build a retirement home on it (Lord willing).

[Kung]

Originally Posted by salmonslayer

Exactly Poppy, we retired from the West Coast to here exactly for that reason but man I wouldnt want to try and support my family on the economy. We looked from Minnesota all the way down to Louisiana and found rural economically depressed areas in each state that would have met our needs.

Depends upon the kind of job you are looking for. I moved here with the intention of getting a job working for civil service; and I now work as a GS-09 on Fort Leonard Wood. Even as a GS-05, one could easily support a family on the local economy.

[poppy]

Originally Posted by salmonslayer

Exactly Poppy, we retired from the West Coast to here exactly for that reason but man I wouldnt want to try and support my family on the economy. We looked from Minnesota all the way down to Louisiana and found rural economically depressed areas in each state that would have met our needs.

We really like MO. but our kids and grandkids are here. We have talked about looking for a cabin or small home in the Ozark area on 5 or 10 acres to use as a getaway and stay a week or two at a time. Haven't really had time to go look but I suspect such things are rather pricey.

[salmonslayer]

Originally Posted by Kung

Depends upon the kind of job you are looking for. I moved here with the intention of getting a job working for civil service; and I now work as a GS-09 on Fort Leonard Wood. Even as a GS-05, one could easily support a family on the local economy.

Yes there are (or were) lots of jobs at FLW when I retired last year (though I have heard they have had on and off hiring freezes). I was 1SG of an MP Co when I retired, had battle staff, a tour as a BN OPS NCO etc and a personal friend who worked in the G3 so it wasnt too hard to find employment there but after over 30 years in service the thought of commuting 65 miles to a military base just wasnt very appealing...retirement is mommas time and she deserves it. I've been to the base twice in the year and a half I have been here...dont miss it at all.

[Kung]

Originally Posted by salmonslayer

Yes there are (or were) lots of jobs at FLW when I retired last year (though I have heard they have had on and off hiring freezes). I was 1SG of an MP Co when I retired, had battle staff, a tour as a BN OPS NCO etc and a personal friend who worked in the G3 so it wasnt too hard to find employment there but after over 30 years in service the thought of commuting 65 miles to a military base just wasnt very appealing...retirement is mommas time and she deserves it. I've been to the base twice in the year and a half I have been here...dont miss it at all.

Oh, I understand that. Though I can tell you I sure as heck don't live 65 miles one way - or even both ways - from FLW.

If you know where the MANSCEN is, and know who DOIM/NEC is, then you know where I work. And I'm fairly sure I know what MP CO you worked @ too. From one Soldier to another I'm glad to have you here and would like to thank you for your service.

[salmonslayer]

Originally Posted by Kung

Oh, I understand that. Though I can tell you I sure as heck don't live 65 miles one way - or even both ways - from FLW.

If you know where the MANSCEN is, and know who DOIM/NEC is, then you know where I work. And I'm fairly sure I know what MP CO you worked @ too. From one Soldier to another I'm glad to have you here and would like to thank you for your service.

Thanks Kung I know where DOIM is (and I will refrain from the "Dont DOIM" jokes...ha!), I know you still have a bit until retirement but its worth every sacrifice and I would do it all over again. But retirement is nice and the Mrs is so enjoying not having to worry about deployments or ever moving again.

So what happened with your WOBC application? If you didnt get picked up the first time keep trying.

[Kung]

Originally Posted by salmonslayer

Thanks Kung I know where DOIM is (and I will refrain from the "Dont DOIM" jokes...ha!), I know you still have a bit until retirement but its worth every sacrifice and I would do it all over again.

Oh, you don't have to convince me of that; before the Army Reserves (I'm coming up on 8 years) I spent 9.3 years in the active Navy. I'm glad to serve on the civilian side and have been (and will continue to be) glad to serve on the military side.

And I understand the jokes; the current one is that NEC = "Never Expect Completion."

HOWEVER...I can joke about it because as soon as myself and another guy got there (I'm the team lead for the Remote Team, or 'Desktop Services'), we saw the work order queue (up to about 263 at one point) and said "This is ridiculous" and set out to do something about it.

Things run MUCH more streamlined now; work orders get done a lot quicker...and we have about 45 in our queue (with about 1/3 of those being CAPRs) instead of 263. In other words, we fixed a lot of stuff.

So what happened with your WOBC application? If you didnt get picked up the first time keep trying.

Actually, I've not applied yet. I'm JUST now to the point where I'm ready/able to pass APFT, after having ankle surgery in December. (I had some complications, though am fine now.) And I didn't want to apply until I'm completely good to go (no flags or anything).

According to anyone I've spoken to, once I submit an application, I'll pretty much be picked up due to my extensive experience (though that's the words of others, not mine). However, having almost 17 years in, I'd almost have to commit to at least another 6 years (2 or 3 years as a WO1 and then another 2 or 3 years as a WO2) if I actually want it to count towards retirement. So I'm weighing my options. I'll either submit an application in the next month or two, or simply not do it, and then ride out my time until I either reach 20 years, or whenever I decide to stop playing Army. lol

[Ana Bluebird]

Oh, my, but I hate Liberty, MO---way over-built for their roads and sewers. The schools are over-rated, lots of propaganda, but not much substance there. Lost their small-town-ness and crimes are climbing as fast as all those strip-mall stores. Not friendly either---I lived there 10 years. (Oh, and don't expect low taxes between the city and Clay County). Sorry, you hit a nerve, but that's my opinion.

[linn]

Originally Posted by brreitsma

I am from Minnesota and know the pay scale and wages vary a bit between the two states, however I just visited for about 5 1/2 days down in Missouri and at least where I was from what I heard housing seems to be very affordable. I was mostly in Liberty, a suberb of Kansas City and the rent on a 3 bedroom town home with a full usable walkout basement and attached 2 car garage was I think I heard either $500 or $550 a month. Also, Kansas City has a reputation for extremely low rents. One person said they recently had a small 1 bedroom apartment with all utilities included for $400 a month. Usually what rent is in an area is a pretty good indication of what the purchase price to own a home is. They tend to go together somewhat. This would indicate that at least in that area of the state a home would be fairly easy to afford. Is this typical of the state in general.

Low rent depends on the part of the city the house is located in. That sounds like an awfully low rent for a house that is in good shape with a walkout basement and a two car garage. We live 50 miles north of KC and I don't know of any houses like that in our area for $500.

[mommathea]

Originally Posted by linn

Low rent depends on the part of the city the house is located in. That sounds like an awfully low rent for a house that is in good shape with a walkout basement and a two car garage. We live 50 miles north of KC and I don't know of any houses like that in our area for $500.

Same thinking here. We just moved from Independence, South out of town. You won't get that cheep rent unless your in a not so great neighborhood, or there is some hidden stuff with the house that will be a nightmare.
For a decent place in the KC area - keep on the missouri side, stay away from Liberty, Blue Springs and Lee's Summit (over expensive) Raytown is ok depending on what neighborhoods you are in.

Lot's of places hiring in the KC area, but you can't be super picky. cost of living is pretty good, I can feed my family of 6 on $350-400 a month and that includes bulk purchases, and we don't have a garden this year, or any 'food' animals, and that is eating a lot of organic/natural/high end foods.

[sandc]

When we lived in Springfield the house prices were all over the place. You could have a nice place for $550 a month. The job market wasn't too bad either. I dealt with a temp agency there that we loved. Penmac. I still look on their website to keep up with what jobs are available in the area.