Anyone here from Missouri??

  • Thread starter butterflydreams
  • Start date
B

butterflydreams

Guest
My boyfriend and I have been talking about moving to Missouri, probably the Springfield or Joplin area. It is not a definite plan, but an idea. His sister lives in Cape Girardeau. Things aren't doing well here in Vegas and so it is a thought. The earliest we would move from here would probably be the end of the year, because we both have leases that are in effect until Nov/Dec. We might even wait until the 2009/2010 school year is over. It all depends on how things go in the next 3-6 months or so. He is going to make a trip to Missouri in May to visit his sister and he is going to do some checking around while he is there.

The kids both love the idea, neither one really has any friends here that they would be sad to lose - as long as they have email and/or text messaging they will be fine.

We have another year of my daughter receiving social security survivor's benefits and difficult child is only 13 so I can draw survivor's benefits until he is 16 and he has his survivor's benefits and has also been awarded SSI (don't receive it though because I currently make too much).

Rent here is awful, we are currently crammed into a 2 bedroom apt, and I am barely able to pay for it.

I am just wondering to find out about mental health care and stuff like that.

Thanks,

Christy
 

Star*

call 911........call 911
I think Shari is from MO.

Abbey is in NV and moved to WI -

I'm from Ohio, live in SC and want to move to Ohio

Most days I live in Oz.......(there's no place like home)
 

C.J.

New Member
I'm from the Kansas City area - northwestern portion of the state, but I'm familiar with Joplin/Springfield, which are more centrally located within the state.

Many people who arrive in this area from either the east or west coast are pleasantly surprised by the affordability of the midwest. Currently, gas prices are less than $2/gallon, milk less than $2.50/gallon. Home prices/rents are usually among the lowest in the nation - but the amount of home you get for the money cannot be beat in the pricier east/west coasts.

If you enjoy all four seasons, you'll find that here in the midwest. Spring and Fall are my favorite - cooler temperatures, lower humidity. Winters are milder in the lower midwest than the upper midwest, but we get our share of snow and ice. Summers tend to be hot and humid.

Schools (with the exception of the large urban districts) have good teacher/student ratios, and good graduation rates.

The Lake of the Ozarks/Branson is a popular tourist destination in the middle of the state.

I've lived in the midwest my entire life - don't know that I'd trade it.
 
B

butterflydreams

Guest
Thanks.

Star, I love the Oz thing, I sometimes feel like that too. ;)

C.J., thanks for the info, I really appreciate it. I would love the four seasons, and everything is so expensive here, rent etc. Which is one of the reasons for looking at moving.

Time will tell in the next few months or so.
 

flutterby

Fly away!
I could be completely wrong; my memory is not reliable these days.

But, it seemed to me that something came out within the last year and MO ranked as one of the worst states for pediatric mental health services and IEP services. I think it was Sue (slsh) that posted that thread. You may want to PM her and see if she still has it.

I could be confusing it with another "M" state, but it's just ringing a bell.

That said, it wouldn't mean every part of the state would be that way. I would do good research on the area. Contact NAMI and get their input. Contact the county mental health center in the area you're looking into to see what kind of services they provide and how long the wait list is. Contact the SD in the area...that kind of thing.

I would recommend that regardless of where you're moving - even if it was the highest ranked state in the nation for these issues.
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
K lives in Springfield. She's fighting the schools as we speak. Alex has an IEP...but honestly, they're not doing a whole lot with him. Kayla, who has recently been diagnosed deyslexic.......they're fighting K about giving an IEP although she is falling further and further behind in reading/language skills.

From what I gather from K the area is becoming depressed with companies shutting down or moving out.

Other than that.....can't tell you much except I've never been impressed with Springfield.....even way back when I last visited in the 80's.

If your seriously considering it.......check out job situations, schools, mental health, physician services ect before making up your mind.

Hugs
 

Shari

IsItFridayYet?
I live in mid-mo. Pretty much smack in the middle of it.
I'm not familiar with Joplin or Springfield area services; but I do know there are some school districts around me that have excellent reputations for helping SpEd kids. In fact, my home district has a great reputation for handling SpEd kids, even tho my experience isn't going so well. They haven't seen a kid like mine for 35 years, since his bio-father attended school there, and they still don't know what to do with him. But, that aside, there are a lot of people who move here for the school's services.
Not sure what else to tell ya....be glad to answer anything you come up with, tho! Or at least try.
 
B

butterflydreams

Guest
Thanks, Flutterby, Daisylover, and Shari,

I appreciate the input. I will check with NAMI and other places.

I am looking at probably going to school full time so I can get my degree. Right now, I am working full time and taking 2 classes each semester, at this rate it will take forever to get my degree. With what I have taken so far, if I can go full time, I can be done in 3 years. difficult child will be about a senior in high school then. In the mean time, if I am going to school full time, it will be easier to deal with all of his appts and stuff. It all depends on the financial aid I can get. Right now, difficult child and his sister receive s.s. survivors benefits until they are 18 because their father died, if I am not working then I can receive benefits too until difficult child is 16. This will go alot further in MO than it would here. What the kids currently receive doesn't even cover our rent now, in MO, it would cover our rent as well as other stuff. Big difference. difficult child also has SSI, which would kick in and be a little more than what he gets now as well as medicaid. I have to figure out as far as my daughter.

I just went out to the NAMI site and clicked on the Grading the States link. Right now, Nevada has a D-
Infrastructure:
F
Information Access:
F
Services:
D
Recovery Supports:
D








Missori has a C-
Infrastructure:
B
Information Access:
F
Services:
D+
Recovery Supports:
B








So in that regard Missouri is above Nevada, also, there is only 2 psychiatrists in the Las Vegas area (besides the ones that are at the state hospital that aren't accessible), the one that we don't go to, no one has ever heard of including at the psychiatric hospital where difficult child has been. I have done a search in MO and there is definitely more available.

We will see, my boyfriend is taking a trip out there in May, and if we can arrange it, we might take one after school is out so that we can check some things out.

I would really like to go to MSSU in Joplin, they have a Computer Forensics Program that really interests me.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

LucyB

New Member
I have been to Springfield a few times. One of the major employers there is a state university. There are also a couple of smaller universities. None have a medical school, but there are a couple hospitals. It is about 45 minutes from Branson, where tourism is the big industry. I don't know about any other industry in the area.

Springfield is definitely a small city. You would be about 3-4 hours from a major city. I don't know anything about Joplin.
 

Shari

IsItFridayYet?
Lucy, your post makes me laugh.

I think Springfield is a big city! lol

Its all about perspective. lol If you're coming from Vegas, its probably small. Coming from where I live, its huge.
 
B

butterflydreams

Guest
I thought that it was funny too about Springfield being small too. I actually would welcome living in a smaller city. Las Vegas being big doesn't mean too much, it may be big size wise and the number of people but it is very limited in resources such as doctors.
 
Top