Hi Sarah,

My husband and I moved to Centralia, Missouri last year, so can only give a small amount of the info that you asked for.

1. Which area is best to locate for good country living

We chose Centralia as it is an easy 20 minute drive to Columbia and 15 minutes to Mexico. There are about 3,000 people in Centralia, it is 18 miles NW of Columbia. In town you have 2 grocery stores, a pharmacy, hardware store, post office, 5 gas stations, McDonalds, Sonics, Pizza Hut, Orscheln's, MFA, dentist, doctor, small quick care, 2 bars, several churches, small antique/junk store, self serve car wash, a few hair salons, a middle school and a high school .... I think that's about it! We live 3 minutes on a county road from the closest grocery store, and you can make it to the other side of town in 3 more minutes. We have 3 neighbors within 2 miles of us, one farmer and his wife are wonderful hardworking neighbors, one is a family that homeschools their kids and has a LOT of animals, and one middle aged couple we don't associate with. We bought 5 acres with a very small home (under 1200 square feet plus a full basement that we are converting) with a dilapidated very large barn, 1/4 acre fishing pond with a TON of fish, and a rundown shed that we repaired and converted into the hen house. We paid about $120,000 for it, which we felt was a great deal. The other small towns within a half hour drive are (South) Ashland (no stores), (west) Boonville (larger than Centralia), (North) Moberly (larger than Boonville) (East) Auxvasse (I've never been there but I don't think there's a real town there).

2) What are gardening conditions like there?

There is heavy clay content so composting is important. I haven't had any pests other than cutter beetles. This winter was very harsh but we were told it was not typical.

3) What is the overall feel of the area/city (including Columbia)?

Columbia has 4 or 5 universities so there is a pretty young feel to the city. The surrounding small towns are just that ... small towns with no nightlife, most don't have more than a gas station. In Columbia there are 2 large hospitals, 1 large mall, 3 WalMarts, 6 grocery stores, 1 home depot, 1 lowes, and only a couple of nurseries.

Anyway I think that's about it, I am happy to give you the number of a great real estate agent if you need one, good luck in your decision making!

Tiffany

I have lived in Columbia and still visit friends there. It is a great place to live and rated by Money Magazine in the top 100 cities to live in. Columbia is also rated one of the top places to retire to. You will surely be able to find a place with some acreage not too far outside of town in any direction. There are some beautiful areas on the south side of Columbia and on the West towards the Missouri River. Our friends had a beautiful home with acreage north of town.
The area is vibrant and "has a good mix - artists/hippies and high tech/yuppies." We came to love the summers when the students were gone; the city was less crowded and quieter. There are bike and walking trails all over the city. The political climate is liberal. Farmer's market is active and well run. You can also join a food co-op and receive local grown vegetables and fruit weekly.
Gardening is great. Yes there is clay soil, but not everywhere. The heat and humidity can be a factor for some types of plants. You will be able to grow peonies and lilacs in abundance! Beautiful Old Garden and Antique roses also are popular.
The Ozark area is beautiful and the artists and craftsman are an interesting lot.
Good luck!

I spent 4 years there in the early 90s, while in grad school at MU - Columbia is a great place to live/work. I'd go back in a NY minute. Nice place, nice people.
Like most any other medium-sized town which is home to a major university, there are a multitude of opportunities and niceties that are just not available to folks living in similar-sized towns where the major industry is something other than the university(and Columbia also has Stephens College and Columbia College, in addition to MU).
I grew up in Auburn, AL - and was relieved to get back to a college town - they're great, even though I was not into the party scene when we were at Columbia(married with two kids, and had two more while we were there).

We lived out west of town, in the country, near Rocheport; 'twas a 13 mile drive in to work. You're only two hours from St. Louis or Kansas City, an hour from Jefferson City(state capitol), and a little over an hour from Sedalia, where the State Fair is held.

Favorite places there: Mugs Up drive-in, Mizzou BBQ, Gerbes supermarket, and the "Liquor Guns & Ammo" Bass Pro Shop store on the Business Loop(if it's still there).

Hi, I live in Columbia, and used to live in Austin for several years! I love it here - and loved Austin, too.
To answer question #2, I just got my soil tested here at MU and the soil report shows pHs (5.6) Low (a "high" low), Phosphorus (15) Very low, Potassium (131) Low (a "low" low), Calcium (2366) High, and Magnesium (318) High. It was recommended that I add potash, phosphorus and lime.
As for the city, the overall feel is very laid back but growing and does remind me of a smaller Austin. Active environmentally concious groups, active pedway groups, good art community. The mayor is very pro-greenbelts and there is a big push for building a more pedways and bike paths throughout the city in order to make it possible to get around via bicycle and/or walking rather than using cars. The city's won big grants to work on the project, and we're a sort of model city for it. The bus system is pretty good for this size city and has bike racks on them. The city has lots of parks, too. Also there are several art fairs and a great Earth Day even throughout the year. Restaraunts for Thai, Indian, etc are scattered throughout the city. On the negative side, the relatives of WalMart founder live here and there are quite a few mega WalMarts around, but there's also health food stores and vegan restaraunts. Also there is a really cool film documentary festival called the True/False film festival, which is really attracting attention. They are trying to build more of an art district also. Three colleges in town.
I love this place and intend to stay! I loved Austin, too, but it's gotten a bit too big and developed these days.

Here is a link that might be useful: Downtown Columbia (the district) website

Sorry for the delay in writing back - I had a baby (my first!) EO May so life has been a little crazy lately. Thank you all for your responses!! I have another question that I forgot to ask:

What is the geography like there (I can't seem to find good pictures online)? Which areas are prettiest (i.e., where I live it's very hilly with amazing views but rocky soil & deer, but on the opposite side of the city (Austin) it's flat farmland.)

Find a spot that was formerly cow/horse pasture....it will make a huge difference.

Columbia is just north of the Missouri River. In the last ice age, glaciers covered most of the area north of the Missouri River. So much of the land immediately north of Columbia (Intersate 70 and north) would be considered "rolling prairie" (not quite 'flat' farmland but close to it). Columbia and south of Interstate 70 you get into hardwood forest and hills. Have you tried Google Earth or Microsoft's mapping program? Both are very good on the satellite photos allowing you to get a feel for the topography.

TWMO, Auxvasse is a real town but small. You just can't see it from US 54 since the bypass was built. There are a couple of banks, the local telephone/internet service, several churches, an elementary school, a doctor's office, convenience store with gas and car wash, and a small cafe near an auction house. North Callaway High School is a few miles south on 54 but the middle school is in Williamsburg.

Lucky, that Bass Pro you mentioned is no longer there. However, we do have a new Bass Pro, more on the lines of the big store in Springfield as far as the decor and merchandise. FWIW, there is another Bass Pro and a Cabela's in the St. Louis area that we haven't visited yet. The "Kansas side" of Kansas City has a big Cabela's too.

We moved to Columbia in '78 and lived there 11 years before we moved elsewhere. We are in Callaway County now and the land is nicely rolling around us. The soil on our farm is a nice black clay loam but just a few miles north in both Callaway and Boone (Columbia), the soil is red and very rocky until you almost reach US 24.

One thing to keep in mind is that there is legalized casino (the so-called riverboat) gambling in Boonville and that town has changed markedly since we moved here. They still have Thespian Hall and a wonderful history related to the Missouri River, the Corps of Discovery, etc.

As with the nation as a whole, the real estate market is fairly slow right now. If you can get your financing in place, you should find some bargains.