Wife took a new job and I've been working there for a while.  Tired of the commute and we're looking for a house.  What are the areas in Jeff to avoid, or should we look into somewhere outside town.  I know we can't afford anything in Wardsville or similar.  So where are the decent priced and safe areas?

The Holts Summit area is nice, there are some new houses for a good price in the area. It's close to Jefferson City and a quiet area to live in, it's also a very easy drive to Jefferson CIty.

I have a coworker selling a nice house in the Lohman area.   About 15 minutes west off Rt C.

I live in the Ashland area.  It is 15 minutes to JC and is a great town to live in.

Ashland schools are good as well.  I live in Columbia and would consider that area.

She'll be working in Jeff and Fulton so I don't know if Ashland is in the right direction.   We also don't have kids so schools aren't a huge concern.  This is also the first house we'll be buying so we're not looking for our dream home just yet.  I think we'll be looking at some Saturday in New Bloomfield and in Jeff off of S. Country Club.  Hoping it's a decent neighborhood.

So what's the deal with Jeff City??  One block is nice and the next is straight ghetto, then another block of nice places

That's pretty much what I said, when I moved out here, except that I said it goes from country to hood.   Where I grew up there was country a reasonable distance away, then miles of county (where I grew up), and then a gradual transition as you got closer to St. Louis.

Jeff just goes *boom*, you're there.

Go West, young man.  

Specifically, far enough west to get into Co-Mo Electric's service area, where the ruralist of the rural enjoy full bi-directional 1 gbps fiber internet delivered to your door.  Centertown/California/Tipton area, just west of JC with four-lane highway access to and fro.

Country living rocks.  Country living with gigabit internet rocks more better.

ETA:  Other than being an ecstatically happy member, I am not affiliated with Co-Mo in any way.
But still, depending on what kind of work you do and if telecommuting is a possibility...



Sweet, sweet bandwidth. Mmmmmm.

" Centertown/California/Tipton area"

Those are nice areas. Find something close/between them, and it's an easy drive up Hwy 50 to Jeff City.

Dang...that's tempting but the wife will be going to Fulton a lot

DO NOT LIVE IN FULTON for the love of God.

Please expand on that

I do not have any first hand experience with Fulton, but I do have four friends that either have lived or currently live there and two that live in the vicinity.  Every single one of them say that overall (not every single area) it is full of crime and druggies.  I have been there a few times for car shows and it seemed fine (never left the parking lot where the show was), but I trust their judgement.

So it's a typical small town..lol

Yes, Fulton isn't so bad.  It's got it's good parts & bad parts just like any midwestern small town.   Sounds like if you'll be working in Jeff & Fulton you should check into the Holts Summit or New Bloomfield areas.  Both are nice areas with reasonable property values.

That's quite an unsolicited endorsement. Years ago, I used to work as a communications hack for Missouri's electric co-ops. I tried to write a story about the extensive web of fiber they were building in rural Missouri. I thought it was a great story . . . sort of a modern redo of the whole rural electrification thing. JermeyT's old boss nixed the idea. He wanted to keep it quiet. Something about not really having the proper rights of way to hang all that fiber. I guess that's all been settled now. Anyway, consider yourself lucky. Huge parts of rural America (and large parts of rural Missouri) still have no choice but dial up or satellite.

I live in an area like that. I can stand on my front porch, look in one direction and see a "community center" and houses rehabbed by Habitat for Humanity. When I turn my head in the other direction I can see the edge of a neighborhood that boasts some of the oldest, most prestigious addresses in town. I definitely live in the "transition zone."

 I finally talked them into it!  

Callaway Electric CO-OP is now jumping in feet first also.  I staked pads for 2 new fiber buildings today in Carrington and Reform with the Fulton area already underway.   Now if I could only get it to my house.

It's a very cool thing.

It truly is unsolicited; I'm in no way associated with Co-Mo.  I was one of those suffering through six years of expensive, metered, partially-useless (VPN's suck) satellite service; a real problem for me since I work about 60% from home.  It's hard to imagine the impact of switching from dialup/satt to FTTH for anyone who hasn't had to live with the former in this day and age... our society really is starting to revolve around the internet.  Try signing up four kids for college without a broadband connection these days...  yes, it's possible.  It's also possible to cook a 12-course meal on a Sterno camp stove if you're determined enough.

I bring it up not to brag (there are plenty of "What's your bandwidth?" dick-measuring threads here for that ), but because a lot of people considering a move to a rural area don't look into the internet availability before signing all the papers... only to find out later that Netflix and regular system updates will be only a fond memory at the new place.

I like the fact that a co-op is doing it too.  Actually, Co-Mo applied for a .gov "Rural Broadband" grant to help fund construction of the network, but for whatever reason was denied.  So they said "F* it, we'll do it ourselves..." - and did. The project seems to be progressing on-schedule, is apparently doing OK financially (I received my share of refunds from the Co-oP this year, effectively saying we were making money rather than going in the hole), and, from what I've seen, has pretty damn close to 100% satisfaction rate from the customers of the service.  Not your typical .gov project.  

So, yeah... I do consider myself lucky.  But I also paid my dues with years of inadequate internet, wrote several letters of support and justification for the project, and even consulted directly the the Co-op's IT manager on several occasions to help make fiber happen.  Some of the most wisely-invested time in my life.
 

Co-Mo Connect is putting out feelers in Russellville, and if enough people in the area sign up they will run it to town, then work outwards. I hope it happens.

https://join.co-mo.net/

I hate to burst any bubbles but I wouldn't get your hopes up where your at. Unless 3 Rivers decides to get with them.  Which I really hope they do.

My hopes shall remain high, because the alternatives are unacceptable.