rastahomie
Registered
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2010
I live in a little mining town in southeastern Missouri, in the middle of nowhere, 40 minutes from the nearest stoplight.
What I Like
The natural beauty in this part of Missouri is world-renown. The Missouri Ozarks (and I live right on top of them) are ripe with mountains (OK, hills, but you get the point), valleys, rivers, springs, bluffs, waterfalls. The area is hugely popular with visitors who come for canoeing, camping, hiking, cave-exploring, and so on. I'm not much for outdoorsy things, although I do rent a canoe and go floating (read: get hammered while trying not to flip over your canoe) every now and then.
Fireworks are legal (to purchase, anyway; laws about setting them off vary by jurisdiction) in Missouri, and in this town anyway, the cops will look the other way as long as you're not launching them after about 10:00 p.m.
The cost of living down here is insanely cheap. I'm renting an 1100-square-foot, 3 bedroom house for $500 per month!
What I Dislike
I live 40 minutes from the nearest stoplight. That means that going grocery shopping, going to the movies, or even getting something to eat (besides Casey's pizza) takes planning as well as clearing your schedule for the afternoon.
Missouri makes it difficult to own a car. You have to pay property taxes on it (!), to both your city and your county, as well as get it inspected. It takes two pieces of paperwork from two different agencies to renew your plates; compared to Illinois, which just sends you a bill, you send them a check, Bob's your uncle, and you have new stickers.
The people around here lack the manners that I was born and raised with. That's not to say they're not friendly; they just act in ways that I'm not accustomed to. For example, if someone is here, and they need to be there, and you're between here and there, you'd best be getting out of their way, and quickly, because they will shove your [butt] out of the way.
There are also huge cultural differences between me and my neighbors. The police cars have bumper stickers that, if the ACLU saw them, there would be lawsuits. Almost every yard has a sign for the presidential candidate that I didn't vote for. Our county jail literally housed Jesse James at one time, but no one wants to spend any money on making the place, you know, humane, because if you are accused of a crime well you must be a terrible person and you deserve to rot in an 1868-era jail with no air conditioning and heat that only kind-of works.
Tell me what you love and hate about your area!
What I Like
The natural beauty in this part of Missouri is world-renown. The Missouri Ozarks (and I live right on top of them) are ripe with mountains (OK, hills, but you get the point), valleys, rivers, springs, bluffs, waterfalls. The area is hugely popular with visitors who come for canoeing, camping, hiking, cave-exploring, and so on. I'm not much for outdoorsy things, although I do rent a canoe and go floating (read: get hammered while trying not to flip over your canoe) every now and then.
Fireworks are legal (to purchase, anyway; laws about setting them off vary by jurisdiction) in Missouri, and in this town anyway, the cops will look the other way as long as you're not launching them after about 10:00 p.m.
The cost of living down here is insanely cheap. I'm renting an 1100-square-foot, 3 bedroom house for $500 per month!
What I Dislike
I live 40 minutes from the nearest stoplight. That means that going grocery shopping, going to the movies, or even getting something to eat (besides Casey's pizza) takes planning as well as clearing your schedule for the afternoon.
Missouri makes it difficult to own a car. You have to pay property taxes on it (!), to both your city and your county, as well as get it inspected. It takes two pieces of paperwork from two different agencies to renew your plates; compared to Illinois, which just sends you a bill, you send them a check, Bob's your uncle, and you have new stickers.
The people around here lack the manners that I was born and raised with. That's not to say they're not friendly; they just act in ways that I'm not accustomed to. For example, if someone is here, and they need to be there, and you're between here and there, you'd best be getting out of their way, and quickly, because they will shove your [butt] out of the way.
There are also huge cultural differences between me and my neighbors. The police cars have bumper stickers that, if the ACLU saw them, there would be lawsuits. Almost every yard has a sign for the presidential candidate that I didn't vote for. Our county jail literally housed Jesse James at one time, but no one wants to spend any money on making the place, you know, humane, because if you are accused of a crime well you must be a terrible person and you deserve to rot in an 1868-era jail with no air conditioning and heat that only kind-of works.
Tell me what you love and hate about your area!