Missouri Real Estate For Sale

Missouri's largest city is Kansas City. This city is unique due to its shared border with a city of the same name on the other side of the border. In Missouri, Kansas City is known as KCMO, while in Kansas, it's called KCK. Both sides make up an affordable community where people tend to know their neighbors. Kansas City, Missouri real estate is full of caring neighbors, plenty of educational possibilities, and famous food staples such as Kansas City-style barbecue and Kansas strip steak.

The second largest city in the state is St. Louis, which locals pronounce not like the French king but more like Lewis. The 1944 musical Meet Me in St. Louis is centered around the 1904 World's Fair, which along with that year's Olympics, pushed St. Louis into the global economy and helped it grow into the metropolis it is today. St. Louis was chosen for those events for the same reason Missouri real estate is such a boon: Missouri's central location to just about everywhere in the United States. 

Some of the institutions that were first built to show off at the World's Fair still exist today in Forest Park, including the St. Louis Zoo, St. Louis Art Museum, and the Missouri History Museum. The park is also in the process of restoring prairie and wetlands. The residential area south of Forest Park is called Dogtown, made up of some of the most coveted neighborhoods in the city. Hi-Pointe is a gathering place for young professionals, while Shaw is popular with families.

There's real estate in Missouri located in smaller cities, each with qualities that set them apart from the others. Springfield is where Route 66 begins, and its proximity to the Ozark mountains makes it an ideal place for people who love the outdoors. (It's also considered the Springfield–of which there are many in the country–most similar to the town featured on the show The Simpsons.) Columbus is Missouri's fastest-growing city and the headquarters of several major companies which provides hundreds of jobs to its residents. 

Missouri real estate located in the suburbs is highly ranked by residents, as well as outside sources like the U.S. News and other magazines. Outside of St. Louis, the suburbs of Richmond Heights, Clayton, Brentwood, and Glendale (among others) are hotspots for excellent education, family-friendly entertainment and amenities, outdoor spaces for recreation, and tight-knit but welcoming communities. Preferred suburbs outside of Kansas City include Leawood, Fairway, Overland Park, and Prairie Hills.

Families with children looking for real estate in Missouri have many great schools to choose from. Many of Missouri's schools have received the honor of being named Blue Ribbon Schools. The goal of these federally-appointed awards is to recognize excellence among public schools for high-performing students and significant growth. Missouri also has its own method of recognizing its best schools by awarding Gold Stars. 23 Missouri schools have received one or both of these recognitions in the past few years.

There are a few districts whose schools are consistently being named Blue Ribbon and Gold Star schools. Among them are the Blair Oaks School District in Cole County near Jefferson City, St. Charles School District in St. Charles County, Blue Springs School District in Jackson County near Kansas City, and Clayton School District outside of St. Louis. Each of these schools has students scoring in the top 80th and 90th percentiles in math and ELA proficiency.

Missouri takes pride in the education of its children. The Missouri A+ Schools program is a unique plan with the goal of incentivizing student achievement. High schoolers who participate must sign an agreement to meet several criteria, including 95% attendance and providing at least 50 hours of tutoring to younger students. Those who complete the program will have a large portion of their tuition fees paid for by the state. According to some of the research related to the program, participation nearly doubles students' chance of making it to graduation.

Any high school can become eligible to provide this service based on a few criteria. The top-ranking high schools in Missouri, some of which are in the top 500 of 18,000 high schools in the country, are all participants in the program. The highest ranked high school in Missouri is Metro Academic and Classical High School in St. Louis, followed by Lincoln College Prep in Kansas City and Ladue Horton Watkins High School in St. Louis. Other excellent schools are in Clayton, Wildwood, Kirkwood, and Ballwin.

The suburb of Oakland outside St. Louis is a parent's dream. Although it is so close to an urban area, the town itself feels more rural, with a small community of people who look out for one another. Its crime rates are some of the lowest in the state. The public schools provide exceptional education. 

The downtown area of St. Louis puts residents in the middle of the action, and buying a home in the area isn't necessarily expensive – there are homes selling for as low as $190k. Living downtown means easy access to a diverse menu of flavors in the many restaurants in the area, and plenty to do, whether you enjoy museums, bars, or even bowling.

It's hard to find real estate in Missouri or even the country as a whole more suited to the life of the 65+ set than Branson. The city was designed to feel like small towns often did in the middle of the 20th century. There is always something to do, and some parts of the city are common tourist destinations for Midwesterners. 

The climate in Missouri is humid continental, with cool but not usually cold winters and humid summers that produce a lot of precipitation. There is some snow in the winter, and throughout the rest of the year, it rains an average of 43 inches (compared to the national average of 28 inches). Because the ocean is far away and can't help moderate temperatures, Missouri sometimes experiences extreme temperatures.

Missouri is part of the region of the United States known as Tornado Alley. An average of 30 tornadoes touch down in Missouri every year, most often in April and May. Building requirements for most available Missouri real estate have been improved throughout the years to ensure safety, so your home is likely to have a storm cellar and be within hearing distance of a municipal tornado siren. 

There are two major airports in Missouri, both of which provide international flights. These are St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) and Kansas City International Airport (MCI). Another large airport providing domestic-only commercial flights is Springfield–Branson National Airport (SGF). 

If you're visiting one of the larger cities in the state, there are a few man-made attractions that charm thousands of visitors yearly. In St. Louis, be sure to visit the Missouri Botanical Garden, considered one of the top three botanical gardens of its kind in the world, or the St. Louis Zoo, which hosts among its over 6,000 animals two grizzlies named Huck and Finn. The Gateway Arch is one of the most iconic structures in the midwest, and you'll want at least 3 hours to ride to the top of the arch and see all that it has to offer.

In Springfield, be sure to visit Johnny Morris' Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium, which has been named one of America's best aquariums. Branson is a well-established vacation destination, with attractions such as the theme park Silver Dollar City, the Titanic Museum, and the Butterfly Palace. 

There's plenty of natural beauty to be found around Missouri real estate. Table Rock Lake is a recreational area with national fame among hobbyist anglers. The Lake of the Ozarks is a 54,000-acre reservoir that hosts the annual weekend known as Party Cove.

A law in Missouri states that schools cannot begin the school year any earlier than two weeks prior to the first Monday in September, leading most schools to start sessions in the last week of August. The school year usually ends in late May.

● Although Missouri is landlocked, its many rivers and lakes create more shorelines in the state than can be found along the coast of California.

● One of the biggest perks of living in Missouri real estate is its low cost of living. It's in the top 20% of America's most inexpensive states.

● Kansas City is a major hub for freight trains, and in fact, two of the busiest railroad centers in the country are located in Missouri. One of the largest train systems for passengers is also in Missouri, connecting St. Louis, Kansas City, and parts of Illinois. 

● The small town of Marceline is the inspiration for Main Street, U.S.A. at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom at Disney World.