I think Springfield is very safe. Be selective on where you live. Some housing is in sketchy areas, a lot of it is not.

will our neighborhoods start smelling like skunk farms? will this state become the new mecca for growers? will City Utilities have to upgrade our grid to support all the hydroponics?

Maybe nothing noticable will happen at all.

Dumb asses are gonna drive high and kill innocent people.

Hello I am a student here and it’s not bad at all. Same rules apply from where you’re from probably. If you have a bike lock it. Don’t walk alone at night. Don’t be scared by statistics. Ik it’s a huge difference and change coming here probably but it won’t be that bad. It’s not like you’ll get here and be like, man look at all this crime and violence lol. I’ve been here for 3 years and never experienced or seen it. I’ve had friends who’ve sometimes have but nothing serious. Just join orgs and clubs, make friends, find your place at school and it’ll be fine.

I love Silent Hill so I suppose I can take a crack at it.

A Silent Hill in Springfield, Missouri would mean a much more abandoned Springfield. So of course there would be almost no people. In the Silent Hill Franchise they do a good job of using the ashfall as an excuse for most people having left and those still around being crazy, in Springfield's case I feel like we would want to play more into the weather, perhaps its is always foggy as hell at best, and rainy to downpouring at worst. Never a day of good weather and most have left as a result.

The natural indicator of normal reality to horror reality would remain sirens, and the extensive tornado siren system in Springfield would fit that bill pretty easily. The game would probably take place mostly downtown, and opt away from the neighborhoods. Although I also think that utilizing the various Caves and Springfield Underground throughout the city would be almost a requirement as well. City could lead to caves, which could lead to parks, and offer a bit of variety in setting.

In normal reality you are just left with a couple crazies somehow making by downtown, and there is weird undertones of some kind of cult living in the caves beneath Springfield, then when you transition to horror reality the weather gets substantially worse and it forces you indoors or to minimize your time outside as much as possible. Monsters may become a serious issue outdoors and anywhere connected to outdoors could have monsters spilling into them. The storm can also impact the water levels and shut off certain access points in the underground and tunnel systems, meaning you can only get certain places at certain times.

Lots of gun stores around where you could restock on supplies, and interesting areas you could explore downtown from the various train tracks, to under bridges to across city streets, parks, etc.

The monsters would probably include a mix of the normal horrors you might expect in silent hill, but could also include some local varieties of weird creatures, like Ozark Howlers as some kind of demon dog that becomes active during the storms in the parks.

Shhh...it's a secret

This is fascinating, even if it’s just a coincidence. My husband noted that the mountains near Raccoon City are large enough to have snow caps, but I pointed out there aren’t really any mountains in the Midwest like that, although there are a couple in southeast Missouri that can on occasion in the winter if the weather is right. But they don’t have the large caves there.

Sorry to ramble, I just read the old post you linked to and the comments are shut off there, and I had some random thoughts… 🤣

Thanks! I looked at Springfield, OR, but I'm not sure it will be any different than here. I'll check out Charlottesville!

Missouri did legalize it and it's starting tomorrow

But fair warning, the medical weed stuff only started a few years ago and was a disaster thanks to the insane corruption of the politicians in the state monopolizing growers, and it's only going to get worse as far as getting stuff since more people will be going after it. In a few years perhaps it will sort itself out but not likely considering how rock hard this state is for electing people solely because of an (R) being next to their name

Springfield and Missouri in general are a bit behind the times compared to most larger metropolitan areas, and while poverty has certainly been around it is getting significantly worse and the homeless population is getting bigger and bigger while no one does anything about it here

The reason it's getting worse is partially because rent and cost of living are increasing quickly. The old saying used to be that Springfield was a good place to be because the cost of living is so low. The problem is wages are barely improving and that whole 'rent being cheaper' thing is going out the window. Talk to just about anyone who rents around here and they'll tell you how much the rates have gone up

Is it as bad as downtown Seattle? Not likely. There simply aren't that many people here compared to there but it isn't far off from getting there

Now that is quality r/SpringfieldMO content.

If he sent that to you, and you came here with it, he's probably healthy.

Oh lord... that's a tough one. If I had to again live in any of the previous places I've lived, I don't really know where I'd choose, but these came to mind: New Orleans came to mind first, followed by Portland, OR (but, ugh, not lately), Lancaster County Pennsylvania (rather similar to here, but, much better in my opinion), and Charlottesville, VA.

Perhaps start looking into Charlottesville, VA. It's a great little town.

Look up mental health court.

I’m from a different state but there should be a mental health court in your county where you can write a petition for a mental health evaluation. If granted they will take him to an inpatient psych unit for assessment. It varies by county, but there should be some system in place.

Worst case if you file a missing persons report, and the police find him, they will probably swing him by an emergency room when he’s picked up.

Again different state so I don’t know what options you have exactly. But hopefully there’s a system in place. Good luck !

Have you considered Overland Park, Kansas; Aurora, Illinois; or even Battlefield; Missouri? I haven’t lived in any of those places but the people I know who do live there seem to enjoy it. I don’t know many people who genuinely enjoy Springfield on the other hand…

Just let people enjoy the comment feature :(

Ok now I'm intrigued...

As a homeless person I really value the libraries and will support this cause. Not the censorship...I mean the anticensorship cause. I support not pulling funding from libraries. I hope I'm making sense 🤔

Definitely don't think in the age of the internet (the world's largest library) that banning books makes any sense at all anyway. its really boomer-esque or archaic that they think this makes any sense. In fact the reason I sought out and read "catcher in the rye" was because of the cultural taboo and history surrounding it. If anything banning books just makes people want to read them.

Do you have a favorite place you've lived?

Not sure what your budget is or how you define "big" yard and "safe" neighborhood, but the two could, again depending on your definition, be hard to find here. If you're OK living outside of "town" in more of a suburban development rather than a "neighborhood", you'll be fine.

But, for real... if the entire country is your oyster... maybe keep looking. If you like the ecology of here, there's always northwest Arkansas.

Geez. Good thing I bought a home. I could never afford to rent.

I second this. I've lived all over the US, large city and small town and this is a good, concise way to say it.

No but it's getting close. Everytime I drive by it looks more and more ready to be open. I can't imagine what's left at this point. I'm from texas/Oklahoma. The former lack of a whataburger is a serious crime 🧐

I've heard some people complain "But it's unhealthy"

When people go to WBae they go to get a delicious sandwich that will give them hyperlipidemia. Nobody eats WBae thinking it's healthy. You're going to get a sandwich or burger dripping in cheese and sauce that too big to bite into. When you get to WBae you pray to God for him to look away before you demolish the most delicious fast food ever created. Youve had less than healthy comfort munchies like KFC or Taco bell. But if you've never had WBae's sandwich burger melt supremo-matics glory food you don't yet know how good that bad can be 😤😤😤

But I'm really really excited. I hope they still have my favorite sandwich on the menu 😱

I know that STL and KC definitely can depending on the area, but comparatively speaking, I’ve been looking for 2 bedroom apartments with a garage and the lowest I can find in Springfield for that is around $900. KC is like $1,000-1,200 so pretty close in price.

Our babysitter is an international grad student (black woman) at MSU who also doesn't have a car and lives very close to / on campus. What the others have said is all true and valid.

A "15 min walk to uni" will leave you in some potentially uncomfortable neighborhoods if you're feeling alone.

Find an apartment on or very, very near campus.

After that, just brush up on your / form some street smarts: Carry pepper spray (and know how to use it! Buy a practice bottle if you've never used it before) if you're going to be walking alone at night; know your way around campus; safety in numbers (usually); etc...

If you're wanting to know about crime stats, use this tool (zoom into springfield and use the filters): https://communitycrimemap.com/?fbclid=IwAR3UvZQWdhpPo9boIwH9abLklo50PvcesTowH_79U18jZL0-cZ_ZrghyuBA

You'll be okay, Springfield is honestly a pretty quiet town. Most of our crime is just meth related. I'm not sure if you guys have tweakers in India, but if you see an overly alert and skinny guy, just don't make eye contact and definitely don't talk to him. Follow that rule and you'll be fine.

I really hope you enjoy your time in Missouri. I've lived here my whole life, and I think we've got a couple good things on offer.

In my opinion, while you're in America, you need to try frozen custard, fried cheese curds, and the wonderful mess we refer to as Waffle House. If you listen to nothing else I say, please visit a Waffle House while you're in America.