Exodus to the Ozarks

Those moving into the area cite a wide variety of reasons for the move – the price of real estate, the cost of living, the clean air and water, and the combination of big-city amenities and small-town friendliness.

Kemmi Rusciano was tired of dealing with pollution, both in the air and in people’s attitudes, near her home in California’s San Joaquin Valley.

“The straw that broke the camel’s back was that the kids weren’t allowed to play outside at school anymore, because the danger level was so high,” Rusciano said. “I thought, ‘life is too short to live like this.’”

So she decided to start looking for a new place to call home. That’s when she discovered Springfield.

One factor that drew her to southwest Missouri in 2003: the people.

“The business community has been outstanding and very welcoming,” said Rusciano, now marketing director for The Payroll Co. “People here are much friendlier and more willing to embrace new people coming in.”

She also cited the schools in the area – her two daughters, now ages 12 and 14, are enrolled in Springfield Public Schools, even though Rusciano said the girls went to private school in California.

The cost of living, she added, didn’t hurt either.

“It didn’t play a role so much in the desire to leave, but … once I was looking, I was really encouraged at how far the money could go,” she said.

Marian D’Ambrosio and her husband, Joey, bought a lot in the Branson Creek master-planned community. Marian D’Ambrosio said they were looking for a place for her husband, a saxophone player with Bill Haley & the Comets, to stay while performing at the recently opened Dick Clark American Bandstand Theater.

She said the boom going on in residential construction in southwest Missouri – particularly with new communities such as Branson Creek, Indian Ridge and The Sanctuary – is no fluke.

D’Ambrosio, who spent 19 years working as a real estate agent with Century 21 in Las Vegas, said the affordability factor stood out to her.

“It’s very attractive,” she said. “It’s affordable, even if you’re going into a custom home, which is what I’m used to here. With the golf course, and the (amenities) they’re building, I absolutely love it out there.”

Debbie Ikerd is marketing director for Branson Creek, where 33 percent of the purchased lots have been bought by out-of-state investors – half of those from the West Coast. She said half a dozen inquiries have come from west of the Rockies since the beginning of April.

The cost of real estate, Ikerd said, has been a deciding factor for many of the lot owners at Branson Creek, which also boasts Branson Creek Golf Course – a course named “Top Public Golf Course in Missouri” by both Golf Digest and Golfweek magazines.

“I did a national competitive market survey for master-planned communities, and in 30 throughout the U.S. lots might start at $150,000 and go to $500,000,” Ikerd said. “In our market, we have lots from $60,000 to $132,000, and the $132,000 is for golf course frontage on the top public golf course in the state. There’s no comparison.”

In the end, it’s a combination of all those positives that draws people in.

“We have natural lakes and natural beauty, we’re virtually pollution-free, we have a wealth of educational resources here in the Branson-Springfield area and excellent medical services,” Ikerd said. “What people are looking for is exactly what we have – a wonderful blend.

West v. Midwest

2005 Median Home Prices

$207,300

National average

$121,100

Springfield, Mo.

California areas:

$747,000

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara

$718,700

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont

$699,800

Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine

$604,300

San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos

$529,000

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana

$375,900

Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville

$374,200

Riverside-San Bernadino-Ontario

Other Western areas:

$304,700

Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev.

$316,800

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash.

$177,700

Salem, Ore.

$247,400

Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz.

$197,600

Eugene-Springfield, Ore.

Source: National Association of Realtors[[In-content Ad]]