Retirement isn't exactly what Missouri is known for, traditionally, people looking to ease into their golden years have sought out locations like Florida, Arizona, and New Mexico. However, with seniors looking more toward middle America as a place for retirement, it is useful to look at some things everyone thinks they know about Missouri, even though they aren't necessarily true.
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- It's All Branson - Think retirees and Missouri and you might just think about the older audience-skewing resort town that is Branson and think no further. The Show Me State residents would respectfully differ. Columbia, a college town, is also highly regarded as a place to retire and the St. Louis area gets high regard from those who rank such things. The real estate blog Movoto chose its 10 favorite Missouri cities and they were all St. Louis suburbs. Even though Movoto ranks cities better if housing prices are higher, two of those suburbs, Ballwin and Manchester, have housing prices and costs of living below the national average. Even Branson's not that expensive: Sperling's Best Places puts the cost of living there at 6.9 percent below the national average.
- No Coastline - Missouri, in the middle of the country, is home to plenty of lakes, many of the scenic variety. Just one, the popular man-made playground called Lake of the Ozarks, has 1,150 miles of shoreline wrapped around a big, crinkly "U" shape. There's that whole Mississippi River thing going on, too.
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- What's the Word? - "Mizz-oo-ree" or "M'zooh-reh?" Depends on where in the state you are. The long-E ending used to be common around St. Louis and the short-E ending around Kansas City. Likewise, the fizzy sugar drink is "soda" in the east and "pop" in the west, according to Movoto. That might be less true these days, Mental Floss says, with "Mizz-oo-ree" and "M'zooh-reh" generalizing generations more than geography. Either way, don't expect much beyond a smile and a shake of the head from a Missourian who hears you pronounce it the way he doesn't.
- It's a Southern State - It isn't, except where it is, says Movoto. Go far enough south in the state and you'll start to hear Arkansas twangs, see Confederate flags, and taste barbecue, sweet tea, and red velvet cake. However, most of Missouri is Midwestern, used to weather variations and slightly more comfortable with liberal politics. Even the barbecue's different.
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