Polk county. Hard decision to make, wife and I both like the house. We are only going to have one shot at doing it. Will not be the time or money to make a mistake and start over again... I as well would love 200+ acres, but the money is not there.
I lived in Polk County for a while, had a farm the next county over before that, and live two counties away now. If you have any questions about the area feel free to PM me.
Polk county, it matters where your place is. Bolivar is a bedroom community for Springfield with some of the associated issues when a place is inhabited by city-oriented folks. Also has a home for mental cases, and you will see them around town as they are allowed to roam some. The college makes rentals hard to get and expensive, and local property values are slightly inflated, as well.
That said, some areas of the county are really nice, particularly east of Bolivar and North of town. A lot depends on where you land and what you expect when you get there. The comments about the right neighbors are spot on. This isn't California, and folks pretty well do as they please. Good neighbors make life wonderful here. a bad neighbor can make you miserable. I know folks who live on well over a hundred acres who have had things stolen out of their barns and houses, and folks who live in lower priced lake(read, old houses and trailers, poor people) communities who have good neighbors. You need to visit any property and pay close attention to the neighbors, even meet them if you can, before you buy. I cannot overstate how much it matters here.
