Food-

Rama Thai Don Toño The Garrison / Finley Farm The Big Slice Craft Sushi (decent poke) La Paloma Zayka (Indian food) Korya (bibimbap) Gilardi’s / Avanzari (Italian) Big East Grill (Cajun) Galloway Grill Shanghai Inn (personal favorite for ‘Springfield style Chinese’ aka boneless wings with gravy and rice)

Coffee- The Coffee Ethic Big Mamas Kingdom Coffee Mud house Black Lab

As for stuff to do, there are some neat bars and other things downtown. Lindberg’s on c-street is cool. If you are into film, The Moxie is one of the best independent theaters I’ve found in any of the cities I’ve lived. Galloway and Sequiota area is fun. You can go on a walk and grab a meal and or a drink. Lots of other cool outdoor spots too within 30 min drive (Two Rivers, Busiek, Fellows Lake). Further south there are some really special areas as you get closer to the border with Arkansas. PM me and I can send you some spots.

As for schools, from my personal experience, I think the accelerated IB program might be the best education in the area. Note that you must live in the Springfield Public Schools district to qualify for this program (think it’s called Mitlers in Jr. High). I know they have a really great choir teacher but not sure about the other performing arts. Aside from that, the is the catholic school system. It’s pretty much what you’d expect. The education is probably better than many of the public schools for average students (they get more attention from teachers and staff), but the public schools offer more resources for students in performance arts and students in accelerated academic tracks.

As for places to live, it depends what you want. East side and south side of town is pretty suburban, and I would say more secluded than other parts of town. I think the midtown / birchtree and the Galloway area are kinda nice. But if you want more space / land / less ‘city’, the outskirts on the east or south side is nice.

As for the culture, I think people are generally kind and hospitable. Living here does come with its downsides as I think it can feel quite small at times (especially because people tend to stay in their own pockets of town). I’ve since left Springfield but grew up there. Feel free to shoot me a message and I can answer any questions!