My family and I moved here from KY. We looked at Nixa and Ozark (both have great school systems as well as Republic and Willard) but settled on south Springfield. From a teaching standpoint, I think it really varies school to school, but I am really impressed with the SPS superintendent and we have been very happy with the schools as parents. (I have kids from elementary to high school.) When looking for housing, I would recommend south Springfield or northeast if you’re staying in town. But a lot of people also really like living in the middle of town — the University Heights and Rountree subdivisions.

There are a lot of great restaurants— you can do a search on this subreddit and find some great recommendations. Greek Belly is one of our favorites. You’ll also hear people recommend Cafe Cusco but it took me 4 tries before I found something I liked there (the pork tacos, fYI). :)