An Aussie perspective of Columbia, Missouri, USA
Created | Updated Oct 27, 2005
Columbia is a university town practically slap-down in the middle of the State of Missouri in the USA. As such, it is dominated by the university, though thanks to this the city itself is becoming large enough to shrug off this tag. Claims to fame include the alumni Sheryl Crow, almost alumni Brad Pitt and the inspiration of the movie starring John Belushi (Animal House; ironic all fraternities are now alchohol free).
A relaxed town, feels like Ballarat to those of you in the know (ie: Victorians). The people will say hello on the streets (nice to confuse them with a g'day!) and stop at pedestarian crossings to let you pass. The ambience is such that cars can still occasionally be left running with the keys in and not get stolen!
Amazing the size of the cars here compared to Australia, tanks roam the streets, with powersteering that feels like fly-by-wire jets. No utes, they're called trucks, no 4WD, they're SUV's. A tiny European or Asian car looks very intimidated by the hulking local product. A sore sight for Aussie eyes are the Mitsubishi Galants, made in Adelaide. With gas (excuse me, petrol) a similar price here than in Australia but by the gallon (4 litres), it's not surprising they drive these behemoths, the hybrids being all out west in California (the state not the nearby city).
Violence is low, no doubt due to the low unemployment, very UnAmerican cobbers. Not that Columbia doesn't get it's twisted murders like back home ala Snowtown. A poor Korean professor gets torched in his own car, already murdered before getting put in the boot (or the trunk as it's known here). One of the few murders last year involved a cop who killed his gay student lover (now he's in the local insane asylum). But these are such a rarity as to be front page news, unlike the nearby big brother of St. Louis, just recently removed from murder capital of the USA.
The town is situated on the I-70, a large interstate that begins in Las Vegas to the west, winds it's way through the Rockies of Colorado, the plains of Kansas before reaching Mizzourah (as the locals may say) and Columbia. To the east the I-70 heads off to St. Louis (never St. Louey) and off through Illinois into Ohio. Imagine Highway One around Australia's southeast coast and double the size and you might get an idea of the I-70.
The city has cold, cold winters for this Aussie experience (-11 C in Dec/Jan) and warm, muggy summers (35-40 C). Altogether though it is a comfortable place to live in and the opportunities of never before seen snow and the dangerous wonders of twisters keeps the weather eye on the lookout. No Mediterranean climes of Adelaide, the four-seasons-in-one-day of Melbourne or the Fremantle Doctor off Perth. Columbia weather is one of extremes punctuated by clear blue skies. A hot summers day and a roll of the dice (20-30% the weather channels proclaim) is all it takes for a sudden "pop-up" storm and a possible tornado.
Columbia has numerous entertainment establishments, nothing along the lines of a big city but it does try. A Comedy Club/night club exists (Deja Vu), alternative places like Shattered and Tonic give techno a blast and Athena caters for an older crowd. Opposite the dark and grungy pub you can find a duelling piano bar and there are numerous pool clubs like Willies. The seedier side of the city can be found along the I-70 Business loop, strip bars and gentlemen's clubs can be found hidden among the car yards.
The centrality of Columbia lets you enjoy the best part of Missouri: the outdoors. The Katy trail, the longest railroad cum bike trail winds nine miles to the south along the Missouri river and is connected by the MKT trail right next to the university. Twenty minutes from town is Rocheport, a tiny town with a claim to fame for a "Chucky" movie climax but should be more famous for Les Bourgeois, a great little winery overlooking the "Mizzou" river where one can watch the sunset. The wines may not match the Aussie drop but the view is the best yet seen on two continents.
"And the rivers run" in Missouri: no more than 1-4 hours you can find a float trip along many great, expansive and at times treacherous rivers. This is new country, the USA, not like the ancient, meandering, gentle rivers of most of Australia.
Columbia is cheap, the food is multicultural, the people generally friendly and quite international. Columbia is still up there in the top ten most livable cities in the USA and it shows, a happy town in a troubled country. It's almost like home. Enjoy.
A relaxed town, feels like Ballarat to those of you in the know (ie: Victorians). The people will say hello on the streets (nice to confuse them with a g'day!) and stop at pedestarian crossings to let you pass. The ambience is such that cars can still occasionally be left running with the keys in and not get stolen!
Amazing the size of the cars here compared to Australia, tanks roam the streets, with powersteering that feels like fly-by-wire jets. No utes, they're called trucks, no 4WD, they're SUV's. A tiny European or Asian car looks very intimidated by the hulking local product. A sore sight for Aussie eyes are the Mitsubishi Galants, made in Adelaide. With gas (excuse me, petrol) a similar price here than in Australia but by the gallon (4 litres), it's not surprising they drive these behemoths, the hybrids being all out west in California (the state not the nearby city).
Violence is low, no doubt due to the low unemployment, very UnAmerican cobbers. Not that Columbia doesn't get it's twisted murders like back home ala Snowtown. A poor Korean professor gets torched in his own car, already murdered before getting put in the boot (or the trunk as it's known here). One of the few murders last year involved a cop who killed his gay student lover (now he's in the local insane asylum). But these are such a rarity as to be front page news, unlike the nearby big brother of St. Louis, just recently removed from murder capital of the USA.
The town is situated on the I-70, a large interstate that begins in Las Vegas to the west, winds it's way through the Rockies of Colorado, the plains of Kansas before reaching Mizzourah (as the locals may say) and Columbia. To the east the I-70 heads off to St. Louis (never St. Louey) and off through Illinois into Ohio. Imagine Highway One around Australia's southeast coast and double the size and you might get an idea of the I-70.
The city has cold, cold winters for this Aussie experience (-11 C in Dec/Jan) and warm, muggy summers (35-40 C). Altogether though it is a comfortable place to live in and the opportunities of never before seen snow and the dangerous wonders of twisters keeps the weather eye on the lookout. No Mediterranean climes of Adelaide, the four-seasons-in-one-day of Melbourne or the Fremantle Doctor off Perth. Columbia weather is one of extremes punctuated by clear blue skies. A hot summers day and a roll of the dice (20-30% the weather channels proclaim) is all it takes for a sudden "pop-up" storm and a possible tornado.
Columbia has numerous entertainment establishments, nothing along the lines of a big city but it does try. A Comedy Club/night club exists (Deja Vu), alternative places like Shattered and Tonic give techno a blast and Athena caters for an older crowd. Opposite the dark and grungy pub you can find a duelling piano bar and there are numerous pool clubs like Willies. The seedier side of the city can be found along the I-70 Business loop, strip bars and gentlemen's clubs can be found hidden among the car yards.
The centrality of Columbia lets you enjoy the best part of Missouri: the outdoors. The Katy trail, the longest railroad cum bike trail winds nine miles to the south along the Missouri river and is connected by the MKT trail right next to the university. Twenty minutes from town is Rocheport, a tiny town with a claim to fame for a "Chucky" movie climax but should be more famous for Les Bourgeois, a great little winery overlooking the "Mizzou" river where one can watch the sunset. The wines may not match the Aussie drop but the view is the best yet seen on two continents.
"And the rivers run" in Missouri: no more than 1-4 hours you can find a float trip along many great, expansive and at times treacherous rivers. This is new country, the USA, not like the ancient, meandering, gentle rivers of most of Australia.
Columbia is cheap, the food is multicultural, the people generally friendly and quite international. Columbia is still up there in the top ten most livable cities in the USA and it shows, a happy town in a troubled country. It's almost like home. Enjoy.
