<p>OOS parent here. Daughter considering Mizzou. What do current students or parents of students think of the surrounding area. Any concerns regarding safety/crime? Safe to travel Columbia by bus to shops and entertainment?</p>
<p>The only place my S has experienced crime (theft) in Columbia so far is someplace you might not expect: in the waiting room of the ER at the university hospital! He grew up in a big city and took public transportation everywhere, so Columbia feels totally safe to him. He lives off campus now and doesn’t ride the bus except to get to campus for class. Many students have cars and are generous with rides. I don’t think safety is a big cause for concern. Maybe a student who posts here will have other observations.</p>
<p>Thank you very much for the reply. Visited Mizzou last year. Did not get much time to explore the city outside the campus area. </p>
<p>Any students or other parents with any additional comments re: Columbia safety/crime stats or areas of concern? Your feedback is very much appreciated.</p>
<p>Safety was one of our highest priorities for college selection. After visiting Columbia three times and staying there for 2-3 days every time we found it to be very safe and friendly place. Our D. who is freshman this year has the same opinion. Of course all of them ( especially girls ) should be cautious going to the parties, drinking alcohol, etc… I tried to give her some tips before the college, like if you go to the parties, go with your friends; if you start to drink something, keep the drink with you all the time, don’t drink more than a glass of vine. Her answers were always.“Mom, I’m not going to the parties and definitely I’m not going to drink alcohol.” After the first semester our conversation was a little bit different. Yes she tried some vine, cocktails ( Mom, it’s a college, what did you expect?). She and her female friends visited a few fraternity houses, didn’t like majority of them ( the boys were drunk and stupid :-). The girls are very aware that they can be raped during such parties and keep eyes on each other. So far I have not heard any scary story…</p>
<p>Excellent advise. Thank you. Will be sharing with my daughter as well. </p>
<p>Has anyone used the MoExpress shuttle to the airport and is it a reliable service?</p>
<p>Seems reliable and convenient. Be prepared to pay $81 RT from the MoEx terminal and $96 door to door RT. My son sometimes gets rides with friends to St. Louis.</p>
<p>Our D. uses the shuttle each time she comes home. Door to Door service is very convenient for her since she leaves her dorm at 5:00AM and comes back around 10PM. It’s reliable. I used it also for summer welcome trip; and it happened that my D. and I were the only passengers for time we book the trip; they called us a day before and asked if we could make it an hour earlier or an hour later, but during breaks the shuttle is full of students.</p>
<p>D graduated in May. She always felt safe, even those nights at the Missourian where she had to walk to her car in the parking garage at 1 AM! Not to say she still needed to be aware around her. I was more nervous than she! She used MoX her freshman semester, it was always reliable, but as noted, expensive. After first semester, she always knew someone going home to St. Louis who would drop her/pick her up at the airport. Good luck!</p>
<p>I’ve only been to Columbia once, but when we were there last June the only place that had “strange” people was the downtown street that is just past Shakespear (or maybe right there for two blocks). There seemed to be a couple of homeless people we saw the entire time we were there. They seemed basically harmless, but they were catching live birds and talking to themselves and each other. </p>
<p>Other than that, it felt completely safe and I was at peace knowing she was going there. Well the parties and stuff like that scare me a little, although I’m confident she doesn’t drink now I know that she will be in new social situations and with new friends that may not share her beliefs. Like the other mom - It’s college and I expect her to try new things. It’s scary letting them go, but I tell myself I raised her well and it’s her turn to go out explore the world.</p>