"I had a sister who lived in Buffalo and we came to visit her. We liked the area and decided it was time to leave the East Coast and come for better living," said Frances Petruzzelli.

As their new life in Ozark grew, the number of neighbors leveled off.

"Building was really going to town, at least in this neighborhood it was; then it kind of slowed down," she said.

In one of Missouri's fastest growing counties, building has slowed and homes are sitting empty. Two of Ozark's major car dealerships -- co-owned Ozark Dodge and Heritage Chrysler-Jeep -- laid off staff last week and are now restructuring. It's a national hardship that's hitting home.

Ozark has many positives, however, and Lambert's Cafe is one of them. Thousands of visitors from Missouri and out of state pass through there each year and, if they have a good first impression, they might become residents.

"Over the last several months, we had several people asking for relocation packets. We've had them as far away as California, New York, Oregon, Arizona, Nevada -- a lot of the places that are a lot worse off then we are," said Christopher Stone of the Ozark Chamber of Commerce.

So even the Coasts can't compete with a growing, affordable Midwest town, where staying the course may be the best strategy.