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Originally Posted by redgirl
Hi,
My husband may be taking a job in St. Jo. We currently live in PA, and we are wondering how long a commute from Liberty to St. Jo would be? We love well-kept historic areas. We've thought of Smithville or Platte City. Are those do-able commutes to St. Jo. Thanks!
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You would really be smart to concentrate your search along I-29 if commuting to St. Joseph is part of the plan. You WILL have to jump on 29 to make that commute and there are many nice places close to it with as many or more amenities as Liberty. It's 12 miles from the western edge of Liberty to I-29.
My recommendations are as follows. If you want to live within a stone's throw of mucho amenities then I'd say you'd be happiest in the areas around I-29 and 152. Retail, restaurants, and entertainment are springing up in this area like dandelions.
You've obviously discovered Zona Rosa which has a great deal of shopping as is. Phase II is currently under construction and there will be a Phase III. Caddy corner from ZR is Tiffany Springs Market Center which is now under construction. Phase I is set to open this spring and will mostly be your big box retailers like SuperTarget, Home Depot, Best Buy, Sports Authority, J.C. Penney, Chuck E. Cheese blah, blah, blah.. The second phase will open in 2009 and I have no idea what's going in there. There's the Lowes and Wal-Mart complex behind that as well as a couple of other shopping centers with crap like Chipotle, Borders Books, Houlihans and so on. One would think that would be it for awhile but it's not. Just about a mile to the west on the northeast corner of MO 152 and Amity is going to be another retail development called Riverstone which will be about 250,000 square feet. Basically the area is becoming a shoppers paradise.
You're right in your assumption that St. Joseph will not be comparable. That's not a knock on SJ at all. It's just a fact. Platte County is growing at a pretty good clip while SJ really isn't. The per capita income is also a great deal higher in PC. The county just recently made the list of top 100 wealthiest counties in the US and will continue to climb the ladder with all of the high end housing being built here.
I'm not trying to be pry but I can better guide you if you could outline your goals a bit as far as whether you plan to buy or rent. Also, what price range are you looking at?
Platte County in general is not building much entry level housing but there are a few places you can find it if you insist on new construction. One area would be Green Hill Road in KCMO which is very close to the area I've recommended. It's really the only new construction at the moment that is in the specified area that fits within the average Joe's budget. Here's the link:
Genesis Development Team
The Riverstone retail development will also be part of a new housing development but I cannot tell you about pricing. Single family homes start at the mid 300,000 range but there will be townhomes and I saw no price for those. Here's their link:
Riverstone
If you have 300,000 + then there are a ton of options. Too many to go over. If super cheap is what you want then you can only move a bit further south or north but you will not stay be able to stay in the corridor around 152 and 29.
To the south there are some older neighborhoods along Highway 9. You can find more along Prarie View Road just south of 64th Street. You will be putting yourself farther away from St. Joseph though. Not as far as Liberty but farther.
Going to the north you could check into Ferrelview but there's not much there. It's about a mile and a half east of the airport. Platte City is even farther north but it's really an excellent location for what you seek. It's only 10 minutes from Zona Rosa and 20 minutes from St. Joseph. There's tons of new housing options there at a wider variety of price points. You can also find a real bargain (sub 100,000) there once in awhile if you don't mind living in an older home that may need some updating. Platte City is still small but growing quickly. They're constantly getting new amenities. They have a brand new state of the art library and YMCA. There's a new shopping center called Shoppes At Northgate that's supposed to be under construction soon as well as a new Price Chopper.
Another plus is that Platte City is situated right on the intersection of I-29 and 92. I-29 takes you straight to St. Joe and if you follow 92 east you can be at Smithville Lake in 10 or 15 minutes.
If you're looking for someplace with a lot of older housing stock then you may want to check out Weston. It's close to Platte City and is surprisingly lively for a small town. There's tons of old victorians and such there. They also have a ski slope, a microbrewery, wineries, a whiskey distillery etc.. Weston also has a really great Irish festival with good live music. Weston Bend State Park is by far the most scenic and nicest park anywhere near the Kansas City metro. It's situated on heavily wooded limestone bluffs that overlook the Missouri River and you can see for miles.
Anyway, I've went on far too long. Hope you find this information helpful. If you have any further questions feel free to message me. Also, if you need a realtor let me know. I know one who actually lives in the area that knows all the ins and outs of Platte County specifically.