Commute from KC to Saint Joseph? (Kansas City, St. Louis: real estate, insurance, low crime)

[alexisnicolem]

Does anyone do this commute? If so, how is it? Heavily-trafficked, light traffic, no traffic? How long does it take? Would you recommend it to other people to live in KC and commute to St Jo?

Thanks in advance!

[northbayeric]

Well this is a question I'm acutely interested in as well. It can't be anything like going from San Francisco to Sonoma County during the afternoon rush hour.

When I'm back there next month, I'm going to plan to imitate a St. Joseph commuter who needs to drive to KC for work, driving down there about 8 am, and then heading back up to StJo about 4 to 4:30 pm. I think I read somewhere that the KC metro area has more freeway miles per capita than any other metropolitan area in the country. Contributors to some of the other forums have said that I-35 is pretty close to capacity, like if you were going to Liberty, but I don't know if the same holds true for I-29. Platte County just doesn't seem to have enough residents (at least not yet) to make me think we're going to be in for a 30-mile traffic jam every single weekday. And Buchanan County (St. Joseph) has under 100,000 residents too.

Traffic can be heavy in places in the St. Louis area, especially where freeways intersect, and around I-270 and Dorsett Road, I noticed. But unless KC ever has a total reconstruction project like I-64 in St. Louis, I think we're going to be OK.

[bls5555]

I used to do KC to St. Joe every once in awhile and I remember it taking about 45 minutes or so. It's really not to bad. If you live in the northern suburbs of KC it probably takes even less. I couldn't tell you about traffic jams but if you are starting on the north side and heading up to St. Joe's I highly doubt you will see any sort of slow down.

[MoNative34]

I make the commute every day from my home in south Buchanan county to Kansas City. Easy commute. 70mph speed limit, light traffic. I work on the Kansas side in Mission and my commute time is only a little longer than the ones who drive in from Blue Springs and Lee's Summit with all the stop and go traffic they have to deal with. And if you're doing KC to St Joe, you'll be fine. Highway miles at cruising speed is WAY easier on your car, so the mileage you put on it shouldn't be fretted over. It should be 45 to 50 minutes unless you'll be living in south KC, Blue Springs, or Lee's Summit.

[northbayeric]

Thank you, MoNative! Using my car's cruise control anywhere between Santa Rosa, CA and San Francisco is out of the question for me. Sounds like a nice easy romp in both directions on I-29. Good!

[kcmo]

If you are looking for a suburban home, then simply buy a home in Platte County. There are many very nice areas to choose from. I would look around I-29 and Barry road where you will have everything you can dream of shopping wise and still be able to hop on 29 and be in st joe in a quicky.

If you are single, or empty nesters or just want a more urban lifestye, then I would consider the downtown area of KCMO. The rivermarket, crossroads, downtown area offer plenty to choose from and you would be reversing the commute as people come into the city from the north.

There is no traffic between kc and st joe. It's not like that, the cities are a bit far apart and st joes is not exactly a booming place.

As somebody already mentioned, it can take just as long or longer to make the commute in from kc's nearby suburbs. Going from Lee's Summit to Downtown or Overland Park for example can be an hour or more.

[city-man]

I have a friend who lives in St. Joe and commutes to KC every day. St. Joe has fallen on hard times in the last couple of years. I would not suggest moving there. It's a shame... :-( You would fare better in Platte county.

[northbayeric]

Originally Posted by city-man

I have a friend who lives in St. Joe and commutes to KC every day. St. Joe has fallen on hard times in the last couple of years. I would not suggest moving there. It's a shame... :-( You would fare better in Platte county.

Well if I can't find employment that's less than 40 or 45 miles away from St. Joe, I'll give Platte County a look. Maybe if I could ask you what you think of Liberty--I've heard it boasts a low crime rate and excellent schools (which would become markedly more important to us should my wife and I be blessed with children).

It just seems like St. Joseph's real estate is less expensive, the town is attractive, the crime rate is very good except in Midtown, you're far less likely to wind up having to join a homeowner's association that will grab an extra $150 or so out of your paycheck each month and then rat on you for the teensiest violation, and property tax rates are less than in Platte County or Liberty or Lee's Summit. My wife and I love old Victorian-style houses with a spacious attic far more than new neighborhoods where the houses all look the same and the front and back yards are small--in other words, a perfect description for new developments throughout virtually all of California. What I really need to do at this point--and will do when I'm there in a few more weeks is just scope out the whole general area with my own eyes instead of relying solely on pictures.

[city-man]

Originally Posted by northbayeric

Well if I can't find employment that's less than 40 or 45 miles away from St. Joe, I'll give Platte County a look. Maybe if I could ask you what you think of Liberty--I've heard it boasts a low crime rate and excellent schools (which would become markedly more important to us should my wife and I be blessed with children).

It just seems like St. Joseph's real estate is less expensive, the town is attractive, the crime rate is very good except in Midtown, you're far less likely to wind up having to join a homeowner's association that will grab an extra $150 or so out of your paycheck each month and then rat on you for the teensiest violation, and property tax rates are less than in Platte County or Liberty or Lee's Summit. My wife and I love old Victorian-style houses with a spacious attic far more than new neighborhoods where the houses all look the same and the front and back yards are small--in other words, a perfect description for new developments throughout virtually all of California. What I really need to do at this point--and will do when I'm there in a few more weeks is just scope out the whole general area with my own eyes instead of relying solely on pictures.

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northbayeric,

Funny, my friend from St. Joe, the one I spoke about before, his name is Eric. He loves it there because that's where he grew up. But if you ask him about moving there he will tell you not to. It's a shame. Anyway, Liberty has a lot of things to like about it. Good schools, plenty of shopping, and too many people. The traffic is getting very bad during rush hour and on weekends. There's a lot of that going on in certain areas in KC. In Liberty it's because of all of the new shopping and restaurants.

(little rant)
They don't plan the roads properly here in Missouri. They raise your taxes all of the time but very little of the money goes to building or maintaining the roads. Also, there is always someone standing on the median divider begging for money! It's either a homeless guy that seems to be there for months, or parents and their kids begging for money for there baseball of football teams. What happened to all of the tax money I've paid for the schools??? It's constant and yes, I said they stand on the median lane divider on a HIGHWAY (60 MPH) waiting for the light to turn red so they can run up and down the lane and beg for money... That and there's always someone knocking on your door looking for you to buy something. When they do work on the roads, it takes them FOREVER to finish ANYTHING!!! They build all of the new shopping areas and restaurants but there's never enough parking or infrastructure to support the traffic. It's really quite ridiculous. They just had a big article in the Sunday paper about this very issue. They talk about how TIF's (Tax Increment Financing) has gotten out-of-hand and how the taxpayers are being SCREWED by the city on EVERY LEVEL. But don't take my word for it. Here are some links: www.kansascity.com | 08/25/2007 | Spree of tax breaks has some wondering if KC has gone overboard (broken link), www.kansascity.com | 08/26/2007 | Big profit margins for some TIF projects raise questions about taxpayer support (broken link).
Don't get me started on how poorly planned the streets and highways are. Nobody from Missouri knows what a yield sign is, or what a directional is for. If you do yield while merging into traffic, you'll probably get hit from behind. Accidents are a common site out here. People are always getting killed in traffic accidents. The roads are designed so that you have someone merging into traffic while someone else is trying to take an exit IN THE SAME LANE!!!! WTF? This is especially fun when they have you merge onto the highway in the FAST LANE!!! Moronic... Buy a car with air bags and lots of insurance! I have met many people from other states that live here and one thing they all have in common is they have never seen such poorly planned city infrastructure and nobody seems to know what's going on. Terrible roads, crazy taxes that don't go to fix anything and a general feeling that the people here are just, well, kind of stupid. It takes forever to get anything done. Just trying to get information from local government employees for basic necessities can be an exercise in frustration! Nobody seems to know who does what or what the proper way to do things is. You always have to make several phone calls to get the information you need. All of this being said, I still like KC...

But I digress... The housing is affordable but the taxes are higher. Liberty has the reputation of being kind of snobbish. There are some people from Liberty who are kind of snobbish. I don't get this because it's not "THAT" nice. It's not like there are mansions everywhere. In fact, Liberty started it's comeback in the late 70's. You can still find some nice Victorian houses that aren't too expensive. There are also some undesirable areas in Liberty that you will want to avoid. Have you considered Lee's Summit? Everyone I know that lives there absolutely loves it. It's a beautiful city just outside Kansas City (20 miles). They actually have curbs and water sewers!

[northbayeric]

Originally Posted by city-man

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northbayeric,

Funny, my friend from St. Joe, the one I spoke about before, his name is Eric. He loves it there because that's where he grew up. But if you ask him about moving there he will tell you not to. It's a shame. Anyway, Liberty has a lot of things to like about it. Good schools, plenty of shopping, and too many people. The traffic is getting very bad during rush hour and on weekends. There's a lot of that going on in certain areas in KC. In Liberty it's because of all of the new shopping and restaurants.

(little rant)
They don't plan the roads properly here in Missouri. They raise your taxes all of the time but very little of the money goes to building or maintaining the roads. Also, there is always someone standing on the median divider begging for money! It's either a homeless guy that seems to be there for months, or parents and their kids begging for money for there baseball of football teams. What happened to all of the tax money I've paid for the schools??? It's constant and yes, I said they stand on the median lane divider on a HIGHWAY (60 MPH) waiting for the light to turn red so they can run up and down the lane and beg for money... That and there's always someone knocking on your door looking for you to buy something. When they do work on the roads, it takes them FOREVER to finish ANYTHING!!! They build all of the new shopping areas and restaurants but there's never enough parking or infrastructure to support the traffic. It's really quite ridiculous. They just had a big article in the Sunday paper about this very issue. They talk about how TIF's (Tax Increment Financing) has gotten out-of-hand and how the taxpayers are being SCREWED by the city on EVERY LEVEL. But don't take my word for it. Here are some links: www.kansascity.com | 08/25/2007 | Spree of tax breaks has some wondering if KC has gone overboard (broken link), www.kansascity.com | 08/26/2007 | Big profit margins for some TIF projects raise questions about taxpayer support (broken link).
Don't get me started on how poorly planned the streets and highways are. Nobody from Missouri knows what a yield sign is, or what a directional is for. If you do yield while merging into traffic, you'll probably get hit from behind. Accidents are a common site out here. People are always getting killed in traffic accidents. The roads are designed so that you have someone merging into traffic while someone else is trying to take an exit IN THE SAME LANE!!!! WTF? This is especially fun when they have you merge onto the highway in the FAST LANE!!! Moronic... Buy a car with air bags and lots of insurance! I have met many people from other states that live here and one thing they all have in common is they have never seen such poorly planned city infrastructure and nobody seems to know what's going on. Terrible roads, crazy taxes that don't go to fix anything and a general feeling that the people here are just, well, kind of stupid. It takes forever to get anything done. Just trying to get information from local government employees for basic necessities can be an exercise in frustration! Nobody seems to know who does what or what the proper way to do things is. You always have to make several phone calls to get the information you need. All of this being said, I still like KC...

But I digress... The housing is affordable but the taxes are higher. Liberty has the reputation of being kind of snobbish. There are some people from Liberty who are kind of snobbish. I don't get this because it's not "THAT" nice. It's not like there are mansions everywhere. In fact, Liberty started it's comeback in the late 70's. You can still find some nice Victorian houses that aren't too expensive. There are also some undesirable areas in Liberty that you will want to avoid. Have you considered Lee's Summit? Everyone I know that lives there absolutely loves it. It's a beautiful city just outside Kansas City (20 miles). They actually have curbs and water sewers!

Thanks very much for the feedback! Lee's Summit...I'll plan to drive around it when I'm back in western MO next month. You're quite right, I've yet to come across anyone who has had anything negative to say about it. Low crime, excellent schools, attractive. How would you rate the traffic on Interstate 470? A scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the level of traffic as you're driving toward Deadhorse, Alaska, and 10 being the level of traffic on LA's 405Freeway or Highway 101 north of the Golden Gate Bridge at 4:00 pm on a Friday afternoon. What would you rate it? I'll also plan on driving on 470 during a busy commute hour when I'm back there. Thank you again!