Recent college grad looking to relocate to KC (Union, Clyde: low income, section 8)

[acarlson]

Hi all,

I'll be graduating from the University of Iowa this December, and I've just accepted a job offer in KC. I've been to KC once for a job interview, and I was only there for a day, so I know very, very little about the area.

My office is in the plaza area, and I would love to live around there. Is there any way I could get a decent 1BR for under $500/mo?

I've heard mixed reviews of the westport area. Is it safe? I've also heard great things about the River Market area, but that's north of downtown. Would that be an impossible commute every day?

Thanks!

[xenokc]

The Plaza area is reasonably safe. Downtown is now too and not a very far commute, about 10-15 min or so. I live near Plaza and work at start of downtown, which is about 10-15 min drive and a little longer on bus when including waiting for one and walking to a stop.

The residential buildings directly around the Plaza have mostly gone condo so is harder to find rentals under $500/month but be sure to at least check as you might be able to walk to work - might be worth paying more in order to walk to work. Some other areas to check out are W Plaza/Roanoke/Volker to W and NW of Plaza, Plaza Library to UMKC area just to the SE. The East side of Midtown is less safe than the rest of the area but there are cheap places near the Art Institute area just to NE of Plaza. I personally wouldn't recommend Armour and E39th area but there are plenty single white suburban girls going for Armour to my surprise as there is still Section 8 housing and is last major problem area of midtown. Is improving but is more for those accustomed to those more, um hardened. If safety is a concern and not accustomed to city living, the W Side of Plaza/Midtown may feel more comfortable (or S of Plaza, but few rentals). If you want to get around the city on bus, considering living along this line (except E39th to Linwood)...

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1238514/pics/bus/maxmwk.gif

I haven't checked River Market rent rates lately but I don't think $500 is doable anymore, not sure. Downtown is over 95% occupied. Union Hill/Gilham/Martini Corner to SE of downtown has a lot of young professionals and nice small neighborhood bar district but not sure if $500 will cut it, $700-800 would. W side of Midtown/Plaza is probably your best bet at that rate. Check out W39th if you want more of the altie crowd. Has much less commotion than Westport, although Westport is becoming more of a Midtowner neighborhood bar area rather than the sometimes obnoxious metro party zone it used to be.

Where are you originally from?

[brewcrew1000]

I lived in the Union Hill area which is really nice, and walking distance to Martini Corner, the rents were only 500 a month but this was 3 years ago, so I think the rents have gone up.

I would consider something like these, they might be older

1 ba. bathtastic bath, cute cozy. deck. parking (http://kansascity.craigslist.org/apa/2713813277.html - broken link)
Windows, Windows, Windows (http://kansascity.craigslist.org/apa/2719689773.html - broken link) (You could probably walk to work from here)

[acarlson]

Perfect! I love them, thank you both so much. So what you're saying is that I should try to avoid the area east of the plaza, and look into places on the west side instead?

What about the North Hyde Park/Hyde Park area?

Again, thank you.

[xenokc]

Hyde Park is along the Armour/E39th area I was talking about. I don't want to entirely discourage it but it really does have more commotion than all other parts of the Plaza to Downtown stretch. Hyde Park homes are pretty awesome though and many urban hardened are fine with it. For those used to living near Section 8 housing, the area is worth checking out. Armour is a really cool stretch of art deco buildings that used to be posh hotels in the 1920s. They went to low income/Section 8 housing over the last few decades. Over the last 10 years, they've been and still are being renovated and several have gone market rate but there are still several Section 8 left that literally do create problems. Much better than it used to be though and continues to move forward. For the urban hardened who want to be part of revitalizing a hood, Armour is then something to check out. There are a couple suburban girls on this site who went for Armour and said it was fine. But you'd have to put up with some crime - relatively more than Midtown/Downtown but less than the E Side (referring to E of Troost).

[aragx6]

I agree with everything said here. $500 is a tough price point, but I know of at least a couple vintage 1 BR units in Volker right now at that point. Nothing fancy, but the neighborhood is safe and walkable with some very good restaurants, a couple dive bars, two coffee shops (one a Starbucks, the other a Vegan place that's really very good) and solid vintage shopping. You can walk, ride your bike or take the 47 bus to the Plaza very easily if you don't want to drive.

You can likely get a bigger place in Hyde Park, but you'll give up some safety and a lot of walkability.

[aragx6]

Here's a place in your budget: KU Med area 12 plex 3721 Wyoming St. (http://kansascity.craigslist.org/apa/2724414572.html - broken link)

[brewcrew1000]

I live in Hyde Park, but my block is good, Hyde Park really varies by Block, i would not recommend anything from Armour to 39th between Broadway and Main, there are still crack heads and petty thieves in this area. The area seems to be filling up with Hipsters and Arty types though, so it could change in 2-3 years.

Clyde Manor, which is a MAC property on Armour and Gilham is worth checking out, lots of young professionals and the apartments look really cool
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