Kearney, Excelsior Springs, Or Smithville?

[MOKAN]

Originally Posted by labpackmom

Thank you guys for your input! Our house sold so suddenly, and with shorter time periods from offer to close, we're kind of in a panic. What little we have been on the ground there, we do love the history and architecture of downtown Excelsior. Guess we can still go cruising and shopping there, where ever we end up near by.

Not hot on the cookie cutter houses in "suburbia" but from a maintenance/affordability stand point, that's probably what we'll be looking at. Just wondered if there was some diversity in the cookie cutter areas of Kearney and Smithville. Or if it is like all the "newer" areas here, where every single last house is owned by 30 years olds with lots of kids? Omaha has grown lots and lots in population the last 15 years, most are relo's that came for the great schools. So many have come that they have changed the culture of the neighborhoods completely. Ha-cookie cutter people, that's really what we'd like to avoid the most. :-) It's really kind of creepy. Mr and Mrs 30 years old, 2 SUV's, (that they think they can drive while talking on the phone and eating a cheeseburger). 3+ grade schoolers left outside unsupervised and getting into trouble, usually in our front yard or driveway for some reason. We know and like a lot of the kids, but would like more of a balance, at least not like the 100% it is here. MOKAN, you've been on the ground there in Kearney, what do you think about that? I guess you haven't seen what were talking about here, but maybe get the picture from the description? Thanks all!

I don't recall ever seeing any kids running wild, but Kearney is certainly family friendly and oriented. I would imagine there are kids out on bikes and what not, but from what I can tell it won't be quite like what you're describing in Omaha. There are some reasonable rural/semi-rural housing options in the areas between Smithville, Kearney, and Excelsior - you might want to look into those options if you're concerned about being in close proximity to others. On Realtor.com's map or our local real estate website's (Reece & Nichols Real Estate, Mortgage and Title Experts | Kansas City Homes for Sale with Reece & Nichols.) map, you can easily see which properties are off to themselves. There's some pretty nice country in that area with good access to highways.

[labpackmom]

Thank you guys for your input. Wow, it is so quiet there, and it is diverse! Couldn't believe it! Yay! Could of heard a pin drop about all the places we looked compared to what we've been dealing with! Have an offer in on a small place with a couple acres just outside of Excelsior. If it doesn't work out there is a second choice we have in a great laid back neighborhood in Excelsior. Kearney was OK, but a bit too cookie cutter in the type of homes we looked at. I see what you guys were talking about with the beige wave. :-) None the less, all the neighborhoods were astonishingly quiet, and not at all like the "Stepford Neighborhoods" we've been experiencing. Too cool! Thanks you guys.

[aragx6]

^Congrats and good luck!

[nabomm]

Originally Posted by labpackmom

We've just sold our home in what used to be West Omaha, and now is Central Omaha. :-) We are going to look at homes in small towns North of KC this week end, and will likely make an offer. Would love some direction from locals, if you can.

Sister lives in Excelsior Springs near the Elms. Says there are lots of really nice elderly people there. But also lots of drug use and crime, especially from teen agers. She's been there about 5 years.

Parents live a few miles North of Excelsior Springs in an acreage subdivision, and are kinda "sheltered". They've been there about 6 years. They've mentioned Kearney and Smithville, where sister prefers Excelsior.

All we are looking for is a little peace and safety, a simple house in the under $140K range, and a good sized yard for our dogs. (No kids anymore, so schools aren't a concern.) Kearney looks to have a lot of medium sized homes that are 10 years old or less, which is attractive to us as far as not having to shell out big bucks and labor for furnaces, windows, siding, cabinets, carpet, etc.

But I get a suburban feel from Kearney that worries me. It looks like most newer areas here, that have 3 crumb crunchers in every single house, and no one that wants to watch them, at all. So they wind up in your yard, wading in your flowers, screaming their brains out in your window non stop, breaking path lights, throwing down trash, and scratching and denting your car, (if you're so bold as to think you can use your drive way to park). We really don't want crawled all over at this age. 20 or so years back there were lots of age diverse areas here that still had homes in reasonable shape, but a nice mix of elderly, singles, empty nesters, and small kids. Now to get that here, you'd have to live in an area where the homes are 50+ years old, and it's really not safe at night.

Any suggestions, or is it fantasy land to think we can find and area with homes in good repair that isn't like living in the middle of a school playground? Thanks!

I will strongly recommend not living in Excelsior Springs. They are very judgmental to outsiders who have not lived here all their life!! There are a few exceptions but the majority of the people here are not welcoming AT ALL. Kearney people are very nice and so are Liberty people. Even Kearney is a little reluctant to accept outsiders. I would suggest Smithville because it is more spreadout there. You can easily find a nice home with enough distance apart from the "crumb crunchers". Haha I love that word by the way. That is a new one. I feel for ya on that end! Once your children get older you do tend to lose your patience for the kiddos that have no supervision. Our neighborhood is probably one of the better ones and its going to crap. People are selling their houses left and right because of the heithans that can't control themselves. They are going around firing bibi guns at cars and breaking windshields. The cops are morons and do not know how to catch them so that really helps. I hate living here!!!!! We can't wait to move out

[Craziaskowboi]

So is Kearney pronounced "KER-nee" or "CAR-nee"? I've heard both. (This goes for Nebraska too.)

Excelsior Springs looks cool driving north on I-35 at night. I like going down the hill and seeing the lights off to the right in the distance. It looks peaceful, even though it's only 25 miles from Kansas City and 10 miles from the suburban sprawl.

[Okey Dokie]

In Missouri it's CAR-nee. I'm pretty sure in Nebraska it's KER-nee.

And there's a town south of KC pronounced Neh-VAY-dah, not like the state where Las Vegas is.

[Disco Inferno]

Originally Posted by labpackmom

Thank you guys for your input. Wow, it is so quiet there, and it is diverse! Couldn't believe it! Yay! Could of heard a pin drop about all the places we looked compared to what we've been dealing with! Have an offer in on a small place with a couple acres just outside of Excelsior. If it doesn't work out there is a second choice we have in a great laid back neighborhood in Excelsior. Kearney was OK, but a bit too cookie cutter in the type of homes we looked at. I see what you guys were talking about with the beige wave. :-) None the less, all the neighborhoods were astonishingly quiet, and not at all like the "Stepford Neighborhoods" we've been experiencing. Too cool! Thanks you guys.

I'm just wondering what made you think the area is diverse? I grew up not too far away from that area (further north), and my opinion differs.

However, I would recommend Smithville out of the three. Kearney is like the Johnson County of Missouri (just my opinion), you got the super rich out there (I'm just going to leave it at that-yes I know first hand), pretty much a small town that wants to be suburban (and people who act that way too) and Excelsior Springs seems like a ghetto to me. Smithville seems like a place where one can go to relax, kick back, and get comfortable.