Possible Relocation to KC area...need advice from locals! (Kansas City: for sale, homes)

[emr317]

Hi,

My husband works for his family's business, and they are looking to expand into the KC area. This is not a definite yet, but we are nonetheless exploring our options should the deal go through and we decide to move. We live in a very small, rural town in Ohio. While we're not necessarily looking for a place to live in the KC area with a small, rural feel, we don't want to live where we're on top of our neighbors. We know what small town living is like, and we are in search of a more progressive, diverse place to live and to raise our children. That said, we've explored some of the suburban homes online and find most to be cookie cutter and "ticky-tacky," which is not our style at all. We prefer a home with more character (we currently live in a beautiful home built in the 1800's...we love Craftsmans, so that would be more of the style we're looking for.) We have two small children, so we'd be in search of a SAFE neighborhood with lots of green space and parks for them to play. Any areas that have LOTS of activities going on for kids is a huge plus! Schools are not a concern, as we plan to home educate, but connections to area homeschooling groups are also a huge plus. We're not wealthy by any means, and our top home price would be in the $225's, but most likely, we'd want to go less than that if we can. We do have friends who live in the KC area, and they are all over the place with their recommendations: Some say Johnson County, KS, and some say Parkville, MO, Lee's Summit, MO, or the Brookside neighborhood in MO. We know next to nothing about any of these places...and really, we're open to anything, so long as it is family-friendly. Thanks for your help!

[kcmo]

Brookside would be perfect for you. Don't even look any place else and concentrate on Brookside.

[Okey Dokie]

Looking at Reece and Nichols' website www.reecreandnichols.com there are 19 homes for sale in Zip Code 64113 (which includes Brookside and other areas) that are $225,000 and under.

Don't rule out the older parts of Liberty.

[TabulaRasa]

Downtown Lee's Summit historic preservation district. Loads of late 1800s homes, charming downtown, small town feel with access to stereotypical suburban amenities, but you don't have to look at them day in and day out, and an excellent public school district, so you wouldn't be compelled to go the private school route if you didn't want to, which isn't so much the case with the also-attractive Brookside option.

Based on what you say and personal experience with both areas, I would say to focus on Brookside if you feel okay about the fact that the public schools are likely going to be something you find untenable, and focus on downtown LS if you are looking for solid public schools, all other things being equal.

[pacificwhim]

Look at the neighborhood known as Western 49-63. It's near Brookside, which is wonderful but can be pricey. 49-63 has lots of Craftsman homes and is near amenities like UMKC (with the coming Whole Foods Market, about which I can hardly contain my enthusiasm), the Plaza, and the 63rd Street commercial district.

[lovekcmo]

The only problem with Brookside is it's "liberal" very top heavy with democrat voters-if you're homeschooling-you probably won't feel comfortable in Brookside and I would look at Lee's Summit or Johnson County-Lee's Summit and Johnson County are far enough removed from the problems of urban living and you won't have to pay a 1 percent earnings tax for just living in Kansas City MO.

[TabulaRasa]

Ah, I missed where you were homeschooling...you'd be fine in Brookside, then, if you don't have to worry about the state of the publics/price of the privates.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by lovekcmo

The only problem with Brookside is it's "liberal" very top heavy with democrat voters-if you're homeschooling-you probably won't feel comfortable in Brookside and I would look at Lee's Summit or Johnson County-Lee's Summit and Johnson County are far enough removed from the problems of urban living and you won't have to pay a 1 percent earnings tax for just living in Kansas City MO.

Uh no.
You must have missed the quote here: "We know what small town living is like, and we are in search of a more progressive, diverse place to live and to raise our children. That said, we've explored some of the suburban homes online and find most to be cookie cutter and "ticky-tacky," which is not our style at all."

Looks like they would prefer Brookside based on the criteria listed.

[lovekcmo]

Lees Summit has supposedly passed the 100,000 residents mark-so it's not small or rural. The suburbs in Johnson county are also quite large-just because suburbs tell to be conservative doesn't mean they are small or non progressive-just like college towns in the upper midwest aren't for everyone-

[WiseOwlSaysHoot]

Yet another post from lovekcmo that makes it seem that the name was chosen sarcastically.

How would being in a left leaning neighborhood make home schoolers feel uncomfortable? And it is not as if Brookside is some uber liberal enclave - it's no San Francisco, or even as left leaning as other KC areas like Midtown. There is a wide range of people and views in the area.

You will find some Craftsman style homes in Brookside, but they are generally outnumbered by Colonial Revival and Tudor homes built from 1915-1930, just after the more prime Craftsman period. The more grand Craftsman homes in Brookside will be out of your price range, but there are some more modest Craftsman bungalows in East Brookside that are well in your budget.

You might also want to look in the Coleman Highlands neighborhood for some older, Arts and Crafts style homes like this one:

910 W 33RD Street, Kansas City, MO 64111 | Listing Information |