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Old 01-01-2014, 11:33 AM
 
Location: Raytown, MO
141 posts, read 254,246 times
Reputation: 59

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Hi everyone! I am a single mom of 5 looking to relocate to Independence from Springfield, Mo. Seems like all I hear are horror stories about how awful Independence is, but right now, for reasons I wont get into, that is where I would be moving.

Is there anyone that LIKES Independence? Are there particular areas of Independence or schools that are better than others? I have compared it online to Springfield and was surprised to find that we actually have a higher crime rate down here. So that was encouraging.

Also, the schools were ever so slightly better there, so even if they aren't excellent it looks to be better than where we are. My kids dad, in the past few years since our divorce, has mostly dropped out of their lives and i am longing to be close to, but not right up under, my family that can help with babysitting and things. They are primarily in Lawrence but that's not an option for me.

I grew up in Lawrence, Overland Park and Shawnee mostly so am a little familiar with the area. Ive found the people in Springfield to be comparatively really hard to relate to. Its ultra conservative, evangelical Christians everywhere here or else they are meth heads. People tend to have a really rigid way of thinking. Is it at least a little different there in Independence?

I would love for my children to have more diversity in their lives and things that a big city has to offer but am looking for at least some positives. I have read reviews about wild teens and meth heads in Independence and bad schools. Any places in the area that would be less like that?
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Old 01-01-2014, 01:28 PM
 
Location: Washington, DC area
11,108 posts, read 23,693,095 times
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I have always liked Independence. It has always had an undeserved bad rap. It’s one of the more interesting suburbs in metro KC because it’s not just sprawl although it has its fair share of sprawl too.

When we visit KC, it is by far the suburb we spend most of our time in for shopping, dining etc and we can afford to shop anywhere in metro KC if we wanted to.

First off, you have to ignore what people say about Independence because most of it is based on media driven drivel, KCTV5 for example loved to constantly put Independence is a terrible light and people on the other side of the metro area would only see the negatives of the city because they are generally pretty ignorant of Independence outside of what they see on the news or what parts of it they have seen near the stadiums or something. The city was also labeled the “meth capital” of the country because the city did have a short lived meth problem, but shut all the meth houses down in a short period of time, giving it the title because it shut down so many houses in single year. So while the city proactively went after and corrected the meth problem for the most part, the press and most people not familiar with the city can’t seem to let go of the meth capital label which is not fair to their leadership and police department.

Independence is a rather large suburb with very different and diverse areas socially and economically. It has some very poor areas up north, some rather affluent areas in the southeast, modest working class areas along the 70 corridor west of Lee’s Summit Road, racially ethnic yet stable/safe neighborhoods in the west near the KCMO border, a historic and rather vibrant downtown district and rural areas to the northeast. The city also has one of the metro areas largest retail destinations around the Independence Center Mall and several regional tourist attractions like the Truman Home and Library, Trails Museum, Independence Events Center (minor league sports, concerts etc), and the Temple/Auditorium.

Most of the city is pretty safe, but because the city is so economically diverse it’s not going have amazing stats like what you might fine in newer mostly white and more affluent suburbs. But you can find areas of Independence like those other suburbs, it’s just that the entire city is not like that. Part of the city have a 1970’s sort of run down suburban feel to them like Noland Road. It’s not exactly pretty, but it’s still full of businesses and a totally safe busy corridor.

Independence is a great place to live if you are more into a modest lifestyle or just can’t afford to live in places like Overland Park, Lee’s Summit etc. Not everybody can afford to live in the most desirable suburbs and Independence offers a great alternative to that without it being the ghetto.

I have always heard that the school districts in the Independence area are good. I know people that live there, teachers that teach there etc. Again, they are not going to look as good on paper as some suburban districts because their students come from more diverse social and economic backgrounds, but the Independence district has always been a solid school district and that was proven when they took over many troubled KCMO schools near their border and turned them completely around. Independence is also served by the Blue Springs and Fort Osage districts. Fort Osage serves the more rural areas of the city in the northeast and Blue Springs serves the more suburban and affluent areas of the city in the southeast.

I think if you give the city a chance, you will be pleasantly surprised on what the city offers and how nice the neighborhoods are in both modest and middle/upper class areas. The worst areas of the city (which are more poor than crime ridden, but still have more crime) are in the northern parts around Sugar Creek etc.

Last edited by kcmo; 01-01-2014 at 01:37 PM..
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Old 01-01-2014, 01:54 PM
 
Location: Raytown, MO
141 posts, read 254,246 times
Reputation: 59
Thank you so much! That was very helpful and I have received some helpful private messages as well, though I guess I am only allowed to reply back to one per day.

I am really leaning towards moving to Independence. I was just a little concerned about the seemingly frequent references to meth, so I am glad to hear the police force took care of some of that.

I have a teenage son that I would like to see be able to get involved in sports and stay out of trouble as well. Does anyone have the lowdown on each of the high schools there and their pros and cons?
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Old 01-01-2014, 02:05 PM
 
Location: Washington, DC area
11,108 posts, read 23,693,095 times
Reputation: 6412
Well, if you live in the southeast part of the city, you would be in the Blue Springs High School district. That is a very large high school (like a small college) and they offer a ton of sports and they are a football powerhouse. Although because the school's sports are so popular, you may not make the teams unless you are really good, so the high schools in the independence District may actually have more opportunities. But I'm sure all Indep high schools will offer plenty of sports and other activities since they are all large suburban type high schools.
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Old 01-01-2014, 02:23 PM
 
3,326 posts, read 8,815,494 times
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Truman High School is generally considered the best among the ones in the Independence school district. Southeast, south central, far eastern Independence are the better areas.
We lived there for several years. We liked it well enough. Yeah, there were neighborhoods most would rather not live in, but none were remotely what I'd call ghetto.
The predominant evangelical religion aside, Springfield reminds me a lot of what Independence would be like if it weren't a suburb of KC and out by itself somewhere.
Not a bad thing, but not the typical squeaky-clean suburb. It does have a lot of really nice areas.
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Old 01-01-2014, 03:07 PM
 
Location: Raytown, MO
141 posts, read 254,246 times
Reputation: 59
Quote:
Originally Posted by kcmo View Post
Well, if you live in the southeast part of the city, you would be in the Blue Springs High School district. That is a very large high school (like a small college) and they offer a ton of sports and they are a football powerhouse. Although because the school's sports are so popular, you may not make the teams unless you are really good, so the high schools in the independence District may actually have more opportunities. But I'm sure all Indep high schools will offer plenty of sports and other activities since they are all large suburban type high schools.
That's really good info to know also. My son is athletic but not sure if he is ready to out compete a lot of people in a big sports team school either. I am looking for a house to rent in the $800 range and have seen some that look decent and even have 4 bedrooms which would be great for us. I will probably look to stay out of the far west side since that sounds kind of like the west side here in Springfield.
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Old 01-01-2014, 03:13 PM
 
Location: Raytown, MO
141 posts, read 254,246 times
Reputation: 59
Quote:
Originally Posted by northbound74 View Post
Truman High School is generally considered the best among the ones in the Independence school district. Southeast, south central, far eastern Independence are the better areas.
We lived there for several years. We liked it well enough. Yeah, there were neighborhoods most would rather not live in, but none were remotely what I'd call ghetto.
The predominant evangelical religion aside, Springfield reminds me a lot of what Independence would be like if it weren't a suburb of KC and out by itself somewhere.
Not a bad thing, but not the typical squeaky-clean suburb. It does have a lot of really nice areas.
Thats what I am getting the impression it is like. A less evangelical Springfield close to the big city and slightly better schools and better on crime. Perfect. I can do without the Johnson County snobbery as I am a single mom with 5 children and obviously not rich or anything. We cant afford all the newest stuff but dont want to live in an unsafe, drug infested or ghetto area.
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Old 01-04-2014, 01:13 PM
 
3,324 posts, read 3,418,716 times
Reputation: 305
Quote:
Originally Posted by littlemonkeys View Post
That's really good info to know also. My son is athletic but not sure if he is ready to out compete a lot of people in a big sports team school either. I am looking for a house to rent in the $800 range and have seen some that look decent and even have 4 bedrooms which would be great for us. I will probably look to stay out of the far west side since that sounds kind of like the west side here in Springfield.
The west side of Independence is not as bad as many make it to be. There are actually nice neighborhoods, especially along Winner Road. There has been a major turnaround since the schools came into the Independence district. As you are checking potential homes you can check this link for crimes in the neighborhood.

https://www.crimereports.com/map/ind...ndependence+MO
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Old 01-04-2014, 04:37 PM
 
Location: Kansas City, MO
3,565 posts, read 7,922,207 times
Reputation: 2603
^I think the neighborhoods around the Square and along Winner Road in between the Square and Englewood (Sterling and Winner) are very nice. The neighborhood along Winner between Chrysler and Englewood is kind of like Independence's version of Brookside.
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Old 01-04-2014, 05:29 PM
 
Location: Raytown, MO
141 posts, read 254,246 times
Reputation: 59
Quote:
Originally Posted by MOKAN View Post
^I think the neighborhoods around the Square and along Winner Road in between the Square and Englewood (Sterling and Winner) are very nice. The neighborhood along Winner between Chrysler and Englewood is kind of like Independence's version of Brookside.
I don't know what Brookside is like...but I will have to look into that. I saw a few houses for rent on Chrysler and they looked big, with lots of room, but older, so I wondered if the neighborhood was iffy.
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