Overland Park ranked one of the 20 best places to live...

[zach_33]

I agree. Like I've said before, probably on this board, people gotta "make their own cool." Few of us can afford to live in the best neighborhood with the best schools, most amenities, easiest commute, etc etc, so you have to prioritize and choose based on what's important to you. The rest is attitude.

OP is awesome if you have 3+ kids, 200-250 budget, want schools that are least B+, and don't mind commuting. It also doesn't hurt socially if you are Christian and moderately conservative. It's the family values thing. If someone finds the aforementioned in an area that is secular and over-educated, then they should buy some real estate there because it will get expensive quick.

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by zach_33

I agree. Like I've said before, probably on this board, people gotta "make their own cool." Few of us can afford to live in the best neighborhood with the best schools, most amenities, easiest commute, etc etc, so you have to prioritize and choose based on what's important to you. The rest is attitude.

OP is awesome if you have 3+ kids, 200-250 budget, want schools that are least B+, and don't mind commuting. It also doesn't hurt socially if you are Christian and moderately conservative. It's the family values thing. If someone finds the aforementioned in an area that is secular and over-educated, then they should buy some real estate there because it will get expensive quick.

I think it's overrated and over priced. People pay way too much for houses in Overland Park. At the end of the day, it's just another suburb and you can find better deals in other parts of the metro in Platte County, Lee's Summit etc. I would rather be close to Downtown and KCI (Platte County) or the lakes and ballparks (lee's summit) and have some decent topography and live on the side of the city where at least less people hate KCMO. There is nothing in OP that would make we want to live there. Some of the retail options are nice, but I'm good with driving to them once in a while.

If I were to move back to KC, I would probably live in Brookside unless Downtown matures a bit more and becomes more of an option. I wouldn't move to KC and live in the burbs (in MO or KS), did my time there. (edit, okay, I would take one of those houses on the bluffs overlooking the skyline in Briarcliff, but that's it). I don't want to live in the DC area forever either. Denver is still my top choice.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by zach_33

OP is awesome if you have 3+ kids, 200-250 budget, want schools that are least B+, and don't mind commuting. It also doesn't hurt socially if you are Christian and moderately conservative. It's the family values thing. If someone finds the aforementioned in an area that is secular and over-educated, then they should buy some real estate there because it will get expensive quick.

That is certainly not the norm for OP and Johnson County in terms of population demographics. The average household size is 2.52 and the median price of a house is $211,900.
Actually, JOCO politics are still a bit varied depending on location. Inside 435 loop it is more mainstream politically with moderates, independents, and democrats. Overland Park remains more fiscally conservative and socially moderate. Olathe, Gardner, SW Johnson county is far more socially conservative and less fiscally conservative. It also tends to attract more people from the smaller cities and towns and a corporate mix.
The BLS job growth numbers for Kansas would mostly be a joke without JOCO right now.

[zach_33]

^not sure I get your point about the demographic averages. Are you suggesting that OP and JoCo are not places where people seeking moderately priced homes and above average schools choose to settle? So what do you think it is skewed more towards childless couples? dinks? Roomies? Whatever, I live in it and I can tell you it is sought after by families primarily for the moderately priced homes and above average schools. That's why it is on the list the OP linked.

In terms of political variability, that may be true on a micro level, but the electoral reality is lopsidedly republican. I look forward to a resounding shift back towards the center in November - it won't be far enough for me, but it will do.

[zach_33]

Originally Posted by kcmo

I think it's overrated and over priced.

Thanks - good to know I've gotten myself into yet another buy-high, sell-low kind of situation

[CrownVic95]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

That is certainly not the norm for OP and Johnson County in terms of population demographics. The average household size is 2.52 and the median price of a house is $211,900.
Actually, JOCO politics are still a bit varied depending on location. Inside 435 loop it is more mainstream politically with moderates, independents, and democrats. Overland Park remains more fiscally conservative and socially moderate. Olathe, Gardner, SW Johnson county is far more socially conservative and less fiscally conservative. It also tends to attract more people from the smaller cities and towns and a corporate mix.
The BLS job growth numbers for Kansas would mostly be a joke without JOCO right now.

The BLS site seems to have changed since I last regularly looked at it and I couldn't find any hard projection data for job growth by state or metro area. Can you link to the data you are basing this on?

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by CrownVic95

The BLS site seems to have changed since I last regularly looked at it and I couldn't find any hard projection data for job growth by state or metro area. Can you link to the data you are basing this on?

It's actually even worse for overall job growth for the KC metro overall than I thought based on the 12 month percentage moving average. (+0.5%).

Kansas City, MO-KS Economy at a Glance

Kansas losing ground on any job growth (on an averaged percentage basis over the last year) , the exact opposite trend that is occurring in most of the rest of the country.

Kansas Economy at a Glance

[CrownVic95]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

It's actually even worse for overall job growth for the KC metro overall than I thought based on the 12 month percentage moving average. (+0.5%).

Kansas City, MO-KS Economy at a Glance

Kansas losing ground on any job growth (on an averaged percentage basis over the last year) , the exact opposite trend that is occurring in most of the rest of the country.

Kansas Economy at a Glance

Where are the numbers for other states, metros used for comparison? The numbers used to support the generalizations you are making?

The only thing I could see to do is look up some other states, metros individually and I did that. Some are better, some are worse. To me it seems Kansas and Kansas City are in the middle of the pack.

Look at Alabama, Alaska, Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, Vermont, and Virginia....all with worse numbers than Kansas. Many other states are comparable and some others are better. It has always been that way.

Weather alone has always and will always keep Kansas from being a high-growth state. Doesn't mean it's economy is particularly bad, compared to other states that similarly don't have outstanding geographical features that draw people in large numbers.

[CrownVic95]

Here is another interesting table that I found, which ranks US metros by economic and job growth. Kansas City is ranked 148 out of 379 metros. Better than LA, Chicago, Sacramento, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and a host of others.

Another set of stats that make in pretty hard to support a claim that most of the country is doing better.

2014 Leading Locations Full Results Table | Area Development Online