Opinions on Independence, MO? (Lee's Summit, Blue Springs: homes, neighborhood, movie theater)

[Will]

We are moving to the KC area, hopefully by the end of the year. I have heard good things about Lee's Summit and Liberty, but haven't seen any opinions on Independence. If it is a nice place, Independence would be convenient for my commute.

We are looking for good schools, and a home with at least 4 bedrooms.

[txgrl]

I grew up in Independence but I can't honestly say how it is today. I've heard it's become a bit more rough since I moved from the area 3 1/2 years ago. If things are still relatively the same, I'd say to stick to eastern Independence for good schools. Housing is fairly inexpensive and 4 bedrooms are easy to come by. I'm not sure about your commute times but Blue Springs is just east of Indep and is very nice. I've heard their schools are really nice too.

http://www.ci.independence.mo.us/
http://www.bluespringsgov.com/

[Versatile]

I agree with txgrl. Western part is older homes and lots of druggies.

[Will]

Thanks for the advice! It has been a relief looking at housing costs in the KC area after considering Chicago and Virginia.

[Will]

How about Raytown? How are the schools there?

[Versatile]

Very good. No comparison to the KC school district.

[ImLisin2u]

Originally Posted by Will

We are moving to the KC area, hopefully by the end of the year. I have heard good things about Lee's Summit and Liberty, but haven't seen any opinions on Independence. If it is a nice place, Independence would be convenient for my commute.

We are looking for good schools, and a home with at least 4 bedrooms.

Will,

Independence is a great place to live. Have to be careful of which school district you end up in (divided by 5or 6 districts) Taxes are reasonable. Access to the KC Metro area is good. As with any city there are good areas and badModerator cut: advertising
Good luck.

[PrincessLuvsGH]

Liberty is a very nice area, but I know taxes are slightly higher. We used to live right outside Claycomo (435 & I-35) & it's a very nice area. Two of my step-daughters have lived all over Independence. Most of the places they've lived were very shady areas, where they weren't allowed to go outside. They now live east of 291 (off of 24 Hwy) and it seems like a nicer area, but from what they've told me, the cops are called out quite often. We now live in the Nashua area (291 & 169). It's a nice calm neighborhood and not far from ammenites.

[SteveO813]

I grew up in East Independence, and lived there for a total of 18 years. Although I didn't hate it, I don't plan on living there again after I graduate college. That may speak more to my desire to get out and try something new than the city, though.

I attended school in the Fort Osage district, and I've always been very impressed with the district as a whole. Nice buildings, good administration, decent athletics. I think my favorite thing about the district is that I could describe it as nice, but not snooty or over-the-top like some districts. I'm looking at you, Johnson County. The other big district in the city is the Independence School District. Admittedly, I didn't attend this district, so I'm not an expert, but the two high schools, Truman and William Chrisman, have a reputation of being sort of "ghetto," as the high school kids would say. Then again, that could just be the rivalry speaking.

As far as the city itself, I agree with everyone else that staying on the east side would definitely be advantageous. I didn't particularly care for my neighborhood (nothing too wrong with it, it's just kind of old), but there are definitely some nice areas, and they're doing a lot of new development.

A lot of the entertainment is in the Independence Commons area, at 291 and 39th street. Movie theater, shopping mall, lots of other shopping, typical chain restaraunts, etc. And a monster hospital that is almost finished. That doesn't really have anything to do with entertainment, but it's pretty nice looking.

To be honest, I would probably lean more toward the Lee's Summit area, personally. It's about the same distance to all the Independence Commons area, but Lee's Summit seems to be a lot nicer, and the area is growing rapidly.

This is all personal opinion, of course, but I hope it helps somewhat.

[MorrisP]

Originally Posted by Will

How about Raytown? How are the schools there?

The schools in Raytown are poor.