information on Platte City, please (Overland, Smithville: new home, layoffs, transfer)

[ecw]

My husband was just transferred to a location near the airport, so I will be moving to KC with the rest of the family sometime this summer. We currently live in the middle of 7 acres of woods, miles from the nearest town, so the idea of a city the size of KC is a bit intimidating. Because of this, we are considering the Platte City area.

I would welcome any information you can give me. I am most concerned about the education available here. I teach middle school, and we have two children who will be in high school. They are actively involved in extra-curriculars.

I have read many of the postings concerning living in North KC, but haven't found anything about Platte City specifically. Is it just too far north to be considered part of KC?

[GraniteStater]

Platte City is the county seat of Platte County and is north of KCI airport. A lot of the growth in this city is related to new cookie cutter housing developments. It also has a nice old downtown as well as the courthouse building. A couple of other smaller towns you might look at would be Smithville, Parkville, as well as the Northland along the I-29 corridor in southern Platte County.
The disadvantage of Platte City is that it is further removed from the southern portion of the KC metro area, but that might not be an issue for you.

[kcmo]

I'm not sure if people are reading my posts, but here goes another.

I'm sure you know where Platte City is since you are asking about it, but let me try to help you.

First off, I think you would like Platte City. It's not really that far away rom the metro area. No further away than any of the other exurbs like Grain Valley, Kearney, Gardner etc, but I actually think Platte City is one of the better "exurbs". And it is considered part of the metro KC area.

That area of the metro has some very nice rolling terrain with lots of trees etc. Also, you are very close to KCI (obviously), although keep that in mind because you will have some noise from the planes.

There are tons of new homes in the southern area of Platte City along Running Horse Road. I'm not even sure if that's incorporated, but it's considered Platte City and has good freeway access to 435.

You can get to most of the northern and western parts of the city pretty quick from Platte City via 29 and 435. Even Overland Park is within reach.

But since you mentioned working near KCI, it's really a non issue.

Schools are great, Platte County goes to state all time and the schools are ranked high.

I think you will like Platte City and its small town feel and remote location, but don't overlook southern Platte County, it's not nearly as built up as other areas of KC, but might offer you something you don't find in Platte City such more housing and shopping options.

Overall, Platte City is nice and has a more rural feel to it, while close to the metro area. Sounds like a good fit.

[christina0001]

ditto the above. I think Platte City is relatively nice, although not my cup of tea mainly because it's Main Street/downtown area appears to be withering (probably due to competition from big box stores) and I like towns that have a cute, walkable downtown area. That's about the only negative I can say about it. It's not far from KC and certainly not far from the airport. Being that you might feel unhappy in a dense suburb, I think it might be a good match for you.

[Thrillcekr]

Originally Posted by ecw

My husband was just transferred to a location near the airport, so I will be moving to KC with the rest of the family sometime this summer. We currently live in the middle of 7 acres of woods, miles from the nearest town, so the idea of a city the size of KC is a bit intimidating. Because of this, we are considering the Platte City area.

I would welcome any information you can give me. I am most concerned about the education available here. I teach middle school, and we have two children who will be in high school. They are actively involved in extra-curriculars.

I have read many of the postings concerning living in North KC, but haven't found anything about Platte City specifically. Is it just too far north to be considered part of KC?

Platte City is not a bad place at all. It's less than ten minutes north of the airport. It's got an older and more historical part of town and another part that's pretty much like any suburb in the area. Actually most of the newer housing development is not even technically in Platte City. It's just outside the city limits along Running Horse Rd. There's less than 10,000 people there.

As far as extra curricular activities, there's plenty there. Platte City is home to Platte County High School. If your kids are into sports they'll love it. Platte County has a great football team. They're typically one of the best small class school in the KC area year in and year out. They've won 3 state championships in recent years and it's probably been a decade since the last time they didn't make the playoffs. They've won their class in wrestling 6 out of the last 8 years. They also usually field competitive teams in basketball, baseball, softball, and swimming.

I can't tell you much about their academics other than they do quite well on standardized tests vs. other schools their size.

They have a brand new YMCA and state of the art library. If your kids need something else to do then the best suburban shopping and entertainment area of the metro is only a ten minute drive south of Platte City. If they like concerts and sports it only takes about 25 minutes to get to the Sprint Center downtown from there.

There's also plenty of outdoor recreation like fishing and hunting. The Platte and Missouri Rivers are nearby. Weston Bend State Park is about 5 miles away and is, in my opinion, the best park around here in terms of natural beauty and hiking.

If you desire something even smaller then I'd recommend Weston. They have an excellent school also and only a couple thousand people live there. Weston's the home of West Platte High School and they are also very competitive in sports with a number of championships. Weston is very close to the park I mentioned and they also have a ski slope. It's only about 6 miles farther from the airport than Platte City.

Weston:

Weston Missouri :: March 2007

Weston Bend State Park:

http://www.moksriverbend.org/steve13.jpg

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by Thrillcekr

If you desire something even smaller then I'd recommend Weston. They have an excellent school also and only a couple thousand people live there. Weston's the home of West Platte High School and they are also very competitive in sports with a number of championships. Weston is very close to the park I mentioned and they also have a ski slope. It's only about 6 miles farther from the airport than Platte City.

Why would you recommend Weston? It has several disadvantages!
1) It is further away from a highway. This can be a problem with winter driving and commuting.
2) Weston is even further removed from the southern part of the KC metro where many office parks are, especially in JOCO
3) Weston is located on top of a huge coal power plant complex. I sure would not want to live on top of a power plant.
4) Weston has good scenery, has a ski area, and is a small town. Those are about the only advantages.

[christina0001]

People seem to love or hate Weston, nothing in between. My husband and I checked it out...I hated it, he loved it. It did have nice scenery and some really cool older homes, but it's a little too small for me, and a little too far from the city (although it might not be a bad drive if you're working near the airport).

I can't remember for 100% sure, but there was some VERY tiny town that gave me the heebie-jeebies. I think it was Farley but I can't say for sure (sorry if anyone from Farley is reading this!). It seemed like a Deliverance-type setting.

There's also a tiny town called Tracy near the airport. I think that seemed perfectly nice, just a small gathering of what wasn't more than a handful of houses and a post office.

I hope I am not confusing Farley with Tracy...was only up that way once or twice, over the summer, when we were trying to figure out where to put down roots.

Platte County is really nice though, some beautiful scenery + the conservation area.

[ecw]

Thank you to everyone who posted! You mentioned a few things I had not thought of, such as the noise from the airport and the opportunities for outdoor activities. We do a lot of camping and some hunting, so it is nice to know those will still be available.

After reading your comments, I am feeling more confident about making the move to the area. Platte City seems to be just what we are looking for!

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by christina0001

People seem to love or hate Weston, nothing in between. My husband and I checked it out...I hated it, he loved it. It did have nice scenery and some really cool older homes, but it's a little too small for me, and a little too far from the city (although it might not be a bad drive if you're working near the airport).

I can't remember for 100% sure, but there was some VERY tiny town that gave me the heebie-jeebies. I think it was Farley but I can't say for sure (sorry if anyone from Farley is reading this!). It seemed like a Deliverance-type setting.

There's also a tiny town called Tracy near the airport. I think that seemed perfectly nice, just a small gathering of what wasn't more than a handful of houses and a post office.

I hope I am not confusing Farley with Tracy...was only up that way once or twice, over the summer, when we were trying to figure out where to put down roots.

Platte County is really nice though, some beautiful scenery + the conservation area.

I give praise to Platte County for setting aside such a large amount of acres for conservation. JOCO sure has not done that as much, and a lot of parks there end up having soccer fields, etc.

Farley is a very small town along the Missouri River, and I believe it is right on top of the floodplain. It is a farming town with under 500-600 people. Tracy is also quite small along with Deerborn (sp?) and Edgerton in northern Platte County.

[MoNative34]

Dearborn. Pronounced (deer-bern) locally.