Family with preteens contemplating move from DC to KC (Lee's Summit: renting, neighborhoods) - Kansas City - Missouri (MO) - City-Data Forum

Wiley4 · 03-05-2016, 04:58 PM

My husband is considering a job opportunity in KC. I am wondering about the best area for middle school/high school aged kids (boys). Is swimming very big in KC? Both my boys are starting on swim teams here. Is there swim teams in the high schools or just private clubs? Soccer leagues? What area would you say have the best schools. We should be able to purchase a SFH in the $300k range. I have looked at Overland Park but am interested in other suggestions. Public school is a must. I am looking for neighborhoods with lots of kids, community pools, good parks. Would also like it to be walkable to local grocery store, strip mall(Starbucks!). I like to be able to send kids to store for single items! LOL. Looking for a good family oriented area.

Also, is the whole area really politically conservative? We tend to lean a little left (not to worry, we are not socialist!!

) of center in our views. Thanks for any feedback!

kcmo · 03-05-2016, 06:58 PM

I moved from KC to the DC area (MD side) several years ago. Let me know if you would like any info on how the metros compare etc.

I don't know what the KS side offers as far as high school swimming. Somebody else will have to help you there, but the Park Hill and Lee's Summit districts on the Missouri side have very good high school swimming programs. The best swim school in the metro is probably Rockhurst, but that's a private school and I'm assuming that you are looking for public schools.

I don't think you will see much difference between suburban KC and suburban DC. Metro KC might be slightly more conservative, but it's not much more than metro DC. It's not like OK or TX, but the outer suburbs will be more conservative than the city or inner suburbs. The outer suburbs of DC can be very conservative, especially on the VA side of DC. The "state" of Kansas is a conservative mess right now though and I think they have actually created some long term problems for the state. Missouri outside of KC and StL is also pretty far right, but I think the metro areas in Missouri help keep Missouri a little more in check.

What part of metro DC are you in? If you tell me the suburb or even state you live in, I can tell you what parts of KC are similar or different.

Bluefox · 03-05-2016, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wiley4

My husband is considering a job opportunity in KC. I am wondering about the best area for middle school/high school aged kids (boys). Is swimming very big in KC? Both my boys are starting on swim teams here. Is there swim teams in the high schools or just private clubs? Soccer leagues? What area would you say have the best schools. We should be able to purchase a SFH in the $300k range. I have looked at Overland Park but am interested in other suggestions. Public school is a must. I am looking for neighborhoods with lots of kids, community pools, good parks. Would also like it to be walkable to local grocery store, strip mall(Starbucks!). I like to be able to send kids to store for single items! LOL. Looking for a good family oriented area.

Also, is the whole area really politically conservative? We tend to lean a little left (not to worry, we are not socialist!!

) of center in our views. Thanks for any feedback!

I can't speak about the other things too much, but swimming is fairly big in KC. There are swim teams in the high schools. If you do come to visit check out the Roeland Park Aquatic Center. It's a really really nice aquatic center with a large olympic pool that is outdoor in the summer, and in the winter they put one of those big inflatable domes over it so it can be utilized year round. There are a few other community centers in JoCo and other parts of the metro that have indoor olympic pools.

SPonteKC · 03-06-2016, 10:02 AM

You will have a dizzying array of options in that price range. Many, many newer developments have outdoor community pools (KC's weather is very comparable to DC's), most of the larger suburban public high schools have swimming, and there are private clubs. These neighborhoods, from southern Leawood to Shoal Creek, are crawling with school aged kids, probably one of the biggest differences between KC and DC suburbs. And, I do think KC's metro area and suburbs are slightly more conservative than DC's, but I would add the caveat that it seems conservatives are significantly more comfortable displaying their conservatism in KC than on the coasts. The more conservative, the louder a person is about their conservative views, it seems.

To be able to walk to a nearby grocery store or strip mall would limit your options considerably, but not in terms of which neighborhood or suburb, so much as where within the suburb you'd be best served by a nearby strip center.

Okey Dokie · 03-06-2016, 02:55 PM

Shawnee Mission East's swimming team has been state champions more years than not.

snowbozo13 · 03-07-2016, 06:54 PM

Despite all the comments pro and con between KC and DC. May I suggest visiting an area you like in this huge metro area and seeing if that area suits you .Renting might be safer option than buying, especially if you changed your mind. There are a lot of services here , but folks here have a very different mindset from DC .Be prepared for major culture shock, and bring a sense of humour you will need it.