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Old 03-23-2016, 03:14 PM
 
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House hunting in Kansas next week... What are your favorite tracts and/or communities? Job in Olathe and would like to have a max 20 minute commute. Best schools, family friendly areas?
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Old 03-23-2016, 05:55 PM
 
Location: Washington, DC area
11,108 posts, read 23,883,005 times
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Budget?

The nicest close areas are proboably Cedar Creek and Falcon Ridge. Other than Cedar Creek, I would live in Lenexa or Shawnee over most of Olathe. Southern Overland Park has nice homes, but the area and topography is very boring IMO. You really feel like you are in the middle of Kansas out there.

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.9316.../data=!3m1!1e3

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.9540.../data=!3m1!1e3

I have always like the areas east of 435 north of 75th because there are some nice hills, the undeveloped areas not just flat farms, but more forested and you are close to Shawnee Mission Park.

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.9958.../data=!3m1!1e3

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.0239.../data=!3m1!1e3
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Old 03-23-2016, 09:09 PM
 
13,721 posts, read 19,254,280 times
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Overland Park. Blue Valley School District.
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Old 03-24-2016, 01:56 PM
 
19 posts, read 20,946 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by luzianne View Post
Overland Park. Blue Valley School District.
What specific areas within there? Certain cross streets? Developments? If you could buy anywhere in that area where would it be?
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Old 03-24-2016, 09:40 PM
 
13,721 posts, read 19,254,280 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kgsmith5 View Post
What specific areas within there? Certain cross streets? Developments? If you could buy anywhere in that area where would it be?
Depends on your budget...I like the area between 119th and 151st on the north and south and between Mission or State Line on the east and Metcalf on the west.
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Old 03-24-2016, 09:53 PM
 
19 posts, read 20,946 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by luzianne View Post
Depends on your budget...I like the area between 119th and 151st on the north and south and between Mission or State Line on the east and Metcalf on the west.

I just checked... Lionsgate is in that area as are many others we've checked out so maybe we are in the right ballpark.
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Old 03-24-2016, 09:56 PM
 
19 posts, read 20,946 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kcmo View Post
Budget?

The nicest close areas are proboably Cedar Creek and Falcon Ridge. Other than Cedar Creek, I would live in Lenexa or Shawnee over most of Olathe. Southern Overland Park has nice homes, but the area and topography is very boring IMO. You really feel like you are in the middle of Kansas out there.

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.9316.../data=!3m1!1e3

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.9540.../data=!3m1!1e3

I have always like the areas east of 435 north of 75th because there are some nice hills, the undeveloped areas not just flat farms, but more forested and you are close to Shawnee Mission Park.

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.9958.../data=!3m1!1e3

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.0239.../data=!3m1!1e3

SO... What are your thoughts in schools in those areas above? Torn between looking exclusively in Blue Valley schools or branching to areas like you've listed above. I'm worried the flat Kansas I'm worried about will make me sad. :-(
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Old 03-25-2016, 09:15 AM
 
Location: Denver, Colorado U.S.A.
14,164 posts, read 27,223,164 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kgsmith5 View Post
SO... What are your thoughts in schools in those areas above? Torn between looking exclusively in Blue Valley schools or branching to areas like you've listed above. I'm worried the flat Kansas I'm worried about will make me sad. :-(
It's honestly not that flat in the KC metro area. Olathe is rather flat, but other areas to the north, east and west are very hilly. The Cedar Creek development on the west end of Olathe is rather hilly and scenic.
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Old 03-25-2016, 09:52 AM
 
Location: Washington, DC area
11,108 posts, read 23,883,005 times
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Originally Posted by denverian View Post
It's honestly not that flat in the KC metro area. Olathe is rather flat, but other areas to the north, east and west are very hilly. The Cedar Creek development on the west end of Olathe is rather hilly and scenic.
It's very flat out south. That's why I mentioned the areas north and west of Olathe. The topography is much more appealing than 167th and Metcalf.

Quote:
Originally Posted by kgsmith5 View Post
SO... What are your thoughts in schools in those areas above? Torn between looking exclusively in Blue Valley schools or branching to areas like you've listed above. I'm worried the flat Kansas I'm worried about will make me sad. :-(
It's all good schools. I wouldn't send my kids to a district like Blue Valley personally. The parents are "too" involved and tend to own the teachers, most kids (and parents) have entitlement issues. It's districts like that where drugs and alcohol are a huge problem, but they are totally swept under the rug, often parties involving alcohol etc are even supported by parents. At least other districts don't pretend like they don't have any problems. I'm just not a fan.

My wife is a teacher. She has taught in them all. Urban, rural, and various types of suburbia. The best districts are the middle of the road suburban districts like Lee's Summit, Shawnee Mission, Blue Springs, North KC etc.

Places like Falcon Ridge are still affluent but you will have a little more diversity in the schools. You might actually either like Southern Overland Park / Leawood or you might be turned off by it though as the area sort of tries to pretend like they are suburban LA only they are still in freaking Kansas so rather than mountains, you have megachurches. It has a very different culture and feel to it than the rest of the KC area. To me it feels like an area trying to be something it's just not.

You will have to just come out and see for yourself. KC is a nice metro area, but there are very different styles of living there depending on the part of the metro. And it's going to be an adjustment coming from a large metro in California. But most people that move to KC find a part they like and tend to stay.
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Old 03-25-2016, 09:59 AM
 
Location: Denver, Colorado U.S.A.
14,164 posts, read 27,223,164 times
Reputation: 10428
Quote:
Originally Posted by kcmo View Post
It's very flat out south. That's why I mentioned the areas north and west of Olathe. The topography is much more appealing than 167th and Metcalf.



It's all good schools. I wouldn't send my kids to a district like Blue Valley personally. The parents are "too" involved and tend to own the teachers, most kids (and parents) have entitlement issues. It's districts like that where drugs and alcohol are a huge problem, but they are totally swept under the rug, often parties involving alcohol etc are even supported by parents. At least other districts don't pretend like they don't have any problems. I'm just not a fan.

My wife is a teacher. She has taught in them all. Urban, rural, and various types of suburbia. The best districts are the middle of the road suburban districts like Lee's Summit, Shawnee Mission, Blue Springs, North KC etc.

Places like Falcon Ridge are still affluent but you will have a little more diversity in the schools. You might actually either like Southern Overland Park / Leawood or you might be turned off by it though as the area sort of tries to pretend like they are suburban LA only they are still in freaking Kansas so rather than mountains, you have megachurches. It has a very different culture and feel to it than the rest of the KC area. To me it feels like an area trying to be something it's just not.

You will have to just come out and see for yourself. KC is a nice metro area, but there are very different styles of living there depending on the part of the metro. And it's going to be an adjustment coming from a large metro in California.
I just looked out of curiosity to see prices and houses in the Cedar Creek development. Very cheap for nice custom homes (compared to my home in Denver), but jeez, it looks like you're a 20 min. drive to a grocery store. I could never live so isolated!
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