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I'm originally from Dallas so I'm familiar with heat and humidity. Strangely enough after living in San Diego for 20 years and sometimes having 80 degree Christmas mornings, I'm actually looking forward to finally having 4 seasons.
KC is not very snowy or cold compared to most northern cities and the rest of the Midwest.. However, you would likely subtract 40 degrees from your 80 degree Christmas mornings in KC on average.
KC is not very snowy or cold compared to most northern cities and the rest of the Midwest.. However, you would likely subtract 40 degrees from your 80 degree Christmas mornings in KC on average.
He said he wanted four seasons. Kansas City has that.
I have seen Christmases that were in the 50s. I've also seen Christmases with snow deep enough or roads slick enough that we postponed family gatherings or had people stay once they were here. A few years ago on Christmas Day - maybe 2010? - there was so much drifted snow against our front door that we couldn't get the storm door open. My husband had to go out through the garage and shovel the porch so we could use the front door.
It can be pretty cold at Christmastime in Kansas City, although not as cold as the upper Midwest (thank God) and not as cold as it gets in mid-January (which I hate).
He said he wanted four seasons. Kansas City has that.
A few years ago on Christmas Day - maybe 2010? - there was so much drifted snow against our front door that we couldn't get the storm door open. My husband had to go out through the garage and shovel the porch so we could use the front door.
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That was actually 2009. We had to drive to central Missouri on the 26th to go to a wedding.
Check out not only Parkville proper, but all the KC, MO areas (we don't have specific suburb names) around it ie Platte County - probably whatever puts you in the lower half of the Park Hill School District for catchment boundaries. Parkville itself is miniscule compared to all the areas around it that are great to live in and have way more housing availability. Be aware that in Park Hill School District they are slightly rezoning all the schools (not high schools so much) in one year due to two more middle schools opening and a new elementary school. For the 2018 - 2019 school year all the kids in Park Hill in Gr. 6 go to one school (Plaza) - this seems to be a popular thing north of the river. From 2019/2020 onwards there will be 4 middle schools all 6 - 8th grades. If you're interested in the Park Hill School District, look at the catchment for the lower half ie Park Hill SOUTH High. People seem to prefer this to the high school further north. Some people shy away from the SouthEast Elementary school, however, it's being rezoned, and my child attends there one day a week for a gifted program - staff are lovely, kids seem fine. Not too much different from our regular elementary school just up the road. Don't worry excessively about the ratings on greatschools!! Doesn't tell you everything about a school!! Teachers here are lovely and extremely committed.
We only take about 12 -13 minutes to cross the river into downtown from I29 exit 5 (3 mins west of this). Crossroads is only another 5 mins down the road from northern end of CBD. Trip home from (Country Club) Plaza (walk around shopping and food) takes about 22 minutes. 39th St (ethnic food east of KUHospital)/Westport (more ethnic food and other stuff) is about 20 minutes from here. Union Station/Crown Center (you will love these places with your kids) again about 23 mins drive. Good value for housing up north - I, too, am a stay at home mum. Better house value for sure than NE JoCo, however I really enjoyed living there, and being a stay home mum there, in the past.
We enjoy the numerous trails on our doorstep - within a 5 - 8 minute drive we have loads of paved or unpaved walking trails. If you go a bit further, you've got Weston Bend State Park (NW of Parkville) - very pretty, 35 minutes or so is Smithville Lake (N of Parkville) and another one further out is called Mill Pond (NE of Parkville)?? I think there's so many trails and more greenery on the northside compared to suburban JoCo because it's MUCH hillier. Think natural waterflow/streams/little valleys which haven't been carved up to build houses on - too hard and/or too much rain to get rid of with torrential downpours?? Makes for very pretty viewing/driving/walking.
Don't look too far out/north from exit 6 or 8 or so on I29 - there are LOADS of kids' extracurricular/activities around in this area. Plus all the shopping you could poke a stick at around intersection of I29 and Barry Rd. Also Legends shopping outlets/food about 20 or 25 mins west of where we are in KS. North Kansas City is kind of fun and i like it, too.
Hope this isn't too much!! Don't know anything about Lee's Summit!
PS If you had a top budget, I would look at Brookside MO with Catholic schooling or even Westwood KS (Shawnee Mission School District) - good places with great access to fun stuff. I wouldn't worry about the MO/KS tax issue. You get over it after a few years.
He said he wanted four seasons. Kansas City has that.
I have seen Christmases that were in the 50s. I've also seen Christmases with snow deep enough or roads slick enough that we postponed family gatherings or had people stay once they were here. A few years ago on Christmas Day - maybe 2010? - there was so much drifted snow against our front door that we couldn't get the storm door open. My husband had to go out through the garage and shovel the porch so we could use the front door.
It can be pretty cold at Christmastime in Kansas City, although not as cold as the upper Midwest (thank God) and not as cold as it gets in mid-January (which I hate).
Yep, KC gets the cold, but not much snowfall to make winter activities useful like most of the upper Midwest. With continuous snow cover most of the time, people are outdoors all winter. You can't really do any of that in the lower Midwest or upper South- little snowfall, too much rain, mud, and mediocre temperatures. I'm also not enjoying 90+ temperatures in May and 85F temperatures at 9:30 PM either. Hopefully moving back to my preferred northern location in a few years as I hate heat and humidity with a passion.
Check out not only Parkville proper, but all the KC, MO areas (we don't have specific suburb names) around it ie Platte County - probably whatever puts you in the lower half of the Park Hill School District for catchment boundaries. Parkville itself is miniscule compared to all the areas around it that are great to live in and have way more housing availability. Be aware that in Park Hill School District they are slightly rezoning all the schools (not high schools so much) in one year due to two more middle schools opening and a new elementary school. For the 2018 - 2019 school year all the kids in Park Hill in Gr. 6 go to one school (Plaza) - this seems to be a popular thing north of the river. From 2019/2020 onwards there will be 4 middle schools all 6 - 8th grades. If you're interested in the Park Hill School District, look at the catchment for the lower half ie Park Hill SOUTH High. People seem to prefer this to the high school further north. Some people shy away from the SouthEast Elementary school, however, it's being rezoned, and my child attends there one day a week for a gifted program - staff are lovely, kids seem fine. Not too much different from our regular elementary school just up the road. Don't worry excessively about the ratings on greatschools!! Doesn't tell you everything about a school!! Teachers here are lovely and extremely committed.
We only take about 12 -13 minutes to cross the river into downtown from I29 exit 5 (3 mins west of this). Crossroads is only another 5 mins down the road from northern end of CBD. Trip home from (Country Club) Plaza (walk around shopping and food) takes about 22 minutes. 39th St (ethnic food east of KUHospital)/Westport (more ethnic food and other stuff) is about 20 minutes from here. Union Station/Crown Center (you will love these places with your kids) again about 23 mins drive. Good value for housing up north - I, too, am a stay at home mum. Better house value for sure than NE JoCo, however I really enjoyed living there, and being a stay home mum there, in the past.
We enjoy the numerous trails on our doorstep - within a 5 - 8 minute drive we have loads of paved or unpaved walking trails. If you go a bit further, you've got Weston Bend State Park (NW of Parkville) - very pretty, 35 minutes or so is Smithville Lake (N of Parkville) and another one further out is called Mill Pond (NE of Parkville)?? I think there's so many trails and more greenery on the northside compared to suburban JoCo because it's MUCH hillier. Think natural waterflow/streams/little valleys which haven't been carved up to build houses on - too hard and/or too much rain to get rid of with torrential downpours?? Makes for very pretty viewing/driving/walking.
Don't look too far out/north from exit 6 or 8 or so on I29 - there are LOADS of kids' extracurricular/activities around in this area. Plus all the shopping you could poke a stick at around intersection of I29 and Barry Rd. Also Legends shopping outlets/food about 20 or 25 mins west of where we are in KS. North Kansas City is kind of fun and i like it, too.
Hope this isn't too much!! Don't know anything about Lee's Summit!
PS If you had a top budget, I would look at Brookside MO with Catholic schooling or even Westwood KS (Shawnee Mission School District) - good places with great access to fun stuff. I wouldn't worry about the MO/KS tax issue. You get over it after a few years.
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If you work downtown, I don't know why people even look at Lee's Summit or Johnson County. Why would you drive 2-3 times as far for the same exact thing? Look at the entire metro, but absolutely focus on southern Platte County. I also think that area is much prettier than most of JoCo or LS. (LS Is pretty nice near Lakewood though). The topography there is a nice departure from most of suburban KC which is flat. You are only minutes from the airport too.
It seems like people relocating to KC are STILL being pushed to JoCo when there are equal or better options for most people in other parts of the metro most of the time. Take people's advice on this forum and give the Northland a hard look. If you are looking all over the south metro, then look at the entire Northland too (Clay and Platte counties). Much better commutes to downtown and it is currently the fastest growing part of the metro.
Yeah, people really like Liberty School District and the Liberty shopping areas are stuffed full of every kind of store you could need. Also great looking housing areas. If I didn't like arts so much, I would definitely look there - I just like being really close to the CBD/midtown for classical music/art/theatre stuff. By chance I had to go on a school field trip today to Lee's Summit. Easy access to highways in Lee's Summit, neat little downtown area (mostly pubs with some varied retail, but about 6 times the size of the Parkville downtown) and lots of mainstream retail available there, too - but definitely a further trip with more potential for traffic jams to get to Crossroads daily than inner northland locations.
It seems like people relocating to KC are STILL being pushed to JoCo when there are equal or better options for most people in other parts of the metro most of the time. Take people's advice on this forum and give the Northland a hard look. If you are looking all over the south metro, then look at the entire Northland too (Clay and Platte counties). Much better commutes to downtown and it is currently the fastest growing part of the metro.
I don't think anyone is being pushed to Johnson County, tut the OP would be doing himself a disservice not to check out every area, including Johnson County. As I said, it's probably the most like what he is used to where he lives now than any other area of the KC metro.
Some people don't like Johnson County, but many, many people consider it the best part of the metro. There is a reason that it is so popular.
I'm gonna go out on a limb and suggest that the reason people responded with information about Lee's Summit and Johnson County, versus other parts of the metro, are because the poster specifically requested information on "Lee's Summit vs. Johnson County."
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