small towns around kansas city (Blue Springs, Warrensburg: house, schools, shops)

[Versatile]

Havig a couple of cows should be no problem at all. Twenty acre places abound everywhere. Should you desire to get bigger then aquiring more pasture can be troublesome. My boss has a cow/calf operation and he will rent any pasture of say 20 or more acres even if he can't use it right now. This is to cover the bases should something happen to the pastures he now leases and for haying. Don't let that stop you though.
The last i heard was that banks are not very receptive to financing more than a house and 5 acres. Might have changed; i am not sure.
I am confident that once you get on the ground here you will find plenty of properties to choose from.

[txgal0919]

Originally Posted by Versatile

Havig a couple of cows should be no problem at all. Twenty acre places abound everywhere. Should you desire to get bigger then aquiring more pasture can be troublesome. My boss has a cow/calf operation and he will rent any pasture of say 20 or more acres even if he can't use it right now. This is to cover the bases should something happen to the pastures he now leases and for haying. Don't let that stop you though.
The last i heard was that banks are not very receptive to financing more than a house and 5 acres. Might have changed; i am not sure.
I am confident that once you get on the ground here you will find plenty of properties to choose from.

Thanks! I am just worried it is going to be too much city for us. We consider where we live in Lubbock(pop 200.000) to much city. We were both raised in small towns(2500 or less) and we live the atmosphere but need the city job. We want to raise our children in a small town but want to be near a big town. thanks for the help!

[Versatile]

You will find a small town around here(that fit's your needs) with no problem at all.

[mauisue]

Originally Posted by txgal0919

Hi everyone. My husband just got a job offer in Kansas City. We have never been there before but are planning a trip soon. We are wanting to move to a small town near Kansas City that has that small town Mayberry feeling.
Also we are planning on ranching later on when we save enough money. What are land prices like around KC? Is there lots of ranching around the area? thanks

My husband and I purchased a home in Buckner, MO about 15 miles east of KC after living in Southern CA for 28 years. We just love it. Land was going for about $10,000 per acre when we bought in July. May have gone down a little since then. We paid a little over $300,000 for a ranch style 2800 sq foot home with an additional 2800 sq ft. basement on 3 acres. There is a corn farm behind us and an alfalfa field across the street. The town only has 2800 people, is very quaint and we are not far from any more "city" if we want it.

[christina0001]

Originally Posted by kcmo

Your not going to get a "Mayberry feeling" in Blue Springs or Lee's Summit or Gladstone or Liberty. Those are all close in, medium sized suburbs. You probably won't even get it in Grain Valley as that town is quickly turning into a built up suburb. Smithville is possible but not sure there is much "ranching" going on up there. It's more of a lake area.

ditto ditto ditto

Other than Smithville, the only other option I can think of that is a comfortable commute to Kansas City is the Harrisonville area, which is south of the city. All around Harrisonville is quite a lot of farmland, and you would be in good company, with people who have similar interests in regard to ranching, farming, etc. Harrisonville itself is experiencing steady but slow growth and the rural community surrounding it is in no danger of suburban sprawl anytime in the forseeable future.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by christina0001

ditto ditto ditto

Other than Smithville, the only other option I can think of that is a comfortable commute to Kansas City is the Harrisonville area, which is south of the city. All around Harrisonville is quite a lot of farmland, and you would be in good company, with people who have similar interests in regard to ranching, farming, etc. Harrisonville itself is experiencing steady but slow growth and the rural community surrounding it is in no danger of suburban sprawl anytime in the forseeable future.

Cass County is suburbanizing rapidly. I think Harrisonville and surrounding areas are already experiencing huge percentage gains in population. However, with energy prices rapidly increasing I think we will see less growth in towns further removed from the KC metro.

[christina0001]

The bulk of growth in Cass County is in Raymore (HUGE amount of growth). Belton is growing too. If you go to Harrisonville, you will see a few new commercial developments going up (including a new hospital), but there are few large commercial buildings + a handful of shops on the square that stand vacant and have been vacant for a while. The current hospital, once they move into the new one (2009 or 2010 I think) may remain vacant for a while; they don't have anyone that's agreed to take it over as of yet. Residential growth IMO is stagnant or slow right now. I agree that with energy costs going up, plus the slowing of the real estate market, Harrisonville is far enough from KC to not experience any major or even significant growth anytime soon.

[GraniteStater]

We know some old friends of ours that live out in Pecuilar, and have been there about 10 years. They like the rural feel of the area, but it is growing quite rapidly.

[Versatile]

Originally Posted by christina0001

The bulk of growth in Cass County is in Raymore (HUGE amount of growth). Belton is growing too. If you go to Harrisonville, you will see a few new commercial developments going up (including a new hospital), but there are few large commercial buildings + a handful of shops on the square that stand vacant and have been vacant for a while. The current hospital, once they move into the new one (2009 or 2010 I think) may remain vacant for a while; they don't have anyone that's agreed to take it over as of yet. Residential growth IMO is stagnant or slow right now. I agree that with energy costs going up, plus the slowing of the real estate market, Harrisonville is far enough from KC to not experience any major or even significant growth anytime soon.

I pretty much agree with the posts of both Moderators. Peculiar is growing like crazy or just until this down turn. A few of those buildigs on the square are owned by just one individual or a company of his any way. For quite awhile he has been in several disputes with the city over those buildings and his plans thus they just sit there.
There are plenty of places near Harrisonville that fit the OP's needs.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by Versatile

I pretty much agree with the posts of both Moderators. Peculiar is growing like crazy or just until this down turn. A few of those buildigs on the square are owned by just one individual or a company of his any way. For quite awhile he has been in several disputes with the city over those buildings and his plans thus they just sit there.
There are plenty of places near Harrisonville that fit the OP's needs.

The dispute over the natural gas plant owned by Aquilla has been making big news in Cass County recently.