Apt. rentals between Kansas City and St. Joseph (Liberty, Platte City: apartments, house)

[christina0001]

My husband and I will be relocating to the KC metro area late this summer. Currently our favorite towns are St. Joseph and Plattsburg. We figure, if we find jobs in the KC area, we will buy a home in the Plattsburg area and commute. If we find jobs in St. Joseph, we'll buy there. But in the meantime, we'll need to find a place to rent an apartment for the short term (probably 6-12 months, but who knows, depends on luck). Ideally we would like to rent in a town that is a halfway point between St. Jo and KC while we job hunt and then house shop, but there doesn't seem to be much out there. Any advice? Any towns off of I-29 in this area that have apartments? Would Plattsburg be commutable to St. Jo as well as KC? If not, all I can think to do is find rentals in the northern KC metro area.
Any advice appreciated, thanks for your help.

[Lynda in KC]

Christina, I think Plattsburg would be commutable to St. Joe. St. Joe is approx 45 minutes north of Kansas City, so anywhere between KC and St. Joe I would concider commutable. Alot of people drive from St. Joe. down into the city to work everyday. And alot of people also drive from North of St. Joe to get here also. Just depends on how far you are willing to commute. Plattsburg, Platte City are about the only things that I can think of right now between here and there where there would be apartments. Hope this helps some and welcome to the KC area in advance

[midwest456]

hi,
What is your budget range rentwise? I am just north of downtown KC and am pretty happy with the apartment that my NKC search agent found for me (it wasn't even listed in the grocery store type apartment guides at the time, so it was a bit of a find). I would give her name or the website in this post, but I don't know if this forum would see that as advertising/spam.
Downtown KC and the Northland seem to be growing fast, so I am sure more complexes in the area you are looking to rent are going up as I write this. I know Platte City has some apartments. I hope you find somewhere that you enjoy!

[christina0001]

Thanks for the tips. Lynda, do you know how long it would take to commute from St. Joseph to KC, during normal rush hour? It didn't seem too long when we drove it, when we visited, but we didn't get a chance to drive it during rush hour, and we stopped a few times, so it is hard for us to judge.

We're looking for as cheap as possible - after renting in New Jersey, KC area apartments seem very affordable, but as we will be moving without jobs, the cheaper, the better. I don't think we are too picky:
*must be clean - no mold, no bugs, no critters
*off-street parking is preferred
*we would prefer a 1 bedroom apartment, but a studio would be acceptable
*must allow animals, as we have 1 cat. I've had her for 14 years...not about to give her up now.
*would prefer easy access to area highways
*need a place that will allow us to do short-term leases; 3 month leases would be ideal, 6 month leases acceptable.

I will check Platte City and Plattsburg, I did find a couple of listings for Platte City but none for Plattsburg so far. If anyone has names of complexes, etc. that rent in this area, let me know. Thanks!

[midwest456]

It occurred to me, looking at the maps, that some of the north KC and platte apartments in your search area will probably be in the path of air traffic from KCI. You probably already have that in mind in your search, just thought I might mention it. We are close to the smaller Downtown KC airport here, but there is very rarely jet noise (other than a very noisy airshow last labor day that was so loud that the nearby courthouse had to keep shutting down proceedings, according to someone I know who was on jury duty at the time).

What do you think about renting in Leavenworth KS? It looks like it is close to that St Joseph-KC route and probably inexpensive. I don't know much about it other than the prison and military presence there, though. There is also Liberty MO, which has inexpensive rents and is probably somewhat nicer, but maybe that is a bit too far east for you. It was my second choice if I hadn't landed this place close to work as it would have added just 10 min to my commute.

[christina0001]

Wow, thanks for all these tips! Very, very helpful. We actually live across the street from a small, private airport right now; generally it is quiet except for Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Doesn't bother us at all...but KCI probably gets a lot more traffic, from much larger planes. Thanks for pointing it out.

[midwest456]

http://www.mynewplace.com/apartments-KS-Leavenworth

you would need to investigate in person and see what you think of the places, but they do look affordable. a bit longer drive to jobs in either St Joseph or KC, but an option I think.