About to buy a property in KC 64127 - what is the area like (Raytown: to rent)

[DandF]

Hi All

just about to buy a property in KC 64127 on East 23rd st by Ashland square park

does anyone know what that area is like and how safe for my kids it is

any advice much appreciated on what that whole part of KC is like.

thank you

Damon & Faye

[DandF]

just to add that the area is south of the river just off junction 4c of the 70

thanks

[kcmo]

what do you want to hear

...it's pretty ghetto in that area, very run down and high crime.

I'm not one to talk down urban KCMO, but this area of urban KC is stuck in ghetto mode and has no signs of recovery.

Where are you coming from?

[DandF]

coming from new jersey

the area pics i have seen seem ok with lots of green spaces and the blue valley park is just down the street

didnt seem too ghetto

how far from downtown is it?

[kcmo]

KC's ghetto probably doesn't "look" as bad as most of the bigger cities out east. KC has a lot of green and parks. South Central LA has palm trees too, doesn't stop the drive by shootings.

I'm just being honest with you. It's an rough area. It's not the worst area of the city, but it's far from a thriving area.

Having said that, you might be just fine and if you can deal with living in a area like that, more power to you as the only way areas like that will ever get better is if more people take it on and make it work.

In general, this is called the "eastside". It's not far from downtown, but the closer you get to the "city" such as downtown, midtown and the plaza, the nicer the area will get and the homes will be more expensive.

The city has tons of great urban neighborhoods, but they really go to hell in a hurry as you move east of 71 and it doesn't get better till you get past I-435.

The east side of KCMO has more crime, murders etc than towns 2-3 times the size of KCMO.

[DandF]

thanks for your help

at the end of the day we have paid not a lot for what is a pretty good looking property and have no mortgage so thats good.

if we dont like it we have been told we should be able to rent it out as its near the city. dont know if thats true as lettings seem up and down but as we have no mortgage we can let it for a good price.

didnt have time to visit the area due to commitments so wil have to go on advice from here.

seems from all i am reading that crime is on its way down in the city.

which are the areas of the city that we should keep away from?

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by DandF

Hi All

just about to buy a property in KC 64127 on East 23rd st by Ashland square park

does anyone know what that area is like and how safe for my kids it is

any advice much appreciated on what that whole part of KC is like.

thank you

Damon & Faye

I would generally avoid this area. The prices may look attractive, but their are reasons for that. The location near Downtown is not too bad, however.

[kcmo]

Well, please don’t take my word for it. You should really check it out for yourself.

This area is not bombed out ghetto like some areas of KCMO. Most of the houses are still standing, so that’s a good sign.

But it is a higher crime area, the schools are bad (my wife teaches in that area). You can make the schools work, but you have to really put a lot of effort into it because so many of the other kids in your school may not have good parents and that drags down the students that do have good parents.

There is almost no shopping in this area. Even grocery shopping is very limited.

And even though there are some decent homes in this area, as you may have found a nice home, you will have to deal with a lot of your typical crap that a high poverty area will have such as homeless people begging, vacant structures, drug dealers, prostitution and terrible peer pressure for your kids.

And of course there will be a “thug” element to some degree in this area. Car jackings, burglaries etc are also a problem. A commuter that stopped to wash his car in a car wash in this area was recently robbed and killed.

If you really want to see what the area is like, do a ride along with the east patrol which is right down the street.

This is all relative and depending on what part of jersey you are from, it may not be a big deal to you.

As far as good areas, I really don’t know what to tell you on that. It would depend on what you can afford. Basically the bad areas tend to be along US-71 and I-70 east and southeast of Downtown.

The good areas are in the north south corridor from downtown all the way to 435 on the south side mostly west of Paseo. But like I said, you will get into far more expensive stuff.

[DandF]

thanks for all your help folks

will bear it all im mind, there are some bad areas on NJ but think this might be a bit too rough for us and the schools will be an issue

will look elsewhere i think

glad this forum was here to help

[MrsMo]

DS and DDIL live in the area. Horrible schools. The house was left to her by her grandmother who had lived there since the 40's. Not the best area but like they said, hey its paid for and we like our neighbors. DGS goes to a Catholic school by me in Raytown so he would not have to go to KC schools. The area has problems, but they have learned to live with it.