Moving to Kansas City (St. Louis, Overland: condo, new home, neighborhoods)

[jfsinger]

I have a chance at a new position that would take my wife and me to Kansas City from Atlanta. We're 50-ish, empty nesters who enjoy intown living, culture, dining, etc. I would have an office in Overland Park, but would also travel 4 states and work some from home.

Any suggestions on neighborhoods to live? We could buy a home up to $500K or so.

Also, we could live in St. Louis (at my option). Any thoughts on KC vs. SL?

Thanks!

[kcmo]

I would look into the South Plaza and Brookside areas along Ward Parkway between Wornall and into the Kansas side. Since you don't have to worry about schools, I would say go the the MO side, but the Kansas side in that area is also very nice. Although it's sort of extreme. The KS side in this area is either super expensive and very nice and possible out of your price range (Mission Hills) or a bit overpriced ranches etc in areas like Prarie Village and Fairway. Give it a try though, you never know what you will find. On the MO side in this area, the homes will be more diverse and will be slightly less expensive for the more modest homes (under 400k), yet the homes will be older and more charming IMO. A lot of the price difference has to do with the KCMO school district.

This area (both sides of the state line) would put you very close to Overland Park, but give you the feeling of living "in town" but also very close to the Plaza and only about 15 minutes from downtown.

You can probably find a very nice house for under 500k in that area, even though they go much higher.

It would be a nice quiet area, yet right between the business core of the city (plaza to downtown corridor) and the Johnson County business corridor to the southwest.

If you want something more uban like a highrise or condo, you have many options further north in the city.

As far as KC vs StL....

That depends on where you office.

I have lived in both and really like both a lot.

There is really very little difference. StL just has more suburbs than KC. I think the urban portion of StL city (river to CWE) and the urban portion of KCMO (river to Plaza) are about the same.

Metro StL is about 1/3 larger than KC, but StL doesn't really offer any more than KC as far as entertainment options, arts etc. They are about the same. The far flung burbs of StL get really far from the city since the city mostly grows in one direction (to the west) and nearly the entire metro population is west of Clayton where in KC, suburbs go in all directions from downtown so instead of 60 miles to the far out burbs, it's 20-25 miles in four directions.

KC tends to add more people and grow faster while StL is simply sprawling west and not really netting too many new residents.

Check out the lower west side of KCMO south of the plaza, I think you will like it.

I would look into the Clayton area of StL and some of the other smaller suburbs between forest park and a bit west of Clayton. But same for StL, if you want something more urban, just go east into the city.

[STLCardsBlues1989]

St. Louis Downtown is growing a bit. 11,000 people living downtown now. The city overall is growing a bit, though not as much as the suburbs.

I don't think there's a major difference between the two. I've never been to Kansas City. I go to St. Louis a few times a year and my Dad grew up there. But I read a lot and try to keep up with what's going on in the Lou. We live 3 hours from St. Louis in the middle of nowhere.

I don't know that there will be a major difference in either city. One might have a neighborhood you like that the other doesn't. If you have time, it may be nice to spend a few days in each city, just touring it and doing stuff and seeing how you feel.

[kcmo]

I lived in StL for quite a while and lived most of my life in KC. They are pretty similar towns.

Downtown KC has about 16,000 residents, but most of the upscale urban residents in KCMO live south of downtown like most upscale urban StL residents live west of Downtown.

KCMO is growing at a very rapid clip. The city says they have around 500,000 residents. A drill down study shows the city has closer to 530,000 residents. Metro KC is closing the gap on metro StL as well with 2.1 million people in 2008.

StL feels more like one large city where KC feels more divided up. I personally like StL in a lot of ways better than KC. But there are a lot of things I like better about KC as well.

The state line in KC blows. It’s the worst thing about this town IMO and it’s what keeps the metro from taking itself to the next level. Too many people want to know what’s in it for them and couldn’t care less about what’s in the best interest of the region.

I would still say that most people don't seem to care too much when they move from one to the other though. They go where they can get a job. The other is only 3 hours down the road.

[jeffmsilver]

Good responses. I second Brookside. Or Sunset Hill/South Plaza.

[jfsinger]

Thanks to all for your comments! It was while looking at a map yesterday that my wife and I came to a "blinding flash of the obvious": St. Louis is about 5 hours closer to "home" (Atlanta and the Southeast), and thus probably a better choice for our new home!

If the job comes through, we'll most likely live in St. Louis. However, I'll be doing a lot of work in KC and look forward to getting to know your city!

[ellencb]

The Ward Parkway area has some beautiful homes for bargain prices right now, it has a great neighborhood feel. I definitely prefer KC over STL!