What do you think is the Best Area/Suburb (Kansas City: low income, high crime)

[Samantha S]

Originally Posted by OneKC

I don't see why you need to keep defending your point. When talking about "quality" its pretty subjective so there is really no argument you can make to support your point other than "I think Overland Park is better", which you have already said over and over again.

I reiterate the point that there are differences, because people post here with questions about the area. If they are repeatedly told, "There is absolutely no difference between this area and that one," then they are not getting good information IMO.

Most people can tell differences, even if it's slight. Some people notice big differences. Whatever ...

You won't find a post of mine that says "Overland Park is better". I wouldn't make a statement like that, because it's not "absolutely" true. Again, I post to clear up what I believe is not good information.

That I notice that something is different, doesn't mean I think it's better or worse than something else. But this concept still eludes ...

You know, it's funny ... the last time I said that two areas were not much different, I got blasted for that too. Maybe I should get a new username and pretend I live in MO, so that I will be allowed to have an opinion!

[OneKC]

Originally Posted by Samantha S

I reiterate the point that there are differences, because people post here with questions about the area. If they are repeatedly told, "There is absolutely no difference between this area and that one," then they are not getting good information IMO.

We know. You've stated that opinion several times now. Other people have different opinions. I don't see why you have to correct everyone on their opinion.

[Samantha S]

Originally Posted by OneKC

We know. You've stated that opinion several times now. Other people have different opinions. I don't see why you have to correct everyone on their opinion.

Common questions in this forum are: "Which areas are best?" "Where are the best schools?" "jobs?" "houses?" "shopping?" whatever ...

If someone says "I don't think there is any difference between X and Y"

Then if I disagree, I might say so and offer what experience I have with both X and Y. If people have no experience with X, but claim it is the same as Y, well, then it should at least be noted that the opinion given is biased. If the poster doesn't point this out, then I might do so. This is not the same as correcting their opinion. It's just clarifying the source.

If someone says "There's absolutely no difference between X and Y" and I know this to be false. I will say so. Usually briefly, but will elaborate if asked.

Quite often, the same types of questions get repeated over and over. And so the stuff that gets posted in response is repeated as well. It's just the nature of the forum

[OneKC]

I have lived in east Jackson county and south Overland Park. The differences in quality of life are quite small in my opinion.

[MsDoe]

I have always liked Belton, Missouri. It's between 5 and 20 minutes outside of South KC (according to where you live, and about 15-30 minutes from downtown KC. Not bad, and the people are friendly. I've never been fond of Overland Park or Blue Springs.
It's probably because I was raised mainly in towns like Grain Valley, Belton and Independence. Towns that have a bit of a higher crime rate, and a lower class population. Just my thoughts.

[TabulaRasa]

When we were house hunting, the only non-city location we considered was Lee's Summit. We like what they've done with the downtown and with historical preservation in the city core, and that we could get an affordable early 20th century home that had been nicely kept. Similarly aged homes in good repair in the city itself were too highly priced for us as first-time buyers. Our portion of town feels much like the small town I grew up in (it's about the same age, and a similarly arranged railroad town), which is a big draw for me. The overall feel of my neighborhood doesn't feel to me like my personal interpretation of "suburb-y." It feels like my grandma's street in a village of 4,000, which is more in line with my preferences.

[MsDoe]

I lived in Lee's Summit for three years as a child. (ages 6-9) and I never really cared for it. It's probably the area I lived in (I lived near the Price Chopper/Baskin Robbins area), but it just felt too 'upper class' for me. Every where I went, I saw these people driving big $30,000 SUVs and wearing designer clothes, and I just didn't fit in. Which is probably why I never cared for Blue Springs or Overland Park. I go there to shop or eat sometimes, then run back to my lower to lower-middle class neighborhood in Independence. All of my neighbors pretty much drive older, used cars or just like $15,000 cars max. Not a really low class, but lower then Blue Springs or the areas of Lee's Summit I've been to. Again, it's just the way I was raised, it's my own comfort. Not that these people are bad, I just have nothing in common with them. I was floored walking into Beauty Brands the other day, because it's really nice and high maintenance. I have always gone to places like Fantastic Sam's and stuff, so it took a minute to adjust.
So anyway, that's probably why I like Belton/Independence/Raymore.

[TabulaRasa]

Originally Posted by MsDoe

I lived in Lee's Summit for three years as a child. (ages 6-9) and I never really cared for it. It's probably the area I lived in (I lived near the Price Chopper/Baskin Robbins area), but it just felt too 'upper class' for me. Every where I went, I saw these people driving big $30,000 SUVs and wearing designer clothes, and I just didn't fit in.

I live about two blocks from the downtown. To me, it feels a lot like my very down to earth, very non-snobby hometown of 7,000, although it's obviously much larger. Can't really speak to the feel in other parts of town, I haven't even had a chance yet with all the rain to ride my bike/walk all over like I like to do to get a feel for a new town. But our neighborhood is very comfortingly and comfortably working class and has many echoes of the old time small town it once was. I don't go for snobby, pseudo-elite crap, either.

Only thing I haven't found yet is a particularly tasty place to eat that's walkable...but I haven't had time yet to try a whole lot of places, and we cook at home most times. So it will take a while of trial and error. Tonight was an error.

[MsDoe]

Oh, I didn't mean to imply that anyone from those areas were snobby, or pseudo-elite...I only meant they have a different standard of living, a different lifestyle, ect. Which means I have little to nothing in common with them... I have no problem with people who have money, prestige and success. It just isn't the way I was raised. So I'm more in my element in lower class settings. I

[northbound74]

Originally Posted by MsDoe

I lived in Lee's Summit for three years as a child. (ages 6-9) and I never really cared for it. It's probably the area I lived in (I lived near the Price Chopper/Baskin Robbins area), but it just felt too 'upper class' for me. Every where I went, I saw these people driving big $30,000 SUVs and wearing designer clothes, and I just didn't fit in. Which is probably why I never cared for Blue Springs or Overland Park. I go there to shop or eat sometimes, then run back to my lower to lower-middle class neighborhood in Independence. All of my neighbors pretty much drive older, used cars or just like $15,000 cars max. Not a really low class, but lower then Blue Springs or the areas of Lee's Summit I've been to. Again, it's just the way I was raised, it's my own comfort. Not that these people are bad, I just have nothing in common with them. I was floored walking into Beauty Brands the other day, because it's really nice and high maintenance. I have always gone to places like Fantastic Sam's and stuff, so it took a minute to adjust.
So anyway, that's probably why I like Belton/Independence/Raymore.

One of the things I really like about Independence, is that you do have plenty of affordable options (which is why I'm here), and there's also quite a bit of upscale housing mixed in. I like that people of all income levels live within a few blocks of each other, and yet it all seems to blend pretty well. There's rarely, if ever, a horribly blighted area right next to 500k houses, but it's more tiered. The economic diversity reminds everybody that we're all human. We all shop at the same stores, and eat at the same restaurants. It's very kumbaya 'round here. Sort of.