Relocating to KC - KS or MO (Kansas City, Lee's Summit: sales, rent)

[Johnny Bananas]

Originally Posted by erock7100

I have recently been made an offer to relocate to Kansas City. My work is very close to the KCI airport. I am married with 2 small children (5 and 2). A community that is family oriented, safe and good schools are of the utmost importance. We spent the weekend there and some of the areas we like are: Overland Park (long drive - almost 38 miles and traffic), Western Shawnee (still 30 miles), and Parkville. A few people at work mentioned living in Liberty, but we did not get to check it out. Any input would be greatly appreciated. We have found it hard to get an objective opinion as people from KS are so pro KS and same for the MO people. We just need help in making the right decision for our family. Thanks to anyone for their input.

The KCI airport is in a kind of isolated area. I've not flown for 3 years so it has probably expanded a bit up there.

I would stick to the Kansas side. Driving from the MO side to KCI airport would be a drive. Not sure how long but still a longer drive if you live out in MO. MO schools are good. I can't comment in detail about each one of them. I know the KCMO S.D. has had some money issues. Liberty S.D. I hear is probably a better school district in the or near the metro area.

On to the Kansas side. I have lived in KCK, Shawnee, O.P., Olathe, and Gardner and each city has it's own personality.

KCK: Lived here for 1 year. This is much more closer to your work regardless where you decide to live in the area. You can commute using I-70 or 635. The schools however I don't view as some of the best. Stay away from the WyCo or Turner S.D.

Shawnee: I lived here for 13 years. Some of the best schools. The west side has the DeSoto school district which is smaller. West Shawnee you'll probably have more of a country feel and family feel but it is more redneck. If you were to delve more into the city of Shawnee then you'll be in the Shawnee Mission School District which is one of the best in the state of Kansas and in the country. They have very good high school AP classes but you won't have to worry about that in a few years. If you live in the West part then you'll get to work faster. If you decide to live in the heart of the city... you're commute will be added between 10 to 25 minutes.

Overland Park: Currently living 2 years. Overland Park I view as the best city to live. It is very middle to upper class though. There is one Shawnee Mission high school in Overland Park (more of the Leawood area). You'll probably be in the Blue Valley S.D. The BVSD also has good AP courses but it is very... clique if you know what I mean. I've heard positive things about the elementary schools. Driving to work would take you (if you live closer to I-435) about 45-an hour to get the airport or area. This as you said is in the list of best places to live and I couldn't agree more. Very safe neighborhood. Some people here can be stuck-up but I've not experienced too much hostility amongst a lot of them. I would recommend around here.

Olathe: Lived here for 2 years. Olathe has two sides IMO. I live about two minutes from here. East of 35 is more upscale and more shops and the better of the schools (Olathe School District). Overland Park is much more upscale though. West of Olathe is the more problematic area even with the courthouse on Sante Fe. Now it's a certain part of West Olathe that is bad. Not all of it is. There is a nice residential area with good priced homes around. West Olathe is a quick trip to West Shawnee and to the airport. It would probably be about a 35-50 minute drive if your close to K-7 Hwy.

Here is a little breakdown:
KCMO: Cheaper housing
KCK: Faster and shorter commute.
Shawnee: More family-oriented; better commute (West); better schools (in city)
Overland Park: safer; more to do
Olathe: more shops/family activities

This is all I can think of right now. It may seem like a lot but there really is more to it. Good luck with everything.

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by Johnny Bananas

The KCI airport is in a kind of isolated area. I've not flown for 3 years so it has probably expanded a bit up there.

I would stick to the Kansas side. Driving from the MO side to KCI airport would be a drive. Not sure how long but still a longer drive if you live out in MO. MO schools are good. I can't comment in detail about each one of them. I know the KCMO S.D. has had some money issues. Liberty S.D. I hear is probably a better school district in the or near the metro area.

That doesn’t even make sense. How is the KS side closer to KCI than the MO side? These comments are simply beyond comprehendible to me.

Have any of you even been to the Northland in the past freaking decade?

The Northland has over 300,000 residents, all of them much closer to KCI than anything in Kansas by a long shot. The Jackson County suburbs can get pretty far from KCI like Lee’s Summit though.

There is an absolute ton of new development within 10 minutes of KCI.

But I can’t win.

Move to Overland Park. There is no alternative.

[gwander]

If you work up near the airport, I would suggest that you look for a home up north. The drive from Overland Park would get old very fast. If you live closer to your work, you will have more time to spend with your family.
There are some really lovely areas up north with great family neighborhoods. Gladstone, Parkville and Liberty. The Briarcliff area is nice too. I have friends who live in each of those areas and they really love their neighborhods. All of them have children in the public schools (or just graduated last year) and are very happy with the schools and the teachers. Good luck with your search.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by kcmo

That doesn’t even make sense. How is the KS side closer to KCI than the MO side? These comments are simply beyond commendable to me.

Have any of you even been to the Northland in the past freaking decade?

The Northland has over 300,000 residents, all of them much closer to KCI than anything in Kansas by a long shot. The Jackson County suburbs can get pretty far from KCI like Lee’s Summit though.

There is an absolute ton of new development within 10 minutes of KCI.

But I can’t win.

Move to Overland Park. There is no alternative.

Yes, Platte and Clay counties have both grown 12.5% since 2000, but JoCo has seen a 14.5% rise since 2000. Platte County is quite a bit more upscale ovrall compared with Clay. Southern Platte County areas with a KC, MO address are fairly nice. Upscale developments west of I-29 are especially noted in the Riss Lake and Weatherby Lake areas. However, north of the airport in Clay and Platte counties most of the developments are not nearly as pleasing and tend to be very cheap and cookie cutter in character. I dislike houses that are plopped out on a field, and you might as well live in a rural area instead of contributing to very low density sprawl. KC= sprawl for the most part, and it always amazes me how many counties are included in the metropolitan area as a whole.

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

Yes, Platte and Clay counties have both grown 12.5% since 2000, but JoCo has seen a 14.5% rise since 2000. Platte County is quite a bit more upscale ovrall compared with Clay. Southern Platte County areas with a KC, MO address are fairly nice. Upscale developments west of I-29 are especially noted in the Riss Lake and Weatherby Lake areas. However, north of the airport in Clay and Platte counties most of the developments are not nearly as pleasing and tend to be very cheap and cookie cutter in character. I dislike houses that are plopped out on a field, and you might as well live in a rural area instead of contributing to very low density sprawl. KC= sprawl for the most part, and it always amazes me how many counties are included in the metropolitan area as a whole.

I doesn’t matter how many counties are in the metro really. Most of the rural counties that are in the metro don’t add up to much. There is about 2.1 million people in the KC MSA. Of that, 1.8 million live within about 20 miles of downtown. The rest is spread out over all those other counties.

One of the main reasons JoCo has grown so much is because of jobs. JoCo is the premier suburban office park area of the metro and the area of town most local jobs are fleeing to (out of KCMO’s urban core).

But unless you work out there, I just don’t understand why you would live out there when you can live in a similar area closer to where you work.

If you work out in Overland Park then JoCo would be the place to live. I wouldn’t tell somebody that works at South Creek to check out Tiffany Springs or Liberty…

But if you work in the Northland or Downtown, then living in the Northland is simply a no-brainer if you ask me.

I agree with you on the sprawl to the far north, but there is really nothing north of KCI and very little north of 152 (that is quickly changing though). There is some lower end housing going up in some parts of the far northern suburbs like around Platte City, Smithville, Kearney and highway 291. You will find similar types of housing in the far south and western parts of JoCo like in Gardner and Desoto or in Jackson County like in Greenwood or Grain Valley.

But there really are many very nice, high quality areas north of the river.

I would just concentrate on the I-29 corridor (east and west of 29) and the 152 corridor.

Along the I-29 corridor, you have the Tom Watson Parkway area where the new Tulleries shopping center is west of 29. You will find all kinds of new housing in this area. This is mostly KCMO, but many seem to refer to the area as Parkville. Keep going west and you will get into un- incorporated Platte County. This area is more spread out, but very upscale and the terrain is just awesome.

In the Line Creek Valley of KCMO, there are some very nice areas. This is east of 29 and west of 169. Take Barry to Waukomis and go south. You will see areas that are basically a carbon copy of Lenexa’s Falcon Ridge area.

Right around Zona Rosa there are quite a few nice areas that would be minutes from every retail store and restaurant you can think of. Zona Rosa, Boardwalk, Barry Woods (which has an AMC 24/IMAX) and Tiffany Springs Marketplace are all new major shopping centers in the area.

Southwest of this area is the Weatherby Lake area (again, mostly KCMO) which as a lot of newer areas and the brand new Aquatics Park, the largest in the metro.

Go east on 152 and you will find a variety of housing options, most pretty upscale, but nothing really “cheap”.

Every exit along 152 between Tiffany Springs and Liberty is booming with residential development.

Take the North Oak Trafficway exit off of 152 and go north. The drive into the massive new area east of N Oak. This is a huge area that also resembles the newer parts of Shawnee or Lenexa.

Keep going east on 152 and you will find more smaller developments all over the place.

You will eventually make your way into the Shoal Creek Valley.

This is a master planned development that began construction about 5 years ago and will have about 30,000 residents when built out.

Homes in this area are pretty upscale though. All the homes in Shoal Creek north of 152 start at 275k, most are above 350k. There is a brand new high school “Staley High” of the NKC district that recently opened to rave reviews.

North of Shoal Creek in the 291 corridor you will find more modest housing (track housing), but they are still pretty nice homes most start at 250k.

In the southern part of Liberty along the South Liberty Parkway there are some very nice upscale newer areas. Same deal in the north part of Liberty where there is another high school under construction.

Back to the southwest there are some very nice areas in Gladstone and just east of Gladstone and north of Pleasant Valley Road in KCMO. This upscale area was blasted by a tornado a few years ago, but has since been rebuilt.

I would stay away from southern Clay County except the Briarcliff area.

Don’t forget Old Parkville, I love the Cliffs, but if you don’t like snow/hills, forget about that area.

Park Hill, NKC, Liberty and Platte County are all very good school districts.

If you can’t find something you like in the northland, I don’t think you will find what you are looking for in all of metro KC, unless you want something more urban and then you would have to go to central KCMO.

[Teachenor]

What is your oppinion of Lexington, MO?

Originally Posted by kcmo

OK, I have got to ask.

WHY?

If you are working near KCI, why would you live in Overland Park or even Shawnee?

If you were working near Corporate Woods or Renner Blvd or Olathe sure, but KCI?

What on earth are people thinking. Why Why Why????? I have got to know why!

Are people pushing you down there? Are people telling you that's the only place to live???

That is just crazy. Why would you move 30-40 or more miles away from where you work? Especially when that 40 miles could be congested the entire way?

Next time you are in KC, call me. PM me.

I will show you are the Northland and you will wonder why in the world you ever drove south of 64th Street.

There are so many nice, new, family oriented areas in the Northland, far more than “Parkville” and “Liberty” which seems to be about the only areas people can recommend.

Those are great areas, but most of the population, most of the growth, most of the newer middle and upper class family neighborhood are not in Liberty or Parkville, but in areas of KC,North between Liberty and Parkville.

Next time in KC, take 29 south to 152 and go east and then get off on every exit as you go east and go north or south and drive the entire corridor. It will take you a good weekend.

Drive down Ambassador, Green Hills, Platte Purchase Drive, North Oak (north of 152), Waukomis, Maple Woods Parkway, Indiana, Brighton, Shoal Creek Parkway, and Flintlock.

All of those areas are the exact same thing you will find clear down in Overland Park or Shawnee. New streets, new homes, new fountains, great schools, new retail, new office parks, parkways, bike trails etc. Homes from 175- well over a million dollars. This area of KCMO grows faster than any other area of metro KC. 3 times as fast as Olathe.

Or move 40 miles away for reasons I can not fathom…

[Samantha S]

Originally Posted by kcmo

Park Hill, NKC, Liberty and Platte County are all very good school districts.

They are fine schools, yes. But in my humble opinion, they are not as good as the schools in SM, BV, Desoto or Olathe school districts.

So given the choice, I chose the KS side. But I don't disagree with you about some of the areas you mention. Nice affordable housing can be found and the schools are okay. The people I know who live in these areas are happy.

But I can easily see a family opting for JoCo even though one parent has a commute North.

[Samantha S]

Originally Posted by Teachenor

What is your oppinion of Lexington, MO?

A lovely town to visit. Beautiful old homes and lots of history.

I wouldn't live there. (but I realize you probably weren't asking me)

[northbound74]

Originally Posted by Samantha S

They are fine schools, yes. But in my humble opinion, they are not as good as the schools in SM, BV, Desoto or Olathe school districts.

So given the choice, I chose the KS side. But I don't disagree with you about some of the areas you mention. Nice affordable housing can be found and the schools are okay. The people I know who live in these areas are happy.

But I can easily see a family opting for JoCo even though one parent has a commute North.

I don't understand. What is supposed to make those JoCo schools better?
The two states have very different ways of calculating how well students perform. There's really no exact way to compare them. The way Kansas scores things, it gives the appearance of having a higher percentage of students who perform very well. A closer look at the numbers reveal that there's not that big of a difference.
The schools are probably more similar than most Johnson County folks would like to admit. I don't blame them for trying to deny it. They're the ones over-paying for housing and taxes. They have to find some way to justify the extra expense, I guess.

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by Teachenor

What is your oppinion of Lexington, MO?

I don't know the first thing about it really.

I know metro KC like the back of my hand and I know other major cities across the country well.

But put me in the small towns that surround KC and beyond and I'm lost.

I'm not a small town person by any stretch, pretty much can't stand them and being in one for more than a few hours drives me nuts.

But I know a lot of people really like them. I have nothing against small or rural towns, but I have about as much interest in them as most people from small towns have in Manhattan.

Lexington, seems quite far from metro KC though, I wouldn't think that would be very viable option. There are much closer towns to KC if that is what somebody is looking for.