Santa Fe Hills area just south of Waldo (Leawood, Parkway: apartments, rental)

[TabulaRasa]

My SO and I are moving from our Plaza-area apartment and are considering either a rental house or purchasing a starter home, and this area caught our eye, but neither of us knows really anything about the character of the area (only lived in KC a couple of years). We've scouted the area out, but you can only tell so much with drive-throughs.

We're looking for a little more bang for our buck, and would like to get away from apartments and street parking and lack of a yard. When we decided to look for new places to move, we thought briefly of renting in Brookside, but it's a for the most part a touch out of our ideal price range, even for renting, and def. for purchase. We've always liked Waldo, and through our wanderings in Waldo, we found ourselves in Santa Fe Hills. Both the rental and purchase costs appear to be in our price range, and ultimately, I foresee first renting, then buying if we like the area.

As far as the type of neighborhood we're cool with, it appears to be working-class and a bit gritty, both of which are fine by us. I noticed no sidewalks, but also that things seemed reasonably tidy and well-kept. We're educated professionals, but we're not overly fancy or particular, and don't need a sanitized existence (we'd stay where we are or rent on the other side of State Line, were that the case). We're both fairly tough-skinned, seasoned urban dwellers - living off the Plaza was a little rich for our blood, but we got a good deal on a unit in one of the Poets buildings, so we gave it a whirl. Getting sick of cramped space, a galley kitchen, not even a scrap of lawn, and crappy parking, though. I also work in south KC, so it puts me nearer to my job.

My question is if there's anything I should know, as a relative newcomer, before we think anymore seriously on this neighborhood, since we've not had any reason to spend any time there until we stumbled across it? I know parts of the Waldo area see some crime, but I've lived in tougher parts of Chicago and been fine, we're pretty thick-skinned and know what comes with the package in city dwelling. We also don't have kids/school needs to consider presently. Would it be a mistake to consider living, and maybe purchasing, in that area?

[TabulaRasa]

I take it nobody knows much about it, then?

[kcmo]

I used to live about a block outside of Santa Fe Hills. Owned a home there for about 4 years.

I always like Santa Fe Hills, better than the subdivision I lived in. When I biked or walked around the area, that area seemed to have a lot of really neat homes.

There is not much I can say about the area, but I would highly recommend it if you are ok with a little bit of grit and wear. I don't think the actual neighborhood is real gritty, it's a well kept area. But the area around 85th and Wornall is. It's not unsafe or anything, but it's just "city". It's not suburban, not the plaza, but just a basic, solid city neighborhood.

I really enjoyed living in south Waldo. At the time, I worked on the Plaza and would bike via the trolley track trail to work when I could.

I guess I would just say that I would take the area seriously and if you see a home in that area you like, go for it. I don't think you can really go wrong. It's a pretty modest area. I still know a few people that live in the area. One is a younger guy that just loves the area (he lives in Santa Fe Hills) and another is an uncle that also seems to enjoy the area (about a block south, he is older). I also know people that live a few blocks north and a few blocks west of Santa Fe. Again, younger people and they love it. The couple I know that lives west of Wornall near this area just had a kid and plan to stay (they plan to use private schools in the area).

If you are young, don't have to worry about kids for a while and are looking for a nice charming starter home in an area that is not suburban, waldo really is a nice fit and Santa Fe Hills is one of the neater areas of Waldo.

[TabulaRasa]

Thanks so much for your response...you've confirmed a lot of my gut reactions to my observations. I drive that way to get to my work, so I'm not wholly unfamiliar with the feel of the area, it's just, you know, different than living there. We've discussed it, and we're fairly sure we're going to apply for a rental to test-drive the area before possibly buying.

Glad to see that my general impression of the subdivision itself as modest, but tidy, and adjacent to a manageable bit of grit (not a problem with me, I've done gritty, and actually kind of miss gritty) was accurate. 85th and Wornall has also never impressed me as unsafe, per se, nice to see that backed up. Seems like pretty average urban streetscape, which is fine. I like the prospect of having a grocery store right there, since I'll ostensibly have a worthwhile kitchen (finally!) and a backyard in which to grill. Our current un-kitchen has induced an inordinate amount of eating out the past year or so. So not inspiring.

We plan on both biking and walking the Trolley Track; we do now, but only from the Plaza to around 72nd (gotta stop at QT for a beverage, y'know?), so this will be a new stretch.

Bonus, too, that it's not devoid of younger people...I wasn't sure what to expect, but a good mix is great.

Thanks so much for the feedback! Fingers crossed that things fall together reasonably well for us!

[kcmo]

BTW, we had our first kid right when we moved to Waldo and a second right before we left.

So it's where we started our family. I loved raising the kids in the area. Pulled the bike trailer all the time to the plaza and back and always liked riding into Brookside for ice cream!

My kids love riding city buses and we did quite often when living in Waldo. We had nice cars, but would still take the bus. My kids are very urban smart now and I really think that's pretty neat. They will grow up liking the city, not afraid or clueless about it.

Wornall is gritty, but we had no problem with it and patronized everything along the corridor. Wornall isn't pretty but it has just about every business you would need close by and like I said, even thought it's gritty, I never found it to be unsafe.

You will run in to some odd people at the gas stations and grocery stores, but I personally liked the diversity of the area.

The entire area was really nice from Watts Mill to Brookside and the Ward Parkway and Prairie Village areas. Everything you could ever want within 5 minutes.

We outgrew our home and made about 60% profit on our home in five years. Not bad. But I guess those days are over.

There were also some really neat areas north of 85th around Main Street and Oak etc. But I have not been over there in a long time.

Also, the JoCo trail system connects to the MO trails now. You can ride from SKC all the way to Olathe without leaving the trails. We still ride those and it’s funny watching the KS families stop before leaving Leawood and turn around and go back. I think they are scared to ride the trails into MO!

OK, that’s my joco jab.

You might also look into the areas between Ward Parkway and Wornal south of 89th. There are some nice areas in there, but they get more suburban looking. Still nice, modest areas in a great location.

Enjoy your home hunt!

[TabulaRasa]

Looks like we will be moving in shortly! Exciting! Paperwork signed today!