Northland suburbs? (Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit: cul-de-sac, best cities, HOA)

[jeff lackey]

Job loss, unexpected, leading to new job in North Kansas City (close to Macken Park.) We're in Naperville, Il, suburb of Chicago. For all of the talk about Naperville being one of the best cities to live in America, we haven't been all that crazy about it, mainly because it is SO congested and heavy traffic, even to get to the grocery store. We like a smaller town feel, but with bigger city amenities. We preferred our smaller town before we came to Naperville, where we sat in lawn chairs at the park and listened to the local orchestra playing before the fireworks on the 4th of July, but we liked having good shopping close by.

So, now with all the stress of having to get our house ready to sell, moving somewhere where we've never lived or even visited (beyond my short interview visit) we're trying to figure out which suburb to move to. We have a 15 year old daughter who will be going into 11th grade (she's not so thrilled about the move - also, she has struggled a lot with school, and was just diagnosed with ADD) and she would prefer a bit smaller (but good) high school - the one she's in now is three stories and has about 900 in the graduating senior class (and has some pretty shady kids, gangs, etc.)

We are looking for a suburb that has a smaller town feel, but nice, friendly people, nice sense of community, nice amenities (i.e. a starbucks and good book store, etc. ) and nice neighborhoods where we could buy a nice house in a neighborhood with mature trees, etc. for somewhere in the $250k - $300K range. We've looked on the internet at Liberty, sounds promising, Parkeville, but maybe too small? hard to tell on the internet, and then places like Lee's Summit. I worry about the commute to work from a suburb south of KC when my job will be in north KC - is the traffic horrible at rush hour?

Any and all suggestions, places to consider, good/bad, etc. would be VERY appreciated -we are really stressed out right now (KC is also further away from family in MI and OH than we'd prefer, but that's where the job is!)

Thanks! Jeff

[christina0001]

I can't be of much help as my husband and I aren't relocating to KC until this summer. Here's a couple of links we found that were helpful with comparing school districts.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...ing_the_grade/
http://dese.mo.gov/schooldata/
Overall we found in our couple visits that the northland was more country, and south of KC more suburban. There are nice towns in any direction that are close and commutable to KC. For your price range you will have a lot of options. Personally we found Lee's Summit to be a bit too big for our tastes, and there are rumors of a LegoLand and possibly a big aquarium to be built there, so it will only get bigger. It was nice but we prefer more of a small town setting. Also we did quite a bit of driving and the traffic never seemed that bad; we are from New Jersey so we are used to much worse traffic.
Best of luck. Everyone we've met from Missouri has been really nice.

[ndr64]

The Northland is a great place to live. You will have the small town feel just minutes away from anything. Parkville is very nice, little more expensive, North Kansas City, Gladstone and Liberty are all nice places to live. I lived up in the North Kansas City area for 2 years and had no problems with crime. In addition to that the North Kansas City school district is probably the best in the city. Good Luck!!

[jeff lackey]

Thanks for the feedback. After all of the congestion and traffic in Naperville (a Chicago suburb, always rated in the top 10 in Money magazine, great downtown, but very crowded) we look forward to something a bit more small town, but with access to a major city.

Right now we're leaning hard to Liberty, since my job would be in North Kansas City, and the feedback that I get is all pretty good. Two more questions:

1. My daughter was just diagnosed with ADD (in 10th grade now, will be - hopefully - in 11th in Liberty, since we plan the move for the summer.) Her grades have been atrocious, D's and worse, and we thought it was just immaturity. So she really has to dig out of the hole now (her pre-ACT scores were extremely high - 95+%.) I say that to ask if the Liberty High School is the kind of school that will be good for her. Also, the school here is enormous, and has a lot of bad characters, gangs, etc. (even though it gets rated as one of the best in the nation - sheesh.) We're hoping for a bit smaller school and a smaller school feel.

2. Are there any specific neighborhoods/areas of Liberty to look at in terms of housing, and any to avoid? Our ideal would be a nice newer house, in a nice neighborly neighborhood with mature trees, etc. - we'll spend in the range of $220K to $300K.

Thanks!

[wiseone]

Hi-
I already answered one of your posts, but you should look at Staley Farms, which would be less of a drive than Liberty for you. The North Kansas City Schools are excellent (have a daughter with ADD myself) and they are building a new high school adjacent to the development. All homeowners are social members of the golf club and that provides a lot of opportunity to meet new people and they are very friendly. Great work out facility. Nearby Staley Hills is a little less expensive, but still a beautiful area. Social membership is not included at Staley Hills, but it's still close. Not much traffic at all. Do an internet search.

[Betsyg]

One thing to remember is that the Liberty school district, which is excellent, encompasses addresses in Liberty and addresses in Kansas City. If you live in Liberty you will not have to pay the 1% earnings tax that you would have to pay if you live in Kansas City. A lot of the northland is actually Kansas City. My husband works in NKC and we live on the south side of Liberty in a subdivision called Clay Meadows South. You would find new homes in your price range in Clay Meadows South and the neighboring Clay Woods subdivisions. We have lots of trees, even in the new construction section. Anyway, if you live in or work in Kansas City you will have to pay the 1% earnings tax. If you are working in NKC, then you may want to live in an address that is not Kansas City in order to avoid that extra tax.

[jeff lackey]

Originally Posted by Betsyg

One thing to remember is that the Liberty school district, which is excellent, encompasses addresses in Liberty and addresses in Kansas City. If you live in Liberty you will not have to pay the 1% earnings tax that you would have to pay if you live in Kansas City. A lot of the northland is actually Kansas City. My husband works in NKC and we live on the south side of Liberty in a subdivision called Clay Meadows South. You would find new homes in your price range in Clay Meadows South and the neighboring Clay Woods subdivisions. We have lots of trees, even in the new construction section. Anyway, if you live in or work in Kansas City you will have to pay the 1% earnings tax. If you are working in NKC, then you may want to live in an address that is not Kansas City in order to avoid that extra tax.

Betsy, thanks for the info! My wife and I visited last week (cold and rainy!) and had a realtor who lives in Liberty show us around. We saw some very nice houses in our 250-300K range in the Clay Woods area (I get confused about which was which "Clay!") It's hard for us to know, until we actually move, which areas are most convenient for shopping, getting daughter to school, etc. Also, one of my biggest concerns is getting into a neighborhood that we like (e.g., nice house, neighbors that are walking around the neighorhood and being friendly in the afternoons/evenings, trees, etc.) and then a few years later they build a car lot in our figurative back yard.

But from what we've seen in the short couple of days we were there, the "Clay" area seems to have a nice balance of nicer homes and trees and yards. (while it may seem shallow, my wife is still assimilating that there won't be a mall with a Macys and Pennys and Dillards in town - even in the small towns we lived in, there was always a little mall for one stop shopping/browsing in town!)

[Betsyg]

Our house is actually on the market in Clay Meadows South (new construction area) for $250K. Maybe you looked at it. It was on a cul-de-sac and backs up to the main road through the subdivision. Red couches, unfinished basement??? We are moving to San Antonio. We love the Clay neighborhoods. There are people out all of the time walking and socializing. I know everyone on our cul-de-sac and lots of people in the neighborhood. The parents are very active with their kids, and are very active in the elementary school right in the neighborhood. No crime - very safe. The HOA restrictions aren't too strict, but just strict enough to keep everyone in line. My husband works in NKC and heads south down 290 to 210 to NKC. It takes him about 20 minutes. Tell your wife that by being on the south side of Liberty, I can be to all of the "big" shopping in Independence including the mall in 20 minutes.