Crazy commute: Plaza/Westport to Lee's Summit? (Kansas City, Columbia: rental, house)

[ediemarie]

I have recently accepted a job in Lee's Summit and will be relocating to the KCMO area this summer. I am a young (mid-twenties) professional woman, and everyone I talk to seems to have a common theme: live in the city, not the 'burbs. This would be great, only I am concerned about commute time. I currently have a ridiculously long commute (about 35 miles/40-45 minutes) and would NOT want to get myself into that again.

So I guess I really have two questions: would someone like me really be better off in the city, and if so, does anyone know what the commute would be like?

Thanks!

[kcmo]

I would live in the city. Lee's Summit is a nice area, but a single person in their mid 20's shouldn't be stuck out there. There are some great places in the city that would offer a wide variety of urban housing options from a house to a highrise that would be much closer to a more urban lifestyle, nightlife etc.

The commute is not a big deal. You will be going against traffic. The plaza area is about 15 minutes from LS and the Downtown area about 20. Driving into the city from LS can get pretty nasty at times, 40-60 minutes.

[WiseOwlSaysHoot]

I would also strongly advise living in the city.

If you're looking for the shortest commute to Lees Summit from a vibrant, urban part of the city, I would suggest the Southmoreland neighborhood. It is just east of the Plaza and includes the Nelson Art Museum and the KC Art Institute. From there, its a quick jaunt down Volker to 71.

It's not a huge difference, but it could save you 10 minutes or so as opposed to somewhere like the W39th st. neighborhood.

[Versatile]

Most likely you will get those from the city saying city and urban or country people will say LS. A rental at Lake Lotowana or Lake Tapawingo migt be just right for you. Ashort commute from Blue Springs might work as well. Sure there is less violence in the country than in city.What are your hobbies? Take you after work life in count with your decision. What will you do with your leisure time in the evenings. Should you choose the city then check out the grocery stores. See how close they actuaily are from you and what the route to them at night will be like. Check out how safe it is at night in the area of the city you might choose. Daytime can be a lot different than night.
Kansas City is a great town but it can be a dangerous town. YMMV

[Samantha S]

Lee's Summit is a very nice area. If I were you, I would live there.

Will you find all of your nightlife and entertainment there? Certainly not. But think of it this way. A nice quiet suburban setting to live in, commute in, and do your day to day shopping in, that happens to be a quick jaunt up to more entertaining spots of the city!

But that's just me ...

[MrQuincy]

I live in Lee's Summit and commute to Mission Kansas in 45 minutes during rush hours. I would definitely live in the city and chuckle at those of us fighting to get to the city as you leisurely make your daily commute to the burbs

[cp1969]

Originally Posted by Samantha S

Lee's Summit is a very nice area. If I were you, I would live there.

Will you find all of your nightlife and entertainment there? Certainly not. But think of it this way. A nice quiet suburban setting to live in, commute in, and do your day to day shopping in, that happens to be a quick jaunt up to more entertaining spots of the city!

But that's just me ...

I agree. If you don't live in Lees Summit, you'll spend five days a week commuting to work.

Or, you can live in Lees Summit and commute to the recreation, probably at a frequency less than five times per week. The length of the road is the same.

[TabulaRasa]

I used to commute from the Plaza to Truman Medical Center's Lakewood facility, so very near Lee's Summit, and never had any problems, because you're on the side of the highway that's actually moving. I never once sat in traffic. And I never would have considered NOT living in the city.

[alwaystraveling25]

Originally Posted by ediemarie

I have recently accepted a job in Lee's Summit and will be relocating to the KCMO area this summer. I am a young (mid-twenties) professional woman, and everyone I talk to seems to have a common theme: live in the city, not the 'burbs. This would be great, only I am concerned about commute time. I currently have a ridiculously long commute (about 35 miles/40-45 minutes) and would NOT want to get myself into that again.

So I guess I really have two questions: would someone like me really be better off in the city, and if so, does anyone know what the commute would be like?

Thanks!

Where are you moving from? A bigger metro city? I used to live in Kansas City, and even the worst/most congested traffic could not compare to the traffic that I face when I leave the city of Chicago. To drive to Ikea (17 miles) takes me 1.5 hours on a Saturday, in good traffic.

If you are moving from a bigger metro area (Detroit {my hometown}, Minneapolis, Chicago, Miami), the traffic will seem much lighter. However, if you are moving from Columbia, MO or Des Moines, it will be much heavier.

I highly recommend living in the city, though. I worked in Johnson County and lived in Johnson County and it's one of the reasons I did not enjoy my time in Kansas City as much as I could have. There was absolutely nothing to do on the weekends/weeknights, and it was definitely not a happening scene for a young professional. I would recommend living in KCMO proper, just so you can enjoy happy hours, weekday events with friends, and all the amenities that the city has to offer. There's more to KCMO/living in a bigger city then just drinking on the weekend: it's being able to walk around and eat ice cream when it's hot, or walk your dog and run into a neighbor, and not have to drive everywhere like you would have to do in Lee's Summit or Johnson County.

I second (and third) everyone's advice to live in Kansas City proper.

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by alwaystraveling25

Where are you moving from? A bigger metro city? I used to live in Kansas City, and even the worst/most congested traffic could not compare to the traffic that I face when I leave the city of Chicago. To drive to Ikea (17 miles) takes me 1.5 hours on a Saturday, in good traffic.

If you are moving from a bigger metro area (Detroit {my hometown}, Minneapolis, Chicago, Miami), the traffic will seem much lighter. However, if you are moving from Columbia, MO or Des Moines, it will be much heavier.

I highly recommend living in the city, though. I worked in Johnson County and lived in Johnson County and it's one of the reasons I did not enjoy my time in Kansas City as much as I could have. There was absolutely nothing to do on the weekends/weeknights, and it was definitely not a happening scene for a young professional. I would recommend living in KCMO proper, just so you can enjoy happy hours, weekday events with friends, and all the amenities that the city has to offer. There's more to KCMO/living in a bigger city then just drinking on the weekend: it's being able to walk around and eat ice cream when it's hot, or walk your dog and run into a neighbor, and not have to drive everywhere like you would have to do in Lee's Summit or Johnson County.

I second (and third) everyone's advice to live in Kansas City proper.

awesome post.

There is no traffic in KC. One of the worst commutes is "from" lee's summit though. Most of the time on the busiest freeways, delays are never more than 5-10 minutes from the outer suburbs into the city or through the triangle or across the river bridges.

Traffic on the surface streets is nearly non-existent compared to other cities. You can spend 30 minutes in most towns just trying to get down urban arterial streets with traffic backed up from one traffic signal to the next. There is just very little big city type traffic in KC.

It's so hard to explain that living in the city is so much more than nightlife. I guess you have to be an urbanite for a while to really understand that.