Moving to Kansas City (Gladstone, Liberty: real estate, apartment complexes, rental homes)

[iowateacher]

I am moving to Kansas City at the end of July/beginning of August and need some suggestions for areas to live in and apartments. I will be teaching in the Liberty Public Schools but would prefer to be in a downtown area or where there is a higher concentration of young, single professionals.

I am 23 years old, a female, single, and most likely living by herself so safety is a huge factor. I am looking for something that isn't too far from downtown but not more than 30 minutes to Liberty.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[wathman]

What price range are you looking for? That would help narrow things down some. In general, you'll probably want to look north of the river. When I started with my current company, the recent college grads were living around the Zona Rosa area near I-29 and 152. You'll find plenty of apartments along the 152 corridor in various price ranges. Barrewoods probably has almost everything you're looking for. Barrewoods | An ePartment Community | E-menities

If you really want to live in downtown KC, the Plaza is the place to be, though it's not cheap. You'd probably need a roommate and get a 2 bedroom place to make it affordable.

[Deines-Paulson]

Liberty downtown area is a very safe area. Liberty as a whole is quiet bedroom community with great schools. You'll have no problem anywhere you decide to live. I am a real estate agent and probably could help you find a rental property in Liberty that you would probably be happy with. What price range are you looking for? My suggestions would be for rental homes!

[iowateacher]

Thanks for the suggestions. I am hoping to keep rent at or below $700 a month if possible. I am finding thought that if I go too far under that then I end up in apartments that I really don't want to be in. So, I am trying to find affordable places that are still safe and fun areas to be in.

[wathman]

I think you'll find plenty in that price range in the Northland. You're mostly looking at 1-bedroom places, but some smaller 2-bedroom places might make it under $700.

Something else to consider is that Kansas City has a 2% income tax that applies if you live and / or work in Kansas City itself. Since you'll be employed in Liberty, you won't have to pay that extra 2% if you choose an apartment that does not have a "KCMO" address. As I'm sure you'll find out when you start working, local government in the Northland is odd and confusing. To give you an idea, here's a map of Kansas City districts: Kansas City, MO: Council District Map

Note how N. Kansas City and Gladstone are surrounded by Kansas City. Liberty is that area East of Gladstone that's unmarked. If you find an apartment you like that is located in one of those areas, you'll pay less in local taxes. EDIT: Taxes in Liberty: while the 2% income tax is not there, they may have other local taxes levied that I don't know about.

There was another recent thread on the forum that will go into much more detail on the tax schemes in the area, it might be worth searching for. Overall though, it comes down to how you feel about the apartment and the area when you see it. When it comes down to pros and cons of places you found and like, that's when I'd think about taxes.

[kcmo]

First off, the KCMO Etax is 1% not 2%. If you make 50k a year, that’s $500 a year. 2% is $1000, so it makes a difference. A starting teacher probably makes 30k, so you would pay about $300 a year. If your employer is in KCMO, they usually take that tax out of every paycheck. So it would be about $12 a paycheck for you.

Is $6 a week enough to make you move clear to a different city or part of town when chances are you will offset trying to avoid the etax with other taxes and costs? I sure don’t’ think so.

Another thing to consider is much of the Liberty School District (especially the faster growing portions) is in KCMO, so it won’t matter where you live, you will be paying the tax, so the point is mute.

I guess I don’t think taxes between one metro city and another is something people should really consider when choosing where to live. On a grand scale of things with how much money an average person will spend annually, the difference between taxes in one city vs another is just so minimal it’s hard to calculate, but in general things tend to even out. Find a place you like. Don’t worry about the taxes. Just my opinion on that matter.

OK, moving on…


I would look very hard in the River Market area and the Downtown NKC area. Both would be very close to the Liberty area, yet offer a more urban, younger lifestyle.

It seems like NKC is really missing the boat though. There really is not that many new or nicer apartment complexes within walking distance of Downtown NKC. Seems like a gold mine of an area to build up a trendy new high density residential district around that vibrant downtown area while giving people an alternative to living in the far more urban areas south of the river and also be very close to the “city” and the more suburban areas of the Northland.

Come on NKC, you have the resources, you should be doing more to redevelop that city.

[wathman]

Originally Posted by kcmo

First off, the KCMO Etax is 1% not 2%. If you make 50k a year, that’s $500 a year. 2% is $1000, so it makes a difference. A starting teacher probably makes 30k, so you would pay about $300 a year. If your employer is in KCMO, they usually take that tax out of every paycheck. So it would be about $12 a paycheck for you.

Is $6 a week enough to make you move clear to a different city or part of town when chances are you will offset trying to avoid the etax with other taxes and costs? I sure don’t’ think so.

Another thing to consider is much of the Liberty School District (especially the faster growing portions) is in KCMO, so it won’t matter where you live, you will be paying the tax, so the point is mute.

I guess I don’t think taxes between one metro city and another is something people should really consider when choosing where to live. On a grand scale of things with how much money an average person will spend annually, the difference between taxes in one city vs another is just so minimal it’s hard to calculate, but in general things tend to even out. Find a place you like. Don’t worry about the taxes. Just my opinion on that matter.

OK, moving on…


I would look very hard in the River Market area and the Downtown NKC area. Both would be very close to the Liberty area, yet offer a more urban, younger lifestyle.

It seems like NKC is really missing the boat though. There really is not that many new or nicer apartment complexes within walking distance of Downtown NKC. Seems like a gold mine of a area to build up trendy new high density residential district around that vibrant downtown area while giving people an alternative to living in the far more urban areas south of the river.

I didn't look too closely at the tax percentage precisely when I moved here last year since I work for a company in KCMO and I'd be paying the tax no matter what, so thanks to kcmo for clearing up the percentage specifics. As for choosing an apartment that you like more so than tax savings, that was my point as well. In my case I was choosing between a place I found in NKC and one off Green Hills Rd. /152. When I learned that tax wasn't significantly different, I went with the one off 152.

[KCRichard]

It does matter where you live. Yes, it is true that approx. half of the district is in Kansas City proper, but you only pay the E tax if you live or work in Kansas City,MO. Your paycheck will be coming from the Liberty School District, whose administration office is in Liberty. As a district patron, Chairman of Liberty Kids First, and charter member of the Blue Ribbon Committee for the New Liberty High School, "Welcome to our district!"

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by KCRichard

It does matter where you live. Yes, it is true that approx. half of the district is in Kansas City proper, but you only pay the E tax if you live or work in Kansas City,MO. Your paycheck will be coming from the Liberty School District, whose administration office is in Liberty. As a district patron, Chairman of Liberty Kids First, and charter member of the Blue Ribbon Committee for the New Liberty High School, "Welcome to our district!"

That's interesting. So even if you work in a KCMO school, you are employed by in Liberty.

Why isn’t Liberty building more homes? I don’t think Liberty has cracked the top ten metro cities in building permits in the past decade or so, yet the Schoal Creek area west of 35 is the fastest growing suburb in the metro. I would think Liberty would be right up there with Olathe, Lee’s Summit and Shoal Creek in home permits.

[KCRichard]

The schools in the Liberty District located in Kansas City aren't "Kansas City" schools, but schools within the Liberty district that are in the city limits of Kansas City. School district boundries supercede city boundries, and you pay your property taxes for the operation of those schools based on your residence in the district, not based on the city in which you live. Liberty Public Schools include not only Liberty proper, but parts of Kansas City, Glenaire, Pleasant Valley, unincorporated Clay County, and believe it or not, a small part of Sugar Creek in Jackson County. North Kansas City School District includes all of NKC, parts of KC North, most of Pleasant Valley, and all of Gladstone, Birmingham, Randolph, Oakview, Oakwood, and the Village of Oaks.