Moving to KC from Chicago - some questions!

[Luv4ThePaws]

Hi there!

Everyone seems very nice in these forums, and I know you're probably tired of questions from "outsiders", but I have a couple!! We are a younger couple, me 23 and my husband 32. We have 4 rescued dogs and are looking to start a family in a couple of years. He is currently a producer with CBS, I am work retail PT while trying to find more writing jobs. We are tired of the random Charlotte, NC crime and violence, the poor schools (well, some are very good, but those districts are with the $500k+ houses and we can't afford that...), and the feeling that we don't belong to a community. No main street, not a lot of parks, etc. Is the KC area for us? Do we sound like a couple who would find friends easily? We have been looking at Seattle to be closer to my mom in ID, but everyone tells us it is very hard to be a newcomer there and that it's difficult making friends. We want to move someplace and feel like we moved right into a community of potential friends. I know this sounds strange, but we are just trying to find the ideal place to raise a family and live for the next 30 years (or forever!)

Thanks so much in advance, kind KC people!!! Oh, and how bad are the tornadoes? I have this fear of being blown away with all our dogs because I always see storms out in MO!!

[kcmo]

You will have better luck in KC than Charlotte IMO, but like an large metro area, you will have to do some homework to end up in an area of town that you describe.

But KC is about as family friendly as you can get really.

If you want to be in the burbs and still want more of a sense of place, I would start with Liberty, MO.

It's pretty much what you describe as what you want.

[Luv4ThePaws]

Thanks so much! We will check out Liberty!

[chknlomein]

Originally Posted by jeff lackey

Interesting thoughts on the indoor malls. Although I would think outdoor malls would be more popular in areas like the south, where it's warm all year and thus more comfortable to just wander around. Personally, we prefer indoor just due to the weather, etc. Oak Park looks nice but looks to be about 35 minutes or so from the Northlands.

We are still considering Parkville, because it does look very charming, has that "mayberry" appeal. The only issue we had was, for day to day living, the simple shopping amenities seem a lot easier in Liberty - Walmart, Walgreens, bigger grocery stores, etc. are all in Liberty, while they all seem about 15 minutes away in Parkville. I know that's a trade-off: staying "pretty" without the big box stores and commercial areas, while still making it easy to run out and grab something you need without it being a 40 minute round trip drive. We'll probably drive over and take a look at Parkville next visit.

We do think about Overland Park, because it seems to share a lot of the things we like about Naperville, but we fear it also has what we don't like about Naperville: no feeling of community, heavy traffic everywhere, etc.

Jeff Lackey,

I too, currently live in Chicago (Lakefront area with Beautiful views of the Lake)

However, Chicago has become too pricy for my girl and I, and will probably be moving to KC this coming August.

My cousin currently lives in Northland KC, just south of Liberty area. She loves it and has convinced us to give KC a shot. Its not too far from our family in KS, but its not too small a place and still offers metro life for more afordable living prices.

Did everything work out for you moving from Chi to KC, or do you regret this decision?

We LOVE Chicago and all it has to offer, its just too pricy and not worth driving our lives to debt and No money to experience anything here in Chi.

Thanks for any input to ALL.

Chknlomein