moving to kc? (Kansas City, Liberty, Charleston: appointed, sales, crime)

[peyton_benning]

Hey!
I'm a single, 32 yr.old professional with a potential job offer in Kansas City. I had one in Phoenix but I am from the East Coast (live in Charleston, SC now) and it was just too far away.

I 've heard a lot of great things about KC that seem to be up my alley and just wanted to check it out with those who actually live there.

I love the neighborhoods KC offers! Charleston is 1 part college town, 1 part tourism, 1 part historic district and 1 part suburbs. As you can see theres not a lot of room for interesting neighborhoods.

I understand the "married flight" to the suburbs, and that happens in Charleston too. Its pretty bad here because we don't have any large neighborhoods independent of being a suburb.

Thinking the south and the midwest have a lot in common and I wouldn't feel too out of place.

Thoughts?

Thank you!

[couragerqd]

I think you will love it. You got a great attitude and I bet you will love anywhere you go.

In my single life I lived in Westport, Hyde Park and Northeast. I loved Westport the most. I was never a bar girl however I loved being able to walk to the store and coffee. I also loved Hyde Park although the crime began to wear me out as the summer I left was one of our worst for crime. Nothing ever happened to me, it was just being surrounded by it constantly.

The Crossroads did not exist then. If so I am sure I would have been there. City Market is also awesome and very walkable. The Plaza ia a great place to live but I don't like the conjestion on the weekends it really gets on my nerves for some reason. I don't mind it anywhere else but I hate it there on the weekends.

I loved exploring new things. Back then (yes I am much older now) culture was here but you had to work for it. Not so much now. I used to go to 18th and Vine as that was new. I got on a jazz kick and went everywhere I could find jazz.

This is truly a great city if you are a city person. If not than it will unnerve you as any city would. I find it is so easy to get around in the city. Once you learn your directions it is impossible to get lost.

Good Luck and Have Fun.
Jen

[kcmo]

^ Great post.

Don't do Phoenix. Tempe is ok I guess. But you will like KCMO much more than Phoenix. There is so much to choose from in urban KCMO, you will find something that fits you.

[lifelongMOgal]

Depending on whether your job offer is on the KS or MO side of town may determine where you live. KCMO has a 1% earnings tax, so, relocator beware. It applies if you work or live within KCMO.

Public transportation in KC is not up to par with other cities our size. If you live and work near the city core you are ok; but, if you work in the 'burbs and choose to live in the city, or visa versa, you'll need transportation.

The cost of living in the greater KC metro area is pretty reasonable. Do your shopping for groceries in Missouri and you won't pay sales tax on most of your food items (except junk food). Of course the bad side to that is that the better grocery stores are in Prairie Village and Leawood on the KS side (Brookside as an exception).
You can read the Kansas City Star and listen to many of the local radio stations online to get a better idea of what the city has to offer.

[kcmo]

Sounds to me like this person wouldn't be interested in living in the suburbs.

Trying to avoid the etax is just silly. Live where you can enjoy life, not where you can avoid a specific tax. Especially since you will pay more in other taxes and transportation costs if you live in the burbs.

[lifelongMOgal]

Originally Posted by kcmo

Sounds to me like this person wouldn't be interested in living in the suburbs.

Trying to avoid the etax is just silly. Live where you can enjoy life, not where you can avoid a specific tax. Especially since you will pay more in other taxes and transportation costs if you live in the burbs.

Choosing where to live or work includes many factors and I do not assume to know what the OP values or wants. Instead I did point out something about KCMO a newcomer may need to know. Silly? I think not.

[kcmo]

^ it's silly because if you try to avoid the etax, chances are you will not live in most of the MO side of the city, which if the area of the city that the OP seems to be interested as he stated he wasn't into flight to the burbs but was into neighborhoods.

Living in KCMO vs most suburbs is actually cheaper when you look at all the taxes like sales, property, utility, etc. Plus gas is cheaper, and MO state taxes are cheaper.

It's good to point out that KCMO has the Etax. Nothing wrong with that. But people should also be told about all the other variables that also factor into a move along with the etax. Just saying a city is going to cost a person more because of one specific tax is quite misleading.

Regardless. Most people don't choose an area based on small taxes like the etax. Again, no matter where you live in the KC area, taxes generally balance out and are about the same at the end of the day.

Find place you like in a metropolitan area, then look at the taxes. If you think that extra 200 bucks a year in taxes is so much that you have to move to a part of town you don't care as much for, then I guess you have to do what you have to do.

I can not imagine anybody choosing an area like Liberty or Olathe over an area like Downtown or the Plaza based on any tax. Let a lone a tax that really is not going to cost you any more when compared in the "big picture".

[lifelongMOgal]

kcmo, you have assumed much that I did not write and yet attributed it to me. Your unwarranted belittlements in your posts are not appreciated.

I can understand now after my brief experience with this KC forum and your posts in particular, why so many think KC is not a friendly place. Many people have input. Who appointed you judge and jury of every post? Maybe you could get over yourself just a bit?

[RjRobb2]

Originally Posted by lifelongMOgal

why so many think KC is not a friendly place.

Really? Who? All I ever hear from visitors is how they think KC is just about the friendliest place that have ever visited.

There are two things I always hear about KC - how friendly the people are and the food.

I've never once heard someone say KC was not a friendly place.

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by lifelongMOgal

kcmo, you have assumed much that I did not write and yet attributed it to me. Your unwarranted belittlements in your posts are not appreciated.

I can understand now after my brief experience with this KC forum and your posts in particular, why so many think KC is not a friendly place. Many people have input. Who appointed you judge and jury of every post? Maybe you could get over yourself just a bit?

My post was simply stating my opinion on something. I did not and will not attack you. You stated to watch out for the etax, I stated, it's not a big deal, find a home first and then worry about taxes. You stated leawood was a walkable area, I disagree because you and I have differing opinions on what walkable is. If I were relocating to another city and I asked for a walkable area, I would hope people wouldn't direct me to a place like Leawood or at least explain to me that the area is not quite a walkable as you might want.

I never said anything about you or your posts or your style of posting and refuse to bring myself to that level. Just like I have not attacked anybody else.

I'm sorry if you can't handle somebody not agreeing with you 100%. Find some other way to deal with it. This is a public forum where it’s obvious not everybody is going to agree and everybody has different viewpoints of things. It's that simple.

Now because of us this thread, people know about the etax and people also know that taxes generally even out so the etax doesn't really matter that much, but if a person has an opportunity to live and work outside the city limits and is ok with that, then they can make an educated decision on the topic.

Now I could have come across like you have and said you are a MORON for saying that Leawood is walkable or that you are a some oddball conservative tightwad that would live in the middle of nowhere just to avoid a tax, yet you will probably pay more in other taxes and transportation costs, so what’s the point? But I didn't

But now you have made this personal and that’s fine. But just remember. You started it. I just added to a conversation that WAS civil.