My be moving to Kansas City - husband is looking at Job at Mercy Childrens Hospital (Independence: new home, neighborhoods)

[NievesO]

Hello,

My husband has applied for a job at Mercy Children's Hospital , and we live in Portland OR ..

I have no idea about that area and would love some insight about Kansas City .

What areas to live?
I also Homeschool my kids and would love to continue to do that for them. So any info on this would be great !
I also have a daughter that has been dancing at Oregon Ballet Theatre and would love to find out about Ballet schools and the Ballet world .
I am also into whole food, and sustainability .. organic food, raw milk etc. I love to make my own jams, and pickles and so on.
Is there any farms close by for u-pick and getting farm fresh whole foods?

Thank you all for you information !!
Nieves

[lifelongMOgal]

KC has both great farmers market resources and an impressive ballet community. A quick 'google" should give you all the info. you need. Children's Mercy has two campuses: the original on Hospital Hill and the newer South campus in Leawood, KS.

[OneKC]

If you are home schooling, then the public schools are not a factor in your decision, so I would recommend Brookside or Waldo as cute, older neighborhoods, if you like that. Both are fairly safe, walkable communities with a nice mix of shops and restaurants near residential. Brookside is more affluent, Waldo is more affordable. Both are in Kansas City in midtown and would be a short commute from Hospital Hill.

If your husband is working at the Johnson County campus I'd still recommend Brookside, but you may want to consider Prairie Village or old Leawood in Johnson County, KS. Both are older neighborhoods, and PV in particularly is pretty walkable.

Anyway, walkability and older neighborhoods are important to me. What is important to you?

If you want newer homes, look in Olathe, south Overland Park, west Lenexa, Lee's Summit and the Northland. Those are your more typical new homes in sprawled suburban neighborhoods. They are very nice homes and will range quite a bit in price depending on where you choose to live - I've found Lee's Summit and Olathe are a bit more affordable than the other options.

I can't say too much about ballet. Here is the Kansas City Ballet School:

Kansas City Ballet - KCB School

I have a friend who dances at the Blue Springs Ballet. Its a suburb of Kansas City. She seems to like it. They also have kids classes.

Blue Springs Dance Performing Arts Theatre - Ballet Classes Musical Theatre - ZUMBA Fitness Kids Music Round About Us

If you want organic foods, your best bet is either Whole Foods or the farmer's market. The River Market (just north of downtown) has a farmer's market every Saturday morning featuring locally grown products. I know several suburbs (Overland Park and Blue Springs I know for sure) have their own farmers markets as well.

http://www.kcrivermarket.com/index.p...sk=view&id=118

http://www.kcorganics.com

http://www.39thstreetmarket.com

http://www.localharvest.org/farmers-markets/M2193

http://www.bluespringsfarmersmarket.com

http://www.merriamorganicmarket.org

http://www.olatheks.org/ParksRec/Quicklinks/Farmers

Several community gardens are also sprouting up. I know Mission, Kansas just set one up off I-35 and Lamar. Kansas City is also starting to put them downtown for vacant spaces.

If you want to go out to the farm, there is:

• The Berry Patch (just south of Leawood & Martin City) – HUGE crop of blueberries and blackberries, great activities for kids!

• Cy & Dee’s Blackberry Farm (Louisburg, KS) – 28615 Rockville Rd., 913-837-2254

• Duncan’s Berry Farm (Smithville, MO) – might not have you-pick berries this year, probably should call first

• Lawson Brothers’ Farm (Baldwin City, KS) – raspberries and blackberries here! (And strawberries in season.)

• Schreiman Orchards (Waverly, MO) – 660-493-2477 – berries and peaches, an hour east of KC

• Sibley Orchards (Sibley, Jackson County, MO) – blackberries (and peaches and apples in season)

• Wagon Wheel Orchard (Gardner, KS) – no berries here (and the cherries were freeze-damaged this year) but look for peaches and apples beginning in August

Pick your own produce - Missouri
Where to find pick your own farms and orchards in Missouri for fruit, vegetables, pumpkins and Christmas trees.

Pick your own produce - Kansas
Where to find pick your own farms and orchards in Kansas for fruit, vegetables, pumpkins and Christmas trees.

There is Shatto Farms, a local milk-producer (they do free tours!)
Shatto Milk Company

Best of luck to your husband and I hope you end up in KC!

[RjRobb2]

Originally Posted by lifelongMOgal

KC has both great farmers market resources and an impressive ballet community. A quick 'google" should give you all the info. you need. Children's Mercy has two campuses: the original on Hospital Hill and the newer South campus in Leawood, KS.

There are several satellite locations as well such as the location on Barry Rd across from Metro North mall.

[northbound74]

Originally Posted by NievesO

Is there any farms close by for u-pick and getting farm fresh whole foods?

Thank you all for you information !!
Nieves

Missouri highway 24 going east out of Independence has several of those places. It's a neat drive. There's places like that almost all the way across the state.

[TabulaRasa]

Originally Posted by OneKC

If you want newer homes, look in Olathe, south Overland Park, west Lenexa, Lee's Summit and the Northland. Those are your more typical new homes in sprawled suburban neighborhoods. They are very nice homes and will range quite a bit in price depending on where you choose to live - I've found Lee's Summit and Olathe are a bit more affordable than the other options.

We actually just bought an early 20th century home in Lee's Summit, near the downtown and part of the historic preservation district...the old core of Lee's Summit actually does have a nice bunch of vintage construction/homes with character. Lee's Summit absolutely has its share of typical suburban new construction...but were it ALL sprawly beige subdivisions, we'd not have chosen to buy here.

Not that it really applies to the OP, given that I wouldn't live in LS if I were working at Children's Mercy, but for the benefit of others who might read the thread, just my two cents' worth.

[northbound74]

^Lee's Summit is doing a great job with it's downtown area.

[NievesO]

Thank you OneKC wow lots of stuff too look into.
I think he would be at the Hospital in Hospital Hill , he would be in the labs and I think that is where the job was listed. Not 100%,

My husband would be happy if the area we live in is close to work.. and for me close to ballet. But i am so used to diving it really does not matter. Here I have to cross the river 2 to 4 times a day getting my daughter to ballet, and back home.

The Kansas City Ballet really sounds and looks a lot like the Ballet school out here.... that would be such a great fit for my daughter.
I going to check out all the other site you sent on the farmers market and look in to the areas to live.

One more question - public transportation ... he really depends on the train and bus most days to get to work , can you tell me about what is out that way ?

And thank you all that have sent information ... we are still waiting to hear from them but i feel really good about this happening.

Thanks

[kcmo]

Union Hill if you can pull it off. That would be a wonderful area and I think you would REALLY like it.

[OneKC]

Public transportation is awful here. Everyone drives. Our bus system is massively underfunded and fragmented between city and suburb. It is highly inconvenient. We have no rail system. Hopefully this will change in the next decade, but we have one of the worst transit systems of a major city.