Going to University of Kansas, places to live between KC and Lawrence!

[WiseOwlSaysHoot]

I would second thriftylefty's recommendation of choosing either KC or Lawrence to live - especially if you are of standard college age and want to have any semblance of a typical college experience, with a social life, friends, parties etc. That would be much easier to do if one of you lived near one of your schools. If you could try to arrange your schedule so that the person who commutes only has classes for 3 or 4 days a week, that would definitely help out.

[abrokegal]

Just pick one. They are both nice. Have lived in both.

I live in Lawrence know, but commute into the KC area regularly. Usually takes no more than an hour during busy traffic on K-10 then I-35 N.

You could also choose to live close to the highway in the Olathe area. Hop I-35 and then K-10. Drive isn't too bad.

If you have cars, I'd use them instead of the bus. I've had friends take the bus between KC and Lawrence, then complain because it only runs at certain times and they want to stay and study, but cannot. And there is parking near KU on the streets (I always park on Tennessee street-no need for a pass). Don't buy a pass (whichever one of you goes to KU!), park on Tennessee between 12th and 15th.

The suggestion about keeping one person's schedule on only 3-4 days is better. MWF classes only, or MWFTh classes, w/o Friday would be best.

[Okey Dokie]

Here are two things to consider that others have not mentioned.

1) If you live in Lawrence, your girlfriend will be driving into the sun mornings and evenings. Not always a problem, but there are certain times of the year when the sun will be directly in her eyes.

2) Generally speaking, the nicer part of Lawrence is on the west side, so chances are you may end up over there, in which case she would be driving all the way through Lawrence on her way to KC. Depending where you live and whether she'll be taking I-70 or K-10, this could be somewhat time consuming.

And take the advice to just "park between 12th and 15th on Tennessee" with a large grain of salt. Much easier said than done.

[zack johnson]

Disclaimer to the post by "Okie Dokie":

Whether or not the west part of Lawrence is indeed the "nicer part" of town is all in the eye of the beholder. Having grown up in Lawrence, I would not have said the same thing. While the west part of town may have newer homes, it lacks the character of the neighborhoods around the downtown area (this includes the area on the east side of campus).

Again, this is undoubtedly a subjective appraisal. It would not surprise me at all if someone who was more accustomed to the KC suburbs found the west part of Lawrence far more attractive than any other part. If you ask this lifelong Lawrencian, however, the only part of town really worth living in is the area that surrounds downtown and the KU campus (with the latter area being intended for students, and the former for all others). Outside of these parts of town, you may as well be living in any other boring suburban community.
Also--K10 connects Lawrence to KC. Living on the east side of Lawrence would have you poised for a drive to KC, as 23rd Street = K10. That being said, of course, it doesn't take long to drive from one side of Lawrence to the other.

Good luck at KU!