Gardner, Olathe, Shawnee? (Overland Park, Lenexa, Mission: rent, buying a house, established neighborhood)

[UtahGuy]

OK, we are getting ready to sign papers to sell our house and will be moving to Kansas in the very, very near future, I plan on coming out and evaluating each city the best I can, but I have found homes in Olathe (west of 35), Shawnee and Gardner that look like they would fit the bill, but I don't know enough about each city to make an informed decision yet. If you had to move to one of these cities, which would you choose and why.

Thanks,

Robert

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by UtahGuy

OK, we are getting ready to sign papers to sell our house and will be moving to Kansas in the very, very near future, I plan on coming out and evaluating each city the best I can, but I have found homes in Olathe (west of 35), Shawnee and Gardner that look like they would fit the bill, but I don't know enough about each city to make an informed decision yet. If you had to move to one of these cities, which would you choose and why.

Thanks,

Robert

It would be helpful to know your price range, and what exactly you are looking for in Johnson County. The further south and west of the KC metro you go the more cookie cutter the houses get. The houses in these newer suburbs might be cheap, but the quality of construction is not very good either. I tend to like Shawnee and some areas of Olathe better than Gardner. Gardner is extremely cookie cutter and most houses were built on corn fields so do not look for very many trees in the newer neighborhoods.
Be aware of some of the older neighborhoods in Olathe near the older Downtown area. Those are not the best. If you can I would also avoid buying a house that is too close to a highway or the railroad tracks because the noise can be fairly loud. I think that Olathe wants to implement a program to quite the train whistles near the Downtown area.

I recommend older areas of Overland Park and Lenexa, and these areas are not typically not that expensive for the quality of house that you get.
The school districts (Shawnee Mission and Blue Valley) are both pretty good. You could easily find a house in an established neighborhoods with 4 bedrooms for under 225K.

Trust me, you will immediately see the difference when you look at the new cookie cutter construction compared with homes that are 20-30 years old. I prefer the older homes much better, but that is just my personal opinion.

[UtahGuy]

Thanks, I am generally looking for something $225 or less, with 4 bedrooms. I have one child, not yet old enough for school. I am a little hesitant about moving into the "city" so I am trying to stay on the outskirts, but stay close enough for my wife to run to the grocery store within 15 minutes. The area I was looking at in Olathe was west of the Ernie Miller Park and the one in Shawnee was near the country culb, everything in Gardner was west of the interstate.

Thanks,

Robert

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by UtahGuy

Thanks, I am generally looking for something $225 or less, with 4 bedrooms. I have one child, not yet old enough for school. I am a little hesitant about moving into the "city" so I am trying to stay on the outskirts, but stay close enough for my wife to run to the grocery store within 15 minutes. The area I was looking at in Olathe was west of the Ernie Miller Park and the one in Shawnee was near the country culb, everything in Gardner was west of the interstate.

Thanks,

Robert

Are you looking at newer houses or are you open to the possibility of looking in more established neighborhoods? The western area of Gardner is not one I would personally recommend. Many of the houses look exactly alike with very few trees. The slightly older neighborhoods at least have some more mature trees.
I personally like Shawnee better, but do not care much for the newer architectural styles that some of the homes have. (The stucco exterior of these homes do not hold up well at all in our climate) However, Shawnee has good schools and good resale value on homes. Shawnee would be in the Shawnee Mission school district or possibly the De Soto school district at the far western edge of the city.
Overland Park also has homes that are priced at 225K or lower. Most of Overland Park has a strong suburban flavor, but tends to be a little more crowded.
The KC metro has so much variety in terms of price ranges, architectural styles, and location. To get a more in-depth look at the metro area it would be wise to check out some of the suburban cities for yourself.
If you have any more questions just ask

[denverian]

Originally Posted by UtahGuy

Thanks, I am generally looking for something $225 or less, with 4 bedrooms. I have one child, not yet old enough for school. I am a little hesitant about moving into the "city" so I am trying to stay on the outskirts, but stay close enough for my wife to run to the grocery store within 15 minutes. The area I was looking at in Olathe was west of the Ernie Miller Park and the one in Shawnee was near the country culb, everything in Gardner was west of the interstate.

Thanks,

Robert

My parents recently moved to this are into a new construction home. Their particular house is nice with stucco/stone siding, but many in the area have crappy wood siding that will warp and peel too soon. I know the school district there is good, but you couldn't pay me to live out there. You have to drive to get anywhere and to me, it's a feeling of isolation. People just drive straight into their garages and don't seem very social. If your an isolationist, SUV driving, conservative who likes looking at pastures, then this is the place for you!

[UtahGuy]

Originally Posted by denverian

My parents recently moved to this are into a new construction home. Their particular house is nice with stucco/stone siding, but many in the area have crappy wood siding that will warp and peel too soon. I know the school district there is good, but you couldn't pay me to live out there. You have to drive to get anywhere and to me, it's a feeling of isolation. People just drive straight into their garages and don't seem very social. If your an isolationist, SUV driving, conservative who likes looking at pastures, then this is the place for you!

Where?

Robert

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by UtahGuy

Where?

Robert

I would think that he would be refrencing the Gardner and newer areas of Olathe. If you have no problem with cookie cutter construction and do not mind driving long distances to get to other areas of the KC metro then Olathe/Gardner would work for you. The demographics are also much younger in Olathe/Gardner compared to Overland Park which is a more established suburb with many older neighborhoods. Overland Park and Olathe both have lots of jobs in varying fields. The distance to KCI airport would be around an hour from south-central areas of Johnson County.

[katie45]

Originally Posted by UtahGuy

OK, we are getting ready to sign papers to sell our house and will be moving to Kansas in the very, very near future, I plan on coming out and evaluating each city the best I can, but I have found homes in Olathe (west of 35), Shawnee and Gardner that look like they would fit the bill, but I don't know enough about each city to make an informed decision yet. If you had to move to one of these cities, which would you choose and why.

Thanks,

Robert

Since you're not that familiar with the area, I'd suggest you rent for at least 6 mos to a year to give you and your family sufficient time to check out the entire area for yourselves.