Single and Moving to Kansas

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by kcmo

I love living in KC.

I just want people that move to KC to love living in KC too.

This guy would be miserable on the Kansas side.

Why is this so hard to understand?

I tend to agree that JOCO is VERY suburban, but are you not forgetting areas like Fairway, Westwood, etc that are right on top of the Plaza? They have more of an urban/suburban feel, are much older areas by JOCO standards, and are within a few city blocks of all the action.

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by Plains10

I tend to agree that JOCO is VERY suburban, but are you not forgetting areas like Fairway, Westwood, etc that are right on top of the Plaza? They have more of an urban/suburban feel and are much older areas by JOCO standards, and are within a few city blocks of all the action.

I guess it’s all relative.

Even though I really like the northeast part of Johnson County because it’s older and quite a bit more charming than most the rest of the county and it’s very close to urban KCMO, that area is still very suburban.

Fairway, Mission, Roeland Park, Westwood etc are all very suburban.

Brookside in KCMO is also suburban in nature although I think that area seems to be a bit older and the homes tend to be a bit more interesting in my opinion than the more ranch style homes found in NE JoCo. It would also be more diverse racially and economically.

You would have to get 30 miles outside of Toronto before you begin to see areas like Fairway in the Toronto area.

So, again, why waste this guy’s time confusing him with suburban areas when that is not what he wants.

Maybe in 15 years when he is ready to have a few kids and get away from the city, he will want a more laid back, suburban lifestyle, but again, people from other large towns are also more open minded to raising a family in the city as well. People that grow up in JoCo or people from the rural Midwest think that the only place you can raise a family is the suburbs. That is simply not the case.

So I try to give people as much information as possible.

If they want suburbs, and many people do, I will tell them about the suburbs, which I am very familiar with. But I know all the suburbs very well. Not just the Johnson County suburbs. I know Independence, Blue Springs, Lee’s Summit, Belton, Raymore, Liberty, Parkville, Gladstone, Grandview, Raytown, Grain Valley, NKC etc where a lot of people will point people to Johnson County as the only suburban area of KC worth a darn and that has rubbed me the wrong way since it’s just as nice in Platte County etc as Johnson County and probably a better deal if you don’t want to over spend and be closer to downtown , the airport etc.

I’m way off topic.

Bottom line is don’t try to push somebody into something that doesn’t fit. I wouldn’t try to push the family relocating from Plano, TX to urban KCMO. They would be ready to move after the first month (if they were happy in Plano).

[alwaystraveling25]

Originally Posted by kcmo

Younger people from other large cities tend to not be ok with JoCo.

It's just the way it is.

Guy from Toronto:

PLEASE move to the Plaza, Westport area. as a Former Resident of Lenexa, which is the next suburb to Overland Park, you will NOT LIKE LIVING IN OVERLAND PARK! I regretted the entire time I was there not living on the Kansas City, MO side and choosing to live in the suburbs.

I don't want you to end up like me: I moved out there, then 4 months later started looking for a new job in Chicago or NYC. It really, really left a bitter taste in my mouth about living in KC.

If there is any advice I can give to you, from one city boy to another, is to live in the KCMO side, no matter what people say about Traffic.

(and by the way, 435 is a walk in the park compared to the 401 in Toronto).

[Fiddlefeet]

I'm not as well-informed as the rest of the posters, but I did visit my cousin and family in KCMO last summer. They live in a suburb (a very nice one) and I can't imagine it would fit the needs of a cosmopolitan single from Canada.

[casualsuede]

I have one more question and thanks for all who responded.

Is there a big difference in cost of living between KCMO and KCK, comparing areas such as Country Club Plaza vs Overland Park?

I mean sales tax, gas prices, income taxes, cost of items, insurance rates and food prices?