Olathe - are there any areas to avoid... (Overland Park, Kansas City: apartments, to rent)

[cazboy]

...or are they pretty much all the same? My wife & I are going to rent an apartment in Olathe KS in a couple of months, but we haven't picked one out yet. So far we've looked (on the internet) at Somerset Oaks apartments on 813 Mur-Len Road. We like what we see there on the internet, but we haven't actually seen it physically.

I also kind of "inspected" the neighborhood using Google Earth's "street view" feature. Again, looks great to us.

Are there any areas to definitely "avoid" in Olathe? I mean high-crime areas, run-down areas, drug/prostitution hotspots, etc.

Thanks in advance,
Doug in Prescott Valley, AZ

[Samantha S]

Are there any areas to definitely "avoid" in Olathe?

Yeah, all of them.

Just teasing. I don't care for Olathe in general, but the area you mentioned is nice. Close to the highway, shopping, restaurants, etc.

East of 35 and South of 119th is a nice area.

[TinaMcG]

We live in unincorporated Olathe. When we first moved here, we drove all over Olathe to check it out and we were stunned at how many unkempt areas of town there are. Not saying they look unsafe, but they are really run down. I think a lot of Olathe looks like the urban planners slept through their planning meetings. There are way too many rickety old strip malls that could stand to be bulldozed.

[cazboy]

Originally Posted by Samantha S

Yeah, all of them.

Just teasing. I don't care for Olathe in general, but the area you mentioned is nice. Close to the highway, shopping, restaurants, etc.

East of 35 and South of 119th is a nice area.

Thanks Samantha, we're going to take a roadtrip out there before committing to an apartment. Thanks for the input.

Originally Posted by TinaMcG

We live in unincorporated Olathe. When we first moved here, we drove all over Olathe to check it out and we were stunned at how many unkempt areas of town there are. Not saying they look unsafe, but they are really run down. I think a lot of Olathe looks like the urban planners slept through their planning meetings. There are way too many rickety old strip malls that could stand to be bulldozed.

Hey TinaMcG, hmmm, boy I'm sure glad we're going to be visiting. Sounds kind of dreary, the way you describe it.

Any other Olathe locals care to chime in??

Thanks in advance,
Doug

[alwaystraveling25]

Originally Posted by cazboy

Thanks Samantha, we're going to take a roadtrip out there before committing to an apartment. Thanks for the input.



Hey TinaMcG, hmmm, boy I'm sure glad we're going to be visiting. Sounds kind of dreary, the way you describe it.

Any other Olathe locals care to chime in??

Thanks in advance,
Doug

Hey Doug,

I used to live in Lenexa (another suburb that borders Olathe and Overland Park) and the Southern Johnson County area (which includes Olathe and OP) are the DEFINITION of poor urban planning and urban sprawl.

What happened was that the area of Overland Park, Olathe, etc., exploded with real-estate development in the past 10-20 years and developers just built and built apartments and pushed further south. I lived off 87th street, and the further south you go the more houses and apartments and "sprawl" there is. There are brand new apartments next to an older strip-mall. Olathe used to be mostly farmland, but the popularity of Overland Park caused an overfill to Olathe.

Johnson County is the definition of suburbia (three Best Buys within 10 miles, lots of grocery stores, banks on every corner) but the area you are looking to move is safe. It will be quiet and very suburban. I assume that is what you are looking for, cause if you wanted a more urban/city environment you need to live in Kansas City, MO.

People tend to be VERY opinionated about JOCO: they love it or hate it. Also, there can be a "territorialness" about it: People from Overland Park might think they are better then Olathe and vice-versa. Both Overland Park and Olathe are a safe choice for you and your wife.

[Samantha S]

Originally Posted by alwaystraveling25

Also, there can be a "territorialness" about it

"territorialness"? Here??? Naaaaaa ....

[cazboy]

Originally Posted by alwaystraveling25

Hey Doug,

I used to live in Lenexa (another suburb that borders Olathe and Overland Park) and the Southern Johnson County area (which includes Olathe and OP) are the DEFINITION of poor urban planning and urban sprawl.

What happened was that the area of Overland Park, Olathe, etc., exploded with real-estate development in the past 10-20 years and developers just built and built apartments and pushed further south. I lived off 87th street, and the further south you go the more houses and apartments and "sprawl" there is. There are brand new apartments next to an older strip-mall. Olathe used to be mostly farmland, but the popularity of Overland Park caused an overfill to Olathe.

Johnson County is the definition of suburbia (three Best Buys within 10 miles, lots of grocery stores, banks on every corner) but the area you are looking to move is safe. It will be quiet and very suburban. I assume that is what you are looking for, cause if you wanted a more urban/city environment you need to live in Kansas City, MO.

People tend to be VERY opinionated about JOCO: they love it or hate it. Also, there can be a "territorialness" about it: People from Overland Park might think they are better then Olathe and vice-versa. Both Overland Park and Olathe are a safe choice for you and your wife.

Alwaystravelling, thank you very much for your input. Hmmm, at this point (before actually visiting the Olathe area) I think I kind of dimly understand what you're trying to tell me. You've made me feel a little better about the area we are considering moving to. We're going on a "road trip" out there to investigate in a couple of weeks, and we'll probably give the apartment managers a deposit on an apartment there at 813 Mur-Len Rd. We're moving to help with our disabled granddaughter so as long as we have a clean place to live, and a movie theater nearby we're good to go. Oh, and I need BBQ once in a while. I think that part of the country does BBQ nicely.
Doug

[TinaMcG]

I've only lived in JoCo for two years and I am not that opinionated about it. I don't see it as being superior to Wyandotte, Jackson, Miami, Cass or any otherlocal county. I was just saying Olathe has some pretty neglected areas -- areas that should be revitalized. That whole Santa Fe corridor west of I-35 has gotten really tacky. Downtown is certainly nothing to write home about, just courthouses, legal offices and bail-bonds places. Some of the subdivisions are cookie cutter, and I've heard an awful lot of stories from people about how badly built their homes are (which also goes for Overland Park).

That Mur-Len and 127th Street is fine, IMO, but one of our favorite BBQ places not far from there closed up shop recently. We really miss Big Bubba's. The business wasn't failing; Bubba just decided to lock up and walk away from it.

[FISHSOX]

I'm not the biggest fan of Olathe - but there are nice areas - there are alot of train tracks there so you would want to stay away from the tracks.

[cazboy]

We done did it! We rented a nice one-bedroom apartment in Overland Park. It's called Jefferson Pointe. Very nice, I think it will work out well. Some crazy drivers there, though. They seem to think it's downtown Manhatten or something.