Moving From Los Angeles CA to Overland Park (Kansas City, Olathe: tech jobs, theater)

[Patness]

I work in IT and have heard there are many technical jobs and opportunities in the area. My wife is from there and we're looking to get closer to family (and escape many of the problems in CA).

What are your thoughts on this (not interested in a debate of CA, more interested in thoughts of other areas)? Also, what site is used for the tech job postings in Overland Park, KS?

(Our other choices are Austin or Denver. We are as of yet undecided, however OP is looking good based off of our research - but would like to hear anyone's thoughts on this as well.)

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by Patness

I work in IT and have heard there are many technical jobs and opportunities in the area. My wife is from there and we're looking to get closer to family (and escape many of the problems in CA).

What are your thoughts on this? Also, what site is used for the tech job postings in Overland Park, KS?

(Our other choices are Austin or Denver. We are as of yet undecided, however OP is looking good based off of our research - but would like to hear anyone's thoughts on this as well.)

It is hard to compare the three. Overland Park is strictly suburban while Austin and Denver are quite a bit more urbanized. Both Denver and the Austin metro areas are growing much faster overall compared to the Kansas City metro area. However, Kansas City, MO is experiencing quite a bit of revitalization over the past few years.
Overland Park has many clusters of office parks, particularly on the Metcalf road corridor and Corporate Woods off the I-435 beltway. That part of I-435 has some of the worst traffic in the metro, but nothing like LA or SD.
If you prefer an urban lifestyle I would highly suggest living in KC, MO and commuting to Overland Park. The cost of living in the KC metro area is very very low compared to the national average.

[kcmo]

Yea, sort of a weird comparison. Denver, Austin and Overland Park? The only thing those three cities have in common is tech jobs.

Are you choosing these cities just based off that?

Are you looking at Denver and Austin to be in vibrant urban areas with lots of young people? If so, why OP, I guess cause you have family there?

Again, Not quite getting the choices of cities. Makes more sense to be looking at KCMO, Denver and Austin and all three of those metro area's respective tech areas for jobs. In Denver, many of the tech jobs are out south in the DTC area or further south along I-25. In Austin, same deal, many of the tech jobs are out in more suburban areas.

Maybe if you chose Denver or Austin you would live in a suburban area similar to OP. That would make sense.

The big thing in the KC area and OP is the cost of living. Much lower than Denver, about the same as Austin.

I think there is much more to do in KC than Austin and about the same in KC as Denver. But Denver has the mountains.

I think Austin is way overated. It's ok, but I have been there many times and just don't quite see what the hype is about. It's still Texas and there is not much to do there. Denver is awesome though, that city can back up its hype.

Overland Park is a nice suburb though. If that's all you are asking

[Patness]

We're considering OP primarily due to family. I've been to all 3 areas and prefer the others to KC. (But OP is much nicer than KC proper.)

KC seems a bit depressed compared to the other cities. It seems to be very similar to cities in Ohio and Pennsylvania that are a bit depressed.

In any event, we'd live in the suburbs instead of the city proper due to schools and children. (But it's nice to be close to a city in the event we'd like to go into town for entertainment.)

I have done some research, and don't see the same number of Tech jobs available in KC that other areas I mention have to offer. Jobs are a primary factor in our selection of the final destination, along with family. That's why I was wondering if there was some sort of specialized jobs site for KC (which would cover OP) that people tend to use (just to make sure I do a fair analysis).

It seems like Austin and Denver are relatively easily compared to each other (although Denver is a bit more expensive), with both growing and with very good tech opportunities.

It seems like Denver and Austin are about equal for the number of jobs they have available (even in these tough times), which says quite a bit about those cities. Of course TX has a fairly low cost of living - even considering everything else, coming from CA almost everywhere seems cheaper by comparison.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by Patness

In any event, we'd live in the suburbs instead of the city proper due to schools and children. (But it's nice to be close to a city in the event we'd like to go into town for entertainment.)

The Northland area of KC, MO is suburban with good schools. You have to remember that the city limits of KC, MO stretch across three different counties. The urban portion of KC, MO is primarily in western Jackson County and far southern Clay County.

[nitestar]

Glad our thinking of moving to Ks. Our son is working in KC and lives in Overland Park. He does programming for a medical company. I cant remember the name of the company off hand.

Rent of a 2 bedroom apt is 900+ a month in a nice gated community.
One thing his wife learned ( she is from LA) is the Midwesterners do not like the driving habits of the CA drivers so remember to be nice behind the wheel and if trying to merge be patient. I don't mean to say your a bad driver , just saying.

They both like the surroundings and the many things to do in the KC metro area. The cost of living is less than half of what she was used to paying.
There is a lot to see,do and go to, theater, live shows, just about any hobby group you can imagine. Fishing close by and pretty good schools if you have kids of school age. Our son does kayaking and canoeing within a short drive from his apt.
Weather is not so bad and contrary to most myths KC is not in the tornado alley . Yes, we get severe weather but most places do and we do not have earth quakes or hurricanes..

Hope you decide to move to the Kc area.

[alwaystraveling25]

Originally Posted by Patness

We're considering OP primarily due to family. I've been to all 3 areas and prefer the others to KC. (But OP is much nicer than KC proper.)

KC seems a bit depressed compared to the other cities. It seems to be very similar to cities in Ohio and Pennsylvania that are a bit depressed.

In any event, we'd live in the suburbs instead of the city proper due to schools and children. (But it's nice to be close to a city in the event we'd like to go into town for entertainment.)

I have done some research, and don't see the same number of Tech jobs available in KC that other areas I mention have to offer. Jobs are a primary factor in our selection of the final destination, along with family. That's why I was wondering if there was some sort of specialized jobs site for KC (which would cover OP) that people tend to use (just to make sure I do a fair analysis).

It seems like Austin and Denver are relatively easily compared to each other (although Denver is a bit more expensive), with both growing and with very good tech opportunities.

It seems like Denver and Austin are about equal for the number of jobs they have available (even in these tough times), which says quite a bit about those cities. Of course TX has a fairly low cost of living - even considering everything else, coming from CA almost everywhere seems cheaper by comparison.

I used to live in Overland Park, and I can tell you that the KC Metro area is MUCH more conservative then Austin or Denver. Austin is a young, vibrant city, that is always on lists for being one of the most healthy cities in America. Denver offers a lot of hiking and outdoor activities, and the Rocky Mountains are in your backyard.

What KC will offer you is a VERY low cost of living, especially when compared to Southern California. Please keep in mind that Overland Park, more then KCMO proper is a very "bible-belt" city, and there will be huge churches and the focus is on family and churches in the city. It offers great public schools and good parks and all that jazz, but the religous element of the city was off-putting for me.

Also, Kansas Citians drive relatively slow and conservative to people in LA or Chicago. I moved there after living my entire life in Metro Detroit, and most people do at MOST 5 miles an over the speed limit, almost everyone obeys it. If you honk at someone, they will look at you like you just killed someone! True story: I was at a light that had turned green, and had been green for a good 10 seconds, so I honked at the driver in front of me. The guy did go through the light, but rolled down the window to flip me off because I had dared honk at him!

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by alwaystraveling25

I used to live in Overland Park, and I can tell you that the KC Metro area is MUCH more conservative then Austin or Denver. Austin is a young, vibrant city, that is always on lists for being one of the most healthy cities in America. Denver offers a lot of hiking and outdoor activities, and the Rocky Mountains are in your backyard.

What KC will offer you is a VERY low cost of living, especially when compared to Southern California. Please keep in mind that Overland Park, more then KCMO proper is a very "bible-belt" city, and there will be huge churches and the focus is on family and churches in the city. It offers great public schools and good parks and all that jazz, but the religous element of the city was off-putting for me.

Also, Kansas Citians drive relatively slow and conservative to people in LA or Chicago. I moved there after living my entire life in Metro Detroit, and most people do at MOST 5 miles an over the speed limit, almost everyone obeys it. If you honk at someone, they will look at you like you just killed someone! True story: I was at a light that had turned green, and had been green for a good 10 seconds, so I honked at the driver in front of me. The guy did go through the light, but rolled down the window to flip me off because I had dared honk at him!

Yes, this is especially true for Olathe. I find this a little less true for Overland Park because a fairly large percentage of the population are educated professionals with high-level degrees.
I was back in KC a couple weeks ago, and I was truly amazed at how LITTLE had changed in many areas of northern Overland Park. It seems like the only thing that does change is more sprawl on the periphery of OP and the entire metro in general.

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by alwaystraveling25

I used to live in Overland Park, and I can tell you that the KC Metro area is MUCH more conservative then Austin or Denver. Austin is a young, vibrant city, that is always on lists for being one of the most healthy cities in America. Denver offers a lot of hiking and outdoor activities, and the Rocky Mountains are in your backyard.

What KC will offer you is a VERY low cost of living, especially when compared to Southern California. Please keep in mind that Overland Park, more then KCMO proper is a very "bible-belt" city, and there will be huge churches and the focus is on family and churches in the city. It offers great public schools and good parks and all that jazz, but the religous element of the city was off-putting for me.

Also, Kansas Citians drive relatively slow and conservative to people in LA or Chicago. I moved there after living my entire life in Metro Detroit, and most people do at MOST 5 miles an over the speed limit, almost everyone obeys it. If you honk at someone, they will look at you like you just killed someone! True story: I was at a light that had turned green, and had been green for a good 10 seconds, so I honked at the driver in front of me. The guy did go through the light, but rolled down the window to flip me off because I had dared honk at him!

good post and right on.

I feel like at times I'm an outsider here in KC because in the suburban circles of friends via little league sports etc if you don't belong to a church, you tend to be on the outside of many conversations.

Yet I like to talk about where the bike trails are or what's going on this weekend "in the city" such as fesitivals, events etc and tend to get blank stares.

But I'm pretty new to the whole suburban culture. I grew up in urban KCMO and it's very different there. Urban KCMO is very similar to urban Denver or urban Austin.

I really have a hard time believing that similar suburban areas in Austin or even Denver are all that much different than suburban KC though. Those towns have a more sex appeal than KC does. KC will never win a popularity contest.

Overland Park is a very nice, pretty upscale white collar suburb. It’s not full of bible thumpers any more than Littleton Colorado would be. They have their share of mega churches, but I would say that has more to do with a large suburban county with good demographics than being in the bible belt.

You did hit the nail on the head with drivers in KC. Worst big city drivers in the nation. I have to honk my horn from 3-4 cars back when people don’t move when the light turns green because everybody else in on the phone or just sits there and patiently waits till the morons in the front get a clue.

Nobody honks in KC, I probably do once a day. Not because I’m a jerk, but because I don’t have all day to get from point a to point b. Seems like people KC are always on a Sunday afternoon drive in the park. I get along just fine in places like Chicago or Atlanta. No problems what so ever. I don’t mind being delayed in traffic due to congestion. Most delays in KC are caused by stupid people, not congestion.

[northbound74]

Most of the time, a majority of people in KC (especially in JoCo) drive 15 mph or more above the speed limit. Slow drivers they're not.
I've driven in many other large cities, and KC drivers are just as stupid and reckless as any of them.
The only place where there seems to be an abnormal amount of slow drivers is along I-70 through Independence. Everyone else is in some sort of big hurry to get somewhere, with no regard for their fellow human beings. Their life is obviously more important than anyone else's. Where they are going in such a hurry is anybody's guess. I can't think of anything that important around here. The excessive sprawl in this area probably adds to the problem. Maybe if things weren't so far apart for a metro this size...
I'll take speed-limit drivers over boy-racer jerks any day.