Impressions of Overland Park (Kansas City, Olathe: appointed, hotel, townhouse)

[Notactingmyage]

No one has yet commented about the climate differences in between Overland Park and Naperville. For all the many things that are similar, the weather is NOT one of them. I lived in Downers Grove IL (close to Naperville) for many years, and have lived the last 16 years in Overland Park. Not a day goes by that I don't thank my lucky stars that I made the move when I did. OP has at least a month more "shirt sleve" weather on each end of the season. I cut my grass in December in OP. I remember wearing a heavy jacket to watch fireworks on the fourth of July in the Chicago area. I wash my car in my driveway in Janaury in OP instead of shovelling the piles of frozen salt slush out of my garage as I used to do in Chicago. In 19 years in Chicago, I wore out three snow blowers. I still have one in OP, but its the same one I had when I moved here in 1991. And while it's not related to the weather, I can drive three hours from OP and buy a 3br 2ba lakefront summer home in mid-Missouri for under $200K. Try that in Wisconson or SW Michigan.

[miked1119]

Originally Posted by WeHateJoCo

OK, I have lived in Naperville, IL and now reside in OP, and let me tell you, there is a WORLD of difference. Mainly, the traffic in OP is horrendous. The city should be ashamed of the way they manage the traffic flow. The drivers should be ashamed at how they drive. I have travelled all over this country for my previous job, and the traffic in OP is worse than in Chicago, Little Rock (notorious for it's bad drivers), and Boston. Only Puerto Rican drivers outshine JoCo drivers in the SUCK category. How many times a day CAN I get cut off by a Navigator switching from the right lane, over 4 lanes, into the left-hand turn lane with no turn signal or even a glance at thier blind spot? Oh, you're too busy talking on your phone to look or signal, sorry. Oh, you're stopped in the middle of the road because you have a MAKEUP EMERGENCY, well that's OK then, I thought it was for no good reason. When you're driving up Metcalf at 9:00 at night, with no other traffic in sight, should you be stopping at EVERY SINGLE TRAFFIC light?

In addition to the traffic problems, it is true that the cost of living out here is outrageous. Guess what, East Coasters, the cost of living is higher in the NE, but so are the salaries. Now, if I can stop at a store in KC, MO, where I work, and buy milk for $1 less a gallon, or gas for $.30 less a gallon, why would I drive 10 minutes away into OP and pay more?

JoCo SUCKS, cookie-cutter neighborhoods with cookie-cutter strip malls. I do understand that I made a (rushed) choice to move here, but I will be moving AWAY as soon as my lease is up. The city needs to stop leasing every available inch of land to developers and focus their attention on traffic managment, among other things.

I am living in Naperville and now I am moving to OP...My girlfriend lives in Little Rock...

This message is hilarious! but obviously the poster has not been in Naperville for awhile. The traffic sucks, but I agree about the Little Rock Drivers. Anyway looking forward to getting out there!

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by pieo

I appreciate you taking the time to post that info but I can tell you that not one of those numbers accurately reflects the average sale price of a home in Johnson County. I have been in real estate here for a long time and when I first saw your numbers, I wasnt sure where those were coming from. I saw you were getting it off of Yahoo using active listings and that is why they are so incorrect to the actual sale price of homes in JOCO. The thing you are not taking into consideration is that the average 200,000 home in JoCo does not sit on the market long and the average 700,000 home will sit for a lot longer. Currently the upper end market is the weakest market in JOCO so that is why your numbers are so high, there are just alot more upper end homes sitting on the market. I dont have time to go through each individual city but here is the accurate medium and average sale information for single family homes for the year through July 2007 for all Johnson County (broken down by # of bedrooms).

The first column are 2 bedrooms or less, the second column are 3 bedrooms and the third column are 4+ Bedrooms.

Med Price (in 1,000s)112.5 160.4 263.5
Avg Price (in 1,000s)117.9 175.6 320.9

First of all I do not think their are a lot of 2 bedroom houses in Johnson County if you do not count duplexes and apartments. I agree, I know that the actual sales price of homes is generally lower than list price. However, the listing prices of current homes for sale on MLS gives people a good idea of how expensive (in general) one town is compared with another. By the way, their were hundreds of properties that were on the MLS for sale in Leawood, and the median price was still quite high, considering that a lot of properties were for sale in various price ranges. In Olathe, the average list price for homes for the entire city is still quite low at around $230,000. The average sales price would probably push that figure lower. I was just trying to point out to people that the real estate market in the KC metro is not overpriced compared with almost any other market in the US, especially the coastal areas.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by miked1119

I am living in Naperville and now I am moving to OP...My girlfriend lives in Little Rock...

This message is hilarious! but obviously the poster has not been in Naperville for awhile. The traffic sucks, but I agree about the Little Rock Drivers. Anyway looking forward to getting out there!

Trust me, Overland Park has had to deal with some serious growth issues over the past several years as well. Many residents who live south of the Overland Park city limits are very angry because the city wants to annex land in the outlying areas. Also, I-435 traffic runs through Overland Park, and it can be a bear at times. You will be quite familiar with the sound barriers Overland Park has if you are coming from the Chicagoland area. If you choose Overland Park I would suggest living a good distance away from highways if you have that option. The highway noice can be unbearable for some people.

[Mathguy]

Originally Posted by Notactingmyage

No one has yet commented about the climate differences in between Overland Park and Naperville. For all the many things that are similar, the weather is NOT one of them. I lived in Downers Grove IL (close to Naperville) for many years, and have lived the last 16 years in Overland Park. Not a day goes by that I don't thank my lucky stars that I made the move when I did. OP has at least a month more "shirt sleve" weather on each end of the season. I cut my grass in December in OP. I remember wearing a heavy jacket to watch fireworks on the fourth of July in the Chicago area. I wash my car in my driveway in Janaury in OP instead of shovelling the piles of frozen salt slush out of my garage as I used to do in Chicago. In 19 years in Chicago, I wore out three snow blowers. I still have one in OP, but its the same one I had when I moved here in 1991. And while it's not related to the weather, I can drive three hours from OP and buy a 3br 2ba lakefront summer home in mid-Missouri for under $200K. Try that in Wisconson or SW Michigan.

Amen! I moved here 7 years ago from Downers....I lived just off Main street about a mile south of the train station. Granted the summers here can be rough but that doesn't last and my neighbors love me because once or twice a year I pull out my snowblower and do everybody's driveway. :-)

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by Mathguy

Amen! I moved here 7 years ago from Downers....I lived just off Main street about a mile south of the train station. Granted the summers here can be rough but that doesn't last and my neighbors love me because once or twice a year I pull out my snowblower and do everybody's driveway. :-)

Their is a world of difference between the weather in the Midwest and the weather in the Plains. I have lived in NW Indiana before and I MUCH prefer the climate there compared with the KC metro area. The climate in Kansas City is MUCH to hot and humid for me overall. I am moving to NH because of a job offer and am happy about living in a cooler climate where I can enjoy outdoor activities in ALL four seasons. In KC you have to deal with the horrible heat and humidity in the summer and then have to travel to the Rockies or elsewhere in the winter just to enjoy winter sports.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by Notactingmyage

No one has yet commented about the climate differences in between Overland Park and Naperville. For all the many things that are similar, the weather is NOT one of them. I lived in Downers Grove IL (close to Naperville) for many years, and have lived the last 16 years in Overland Park. Not a day goes by that I don't thank my lucky stars that I made the move when I did. OP has at least a month more "shirt sleve" weather on each end of the season. I cut my grass in December in OP. I remember wearing a heavy jacket to watch fireworks on the fourth of July in the Chicago area. I wash my car in my driveway in Janaury in OP instead of shovelling the piles of frozen salt slush out of my garage as I used to do in Chicago. In 19 years in Chicago, I wore out three snow blowers. I still have one in OP, but its the same one I had when I moved here in 1991. And while it's not related to the weather, I can drive three hours from OP and buy a 3br 2ba lakefront summer home in mid-Missouri for under $200K. Try that in Wisconson or SW Michigan.

I will take the Chicago climate ANY DAY over the terrible climate of the central plains. The weather in KC is so hot and humid in the summer that I do not even want to go outside. The low temperatures are extremely warm in the summer. I will take a nice 85F high temperature in Chicago over a 110F heat index reading in Kansas City any day of the week. More snow in Kansas City would also be nice for those people who want to actually enjoy winter sports close to their home without having to travel long distances to the Rocky Mountains and elsewhere. Winter is definitely a joke in KC compared with areas in the Midwest around the Great Lakes and the Upper Midwest.

[Mathguy]

Originally Posted by Plains10

I will take the Chicago climate ANY DAY over the terrible climate of the central plains. The weather in KC is so hot and humid in the summer that I do not even want to go outside. The low temperatures are extremely warm in the summer. I will take a nice 85F high temperature in Chicago over a 110F heat index reading in Kansas City any day of the week. More snow in Kansas City would also be nice for those people who want to actually enjoy winter sports close to their home without having to travel long distances to the Rocky Mountains and elsewhere. Winter is definitely a joke in KC compared with areas in the Midwest around the Great Lakes and the Upper Midwest.

Everyone has their preferences. Think back on this conversation when you have 2 weeks straight below zero. I remember being at my parents house one Christmas....25 below zero. :-)

[Scribbler]

I am about to move from a community west of Naperville to Kansas City, and to me, Naperville and Overland Park seem EXTREMELY analogous. As far as I'm concerned, it's a highly apt comparison.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by Scribbler

I am about to move from a community west of Naperville to Kansas City, and to me, Naperville and Overland Park seem EXTREMELY analogous. As far as I'm concerned, it's a highly apt comparison.

They are similar because both have sprawl problems, rapid population growth, and good job growth as well. Both areas have a lot of highways with traffic congestion. Overland Park has much less diversity than Naperville. Both areas are transient communites because many residents do not stay in either Naperville or Overland Park for long periods of time. Overland Park has a much warmer climate than Naperville and is much further south in latitude.