Impressions of Overland Park (Kansas City, Topeka: landscaping, work, health)

[Mathguy]

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.

Yes, I would absolutely agree that if I were to compare any 2 suburbs from KC and Chicago it would be those two. (And I have lived in both areas and know them well).

IN GENERAL....commuting times, housing costs and climate are the 3 big differences. (There are always exceptions)

Climate is in the eye of the beholder...some will like one or the other more.
Typical commuting will almost certainly be equal or shorter unless you decide to live far away etc. 200k here will get you a nice home and not a *starter* home.

[Thrillcekr]

There's a lot of different angles one could look at that from. Overland Park is still below the national average but their wages aren't as high as those in a lot of cities they're being compared to either. You'll make a hell of a lot more money in someplace like Colorado for the same job than you will in Kansas.

I dunno what to say about Overland Park really. I would pretty much call it any suburb U.S.A. If you're an urbanist that admires architecture and character then you will be extremely disappointed. Almost all of Overland Park was built from the 1950's on when America officially made the transition from beautiful ornate homes with lots of craftsmanship to the cheap cooker cutter type construction. There's really no culture there. No arts, museums, etc...

However, if endless miles of beige houses and cul de sacs are your thing then O.P. shoud be right up your alley. Some people enjoy that lifestyle. Of course, I certainly wouldn't move cross country for it when you can find a dozen or two places exactly like it surrounding any major city in any state in America. If you insist upon it then maybe the burbs of Atlanta or Dallas would be someplace to consider. At least they have warmer weather and a lot more to do and see.

[burnt]

Originally Posted by dragonten

I suppose it's the sign of the times.I always felt that that area was wonderful. People don't change though. You guys out there are very conservative,and I like that.

Johnson's County's a bit more of a wealthy conservative than country-fried conservative area, though. And it's certainly more mixed in terms of progressive-minded people than one would see in, say, Manhattan, KS. That JoCo-Lawrence corridor is just a little more advanced in that regard.

[burnt]

Originally Posted by Mathguy

Speaking first hand from someone that has lived 5 years plus in both vicinities....the main difference is that people live in Naperville and most commute downtown for work (>1 hour each way). The other difference is that homes cost quite a bit more for a comparable house.

Additionally, only the JOCO areas around Olathe and South OP have traffic volume even approaching Naperville. That leaves huge swaths of JOCO, like Lenexa that has 1/3 of the population density of Naperville.

Lastly, how can you claim they have comparable average home prices to naperville....you are comparing average to median. Naperville home prices are ballpark to Leawood.

It's an apples-to-oranges discussion anyway. Kansas has a FAR lower cost of living. Just because a place in Overland Park only costs $300,000 doesn't mean it's not a hell of a lot nicer than a townhouse in Columbia, MD, that costs the same...like mine. Naperville's a more expensive town as well.

Hey, I'll trade someone my 3BR/2.5BA townhouse with a 0.08 acre yard, about three square feet of kitchen counterspace, etc. for even just a $250K home in Kansas. I somehow think I'd have to double my possessions just to fill said home.

Overall, comparing housing prices at face value is sort of pointless, because it doesn't take into account relative differences in cost of living or income.

[john stuart]

Just Think Of It...joco Accounts For Approx 74% Of The Tax Base Of The Entire State Of Ks, Gotta Love That 435 Corridor At Am/ Pm Rush Hour....if You Were Stuck In The Hotel You Have No Idea, Bring Your Sunglasses For The Commute....and What About Them Ks Drivers? Not Unlike Nj Drivers...excuse Me Joco Drivers... The Speed Limit Is "tops" 65...not 80+, And It Keeps Expanding Out To The Burbs...ask Anyone In Gardner...btw Check Out Stricklers Auctions On Monday Nights In Gardner....after That The Only Thing Left Is...."raiders Rule" Let The Force Be With You....bye Bye Herm Edwards Another Losing Season Is On The Horizon

[Plains10]

Originally Posted by john stuart

Just Think Of It...joco Accounts For Approx 74% Of The Tax Base Of The Entire State Of Ks, Gotta Love That 435 Corridor At Am/ Pm Rush Hour....if You Were Stuck In The Hotel You Have No Idea, Bring Your Sunglasses For The Commute....and What About Them Ks Drivers? Not Unlike Nj Drivers...excuse Me Joco Drivers... The Speed Limit Is "tops" 65...not 80+, And It Keeps Expanding Out To The Burbs...ask Anyone In Gardner...btw Check Out Stricklers Auctions On Monday Nights In Gardner....after That The Only Thing Left Is...."raiders Rule" Let The Force Be With You....bye Bye Herm Edwards Another Losing Season Is On The Horizon

Wow, I did not know that JOCO accounts for 74% of the tax base. That is amazing. It just shows you where Kansas would be without that county.
Gardner= cookie cutter suburb that is VERY far from the Plaza, Downtown, and KCI airport.
People are MOVING into the Northland of Kansas City, MO.
Clay and Platte counties are growing nearly as fast as Johnson County.
It just shows that more people are moving out of JOCO as well as moving in.

[denverian]

I grew up in OP (birth through high school) and it was an OK place to grow up. I always wanted to travel and see the world, so that's what I did - left home right after high school and lived in Europe, travelled a lot, then ended up in L.A. for many years. I can honestly say that I'd never move back to OP or the state of KS, but just my preference. I'm more urban-minded and liberal, so OP isn't the place for me. I also find it interesting that the friends I had in High School who ended up liberal mostly left for other parts of the country and those who are conservative stayed in JoCo. I just wouldn't feel comfortable in such a conservative place with Bible Bangers left and right.

One think I find odd about JoCo and OP after now living most of my life elsewhere, things are soooo spread out. Really, do people like those ginormous lawns? I remember spending well over an hour out in the heat and humidity mowing my parent's lawn in high school every week. What's the point? No one ever touched the lawn other then me, when I mowed it. Even businesses are so spread out, like Corporate Woods, anything along Metcalf. Just so much wasted space that makes JoCo a very pedestrian-unfriendly place. I guess I love living in a dense, urban environment so much that OP and JoCo have become foreign to me.

[Plains10]

Originally Posted by denverian

I grew up in OP (birth through high school) and it was an OK place to grow up. I always wanted to travel and see the world, so that's what I did - left home right after high school and lived in Europe, travelled a lot, then ended up in L.A. for many years. I can honestly say that I'd never move back to OP or the state of KS, but just my preference. I'm more urban-minded and liberal, so OP isn't the place for me. I also find it interesting that the friends I had in High School who ended up liberal mostly left for other parts of the country and those who are conservative stayed in JoCo. I just wouldn't feel comfortable in such a conservative place with Bible Bangers left and right.

One think I find odd about JoCo and OP after now living most of my life elsewhere, things are soooo spread out. Really, do people like those ginormous lawns? I remember spending well over an hour out in the heat and humidity mowing my parent's lawn in high school every week. What's the point? No one ever touched the lawn other then me, when I mowed it. Even businesses are so spread out, like Corporate Woods, anything along Metcalf. Just so much wasted space that makes JoCo a very pedestrian-unfriendly place. I guess I love living in a dense, urban environment so much that OP and JoCo have become foreign to me.

I mostly agree with your points. With the KC metro being so spread out and suburban it just appeals MORE to those people who enjoy that sort of lifestyle. The houses on large lots definitely waste a ton of land, and partly contribute to the relative LACK of good greenbelts and parkland areas in JOCO. Even the area near Shawnee Mission Park has become urbanized in recent years with ugly cookie cutters on top of the park entrance. With the redevelopment of the Downtown area via the Power and Light District as well as the new Arena KC appears to have "discovered" that it might be a good idea to have a strong and vibrant urban core.

The main issue that I keep repeating about KC is that the suburban and exurban sprawl issues are a huge problem based on the total MSA population of near 2 million. Kansas City, MO sprawls for over 340 square miles into three separate counties. You do not see ANY top flight cities having such a large land area over that many counties. The state line acts as an ENORMOUS division in the KC metro and it affects just about everything in the region. Their seems to be too much hostility from people on both sides of the state line that think their state is better It really can be juvenile

[denverian]

Originally Posted by Plains10

I mostly agree with your points. With the KC metro being so spread out and suburban it just appeals MORE to those people who enjoy that sort of lifestyle. The houses on large lots definitely waste a ton of land, and partly contribute to the relative LACK of good greenbelts and parkland areas in JOCO. Even the area near Shawnee Mission Park has become urbanized in recent years with ugly cookie cutters on top of the park entrance. With the redevelopment of the Downtown area via the Power and Light District as well as the new Arena KC appears to have "discovered" that it might be a good idea to have a strong and vibrant urban core.

The main issue that I keep repeating about KC is that the suburban and exurban sprawl issues are a huge problem based on the total MSA population of near 2 million. Kansas City, MO sprawls for over 340 square miles into three separate counties. You do not see ANY top flight cities having such a large land area over that many counties. The state line acts as an ENORMOUS division in the KC metro and it affects just about everything in the region. Their seems to be too much hostility from people on both sides of the state line that think their state is better It really can be juvenile

I agree with you. One positive note about OP the last time I was there (last July) was the old downtown. I was impressed that there were new businesses and people on the streets. It's not very big, but has potential. I grew up near there and I remember once the Thriftway closed, we rarely ever went there, with the exception of that sporting goods store (Dales?).

Since I live in Denver, I did a satellite map comparison of the KC metro vs. Denver metro (where I now live) and based on area, they're close to the same size, yet the Denver metro has something like 800K more people. It would be nice if KC would keep it's footprint and concentrate on infill for the next 20 years, but like you say, that nasty state line makes for a unique situation. Denver just feels a lot tighter and more urban, especially in the city itself. The suburbs tend to be denser too with smaller average lots. Could be due to the arid climate - people don't want tons of lawn because it's expensive to water all summer.

[WhiteSandsYucca]

I really like Overland Park, KS. In fact, I have family there. It is considered one of the nicest suburbs in the United States, and it is easy to see why. It is basically the "Highlands Ranch (Denver)" or "Plano (Dallas)" of the Kansas City area. While much of the Kansas City area has a broken-up street grid built on hills, and around ravines, that particular area offers more gentle geography, and thus, is able to have a nice, complete grid, which is easy to navigate around.

Along with sharp, high-tech office buildings lining the wide 405 freeway, I believe the city has a code that reinforces design and colors used on new construction (businesses, office buildings, strip malls, banks, ect), giving the city a sharp, harmonized feel. New homes styles are attractive, being contemporary, and both influenced by the east and the west. Being in a region between the woodsy east, and the barren west, the area isn't crowded with too many trees, is kinda open, yet has plenty of greenery.

Overall, I really am impressed with Overland Park, too, and can understand why it caught your eye. It is a nice place to live in America's midwest.