Relocation to Saint Joseph (Kansas City, St. Louis: for sale, real estate, low crime)

[alexisnicolem]

We are considering a relo to this area. If anyone has any details/thoughts on the city would you please share? Specifically comments about way of life, standard of living, things to do (culturally and outdoor activities -- is there any kayaking in the area? or hiking?), pretty places to live, people, etc.

We currently live in Denver, CO. We love this city but with all new opportunities comes change! So our next chapter of our lives may take place in Missouri.

What would you recommend for cities other than St Jo between Kansas City and St Jo?

Thank you for any and all input!

PS ST Jo was supposed to undergo a refurbishment. Has that or is that happening?

[alexisnicolem]

Ok...lemme ask this in another way. Are people not responding because there isn't anything to say about St Jo or because there isn't anyone from that area here in the forum?

[da jammer]

Originally Posted by alexisnicolem

Ok...lemme ask this in another way. Are people not responding because there isn't anything to say about St Jo or because there isn't anyone from that area here in the forum?

well I hate to muck up a thread if I have nothing of importance to contribute especially since I am a newbie to MO. There is someone that pops in the forum who goes by the name of ShadowCaver that has a great deal of info about darn near any place in MO. Hopefully he will see this thread and jump in with some great insight for you.

[northbayeric]

Not to worry--there's a lot to say about St. Joseph, and I think it's pretty positive on the whole. I'm flying from the SF Bay Area to KC and St. Joseph in September (woohoo! only 2 more months!) to check out the area, having been born and raised near St. Louis but never having visited St. Joe before.

About the refurbishment--I've heard just a little bit about it and would need to get feedback from StJoeFanatic or whoever else lives in town about where things currently stand with it. If nothing is happening now, I daresay that within the next 2 to 5 years there will be quite a bit going on with that. I'll definitely share my experiences with all of you when I get back on September 25.

My wife and I have wanted to relocate to or near St. Joseph for nearly a year now. The city boasts a 26-mile parkway greenbelt system connecting Krug Park to the north and Hyde Park to the south; it was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. There are many converted railroad beds that now make outstanding pedestrian and bike trails throughout St. Joe. For a city of 75,000, there are a bunch of cool museums such as the Pony Express Museum, Glore Psychiatric Museum, Jesse James Home Museum, plus a number of historic houses. It's only 30 to 35 miles north of the Kansas City International Airport, and three freeways serve it, meaning traffic should hardly ever be a factor. U.S. Highway 36 could eventually be upgraded to Interstate 72 in St. Joe.

Real estate seems like a dream come true in contrast to the outrageously expensive Bay Area and most of California. $100K to $150K will get you a nice house; $150K to $200K will buy a really nice place around the Lovers Lane area or in newer subdivisions in the 64506 zip code. I understand some of the public schools have won academic awards recently as well.

The only place in town I would either avoid or carefully check out beforehand is Midtown. Midtown is framed by Frederick Blvd to the north, 22nd Street to the east, 12th Street to the west, and Mitchell Ave. to the south. Some violent criminal activity has plagued Midtown, mainly among people who already know each other. The south part of town, according to St. Joe Fanatic, tends to be populated by people who hate any kind of change and like to gripe about the city government, but this is not a fatal blow against moving to the area south of I-229. Again, I'd have to come and see St. Joe for myself, but from my research, I think buying an old house that has been fixed up around the Lovers Lane area would be ideal for my wife and I.

Other cities: Closer to Kansas City, I've heard very good things about Liberty--excellent schools, low crime, access to I-35, good mix of older and newer homes. Property taxes in Liberty seem higher than in St. Joseph, though.

Be sure to check out the related forums here that address St. Joseph, too! Hope this info helps, and check out the city government website as well as StJoMo! St. Joseph, Missouri. The city government website will give you a good idea of what the town and the pedestrian/bike trails look like, as well as all the city parks. Who knows, we might just be neighbors someday!

[alexisnicolem]

Howdy potential neighbor!
This is so very helpful --- thank you! We are 99% sure we are going to get an offer, and then after that we plan to visit the area. This helps get me a little excited about it!

I have done lots of research and found evidence of what you say about the housing costs. Same thing here in Denver where the costs are crazy. I found a home for sale in St Jo -- beautiful hard wood, 4000 sf, stained glass windows, huge house -- only $199. I was amazed!

The bike trails sound great too. We are big into outdoor activities, biking included so that is good. Any word on kayaking?

If we head out there and if it is before Sept 25 - I will post our experience with pictures.

Thanks again!

[alexisnicolem]

thank you for the tip!

[mjb62676]

Today is my last day in St. Joe...and I can't say I'm sad about it.

[northbayeric]

Well no city or town is going to be like the Promised Land, and depending on one's tastes and interests, you'll like a place or you won't--unless we're talking about East St. Louis perhaps. I went to the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville and remember the drive along I-40 from Nashville to Knoxville as being really scenic, going near the Great Smoky Mountains. I wish you the very best and much happiness there!

Kayaking near St. Joe--don't really know. Doing some Googling, I found this site: Platte River - MO that details a kayaking trip a group took along the Platte River back in July 2005. The reviewer makes it sound like a lot of fun for those who like relaxing, leisurely float trips with slow current. There might be even better kayaking opportunities along the Missouri River closer to Parkville and Kansas City. And down in the Ozarks, there must be all kinds of opportunities to go on float trips--the Current River, Meramec River, etc. that would be a few hours by car. Closer to St. Joseph there's the Tarkio and Nodaway Rivers, and Mozingo Lake, close to Iowa near Maryville. This site Mozingo Lake makes it sound like a pretty nice park, and the lake is 1,006 acres in size. Well, I'm learning a lot in replying to you--this is great! Don't know if the Tarkio and Nodaway Rivers are large enough to go kayaking on, though.

[northbayeric]

A word about where I currently live in Santa Rosa, California: I've generally enjoyed living here for the past 21 years. The Pacific Ocean is just over 30 minutes away; and you're within a one-day drive of some spectacular places, such as the drive along Coast Highway 1 in Sonoma and Mendocino Counties, the Avenue of the (Redwood) Giants in southern Humboldt County, Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon National Parks, just to name a few. For all this, my wife and I still want to relocate to a place that has a lot of history, is down to earth, old-fashioned, and still boasts scenic places to visit in their own right. We think most of California and especially this area near San Francisco has gotten too expensive, too congested, and too hostile toward conservative Catholics and Christian evangelicals. For all their "peace" bumper stickers, many of these people around here don't strike us as very peaceful, to be honest. The California state government--almost a foreign country unto itself-- can't balance its budget, and state Attorney General Jerry Brown wants to sue auto manufacturers for contributing to global warming. We're therefore very ready to head back to the Midwest, and have been drawn to St. Joe ever since I started researching it on the Internet and reading its official visitors' guide.

As I've written before, yeah, we're from California, but I was born and raised near St. Louis, and my wife fell in love with Missouri's beauty and old-fashioned feel the moment she saw it back in 2004 and then again last year. We want to embrace Missouri's best attributes and leave California's worst attributes behind.

[StJoeFanatic]

Ok Folks! Hit me with your questions!
I have chosen to live in St. Joseph for close around 13 years now...
I know alot, so hit me with those questions!

(Alexisnicolem: There is no real kayaking "in" St. Joseph... the Missouri River has some barge traffic and some fishing & sporting boats, but we do not have a large water-sport presence here.) However, just to our south, in Smithville, there is a pretty good kayaking group called Midwest Paddle Adventures that you might check into. Smithville is about a 45 minute drive....if that!)