Warrensburg/Knob Noster/Sedalia (Kansas City, Lee's Summit: fit in, rentals, crime)

[guppie]

Hi everyone,

My family is looking at a possible move to this area but I was hoping to get a few questions answered. I am an elementary school teacher and my wife is a nurse. We have a 2 year old daughter. We really enjoy the outdoors, but also like going to the movies and decent restaurants (not fancy, just good food/service). I guess this is the order I would put our priorities:

1. Cost of Living
2. Job Opportunites
3. Schools
4. Crime/Safety

Those first 4 are almost equally important

5. Racial Prejudice (we are a mixed race family)
6. Housing
7. Weather
8. Outdoor Activities
9. Food
10. Entertainment

Any information would be appreciated. I'm not looking for anyone to talk me in/out of moving there, just some honest answers as to what it is really like.

Thank you in advance.

[Billie]

The place you are describing is Lee's Summit, MO. We are just east of Kansas City. You would fit right in here and could easily find jobs. Lee's Summit is growing by leaps and bounds..they build a new elementary school every year, I've lost count of how many there are now! We have 3 High Schools, one community college and 2 hospitals. Many medical professionals have moved to this community. We have houses and rental properties for every income. There are many blended families in every neighborhood and any part of town you live in you and your children will be safe. We have great restaurants, a movie theater complex, a shopping center, many parks, a community pool, a large public lake for boating and fishing! We've got it all! Come to town for a visit some weekend...you will like what you see!

[guppie]

The plan is to come for a visit after school is out this year (end of May/early June). We have some really good friends(they're more like family) that are moving just north of Knob Noster. We're going to help them make the move and check things out while we're there.

Thanks for the information.

[guppie]

bump bump bump :-) :-)

[jps]

Knob Noster's kind of out in the boondocks. There's an Air Force base but not much else. Of course, Sedalia and Warrensburg are nearby, but not exactly big towns. I suppose it depends what you are used to. If you're coming from a big city it may not be your cup of tea.

[gebel]

I live in Sedalia and went to school in warrensburg. How well you like this area probably depends a lot on you and expectations. Low stress and crime area, easy access to Kansas City area, low cost of living, mostly good climate but can get a little warm and humid in july/august, warrensburg has a state university and sedalia has a community college, sedalia is the home of the state fair, mostly a rural setting but not really isolated, sedalia and warrensburg have modern hospitals, good hunting and fishing, small town friendliness in all the communities, some red neck type residents but they dont dominate the communities, lots of restaurants ..lots, teacher pay will probably be below national average, knob noster is the home of the B2 stealth bomber... worth being here just to see it go over at times.
hope this helps

[Deez Nuttz]

Originally Posted by jps

Knob Noster's kind of out in the boondocks. There's an Air Force base but not much else. Of course, Sedalia and Warrensburg are nearby, but not exactly big towns. I suppose it depends what you are used to. If you're coming from a big city it may not be your cup of tea.

So does Knob Noster not have anything at all to do? That is where Whiteman is right?

[jps]

Originally Posted by Deez Nuttz

So does Knob Noster not have anything at all to do? That is where Whiteman is right?

Knob is a small town. If you're coming from Fayetteville, it's much smaller than you're used to, however, Kansas City is an hour away, and there are some bigger small towns (Sedalia and Warrensburg) within 20 minutes or so.

In other words, it's a good place to raise kids, but if you are a young bachelor it may be a bit lacking in immediate entertainment. Then again, that may keep you out of trouble.

My best friend recently retired there. He was a Master Sgt. at Whiteman for the last ten years, now he's a civilian contractor. He loves it there, but he's a native Missourian. Your mileage may vary.

Give it a shot, you may like it. It never hurts to expand your horizons.

Good Luck.

[Deez Nuttz]

Thanks JPS, yes I am in Fayetteville, but I actually do reside in a small town in Fayetteville called Spring Lake, it has mainly eateries (sonic, pizza hut, mcdonalds, taco bell, subway, wendys, burger king), a wal mart, a junk yard, a few auto mechanic shops, a post office, a few gas stations....all of this is within a 5 mile radius. It's bustling but not sleepy (except sunday mornings ) so if Knob Noster is anything like this I'm sure I'll fit in.

Oh, and what's the houses like in Knob Noster? Are there any rentals? Are they nice? What's the average going rate for houses for rent?

Thanks!