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Old 06-15-2011, 01:49 PM
 
12 posts, read 31,314 times
Reputation: 15

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So my husband and I have found a house that suites our needs and is literally 2 min away from his next construction job...the thing is is that it is in Ruskin Heights just north of Longview Rd on Bristol Ter. I havent heard too many things about this neighborhood thats good. Is the neighborhood really that bad??? We will only be there for 8-9 months and then we will be off to the next job (who knows where ) and we would really prefer that the home we find be very close to the jobsite as I am a stay at home wife and like to cook him lunch (I know, he is very spoiled!) Ive looked up the crime statistics but they are all from 2000-09. I would really appreciate any help from people who are actually in the area. We arent able to check things out before we move and we havent been to KCMO before. We live in the Denver area right now so some crime doesnt bother us (I keep a shotgun by the door no matter where we live! ) and I understand that the closer you are to a major city, inevitably, you will have higher crime rates. We are almost 30 and have no children so I am not too terribly worried about the schools, although I do realize the better the schools the better the neighborhood...usually. So in short, anyone who lives in the area or close by could you give me some insight on the neighborhood??? We would really, really appreciate it!
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Old 06-15-2011, 02:13 PM
 
Location: Washington, DC area
11,108 posts, read 23,877,928 times
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Ruskin Heights is pretty ghetto. Chances are you would be okay, but I would not be surprised in the least if you had your home broken into the first week you move in as a welcome to the neighborhood, which happens often in areas like that when new people move in.

I would avoid it and look into Raytown or Grandview. Those are modest areas with far less crime and within 10-15 minutes of Ruskin. Also parts of KCMO just west of Raytown, West of Blue Ridge, north of 87th and south of 67th are ok too.

I would avoid both sides of Blue Ridge between Raytown (87th) and Grandiew (107th) if you can. But if you find a place in there that you think would work short term, I think you would probably be ok for short term. You will notice the issues the area has though and you will have to drive to Lee's Summit, Cass County, Kansas etc for basic retail, dining etc.

Ruskin is just loaded with low income rental and section 8 housing. That is was destroyed the neighborhood in the first place and it never recovered. KCMO basically dumped all their section 8 housing out there in the 80's and 90's as it was tearing down the "projects" in the urban core. The city didn't property enforce property maintenance or keep crime in check and those that lived there before fled in droves. It was a thriving suburban area and it was destroyed literally overnight (or in about a decade) and it took the huge Bannister Mall shopping district with it.

Last edited by kcmo; 06-15-2011 at 02:23 PM..
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Old 06-15-2011, 02:29 PM
 
Location: Washington, DC area
11,108 posts, read 23,877,928 times
Reputation: 6438
Actually, I just read you're post again. You keep a shotgun next to the door? You sound either like you are either used to living in a very rough urban area or are redneck (haha).

If you are okay with an area with some crime issues, I guess Ruskin is fine for a short term rental. It's not like the area is as bad as the east side of KCMO or something and even those areas you would be statistically unlikely to be a victim of a serious crime.

I guess my point was there are nicer areas very close by that probably wouldn't cost much more to live in and you would be closer to shopping etc. Raytown has some nice basic retail like walmart, grocery stores etc. Ruskin does not have much.
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Old 06-15-2011, 02:51 PM
 
1,830 posts, read 3,805,627 times
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You're better off living in the city core if you have no kids as there is much more to do. RH is not a very good area. If you want to be close to work, other areas down there to check out are Red Bridge to Martin City in S KC. Or closer to Lee's Summit (or E side of Longview Lake). To the S, Raymore is a pretty good area for that level of suburbia. Belton is doable value wise. In general, I wouldn't recommend S71 highway burbs as a first choice, but if you want to live near work...
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Old 06-15-2011, 03:09 PM
 
12 posts, read 31,314 times
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as far as a redneck goes you could probably put me in that category lol born in montana and raised in the mountains of colorado! and like I said some crime is fine, I basically want to know if I am going to get carjacked or if there is a chance that there may be a drive by or that type of thing. I am def not the shy type and can kinda handle myself as I am 6 foot tall and worked as a land surveyor in construction and was head of security at a bar. Is there anything close to the "make my day law" in KC? In colorado you can shoot anyone on your property pretty much lol
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Old 06-15-2011, 06:47 PM
 
Location: Middle America
37,409 posts, read 53,553,761 times
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I work in the Hickman Mills/Ruskin Heights area, and live in Lee's Summit. I drive to and from work via Longview Road most days, through the intersection that you are talking about to get to and from work every day. It's sketchy and run down...I just did a crime stats search for the past six months in the area to see what came up, and I got hits for home burglary, domestic violence, and robbery. Ruskin is unfortunately a sad part of the city. There are less sketchy parts of town that are pretty adjacent to where you'd like to be for work purposes, as others have mentioned.
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Old 06-16-2011, 08:24 AM
 
12,282 posts, read 13,234,949 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kirsty126 View Post
as far as a redneck goes you could probably put me in that category lol born in montana and raised in the mountains of colorado! and like I said some crime is fine, I basically want to know if I am going to get carjacked or if there is a chance that there may be a drive by or that type of thing. I am def not the shy type and can kinda handle myself as I am 6 foot tall and worked as a land surveyor in construction and was head of security at a bar. Is there anything close to the "make my day law" in KC? In colorado you can shoot anyone on your property pretty much lol
**** off the gangs that permeate Ruskin and shotgun or not you maybe the victim of a drive-bye shooting. Mo has the Castle Doctrine but means nothing to gang shooters.
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Old 06-16-2011, 10:37 AM
 
3,326 posts, read 8,858,693 times
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It's really tragic what has happened to southeast KC over the years.
Like KCMO said, Grandview and Raytown are much better and rent isn't very high at all in either one.
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Old 06-16-2011, 10:55 AM
 
12,282 posts, read 13,234,949 times
Reputation: 4985
Quote:
Originally Posted by northbound74 View Post
It's really tragic what has happened to southeast KC over the years.
Like KCMO said, Grandview and Raytown are much better and rent isn't very high at all in either one.
I don't consider Ruskin to be southeast KC. I consider it Southern. About 5 miles due west is the stateline and KC goes east about 5 miles as well.
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Old 06-16-2011, 11:23 AM
 
89 posts, read 164,303 times
Reputation: 43
Ruskin Heights is ghetto? I always thought it was like Grandview (a ****hole)
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