Best areas to live between Ft. Leavenworth and Kansas City??? (Parkville: best neighborhoods, apartment)

[Nutella007]

My military husband and I will be moving from the East coast to the Ft. Leavenworth area this summer for one year of ILE. I have never even been anywhere in the Midwest, so I have no idea what to expect. What are the best areas, towns, subdivisions, etc. to live in?

We don’t have any kids, so school district is not important. We do have two large dogs, so apartment living would not be that great. Currently, we live in a new construction 2400 sq ft. home with hardwood, granite countertops, etc., and would like something similar or a little smaller. An old house with character would be ok, too, if it’s in a safe area.

We’re both originally from big cities, so we want to be able to stay within a reasonable drive to Kansas City but close enough for a short commute to Fort Leavenworth. Maybe this is too much to ask, but is there any area in between those places that is popular with young professionals and perhaps pedestrian friendly (restaurants within walking distance, etc.)?

In short:

What are the best neighborhoods for newer, medium-sized houses in a nice, clean, and safe subdivision?
What are the best areas for young professionals?

Any input and suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

[thriftylefty]

I would probably look at Basehor,Piper, or Quivera Lake. Most of that area is very accessible to Leavenworth and KC. Even as far south as Shawnee. Most of the Shopping is in Johnson Co.
Highway 73 & 7 hook up nicely to the turn pike and 435. I once drove from Leventhworth to the River front park in KCMO in around 20 minutes, that's just about across town.

[luzianne]

I agree with the Shawnee area. There are lots of newer houses on both sides of 7 Highway. I like the area along 7 Highway between Johnson Drive all the way to Prairie Star Parkway or 10 Highway, but that might be more of a commute than you want.

[Okey Dokie]

Before commiting to anything that would take you up K-7 to the Fort, I'd investigate the commute. I believe (and I readily admit I may not know what I'm talking about....) that once you get into Lansing, it's quite a slog during "rush hour" to get all the way up to FTL, which is at the north end of the city of Leavenworth.

Hopefully someone with real-life experience with this can chime in. I used to visit quite a bit at the VA Hospital (on weekends) and it seems like Leavenworth is just stop light after stop light.

[SPonteKC]

I know a guy who commutes to the Fort from western KCK and he often crosses the river into MO then cuts back across into Leavenworth to avoid the traffic on K7.

I would look hard at the Northland KC, Parkville and other Missouri side Platte Co. suburbs, all of which provide the kind of housing you are talking about, better or comparable suburban amenities/shopping, better proximity to the city, and quite possibly a better or at least comparable commute to western JoCo.

[grmasterb]

It's been newly 20 years since I left Fort Leavenworth. While stationed there, I resided in Platte City. I found it to be a pleasant little town that offered an easy commute to Leavenworth with easy access to the KC Northland.

[kcmo]

If you ask me, coming from a large city you will find Basehor, Piper etc to be very country and redneck type areas. You may like that kind of thing, but the areas between Leavenworth and KCK just have a bizarre feel to them.

If you want an area that is more suburban (vs small town meets country meets the south) then I would look at the I-29 corridor south of Platte City. Even Platte City is has a more metropolitan suburban feel to it than most of Leavenowrth and Wyandotte County. I would look at Platte County Missouri or if you want to stay in Kansas check out Western Shawnee or Western Lenexa which have a similar white collar suburban feel.

Just know that the area of metro KC around the speedway and up around Leavenworth is not really representative of suburban KC and that urban KCMO is a basically a different world when compared to those areas.

It's like going out to rural PA or parts of Jersey yet being only minutes from Philly. Those areas of the Philly area are nothing like most other suburban areas of Philly yet they are often closer to the actual city.

[Texasgrl512]

Originally Posted by thriftylefty

I would probably look at Basehor,Piper, or Quivera Lake. Most of that area is very accessible to Leavenworth and KC. Even as far south as Shawnee. Most of the Shopping is in Johnson Co.
Highway 73 & 7 hook up nicely to the turn pike and 435. I once drove from Leventhworth to the River front park in KCMO in around 20 minutes, that's just about across town.

Was this drive in the evening/ weekend? Or is there less traffic in kc overall? I'm thinking about living in dtkc mo and commuting to ft Leavenworth when I move in dec. I'm used to traffic living in San Antonio/Austin Texas.

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by Texasgrl512

Was this drive in the evening/ weekend? Or is there less traffic in kc overall? I'm thinking about living in dtkc mo and commuting to ft Leavenworth when I move in dec. I'm used to traffic living in San Antonio/Austin Texas.

Parts of metro KC get pretty busy and even congested, but there is like no traffic in that part of the metro. Actually the freeways are way overbuilt for the traffic they carry in Wyandotte County and Leavenworth County. You have to take the interstate down to one lane with construction to even create minimal delays.

You will have no problems reverse commuting from Downtown out to Leavenworth. Just figure the miles and the speed limit and do the math with no delays and remember the speed limits in some parts of outer kc like out by the speedway are 70mph.

KC doesn't have anything like 35 in Austin. But Austin doesn't have near as many freeways. The entire city is built along 35. KC has many through freeways and many beltways.

[Texasgrl512]

Originally Posted by kcmo

Parts of metro KC get pretty busy and even congested, but there is like no traffic in that part of the metro. Actually the freeways are way overbuilt for the traffic they carry in Wyandotte County and Leavenworth County. You have to take the interstate down to one lane with construction to even create minimal delays.

You will have no problems reverse commuting from Downtown out to Leavenworth. Just figure the miles and the speed limit and do the math with no delays and remember the speed limits in some parts of outer kc like out by the speedway are 70mph.

KC doesn't have anything like 35 in Austin. But Austin doesn't have near as many freeways. The entire city is built along 35. KC has many through freeways and many beltways.

Thank you for the commute insight. I was thinking if living in dtkc or the zona rosa area. I'm single, late 20's, like outdoors, nightlife, good shopping, and outdoor activities. What would you recommend, dt or zona rosa area? I'm used to city life so I don't want to live in any small towns.