Moving from MD (dc area) to Overland park , Kansas , good idea or not? (Kansas City: 2014, apartment complexes)

[anagabbie]

Hi , I was wondering if some of you could possibly help me out with insight and information. I am considering relocating from Germantown,MD (outside of DC) to Overland Park, Kansas. I know that housing is more affordable than here and my ex moved there recently for a job and my son wanted to live closer to his dad , so I am considering moving there. I am very torn , however , not sure if this is a good decision, not sure is a good fit . I am currently single, so at some point the dating scene will be somewhat important.
I am pretty liberal and I enjoy culture, art, etc. I am a non believer, an atheist but I practice Zen Buddhism and also attend the Unitarian Church (mostly so my son can have the community and support of a church without the dogma, etc) so those two things are very important to me.
I am also a Spanish instructor , medical interpreter and translator ( Spanish /English) would it be hard to find a job?
My son has Aspergers so services for children with disabilities and assistance for him are very important also , how is the system in Johnson county in terms of assistance for children with disabilities?
What I like about living here is the diversity and the cultural , spiritual, intellectual possibilities.
I don't like that is too expensive , traffic and rude drivers.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[WiseOwlSaysHoot]

This post should probably be in the Kansas City forum.

Is there a specific reason that you would be limited to Overland Park as opposed to somewhere else in the KC metro? For all of the cultural aspects you mentioned, Kansas City MO would be a much better fit than OP which is much more conservative Christian oriented. (or if you were to live in OP, I imagine you would spend much of your time in KC).

You will have a number of options for church/community in central KC including Unity Temple on the Plaza, Rime Buddhist Center in the Crossroads, and Center for Spiritual Living on 39th St. in Midtown.

[kcmo]

Hey there. I thought I would chime in here. I moved from Kansas City to the DC area and actually settled in Germantown the first six months while looking for something more permanent. We now live in Annapolis to be between DC and Baltimore.

First off, you should probably read up on the geography of KC and get a basic understanding of the area. Basically, you have Kansas City, Missouri, which is the central city where you will find pretty much all of the metro area’s culture, attractions, urban districts, pro sports, museums and the most diverse and liberal areas. There are a hand full of attractions in the suburbs, like any major metro, but the core city is KCMO. Then you have an additional 1.5 million people living in the suburbs on both sides of the state line, Overland Park being one of them.

So you will probably spend a lot of time in the city (KCMO) regardless of where you live in the metro based on your OP.

Having said that, you can easily live in the suburbs of KC and still be able to easily take advantage of urban KCMO. If you work in Overland Park, I would just live out there unless you want to live a more urban lifestyle, which it sounds like you might. You can easily commute from some really nice parts of central KCMO to Overland Park, but as with any central city one of the biggest challenges is that you will have to deal with possible troubled public schools, although there are many great private schools. But as far as you speaking Spanish, I think you will find many possibilities there with the Olathe and KCK schools or the KCMO schools as well.

Overland Park/Johnson County itself is kind of like Montgomery County, but not really. I mean, it’s suburban sprawl, office parks and shopping malls so in that regard it looks similar. Pretty built up etc. But culturally, I think it’s pretty different. It’s just not a diverse area at all. I mean, you can find pockets of minorities in JoCo like Olathe, but it will be NOTHING like what you are used to, even in Germantown. It’s just very white. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but the DC suburbs are very diverse compared to KC’s suburbs, especially the affluent suburbs. Even the affluent suburbs around DC are diverse. Also you will notice that Johnson County has very little open green space. They think that parkway medians are green space. Montgomery County, MD sets aside much more land for green space and parks.

You won't find anything like Rockville or Bethesda, no urban suburbs like that at all in Kansas. Just sprawly ones. The Plaza district in KCMO is very comparable to downtown Rockville, Bethesda or Silver Spring.

Traffic. Absolutely no comparison. None. That traffic on 270 that can often be a 70-90 minute delay just to get to the beltway? Unheard of in metro KC. Doesn’t exist. Rockville Pike gridlock 7 days a week? Nope. You will find that streets are twice as wide and have ¼ the traffic in metro KC. That has its positives and negatives though. Transit in the Kansas suburbs is nearly non-existent, just a few commuter buses and that's about it. So basically no transit oriented development either. Very few townhouses. KCMO has a decent central city bus system though.

Now you may also think that Kansas City (especially the suburbs) would be very conservative. While compared to DC, I think they are more conservative, like they have just a ton of churches there, like everywhere and they can get huge. KC is not really a bible belt city either. You can easily live in KC and not be bothered by religion. Live and let live I think is the saying. Although compared to Maryland, both Missouri and Kansas governments will be a bit of a culture shock to you. They get pretty extreme as the rural areas of the states tend to have a lot of pull in the capitals. Although Maryland gets a bit extreme the other way (liberal) at times.

KC lacks recreation. There are amazing state and national parks all around DC like Great Falls etc. Hundreds of miles of bike trails, zip line parks, kayaking, rock climbing, boating etc. KC just won't really compare to that. Not near as many people out of their cars walking, biking, hiking, kayaking etc. It's a car metro. It is what it is. But you can still find recreation. You will just notice a much smaller percent of the population is out with you and there are far less places to go.

KC is a nice city though. It feels about the size of metro Baltimore without DC being 30 miles away. It actually has more to do than Baltimore, but Baltimore has DC and is close to Mountains, Oceans, Philly, NYC etc. Baltimore also has more thriving urban neighborhoods than KCMO which is surprising considering that KCMO is actually a safer city.

KC is livable and easy an cheap. It’s a big city with lots to do and with a central location it’s easy to travel, although KCI airport is a complete dump compared to BWI.

You will notice the differences, but they are not enough to worry about. Now if you were moving to Oklahahoma City, that would be a different story. KC is more liberal and cosmopolitan than most people realize.

[anagabbie]

thank you so much for your advice ! it's been so helpful!!

[snowbozo13]

If I can summarize, you will be in major culture shock for 1 year, and eventually will learn to appreciate the differences. KC leans western compared to cities east of here.It is isolated .There are no major cities for 240mi. You will find a kind of narrow - minded parochialism.Not because folks are bad , it/s because most have not travelled abroad and been exposed to different languages, cultures, religions . We came from vancouver bc . I studied at the vancouver zen center in BC 1972,and wrote a paper on tibetan buddhism back about 30 years. ago.I would suggest a 1 month visit to see if you like it, and feel comfortable. My politics lean far - right. But there are pockets of liberals everywhere , but I usually don/t go there. People generally live and let live , which IMHO is good. There are lots of good things here too Excellent housing, watch out for unscrupulous lenders. Nice parks. quiet subdivisions. Great cycling. Fantastic BBQ. Excelent farmers markets , river market . Music venues. Most of the local tv/radio is vy boring to me. But there is something for everyone.We listen to jazz/classical on our I pad. Good luck and try before you buy.

[trilingual1946]

If you live in suburban Washington you will find a lot of similarities with Johnson County (where Overland Park is located). The Johnson County suburbs all run together and it's often difficult to know which town you're in until you're more familiar with the area. Overland Park is the largest of the suburban towns in JoCo, but there are many others. Contrary to what some people here have posted, there are lots of green areas and many parks. Many of them are relatively small, but there are some larger ones like Antioch Park, Shawnee-Mission Park, and the Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Garden. There are now miles of trails for walking and running. The terrain is rolling, not flat. The vegetation and woods aren't quite as lush as in Montgomery County, although the Kansas City area is very green overall and JoCo is particularly beautiful in the spring and fall, with thousands of flowering trees and lots of autumn color most years (this year was exceptionally brilliant).

In addition to the parks and trails, many of the towns and/or school districts in JoCo have elaborate community centers and recreation facilities for their residents. They usually have gyms and indoor swimming pools and meeting rooms, and offer a lot of fitness and wellness classes. There are also numerous outdoor municipal pools for warm weather fun, and other recreation centers including some huge new soccer complexes with multiple fields and facilities for local leagues and night games. Kansas City has major league football, baseball and soccer teams (all of which are suddenly doing well after decades in the doldrums) and several minor league teams, including hockey and baseball. In JoCo, of course, there are also hordes of fans for KU and K-State collegiate football and basketball. It's fair to say that the metro area is pretty sports mad.

You'll find a pretty wide range of housing styles in JoCo -- the communities in the northeastern part of the county are the first-tier suburbs, with lots of attractive older homes in more traditional styles on tree-lined streets. This area also contains Kansas City's two poshest suburbs, Mission Hills and Leawood, with grand mansions and spacious homes. As you go farther out you find more contemporary housing and lots more apartment complexes. Even in these farther suburbs, though, you'll find some charming older-style housing near the small original downtowns of towns like Overland Park, Lenexa, Merriam, Shawnee and Olathe. Mission, in the northeastern part of the county, has a good range of housing styles and an interestingly funky shopping district along Johnson Drive. Old downtown Overland Park has become a little foodie heaven, with interesting ethnic restaurants (like Salvadoran and Ethiopian), specialty food shops, and one of the area's largest farmer's markets from spring through fall.

On the surface JoCo looks bland and white-bread (which it once was) but it has become much more diverse, especially because it's no longer just a bedroom community. There are now lots of businesses and corporate headquarters, including those of Sprint, Garmin (the GPS manufacturers) and Yellow Freight, among other big companies. This has brought a more diversified population, and there are significant South and East Asian communities in the county now, with markets and restaurants to serve them. I lived in San Francisco for more than 30 years before retiring back to K.C. and was amazed to discover that I can find virtually every kind of ethnic food and ingredient in JoCo that was available in San Francisco. There are numerous small to medium-sized markets specializing in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, and Indian foods. In addition there is the enormous supermarket-sized 888 International Market which carries a staggering range of East and Southeast Asian goods. In addition there are a number of Middle-Eastern markets and halal butchers, a few African markets, and many markets serving the Mexican-American community, including at least two big Price Chopper supermarkets that have enormous sections of Mexican ingredients, including fresh tortillas, chiles, produce and meats. One is in Olathe, another in Roeland Park. You will also find specialty markets like Dean & DeLuca, the Better Cheddar (a local gourmet market), Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Natural Grocers, Fresh Market, and a Sprouts that's scheduled to open in January 2014. In addition to all this, there is now a good selection of locally owned fine-dining places, often branches or new outposts opened by award-winning chefs whose original restaurants are located in town. You no longer have to drive to downtown or midtown to dine well. And, of course, we have barbecue, the city's claim to culinary fame, including several branches of Oklahoma Joe's (many people's top choice) and Jack Stacks (another favorite, with a more upscale feel). Yelp! is very active in Kansas City, so check it out for more extensive information and reviews of restaurants here -- you will absolutely not starve in K.C., or JoCo, nor suffer from a lack of variety!

Kansas City is a very religious city and you find churches everywhere. There is a Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship in Overland Park (there's another UU Church in midtown Kansas City). There are also a number of Unity churches -- a Kansas City-born and headquartered liberal and non-denominational church which is non-dogmatic and accepts the truth of other spiritual traditions. You can read about them in Wikipedia if you'd like to know more about them. The Unity Temple on the Plaza (the city's most posh shopping district) is the venue for many musical performances, lectures, etc., and also houses a popular vegan restaurant. There are also active groups for atheists in the community.

JoCo is Republican, but there are plenty of liberals to socialize with (just look up the Johnson County Democrats, who have regular events several times a month). Most of the Republicans are more moderate than Tea Party -- partly because of the high educational level of county residents, partly because Kansans in general have been conservative, historically, but not extreme. Unlike their counterparts in places like Texas, Kansas Republicans (and all other Kansans) are very proud of the excellent schools, great libraries, good roads and good infrastructure that make Kansas a great place to live, and they have been willing to tax themselves to pay for them. Even though Kansas is thought of as a deep red state, it has had a number of Democratic governors and other state-wide officials (Kathleen Sebelius being the most recent one) and the Congressional district in which JoCo is located was represented, until recently, by a pretty progressive Democrat, Dennis Moore. There's more to Kansas, from a political standpoint, than its stereotypical image. There's even talk that the state government may return to Democratic hands in 2014!

With a child who has Asperger's, you'll find that there are large and active support groups in JoCo, and the principal school districts (Shawnee-Mission, Blue Valley and Olathe) have excellent programs for kids with special needs. It should be easy for you to get in touch with local support organizations to find out which schools and programs people here think are the best.

The Kansas City area has all the cultural resources you'd expect in a major city, including fine symphony, opera and ballet companies and a superb new performing arts center downtown (the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts) which is the new home of all three companies. The local companies are certainly the equal of those in Washington, and the facilities and acoustics at the Kauffman put the Kennedy Center to shame! The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is outstanding, huge, and has some truly exceptional collections (especially Asian and American art, sculpture, and photography) and admission is free! There are many active professional theater companies and a thriving visual arts scene, as well. Although the principal cultural attractions are in the city, JoCo isn't a suburban cultural desert -- the Carlsen Center is the large performing arts complex at Johnson County Community College that features an extensive season of varied performing arts groups. The new Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art is on the campus, too. (And also has free admission.) There are also theater groups in the county, both community and professional. The White Theater at the Jewish Community Center has an excellent new facility and an annual season of professionally produced and acted plays and musicals. The Chestnut, in Olathe, is a small professional theater that presents a series of entertaining cabaret-style musical revues throughout the year. There are choral and classical performances throughout the year, often at area churches, by local and visiting performers. So there's a lot happening right here in Johnson County. The major cultural attractions in Kansas City, itself, are within easy access, though. Kansas City is also a good movie town (the AMC theater chain is headquartered here, as is the regional Dickinson theater chain). There are some huge multiplexes in JoCo with Imax theaters and the works! There are also a number of art/international houses in JoCo as well as in town, like the Glenwood and Leawood theaters and the art-deco Rio in old downtown Overland Park. The city has a number of film festivals throughout the year, including the growing Kansas International Film Festival (KIFF) right here in JoCo! JoCo also has an outstanding public library system, with branches all over the county. In addition, the metro area library systems operate in a consortium, so JoCo library card holders can also use the other libraries (hopefully, in the near future one card will work at all metro libraries -- in the meantime, check with your local library to find out how to use the other area systems). JoCo residents also have borrowing privileges at the junior college library.

Public transportation leaves MUCH to be desired here, but the freeway system is gigantic (which accounts for our sprawl) and traffic is infinitely easier than in D.C. Even in rush hour, traffic moves quickly unless there's been an accident or a construction bottleneck. Outside of rush hours it's very easy to get downtown for events at the Kauffman Center (or the big popular music venues downtown, like the new Sprint Center and the Midland Theater). I live fairly "far out" in Johnson County, near the new University of Kansas Edwards Campus, but in the evening or on weekends it doesn't take more than 15 - 20 minutes to get from my place to the Kauffman Center! But you WILL need a car if you live in the K.C. area. In that, it's much more like Los Angeles than the big Northeastern cities. A starter downtown streetcar line is finally underway, and there is talk of future extensions and rail commuter service to the eastern suburbs (and to JoCo, eventually) but that is probably not going to happen anytime soon. In case of emergency, though, like your car breaks down, there is bus service by the the county transportation authority ("The Jo") along major streets and also to the Plaza and downtown in Kansas City. The Jo also operates a well-used route between the local KU Edwards Campus and the nearby junior college to the main KU campus in Lawrence, with service at least hourly. That line connects with the local Lawrence bus system at several points. There is also some service between JoCo and other parts of Kansas City by the Metro, the largest metro area transit system (but sorry, no subways here in spite of the name).

You will find endless continuing education opportunities through the local colleges and universities (and especially at the enormous Johnson County Community College) and also at the University of Kansas, just 30 minutes to the west in Lawrence. Many local people go to cultural events at KU's Lied Center, and the university has some good museums that are worth visiting, including the Spencer Art Museum. Downtown Lawrence is charming and has a lot of locally owned shops, as well as good places to eat, along Massachusetts Street, the main drag.

As far as employment opportunities go, there should be plenty of opportunities for someone with your background. The medical facilities here all need qualified Spanish-language interpreters, particularly those located in parts of town that have large Hispanic populations, like the University of Kansas Hospital, Truman Medical Center (the main public hospital in K.C., MO), and Olathe Medical Center (where the largest Hispanic community in JoCo resides). There should also be opportunities to teach Spanish at metro area schools and colleges. Cerner Corp., one of the largest medical software companies, is headquartered here. It has been booming, and is one of the area's largest employers. They certainly must need translators since they market their products in Latin America and Spain. Other large companies here with Latin American interests also must need translators. Sprint, Garmin and Kansas City Southern Railroad all come to mind. It should be possible to get job leads from the Spanish departments at KU and University of Missouri at Kansas City (UMKC)N -- they're likely to know which local employers are good prospects.

To sum up, if you move from Montgomery County, MD, to Johnson County, KS, you will find that the lifestyles and amenities are pretty similar, although the cost of living here is considerably lower than in the D.C. metro area. If you're a real political junkie Kansas City won't be as exciting as D.C. (although our local and state politics can get pretty colorful on occasion). Otherwise, though, they really are more alike than they are different. Please don't have trepidations about moving here. It's a good place to live. Most people who move to Kansas City (and JoCo) love it here and can't be dragged away! The chances are excellent that you'll feel that way, too, once you've settled in.

[joshmvf]

^ Awesome post, rep coming your way.

[luzianne]

I agree - excellent post by trilingual1946!

[kcmo]

Yes, very nice post trilingual1946. You see. You can actually post about metro KC from a JoCo perspective without backhanded comments about the MO side. You didn't mention crime, terrible schools, trashed yards or any of that. You even seemed to have some basic knowledge of areas of the Mo side outside of the Plaza. And you will get nothing but praise from anybody on both sides of the state line for doing so. If everybody from JoCo spoke like this there would be zero tension or resentment in metro kc.

I have to step back once in a while and remember what KC does offer and as the author of the sticky post on top the KC forum, it's not like I don't know what KC offers and don't know how to promote KC as the underrated metro it is.

However, I do still think that KC lacks recreation. Sure it has recreation, but it is lacking compared to most major cities, especially "urban" recreation. That doesn't mean that if you are into that you can't do it in KC, it's just not like most major cities and nothing like what the DC area offers, not even close. It is what it is. But there are a few nice suburban parks, bike trails and a few nice urban parks. But everything else you said is dead on. Moving from Montgomery County MD to Johnson County KS won't be a huge culture shock or anything unless they never leave JoCo. Montgomery County has a lot of things that you would need to head to KCMO to do in you lived in JoCo. But driving to KCMO from JoCo is probably easier than driving from Germantown to Bethesda or Rockville in Mont County.

[TabulaRasa]

I honestly don't find KC to be remotely lacking in recreation, it's one of the few places I've lived where there was ALWAYS something to do that was often free or very inexpensive and typically quite easily accessible. But, as I've said before, it's definitely possible that you and I have different requirements for and opinions about what constitutes suitable recreational opportunities.