Is $100K/year salary comfortable for family of 3 in Johnson County? (Overland: 2013, how much)

[East Coast RN]

Originally Posted by luzianne

I have lived in Johnson County almost all my life and I'm still here because I love it. To me, there are no downsides. Two great things about Johnson County are the schools and low crime. When it snows, the roads are cleared quickly.

My husband would say the downside is the city codes - like you can only have a 10 x 12 shed, etc. But I think it's a good thing - it's to protect neighbors from people like my husband, who would build a monstrosity of a shed in the back yard if the city would allow it!

lol Luzianne. That's good to know that in the winter the roads are cleared quickly.

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by East Coast RN

lol Luzianne. That's good to know that in the winter the roads are cleared quickly.

I like to see my tax money at work. I used to work near the Plaza and when I would go to work, the roads were clear until I hit State Line Road, and they were icy/snow packed the rest of the way to work. Jackson County, or at least the city of Kansas City, Missouri, doesn't clear their roads as quickly as Johnson County does.

I'd prefer to HAVE no winter!

[East Coast RN]

Yes, it is nice to see your tax money at work. Here we pay outrageous taxes and we have no idea where that money goes.

I would also prefer to skip winter but that's a small price to pay to have the other 3 seasons.

[TabulaRasa]

The two most frequently-identified "down" sides to living in Johnson County (which are obviously purely going to boil down to personal taste) are probably a perception of pervasive conservative politics/values, and a stereotypical cookie cutter suburban atmosphere. However, both these things are considered pros by many who choose to live here. And, in addition to that, many of us who live here (myself included) are neither conservative, nor do we live in cookie cutter neighborhoods.

[probe28]

This isn't *exactly* related to your situation but its the truth so it may interest you. Me, my sister, my dad, my mom, and my dog all lived an extremely comfortable lifestyle in overland park(im in my 20's and only recently moved out/support myself). my dad makes about 180k. we have a 5 bathroom 3 car garage home and went on vacations frequently. I know someone like kcmo is going to cringe when i say this, but I used to say overland park does have its own crossroads district and westport, its called the crossroads district and westport. You can be in the plaza and westport areas(in kcmo) in less than 10 minutes of extremely comfortable driving. You can be at the crossroads art district and downtown in less than 20 minutes by car.
I used to run track so I would say its just out of reach of being practical for most people(and me as of today) but I would walk /jog to trendy bars and places in kansas city from our home. As for overland Park itself, YUP extremely cookie cutter and planned although its gotten a bit better as more people move here. Leawood is the ideal city for both worlds and the best place to live in kansas period. Olathe has sketchy areas but for the most part is another cookie cutter suburb- and if youve lived in the ghetto you would lol @ those areas being called sketchy even though they are. Overland Park is also a long city(look on a map) So the extreme north point of overland park is more diverse and more "cityish" while the extreme south of overland park is practically a farm.
I dont go to lenexa very often but based on the times Ive been there Ive always felt its basically like Overland Park but cheaper. So you may want to look there.

[TinaMcG]

The roads aren't just cleared quickly. They're repaved quickly. WOW. Last week, my husband left for work at 7am and workers were just setting up cones on a one-mile stretch of road on his way to the highway. When he came home at 6pm, the job was done: completely resurfaced and striped. Gorgeous.

We moved here from Chicago in 2007. That job would have taken several days minimum to do. Probably a week.

[East Coast RN]

Thank you for the information!

That's good to know about the neighborhoods and the roads. Here roadwork can take months and to years. I think Leawood is out of our price range but we definitely do not want to be too far away from everything so maybe southern OP may not work for us.

Probe28, when you say "sketchy" do you mean run down or lots of crime or both.

I do like the lack of traffic you guys seem to have. Nothing puts me in a bad mood faster than sitting in bumper to bumper traffic to go 20 miles and then have to pay a toll for said road.

[garvan]

better live much more cheaply and bank 30k per year, cause counting on continued good health (and economy) is a horribly bad bet in the US these days. put about 1/3rd of into survival goods and skills, and gold coins. Put the rest of it (ASAP) into big old houses which you rent out as weekly rooms. This must be done in the correct area, in the correct way, or it's a loser.

Social security flat MUST collapse when all the baby boomers hit it (as they are already starting to do) Congress doesn't DARE do anything to SS, so all they can do is inflate the $. At some point, people (especially the Arabs) will refuse to accept it, refuse to buy our bonds, etc. Then hell on earth won't be far away.

[probe28]

Originally Posted by East Coast RN

Thank you for the information!

That's good to know about the neighborhoods and the roads. Here roadwork can take months and to years. I think Leawood is out of our price range but we definitely do not want to be too far away from everything so maybe southern OP may not work for us.

Probe28, when you say "sketchy" do you mean run down or lots of crime or both.

I do like the lack of traffic you guys seem to have. Nothing puts me in a bad mood faster than sitting in bumper to bumper traffic to go 20 miles and then have to pay a toll for said road.

when i say sketchy I mean a bit more run down, a bit more "middle middle class" as opposed to high class. I wouldn't be suprised if the crime rate is a bit higher.Its mostly a subtle difference; the bottom line is that Olathe is a nice suburb.
OTOH, Kansas city doesn't have an Atherton but the elite tend to live in Leawood, Mission Hills, Exclusive neighborhoods in south kansas city near westport, and parts of Overland Park. They don't tend to live in Olathe.

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by East Coast RN

Thank you for the information!

That's good to know about the neighborhoods and the roads. Here roadwork can take months and to years. I think Leawood is out of our price range but we definitely do not want to be too far away from everything so maybe southern OP may not work for us.

Probe28, when you say "sketchy" do you mean run down or lots of crime or both.

I do like the lack of traffic you guys seem to have. Nothing puts me in a bad mood faster than sitting in bumper to bumper traffic to go 20 miles and then have to pay a toll for said road.

Nothing sketchy like big city sketchy. Probe28 explained it well. There are areas of Olathe (Cedar Creek) where the elite live, but for the most part it is Leawood, Mission Hills, and some of southern Overland Park like probe28 said. There's very little crime in Johnson County, Olathe included. Southern Overland Park is very nice and I would like to live there myself! I live in Prairie Village. I love it here, but the bigger/nicer/newer houses are south. And I bet you can get a lot more house for your money than where you are moving from.