Moving - Nashville to Kansas City

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by Brand2024

Is there a way to edit existing posts?
Kcmo brought up trees, and I would like to add mature trees to my ideal list of wants in a community.
Not a make or break, but something nice to have...

Your best bet is to find a development that's at least 7-10 years old. Most development in the Kansas suburbs is built on agricultural land and few mature trees will remain within the development itself. But like I said, do to the area's topography you will have forested areas near development in western Johnson County (Shawnee etc) vs most of the county which is just gridded out flat farmland with very few trees. Inside the 435 loop, there is a nice mature tree canopy but less open space and parkland than out west.

[zach_33]

They don't give you a very long window for editing old posts - I think once someone else posts yours is no longer editable.

I only know what I know as a person who moved here last summer. My wife and kids visited several schools in Shawnee Mission and Blue Valley and unfortunately there are some real differences - things BV has which SM does not (at least in the limited sample of elementary schools they visited): dedicated music facilities, foreign language for all students without a fee, accelerated math and reading for kids who are advanced but not gifted, technology niceties like smart boards in every room. The overall impression is that SM teachers and administrators are running triage-like operations in some cases.

SM is still cranking out kids on the college end of the pipeline who are just as talented and intelligent as the kids from BV, but there is a clear trend toward disinvestment in SM that has not yet become evident in BV. Of course with Brownback back in office there will be more attempts to divert school funding toward business and high income earner tax breaks, so the future is iffy for KS, but right now BV schools are mostly stable.

I can't speak to the quality of Olathe's district, because we really didn't look over there much - too flat and too many baby trees. Some people also speak highly of De Soto though I know nothing of it. Leawood south of I-435 is nice with rolling hills and old trees, but not an ideal commute to your husbands job (maybe 20-30 minutes in traffic?).

[olinjoseph]

Originally Posted by zach_33

Of course with Brownback back in office there will be more attempts to divert school funding toward business and high income earner tax breaks, so the future is iffy for KS, but right now BV schools are mostly stable.

Just reading this for some reason.. and have to state how funny it is that you called this out so far in advance!