Is KCMO really that dangerous? (Kansas City, Gladstone: renting, high crime, houses)

[MrLonely1990]

I'm interested in a job in Kansas City, and researching about the city I found this site that kinda scared me:

Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

Kansas City is #38 on the "Most Dangerous Cities" list. I wonder, is the crime there really that bad?
I've heard about the high crime in the East Side, but is Kansas City a dangerous city to live overall? How bad really is the crime?

Thanks!

[kcmo]

Short answer is no.

And I think most would be happy with 38 since KC is often in the top 20 or even 10. Although that is for large cities only. This list you posted includes smaller cities.

Way too many variables.

Even St Louis and Baltimore which are ranked much higher than KC have plenty of great relatively safe areas to live. Washington DC is also ranked higher and DC has become very safe although it still has some rough areas.

Now I'm not going to pretend like KC doesn't have problems. It really does. I mean it has a LOT of blight, many many square miles of blight and ghetto. It seems like KC has way more than what I would consider normal by today's standards. The city is just too sprawlly and not enough people want to live in urban neighborhoods so you just are not seeing the type of gentrification there that you do in most other major cities. You see it downtown and some surrounding areas, but very little in midtown and east of Grand Ave and in the single family home districts of the of the urban core.

But the places that people are moving to are perfectly safe by bigger city standards.

[royal816]

Kansas City is not as dangerous as one would assume by those rankings. I have lived here my entire life and have never had a problem. Obviously, as with anywhere, if you go looking for trouble you'll find it. Rankings are pretty much bull****. The crime is pretty much isolated and if you're in Kansas City for a few months you know which areas to avoid and which are safe. If you're going to be making even a decent salary, you'll be able to find housing in a relatively safe area. Downtown/Westport/Plaza are all safe. The suburbs north of the river and south of the river are safe. The bulk of the crime occurs on the east side, but even then if you keep to yourself and don't go looking for trouble you'll be ok.

[Bluefox]

Yeah but crime even happens in places like the Plaza. I just moved to the Plaza and was told not to park on Oak St because evidently a bunch of idiots have been busting the front windows of all the cars parked along the street apparently just for the fun of it. But in terms of violent crimes yes most places east of Troost seem to be pretty safe.

[mostlysunny1]

KC and suburbs North do have gangs of up to 10 kids harassing the new adults. Even some of the military have been run off by this in Leavenworth. If this ever happens to you, seems best to never speak up and just keep moving. I had this happen while alone and just out walking, but kids quit after a couple days. Sometimes solo kids will confront someone, seems to work best to ignore them. I would look at the ground and not make eye contact for long to avoid it... This is called gang stalking...[domain blocked due to spam].com for KC has some information on it if you want to look.

[angrysloth]

Originally Posted by MrLonely1990

I'm interested in a job in Kansas City, and researching about the city I found this site that kinda scared me:

Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

Kansas City is #38 on the "Most Dangerous Cities" list. I wonder, is the crime there really that bad?
I've heard about the high crime in the East Side, but is Kansas City a dangerous city to live overall? How bad really is the crime?

Thanks!

It really isn't.

The reason people think this is because they're just looking at the numbers, which some might say never lie, but KC is different.

Maybe on Troost or some other crime hotspot downtown, it is far too exaggerated.

I live in the NLand, and the only major crime I've ever heard about within a 5 mile radius was a drunk guy running around with a gun, but didn't do anything that bad.

I'm just saying, if you really want to give KC a run for the money, (which you should) I would recommend coming down and trying it out. I think you'll be very satisfied with nice people and good houses, with moderate-high paying jobs.

Good luck!

[exthespian]

I've been working on and off in KCMO for several months, and I find it a fun place to visit. One thing that has surprised me, though, is that whenever I've suggested going somewhere on foot in the evening, or even close to dusk, people look at me like I'm a bit nuts, and say I/we should take a cab instead.

After a few days of this during my first visit, I asked one of my coworkers why. In response, she also looked at me like I was a bit nuts, and said it would be much safer for me to avoid walking anywhere after dark.

It was like in the first scene of a werewolf movie, where the newcomer says to someone that they're going walking around the moors under a full moon, and everyone does a double take, looks around uneasily, and then says something cryptic like, "that might not be a good idea, why don't you stay inside tonight?" LOL

Anyway, I kind of ignored all the warnings (just like they do in those movies, ha ha!) and took a late-evening walk out to have dinner one night. The area I was walking in (near Union Station) was eerily deserted-feeling. Not scary, at least not to me, but weird, because I think that I saw maybe one person the whole time in a few miles of walking around. It felt like I was breaking an unwritten law. Was I taking a huge risk with that walk? To be honest it didn't feel like I was, it just felt strange that no one else was out and about.

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by exthespian

I've been working on and off in KCMO for several months, and I find it a fun place to visit. One thing that has surprised me, though, is that whenever I've suggested going somewhere on foot in the evening, or even close to dusk, people look at me like I'm a bit nuts, and say I/we should take a cab instead.

After a few days of this during my first visit, I asked one of my coworkers why. In response, she also looked at me like I was a bit nuts, and said it would be much safer for me to avoid walking anywhere after dark.

It was like in the first scene of a werewolf movie, where the newcomer says to someone that they're going walking around the moors under a full moon, and everyone does a double take, looks around uneasily, and then says something cryptic like, "that might not be a good idea, why don't you stay inside tonight?" LOL

Anyway, I kind of ignored all the warnings (just like they do in those movies, ha ha!) and took a late-evening walk out to have dinner one night. The area I was walking in (near Union Station) was eerily deserted-feeling. Not scary, at least not to me, but weird, because I think that I saw maybe one person the whole time in a few miles of walking around. It felt like I was breaking an unwritten law. Was I taking a huge risk with that walk? To be honest it didn't feel like I was, it just felt strange that no one else was out and about.

They barely walk during the day and it has to be a very short walk and through areas that are 100% void of anything that might remotely be gritty. I worked in Crown Center for 12 years and people would drive to places in the crossroads for lunch. When large groups would go to lunch only a few crazy dare devils would actually walk. You can probably imagine the demographics of the those that walk vs those that prefer to drive, but it was always the older suburban crowd that couldn't fathom the idea of spending 5-10 minutes walking each way.

I really wish more people in KC would walk. The sidewalks are almost always totally void of people and they still are today. I was downtown during lunch time monday and tuesday and about the only people walking around were people in town for some sort of convention (looked like young high school soccer or something going on at Bartle.) other than that, the entire downtown, crossroads and crown center area were pretty much void of people compared to almost any vibrant town/city you will ever vist. If the streetcar gets KC people outside more, it will be worth every penny because while KC has most of what other cities have, it sure doesn't look or feel like it. The city feels completely dead most of the time unless you are standing at the corner of 47th and JC Nichols Parkway or Westport Rd and Pennsylvania.

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by kcmo

You can probably imagine the demographics of the those that walk vs those that prefer to drive, but it was always the older suburban crowd that couldn't fathom the idea of spending 5-10 minutes walking each way.

.

I am really sick of your hatred for, and stereotyping of, the suburbs, and what you really mean is Johnson County. Just stop it already. I worked at Saint Luke's on the Plaza for years and years and guess what - people from Johnson County who worked there walked ALL THE TIME on their breaks - to Westport, to the Plaza, on the trail across the street - not to mention in the course of our jobs walking throughout the hospital. Get your head out of your a$$ and stop it with your Johnson County bias. You must have been SOOO jealous of Johnson County growing up for you to have such a deeply ingrained hatred/bias toward it. You are a man now; get over it.

[Kwikwyt]

We moved here last year from Indiana. I was fortunate that a friend had grown up here. She was great in helping select the area we moved to. I live in North Kansas City Mo near Gladstone. I couldn't have chosen a better area for safety. Etc. it's a section called Antioch Hills. Not sure if your buying or renting. We got a great price on our home and I have a fantastic realtor.
I feel perfectly safe when I go out and about.