moving from SF to KC (Kansas City, Country Club: apartments, for rent, house)

[jruggles]

Quick bit about me and my current situation:

I'm a 26 year old white single male who's been living in the SF area for about 3 years now working in the design field. I'm getting pretty frustrated with the high cost of living and the depressing dating options here in SF. Seems like the only way to have a glimpse of a chance in dating is to live in the DT core and pay ridiculous prices for rent, eating/drinking out, and fun stuff to do like concerts and festivals. I only make about $66k a year right now which isn't enough to make this happen so I'm stuck living close to Daly City. It's been difficult making close friends here, I feel like I have a ton of acquaintances here that come and go but few really close friends.

I'm interviewing for a job at Garmin in Olathe which will pay around $75k. I'm wondering how far that sort of salary will take me in the Kansas City area if I live downtown or another area where there's plenty of young people and a vibrant social scene. How is the commute to Olathe? A big reason I'd like to get out of SF is the skewed gender ratio towards men which makes dating a nightmare. What is the dating and social scene like in KC?

[kcmo]

You will make 10k more in a city that probably has half the cost of living. Yeah, you are in for a huge upgrade in quality of life. I would make sure to live in the city though. Somewhere in the Downtown to Plaza corridor. If you live in Olathe, you will probably hate KC and start looking for another metro to move to within months. I know people that have done this. It's just not easy to live and work in the suburbs of KC as a younger person form another large city, especially a coastal city. You just won't enjoy your time in KC if you live in the burbs. However, you will probably fall in love with the city if you live in the urban core. KC has a pretty cool urban vibe to it.

The commute to Olathe will be super easy. Most of the traffic goes the other way and traffic on I-35 during the times you will be driving. KC traffic is like a 10-15 minute delays at most on the most congested highways. If you live in an area like the River Market which has very good highway access, your commute would be 30 minutes. Maybe 35-45 minutes if traffic is "bad".

I'll let others comment on dating and social scene.

[RDM66]

Originally Posted by jruggles

I'm interviewing for a job at Garmin in Olathe which will pay around $75k. I'm wondering how far that sort of salary will take me in the Kansas City area if I live downtown or another area where there's plenty of young people and a vibrant social scene. How is the commute to Olathe?

Kansas City is one of the country's most affordable cities. In fact, the Kansas City Star ran an article a few weeks ago about this. We were No. 2. (OK City was No. 1). On 75k a year you can live like a feudal lord in Kansas City. How would you like a 3-bedroom house on a few acres of land?

Kansas City is second best for high pay, low cost of living | The Kansas City Star

The commute from Downtown to Olathe will be easy--about 30 minutes. Most of the traffic during the rush hours is moving in the opposite direction, from Johnson County into Downtown. You'll be driving from the opposite direction in lighter traffic from Downtown to Johnson County.

[shindig]

KC has a good social scene, but I would take kcmo's advice and live in the urban core, anywhere between the River Market to the Plaza. There are always events going on (1st Fridays, music events and concerts both indoor and outdoor, etc) and it's like any other city, you have to put yourself out there, join meet up groups, find hobbies that you enjoy where you can meet other people in your age group, etc. You'll need a car, so think about that. But there is a streetcar that runs through the middle core just over 2 miles and it's in the process of being expanded to the Country Club Plaza and it's free to ride. There have been several new high-end luxury apartment towers built downtown with more on the way. I hear they do a lot of events for residents during the weekend as a way to get to know each other and have fun. Good luck

[James Bond 007]

You've started threads saying you're moving from SF to Chicago, SF to Seattle and now SF to KC. Do you even know which city you're moving to yet?

[WiseOwlSaysHoot]

You can live quite comfortably in KC for $75k. In Downtown, 1 bedroom apartments start around $900 and you can get into "luxury" buildings for under $1,600.

[MoNative34]

The COL is great. You could live downtown easily.

Social scene isn't. You'd be moving here from another city in another part of the country. . You'll be meeting plenty of people that couldn't even fathom moving across the state line or the river.

[GraniteStater]

Cost of living is quite reasonable, live between Downtown and the Plaza. The social scene is decidedly worse than average for somewhat older single people in the 25-35 age range due to the fact that many people have a kid at a younger age, or have been in a relationship/married previously. If you don't mind dealing with lots of "baggage" issues it improves your odds I would assume.

[jruggles]

Originally Posted by James Bond 007

You've started threads saying you're moving from SF to Chicago, SF to Seattle and now SF to KC. Do you even know which city you're moving to yet?

Sorry about the redundant threads -- a lot of my reasons for making a move have to do with quality of life issues so I feel like getting perspectives from people in each city is the way to go. I hate moving so I'd like to make the best informed decision since I'll likely stay in one of those cities for at least 5 years. I've interviewed or have in person interviews scheduled for companies in all three cities but haven't made a decision yet.

I really appreciate all of the replies and it's been extremely helpful.

[James Bond 007]

Well, of all the cities you've listed, I've lived in two of them - Seattle (25 years until a few years ago) and now, KC. Seattle is merely a somewhat less expensive SF. You're not going to gain much by moving from SF to Seattle IMO. If you really think you need something different, you'd be better off finding something very different from anything on the west coast. KC has most of the amenities you'll find in Seattle, but is cheaper. But, you have to like hot, humid summers and cold winters.