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That actually sounds amazing! I looked at the website, but there wasn’t much info on it. I’ll definitely speak to our realtor about checking it out. I know we are leaning more towards the Kansas side though because we are OBSESSED with Lifetime Fitness. Ridiculous, I know! But we just love it there!
Yeah, the website for New Town Harmony is terrible. If they can't do a better website than that, they are not going to do well with the development. If that project turns out anything like their New Town project in St Charles, it will be a really nice development though.
Speaking of new urbansim development. Since the OP is coming from places like Denver and Seattle, they might be more interested in a development like that.
Lee's Summit has Longview Farms. It's a really nice development of modern traditional urban homes in a suburban setting.
I'll have an overview of KC vs Seattle later today.
As promised, here is my rundown. Undoubtedly you know some of this already, but I'm trying to be as comprehensive as I can, based on 25 or so years in Seattle, and almost 3 years in KC. Plus I grew up in the east coast.
Taxes
Undoubtedly you know there are income taxes in both KS and MO, while WA has no income tax. Sales taxes here are a little lower than in WA, *but* at least in MO, you also pay sales taxes on food (offhand haven't noticed in KS). Less known is that, in both KS and MO, you have to pay a yearly property tax on your automobile(s), which you don't do in WA. The amount is based on the value of the vehicle. My 2012 Ford Focus, for example, cost me about $300 each of the past 2 years. I think the amount is similar if you live on the KS side. Lastly, if you either live or work in the city of Kansas City, MO you have to pay a 1% "payroll tax," which is basically a local income tax deducted from your paycheck. It makes no difference where else you might work, and where else you might live - as long as you either live or work in KCMO, you've gotta pay the tax. Fortunately, both those latter 2 taxes you can deduct from your federal income taxes.
Weather, climate, and vegetation
Believe it or not, but I actually moved to the Midwest to get more snow. As you know Seattle gets some snow, but not much, and not every year. KC does get snow every year. That said, winter in KC is the dry season (as opposed to winter in Seattle being the wet season). It's not as dry in KC in Jan as Seattle is in July, but it still only averages a little over 1" of precipitation in Jan (Seattle in July I think is more like about a half inch). However, because KC is much colder in the winter, a lot of that winter precipitation comes in the form of snow. Once in a while you get a big snowstorm (but, 6 inches would be a lot, compared to much larger amounts in, say, Cleveland or Minnesota, where 6 inches wouldn't be that big a deal). What usually happens is you get a lot of small storms. This past winter (not really typical because it was dry, but still sort-of typical) it snowed 11 times, but the biggest was 2 inches, and most were a half-inch or less. Winter is most commonly cold but sunny. By "cold" I mean highs in the 40's and lows in the 20's, but of course it does both get warmer and colder. At least the 3 winters I've been here, it's gone down to, or below, 0 at least once each winter. This past winter it got down to -8 on New Year's Morning, and I think it went below 0 about 6 times. You can see this past January's temps in Lee's Summit here.
Both spring and fall tend to be brief, only a little more than a month each. Typical spring-like weather lasts from maybe the last week of March to the first week or two of May, and then starts to get summer-y hot. This year, we got snow each of the first 3 weeks of April, then maybe 2-3 weeks of spring-like weather, then it got really hot (though that wasn't really typical, but not surprising given what sometimes happens around here). Several years ago it snowed something like 5 inches in early May! Fall-like weather goes from maybe the 2nd week of October to about the 3rd-4th week of November. Peak fall leaves are around Halloween and go into the first couple weeks of November. Even around Thanksgiving there is still a fair amount of fall color, plus it really starts to get colder and dry. So, if you're a lover of fall and want fall-like atmosphere on both the autumn holidays (Halloween and Thanksgiving), this is a great place to be.
Summer is hot and muggy. Highs will usually be in the 90's and go down to about 70 at night. Also, in contrast to Seattle (and the west coast in general) summer is the wet season. Actually, May-Sept is the wet season. The nice thing I discovered about this is, it makes everything very green in the spring and summer. Like, lush, emerald green -- I've also noticed that the lack of evergreen trees around here makes things look even greener still (since conifers have dark green needles). In a drier summer things will get a bit tired-looking after a while, but when you're getting more than an inch of rain per week in a typical May, June and August, things tend to be very green. Now, the downside to this is, a large proportion of this summer rain happens in thunderstorms that arrive between about midnight and 6 am. I'm talking at least 2/3 of the rain. Unless you're an extremely deep sleeper, you WILL get woken up in the middle of the night many times from April to October from LOUD thunder. The thunder you get in Seattle is really wimpy compared to the stuff you get around here.
Then there is the inevitable questions about tornadoes. Most people around here will tell you they've never seen a tornado, and undoubtedly they haven't. BUT ... when they say that, they're mostly thinking about Wizard of Oz type tornadoes that cause lots of damage, and that you can visibly see. However, there are 2 things to keep in mind: 1) since most storms arrive in the middle of the night, of course few people have "seen" a tornado, and 2) F0 and F1 tornadoes are actually pretty common, I think there are a few in the KC area pretty much every year. But if you're in the middle of one of those, you might not think it was a tornado, you'd just think it was heavy wind. Often times after we get a storm with heavy winds, the local meteorologists spend a fair amount of time trying to decide if a certain neighborhood that got heavy winds and light damage, actually were experiencing an F0 or F1 tornado, or not. There's no clear line between heavy winds with an updraft, and a tornado.
As promised, here is my rundown. Undoubtedly you know some of this already, but I'm trying to be as comprehensive as I can, based on 25 or so years in Seattle, and almost 3 years in KC. Plus I grew up in the east coast.
Taxes
Undoubtedly you know there are income taxes in both KS and MO, while WA has no income tax. Sales taxes here are a little lower than in WA, *but* at least in MO, you also pay sales taxes on food (offhand haven't noticed in KS). Less known is that, in both KS and MO, you have to pay a yearly property tax on your automobile(s), which you don't do in WA. The amount is based on the value of the vehicle. My 2012 Ford Focus, for example, cost me about $300 each of the past 2 years. I think the amount is similar if you live on the KS side. Lastly, if you either live or work in the city of Kansas City, MO you have to pay a 1% "payroll tax," which is basically a local income tax deducted from your paycheck. It makes no difference where else you might work, and where else you might live - as long as you either live or work in KCMO, you've gotta pay the tax. Fortunately, both those latter 2 taxes you can deduct from your federal income taxes.
Weather, climate, and vegetation
Believe it or not, but I actually moved to the Midwest to get more snow. As you know Seattle gets some snow, but not much, and not every year. KC does get snow every year. That said, winter in KC is the dry season (as opposed to winter in Seattle being the wet season). It's not as dry in KC in Jan as Seattle is in July, but it still only averages a little over 1" of precipitation in Jan (Seattle in July I think is more like about a half inch). However, because KC is much colder in the winter, a lot of that winter precipitation comes in the form of snow. Once in a while you get a big snowstorm (but, 6 inches would be a lot, compared to much larger amounts in, say, Cleveland or Minnesota, where 6 inches wouldn't be that big a deal). What usually happens is you get a lot of small storms. This past winter (not really typical because it was dry, but still sort-of typical) it snowed 11 times, but the biggest was 2 inches, and most were a half-inch or less. Winter is most commonly cold but sunny. By "cold" I mean highs in the 40's and lows in the 20's, but of course it does both get warmer and colder. At least the 3 winters I've been here, it's gone down to, or below, 0 at least once each winter. This past winter it got down to -8 on New Year's Morning, and I think it went below 0 about 6 times. You can see this past January's temps in Lee's Summit here.
Both spring and fall tend to be brief, only a little more than a month each. Typical spring-like weather lasts from maybe the last week of March to the first week or two of May, and then starts to get summer-y hot. This year, we got snow each of the first 3 weeks of April, then maybe 2-3 weeks of spring-like weather, then it got really hot (though that wasn't really typical, but not surprising given what sometimes happens around here). Several years ago it snowed something like 5 inches in early May! Fall-like weather goes from maybe the 2nd week of October to about the 3rd-4th week of November. Peak fall leaves are around Halloween and go into the first couple weeks of November. Even around Thanksgiving there is still a fair amount of fall color, plus it really starts to get colder and dry. So, if you're a lover of fall and want fall-like atmosphere on both the autumn holidays (Halloween and Thanksgiving), this is a great place to be.
Summer is hot and muggy. Highs will usually be in the 90's and go down to about 70 at night. Also, in contrast to Seattle (and the west coast in general) summer is the wet season. Actually, May-Sept is the wet season. The nice thing I discovered about this is, it makes everything very green in the spring and summer. Like, lush, emerald green -- I've also noticed that the lack of evergreen trees around here makes things look even greener still (since conifers have dark green needles). In a drier summer things will get a bit tired-looking after a while, but when you're getting more than an inch of rain per week in a typical May, June and August, things tend to be very green. Now, the downside to this is, a large proportion of this summer rain happens in thunderstorms that arrive between about midnight and 6 am. I'm talking at least 2/3 of the rain. Unless you're an extremely deep sleeper, you WILL get woken up in the middle of the night many times from April to October from LOUD thunder. The thunder you get in Seattle is really wimpy compared to the stuff you get around here.
Then there is the inevitable questions about tornadoes. Most people around here will tell you they've never seen a tornado, and undoubtedly they haven't. BUT ... when they say that, they're mostly thinking about Wizard of Oz type tornadoes that cause lots of damage, and that you can visibly see. However, there are 2 things to keep in mind: 1) since most storms arrive in the middle of the night, of course few people have "seen" a tornado, and 2) F0 and F1 tornadoes are actually pretty common, I think there are a few in the KC area pretty much every year. But if you're in the middle of one of those, you might not think it was a tornado, you'd just think it was heavy wind. Often times after we get a storm with heavy winds, the local meteorologists spend a fair amount of time trying to decide if a certain neighborhood that got heavy winds and light damage, actually were experiencing an F0 or F1 tornado, or not. There's no clear line between heavy winds with an updraft, and a tornado.
More in a bit ...
Good comparison above. One thing KC MO has, I don't know if Seattle has it, is the 1% earnings tax if you work or live in KC MO. The earnings tax and the schools are the deal breaker for a lot of people with living in KC MO limits
Contrary to popular belief, it's not flat around here, it's mostly gently rolling hills. The Missouri River, in particular, cuts a fairly deep channel and there are parts around it where you actually get some pretty good scenic vistas. One part of the river channel northwest of the city is steep enough that they have a ski resort! But we're not talking black diamond runs, just bunny hills. Also, it's not "plains" grassland around here, it's actually oak forest. That said, when you get into Johnson County (Overland Park) it does get flatter, but still it's (very) gently rolling hills. North of the river tends to have the most hills.
Arts and entertainment
Don't know how much you're into this, but we have:
1. Nelson-Atkins museum of art. If you're even a moderate art lover, you HAVE to check out this place. Especially the Bloch galleries. Lots of very famous artists you'd only expect to see in a city twice KC's size.
2. KC Royals. Won the World Series in 2015, this year they suck.
3. KC Chiefs. They're OK.
4. If you're a soccer fan there's Sporting KC, who play in a stadium near the NASCAR track in KCK ...
5. ... and of course if you're a NASCAR fan we've got a NASCAR track in KCK.
Speaking of "KCK" ...
Local nomenclature
KCK is the local shorthand for Kansas City, KS, and KCMO is the local shorthand for Kansas City, MO. People even put those on letters, and the post office has no problem with them.
And I should mention, you will quickly learn that LOTS of people from outside the area, think that "Kansas City" is in Kansas. We've run across the phenomenon here on this very forum! Before I moved here, after I told everybody in my old job I was moving to Kansas City, a co-worker once told somebody in the office that I was moving to Kansas. "No," I had to tell him, "Kansas City is actually in Missouri." So, you will go from, in Seattle, having to say everything, "Washington state" to avoid confusion with DC, to having to tell a lot of people that Kansas City is in Missouri. And I'm not sure that the existence of KCK makes any difference, it seems that the people who think this don't even know there are two "Kansas Cities."
Probably I'll think of more later. In the meantime, check out my videos I made of KC. Be sure to have your speakers on.
James Bond 007 - as a person from Seattle who has also lived in Kansas City (Grandview) MO, for a year, from August of 2016 to mid-September, 2017, I gotta hand it to ya, good job on your description of both great cities. I got a call from my boss in Lenexa, KS, telling me my job is there if I should want or need it again, since I earned the medical credential that is the top in my chosen skill, last June 2017. So I could come back if I want. Mrs. elkotronics and I are happy here in southern New Mexico for now, but, it's cool ta know we could venture back some day if we want.
Both cities offer much, but, one huge thing Kansas City, MO, doesn't have is high real estate prices. Some of it does, but a person can still find decent pricing on quality housing in many suburbs of KCMO and KCMO itself as well. Good job, Bond.
He doesn’t have an office location in Kansas City yet. He’s being promoted and one of his responsibilities will be to move the area office from St. Louis to Kansas City. So we’ll be buying our home before he finds an office location. So that part doesn’t matter as much. I’m glad that we can be pretty much anywhere with our budget. That’s great to hear considering how high the cost of living is in Seattle! I would definitely love to hear some more input about the contrast between KC and Seattle! When we moved to Seattle from Denver we were able to get a lot of info beforehand because of how much crossover there is. But we don’t know anyone who has lived/ moved to KC, so we’re flying blind this time.
It will be interesting to hear whether this company has its sights on Missouri locations or Kansas locations. It's possible they don't care, but most people have an opinion one way or another - even those relocating from St Louis. If they seem to have their heart set on Kansas, you'll probably want to look for homes there, and not end up with a 45-min commute from the Northland, Blue Springs or Lee's Summit.
Yeah, the website for New Town Harmony is terrible. If they can't do a better website than that, they are not going to do well with the development. If that project turns out anything like their New Town project in St Charles, it will be a really nice development though.
Speaking of new urbansim development. Since the OP is coming from places like Denver and Seattle, they might be more interested in a development like that.
Lee's Summit has Longview Farms. It's a really nice development of modern traditional urban homes in a suburban setting.
Ah yes... the modern traditional urban suburban homes are my favorite.
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