Potentially moving to Kansas City, need some insight (Independence, Raytown: apartments, rentals)

[metty85]

There's a chance I might be relocating to Kansas City (MO) in the near future depending on what happens with an interview my wife had on Wednesday. They're already talking about interviewing her again and have indicated an urgent timeline.

In case something does materialize, I'd like to get some ideas on where to live, and if an apartment or house rental would be a better option.

The job she interviewed for is in downtown Kansas City (MO) but we wouldn't want to live directly downtown. We'd probably be okay with a 20, maybe 25, minute commute both ways (but shorter the better). The burbs would be okay.

As the job is in Missouri, we would want to live in that state too. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there a tax penalty to living in one state but working in the other? If that isn't an issue, the Kansas side would be an option (Overland Park? Mission?)

Our combined income to start would probably be about $50,000 (give or take a little) but once we both have jobs there and are settled, I would reasonably expect that to increase to (roughly) $80,000 if not a hair north of that.

I'm not sure if anything directly in Kansas City would be cheap enough but I'm not familiar with the area. I've poked around Independence listings but options seem more limited out there. I could be missing things.

With an apartment, we probably would prefer a 2-bed unit, but depending on square footage, a 1 bed might work. The building would need to be non-smoking and have a washer and dryer in-unit. Surface parking is fine.

Are there certain apartment rental companies to look for.... or avoid?

For reference, where we are now (near Des Moines), we have a 2 bed/2 bath unit for $1190/mo that's about 1085 square feet. That includes trash and water.

[sub]

The city itself isn’t the most expensive part, generally.
Overall, the Johnson County suburbs in Kansas tend to be a bit pricey, but older rentals there aren’t too bad.
If anything is too cheap, there’s probably a reason for it.
You’d have to be way out in the boonies to be more than 25 minutes from downtown.
Dig around, and 1k a month can be found in any part of the metro.
The northern parts of the “Northland” are good: Liberty, Gladstone, Platte City, and parts of KC that border those as well as smaller burbs in the area.
Lee’s Summit is good.
Eastern/southeastern Independence isn’t too shabby.
I’d avoid Kansas City, Kansas for the most part as well as Raytown and Grandview. Not horrible, but easily improved upon.
Kansas City, Missouri: south of the river and inside the 435 loop tends to be either pricey or really rough. However, that’s where the old, original part of the city is and has a lot to offer in terms of visiting at least.

I don’t remember taxes being a problem when I worked in Kansas and lived in MO.
KCMO I think has an earnings tax that you’ll pay if you work and/or live in the city. I never worked or lived in the city itself so I never had to deal with that. It’s not a huge deal, I don’t think, but it is one more thing that gets withheld if they still do that.
It’s a nice area overall. Lots of things to do.

[metty85]

Originally Posted by sub

The city itself isn’t the most expensive part, generally.
Overall, the Johnson County suburbs in Kansas tend to be a bit pricey, but older rentals there aren’t too bad.
If anything is too cheap, there’s probably a reason for it.
You’d have to be way out in the boonies to be more than 25 minutes from downtown.
Dig around, and 1k a month can be found in any part of the metro.
The northern parts of the “Northland” are good: Liberty, Gladstone, Platte City, and parts of KC that border those as well as smaller burbs in the area.
Lee’s Summit is good.
Eastern/southeastern Independence isn’t too shabby.
I’d avoid Kansas City, Kansas for the most part as well as Raytown and Grandview. Not horrible, but easily improved upon.
Kansas City, Missouri: south of the river and inside the 435 loop tends to be either pricey or really rough. However, that’s where the old, original part of the city is and has a lot to offer in terms of visiting at least.

I don’t remember taxes being a problem when I worked in Kansas and lived in MO.
KCMO I think has an earnings tax that you’ll pay if you work and/or live in the city. I never worked or lived in the city itself so I never had to deal with that. It’s not a huge deal, I don’t think, but it is one more thing that gets withheld if they still do that.
It’s a nice area overall. Lots of things to do.

Thanks for the information. I'm finding 1K a little hard to find, especially for a 2 bedroom apartment.

Some examples:

https://www.apartments.com/azure-ind...ce-mo/5m62yjm/

https://www.apartments.com/trinity-w...ce-mo/7sjl0ew/

https://www.apartments.com/steeplech...ty-mo/6wkv66v/

https://www.apartments.com/altitude-...ty-mo/g65egbw/

https://www.apartments.com/thrive-at...ty-mo/0r302q3/

https://www.apartments.com/sovereign...rk-ks/jss2we5/

[sub]

Just looking casually, I’m having a hard time making sense of the prices.
This place in Leawood seems reasonable:

https://www.apartments.com/hawthorne...od-ks/rq1fgr0/

Overland Park:
https://www.apartments.com/avia-apar...rk-ks/3jqhmlf/

Not as bad as I expected.

[thriftylefty]

There should be stuff in the 64111 zip code at or under $1000.00. The Kansas City Art Institute is at 4415 Warwick 64111 and I have had relatives who lived within walking distance of the institue. They drove into Westport for work and UMKC for school.

[Floorist]

Just be aware, just because KCMO and KCKN are lumped together on this forum, they are nothing alike. I assume whoever made them one forum has never lived in that area. They are as different as night and day.

[kcmo]

Why would you even consider living in the KS suburbs if working downtown? You would pay more and have a longer commute. Plus everything else cost more too like groceries and gas.

There are so many options in the Northland suburbs (Clay and Platte counties) that will be really nice, more affordable and much closer.

Concentrate in north of the river, it does not matter if you are in Kansas City, MO proper or in a suburb like Gladstone or Liberty. It's all suburban north of the river. There are tons of new apartments along I-29 and along Highway 152 (sort of the inner beltway of the northland.)

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by Floorist

Just be aware, just because KCMO and KCKN are lumped together on this forum, they are nothing alike. I assume whoever made them one forum has never lived in that area. They are as different as night and day.

True, but they are next-door neighbors and in the same metropolitan area — and the city forums here are by and large organized on the metropolitan level (I can think of one exception: the separate forum for Philadelphia's New Jersey suburbs).

[Igor Blevin]

Originally Posted by Floorist

Just be aware, just because KCMO and KCKN are lumped together on this forum, they are nothing alike. I assume whoever made them one forum has never lived in that area. They are as different as night and day.

Yep. The only thing they have in common is the name.

[sub]

Originally Posted by Floorist

Just be aware, just because KCMO and KCKN are lumped together on this forum, they are nothing alike. I assume whoever made them one forum has never lived in that area. They are as different as night and day.

That'd be like saying Kansas City and Kennett shouldn't be in the same forum just because they're both in Missouri.

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

True, but they are next-door neighbors and in the same metropolitan area — and the city forums here are by and large organized on the metropolitan level (I can think of one exception: the separate forum for Philadelphia's New Jersey suburbs).

Yeah, they're done on the metropolitan level. Most cities have suburbs that are nothing like the core city or even each other.
I suppose KCK is the odd duck out because it uses its own street grid. Even Johnson County goes along with MO on that one.