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The rankings are not all consistent. But one theing they all agree on, Kansas City & St. Louis are among the most dangerous cities in the US.
Independence has positive aspects. I believe I listed several earlier. But there is no getting around the fact that it is the roughest suburb of one of the most dangerous cities in the US.
While it is a fact that Kansas City is generally in the top 20 of most studies in terms of crime, I think pegging Independence as the roughest suburb is a bit overstated.
I don't know how KCK is classified, whether it's a suburb or a 'twin city' to KC, MO, but it's substantially worse than Indy.
Grandview's crime rate numbers are slightly lower than Independence, but it's often considered to be one of the more dangerous suburbs, and Raytown has it's share of issues, as well.
Many parts of northern Independence, from 435 all the way over to the Susquehanna area, can be prone to more criminal activity than southern Independence. The dividing line seems to be 23rd street. The courthouse-square area is one of the exceptions.
No part of western Independence is anything at all like east Kansas City. There's quite a bit of low-lying industrial areas separate the two.
Western Independence has many nice neighborhoods, and I almost never see windows barred up in any part of town. Sometimes, criminal activity spills over from east KC, and I honestly think that would account for at least half the crime in western Independence.
For what it's worth, Independence's crime rate is slightly lower than Springfield, MO... a town that's considered to be plenty safe. It just has the luxury of not being adjoined to a major city.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trailhiker
It sounds like Independence has its problems, but isn't really that bad overall compared to any other city.
I have lived in several cities that have police stations at the mall, and they were not in high crime areas.
I do agree with northbound74 about how people become scared of an entire area after an isolated incident and then just avoid the area all together, leaving behind those that can't afford to keep moving 20 miles away.
So many of our mid size cities' Downtowns have been virtually abandoned because of this. That is one thing I love about Europe. The City Centerrs are still vibrant and often the focus of the cities.
Blue Spring's and Lee's Summit are nice I'm sure, but I think they may be too suburban and not as self sufficient as I would like. Plus, I think they are more expensive and my work does not even have a location in Blue Springs.
I think you'll like Independence. It's very affordable.
Blue Springs doesn't have much of anything in terms of retail other than a few strip malls. Many people who live there do a lot of their shopping/dining in Independence.
Lee's Summit is bigger than Blue Springs, and has quite a bit more to offer. It does have a nice little downtown area, but housing there can be more expensive, and the town is overrun with soccer-moms and teenagers. Other than that, I kind of like it.
A few years ago Independence held the distinction of being the meth capital of the world. Personally, I would not live in Independence. I have in-laws who live there, though.
A few years ago Independence held the distinction of being the meth capital of the world. Personally, I would not live in Independence. I have in-laws who live there, though.
And why people like you that have no idea what you are talking about continue to hurt the city by posting things like this is beyond me.
What did Independence do to you?
Why not let those that actually know about the city respond to this rather than you with you information that you get from KCsleezy5 and your Johnson County friends.
Independence has some rough areas and did and probably to some degree still has a meth problem.
The city has aggressively shut down meth houses and meth busts are way down from a "few" years ago.
Even so, this problem is mostly limited to certain areas of the city. The poor areas in the north and northwest part of the city mostly.
The Southeast and east parts of the city are very nice. Most new homes in southeast Indep start at over 300k. I guess the meth business pays well?
KCMO has some very high crime areas. That wouldn't stop me from living in the areas of the city that are not high in crime.
And why people like you that have no idea what you are talking about continue to hurt the city by posting things like this is beyond me.
What did Independence do to you?
Why not let those that actually know about the city respond to this rather than you with you information that you get from KCsleezy5 and your Johnson County friends.
Independence has some rough areas and did and probably to some degree still has a meth problem.
The city has aggressively shut down meth houses and meth busts are way down from a "few" years ago.
Even so, this problem is mostly limited to certain areas of the city. The poor areas in the north and northwest part of the city mostly.
The Southeast and east parts of the city are very nice. Most new homes in southeast Indep start at over 300k. I guess the meth business pays well?
KCMO has some very high crime areas. That wouldn't stop me from living in the areas of the city that are not high in crime.
luzianne, you really need to get out more.
Why is it wrong for me to say I would not live in Independence? I have been to Independence and I don't like it there; I am being honest. There may be safe areas, but overall the area (and all of KC Missouri) has higher crime than I am comfortable with. You probably wouldn't want to live in Johnson County and that's fine; I'm sure you have your reasons. I would live in Lee's Summit, I'd live in Blue Springs, I'd live in areas of the Northland, but I would not live in Independence. I don't like it. Felt the same way the minute I set foot in Manhattan, Kansas (for different reasons. Manhattan is safe; I just didn't care for the "country" feel and the guys with cowboy boots and big belt buckles). I guess the only way for the OP to know for sure where feels "right" for them is to visit and see if for themselves.
I lived in Independence for six years. It's a rough town. The rough areas are interspersed with the nice areas. $300,000 house here, crackhouse two blocks over and around the corner. A simple drive around town demonstrates it. Anyone who says differently doesn't get out much.
Of course, the criminals who infest the city aren't the problem. I'm the problem for mentioning them.
I lived in Independence for six years. It's a rough town. The rough areas are interspersed with the nice areas. $300,000 house here, crackhouse two blocks over and around the corner. A simple drive around town demonstrates it. Anyone who says differently doesn't get out much.
Of course, the criminals who infest the city aren't the problem. I'm the problem for mentioning them.
No one is saying that the criminals aren't the problem, just that Independence isn't nearly as bad as people try to make it out to be.
Yeah, you can by a 300k house down the street from a pretend ghetto in some parts, but in the southeast part of town, that's not likely to happen... not any more so than in Lee's Summit or JoCo.
I live right in the middle of Independence, and my job is such that I drive through every neighborhood in town almost every day. It can be trashy in places, and some parts have way too much crime, but my goodness, it's nothing like going into east KC or the worst parts of KCK.
When I lived in Little Rock, my job was similar, so I drove all over that city as well... talk about a place that can scare the you-know-what out of you... it's consistently rated one of the most dangerous places in the U.S., not unlike KC. Independence has a long way to go before it gets that bad.
I live in Independence because that's where I work. It's an okay enough town that it would seem ridiculous to drive and extra 20 minutes just so I could rub elbows with all the yuppies on the outer fringes of the metro who have to not only drive further to work, but further to anything else, really. What a waste of gas and perfectly good cornfields.
If my job weren't a factor, Independence probably wouldn't be my first choice, but I can't see how a place like Lee's Summit would be a big advantage over it. Actually, I'd be more likely to live downtown or in Brookside.
Why is it wrong for me to say I would not live in Independence? I have been to Independence and I don't like it there; I am being honest. There may be safe areas, but overall the area (and all of KC Missouri) has higher crime than I am comfortable with. You probably wouldn't want to live in Johnson County and that's fine; I'm sure you have your reasons. I would live in Lee's Summit, I'd live in Blue Springs, I'd live in areas of the Northland, but I would not live in Independence. I don't like it. Felt the same way the minute I set foot in Manhattan, Kansas (for different reasons. Manhattan is safe; I just didn't care for the "country" feel and the guys with cowboy boots and big belt buckles). I guess the only way for the OP to know for sure where feels "right" for them is to visit and see if for themselves.
First off, I don't believe that you know a thing about Indep. You drove though it so you know a city of 115,000 residents enough to tell others about it?
Second, that's not what you said. You didn't just say you didn't care for it. You called it the meth capital of the world. Which is something I hear all the time from Johnson County people who couldn’t find Independence on a map.
Third, you mentioned you live in Northern JoCo. I guarantee you that southeast Independence is just as nice, if not much nicer than the area you live in, unless you live in Mission Hills.
I am in Indep almost daily. There are some nice areas. The parts that touch Blue Springs and Lee's Summit are very upscale. Eastern Indy is much nicer and more upscale than western Blue Springs.
If somebody asks about Overland Park, go ahead and tell them all about it, but why are you always on the MO forums trying to get people to move to the Kansas suburbs?
I don't post on the Kansas forums and if people ask about JoCo, I will give them the best un-biased opinion that I can to help somebody find the right home that fits them.
I will not jump into a "I want to find a home in Lenexa" thread and tell somebody that Lenexa is a ****hole, you should move to Blue Springs.
But if I think the MO side is a better fit, and most of the time it is, I will tell them.
I like people moving to the MO side where they can help pay for our stadiums, arenas, transit system, zoos, theaters, museums etc. People are more likely to become Kansas Citians (even though they might be in Liberty, Gladstone or Indep) than just Kansans that pretty much hate everything about the MO side till it benefits them (like going to the Nelson, Sprint Center or Kauffman Stadium or claming the KCMO skyline as their own so people don’t think they live on a farm.
One more thing.
When are you JoCo people going to start claiming KCK as part of the KS side? You act like the KS side is some oasis all while you have KCK that just sits there and rots away, regardless of what is happening clear out by the speedways near Bonner Springs.
I lived in Independence for six years. It's a rough town. The rough areas are interspersed with the nice areas. $300,000 house here, crackhouse two blocks over and around the corner. A simple drive around town demonstrates it. Anyone who says differently doesn't get out much.
Of course, the criminals who infest the city aren't the problem. I'm the problem for mentioning them.
I'll say differently.
Please tell me where ghetto is two blocks from 300k homes in Indep.
Enlighten me.
I know of a few areas where you can live in a 300k home and have 115k homes a few blocks away. But ghetto? Hardly.
Plus, if you live in a city, that's just life. I lived in Brookside for years and there you really do have ghetto a few blocks away. I have also lived in waldo, plaza and midtown. Same deal.
It's not a big deal, but like I said, part of living in the city.
Most of the very nice areas of Indy are right next to very nice areas of Lee's Summit and Blue Springs or open land.
The nicer homes near Lee's Summit Road are close to some lower priced homes... Ahh, nevermind.
I think you really need to move to an outer belt suburb that is at least 2-3 suburbs deep, like far south or western JoCo where you have to drive 20 miles through white, new suburbs to reach your home.
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