Looking For Insight About Independence (Springfield, Center: apartment complex, crime, how much)

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by kcmo

I just think that if you don't have anything constructive to offer about an area you really know nothing about. Why say anything???


Back to Independence...

By "constructive" you mean if I don't have anything positive to say about Independence, not to say anything. Sorry, but if a poster is asking for opinions about Independence, and my opinion is not positive, why would I saying nothing so all they see are people saying it is a wonderful place to live, when in my opinion it is not? That's all I'm saying. I have a right to give my opinion.

I know there are areas in the KC area outside of Johnson County that are nice. I don't consider Independence to be one of them. Yes, there may be areas that have nice homes, but like someone else said - two blocks over from the nice houses you have high crime/rundown areas. Overall, for me, the crime rate in Independence is too high, and I wouldn't recommend someone move from somewhere else to Independence. I think it's important for people like the OP to get feedback from BOTH sides if there are differing viewpoints on the subject. I'd sure hate to post on a forum and have someone tell me that a place that is the equivalent of Independence in another city was a wonderful place to live, and I moved there and saw what it was like. I'd want to hear different viewpoints and make my own decision.

And FYI, I don't think I am "better" than anyone because I live in Johnson County. I live in Johnson County because it's a nice area with low crime and that's the kind of place I want to live.

[kcmo]

You have the right to give your opinion all day long, but I’m going to do what I can to offer a more realistic opinion.

I know Independence very well, just like I know the entire metro area very well.

I gave descriptions of “all” aspects of Independence. I am able to tell people what is good about Indy and what is bad about Indy.

You however seem to only think the city is a ****hole. I understand somebody else stated that you have nice neighborhoods right next to high crime and run down areas.

That is simply not the case. That is a flat out lie. The 300k-500k neighborhoods are no closer to the bad areas of Indy as Hallbrook, Mission Hills, Briarcliff, Brookside, etc are to run down high crime areas.

So to say this is extremely misleading to people.

I’m not saying this area is 151st and Nall by any stretch where you have to drive 10 miles to get into an area that is even remotely considered run down, (I would call it modest). I’m sure you think you will get shot in places like Red Bridge or Waldo, so for you, I’ll call those areas the run down crime ridden areas.

So keep saying what you want from NE JoCo, which has some pretty run down areas itself and is only blocks from KCK, even though I recommend NE JoCo all the time to people because I actually like the area, know the area and understand that it’s not all run down. I mean, do you set foot in the Hispanic catering Price Chopper on Roe? Doesn’t that place scare the living daylights out of you? I would think it would, but then again, it’s not in Independence. BTW, I think that Price Chopper is fine, but it’s many steps down from the price choppers, hyvees and hen houses of southeastern Indy.

I have seen movies at the Merriam Cinemark. Talk about a trashy place full of trouble makers. (Independence 20 is much better) But guess what, the plaza Cinemark is close by. What I’m saying is I wouldn’t tell people not to move to Mission because there are some flaky areas around it. Go to the Blue Valley area, that’s the only area you can go and be safe and around other people that take care of homes. Not going to say that.

I’m going to give people facts and back up those facts. People don’t pay 300k plus for a home in high crime, run down areas.

Again, I really wish you knew the city better than you do.

[kcmo]

One more thing.

You do realize that the city of Independence is well over 100,000 people right? You realize that this city is like all of NE JoCo PLUS half of KCK.

A home in Fairway is closer to downtown KCK than Independence Center is to the Indy Square.

The upscale areas of Indy are as far away from the worst areas of Indy as Mission is from the Village West area.

Like KCMO, the city has a lot of different areas.

There is no way you could ever say that KCMO would not fit somebody . That city, either north or south of the river, has every kind of living options possible, every kind, from suburban to highrise to even rural.

But you have also grouped KCMO like what you are doing with Indy. A city of half million people and 300 square miles.

“stay out of KCMO” Horrible advise, yet so easy and so lazy. Stay out of KCMO, KCK, Indy, Raytown, Grandview.

JoCo is the only place and you might be able to live in Lee’s Summit without getting robbed or mugged.

That is your and many other JoCo’s input.

If it were up to you, the entire city would be a beige strip mall, beige houses in flat, treeless land with absolutely no culture or urbanity what so ever.

Pretty sad that anybody would want that.

[kcmo]

For some, living in an interesting, vibrant city with some diversity, entertainment options etc is important.

For others, driving from Oak Park mall to Leawood Town Strip Mall with the soccer SUV and the KU license plate is all you need in life.

Which one are you

Smellykat? I'm on a roll!

[smellykat]

Originally Posted by kcmo

For some, living in an interesting, vibrant city with some diversity, entertainment options etc is important.

For others, driving from Oak Park mall to Leawood Town Strip Mall with the soccer SUV and the KU license plate is all you need in life.

Which one are you

Smellykat? I'm on a roll!

Yeah, you're on a roll alright!

We're gonna have to get you your own TV show.

I hope you clean up good for the camera!

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by kcmo

For some, living in an interesting, vibrant city with some diversity, entertainment options etc is important.

For others, driving from Oak Park mall to Leawood Town Strip Mall with the soccer SUV and the KU license plate is all you need in life.

Which one are you

Smellykat? I'm on a roll!

Dang, you sound jealous! You sure do stereotype a lot, though. I'm not into shopping, haven't been to Oak Park in years. Town Center Plaza? Nope, don't go there much either, only when I specifically need something. Went to Aeropostale on Monday to get 2 pair of jeans for my son. The last time I was at Town Center before that was.....I think I went to Barnes and Nobles LAST Christmas to buy Friends on DVD for my daughter for Christmas. So there goes your stereotype! Soccer SUV? Nope! (what's a "soccer" SUV anyway?) KU license plate? Nope!

Wrong on all counts, kcmo. Sorry.

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by kcmo

One more thing.

You do realize that the city of Independence is well over 100,000 people right? You realize that this city is like all of NE JoCo PLUS half of KCK.

A home in Fairway is closer to downtown KCK than Independence Center is to the Indy Square.

The upscale areas of Indy are as far away from the worst areas of Indy as Mission is from the Village West area.

Like KCMO, the city has a lot of different areas.

There is no way you could ever say that KCMO would not fit somebody . That city, either north or south of the river, has every kind of living options possible, every kind, from suburban to highrise to even rural.

But you have also grouped KCMO like what you are doing with Indy. A city of half million people and 300 square miles.

“stay out of KCMO” Horrible advise, yet so easy and so lazy. Stay out of KCMO, KCK, Indy, Raytown, Grandview.

JoCo is the only place and you might be able to live in Lee’s Summit without getting robbed or mugged.

That is your and many other JoCo’s input.

If it were up to you, the entire city would be a beige strip mall, beige houses in flat, treeless land with absolutely no culture or urbanity what so ever.

Pretty sad that anybody would want that.

Methinks thou doth protest too much. And you are wrong. If you had bothered to read any of my posts, I have said there are areas of Kansas City on the Missouri side that I think are fine. Independence is not one of them. Sorry. I have lived in this area all my life. How many years have you been here?

Look at the comparison below. Quite telling. I just chose Prairie Village as an example, but go ahead and go to the link and put in other cities in Johnson County, or put in Blue Springs, Lee's Summit, Parkville, etc. Independence crime rate is higher than a lot of areas in Kansas City, other than maybe Kansas City, Missouri. This is my last post on the subject.

Moderator cut: link removed, competitor site


[SIZE=6][/SIZE]

[kcmo]

I understand that Indep has a higher crime rate than most area suburbs.

That's because the city does have some rough areas and those areas jack up the crime stats for the entire city.

That does not mean the areas of Indep, that I continue to talk about are high crime. In fact, they are not.

Indep also has millions of sq feet of retail including one of the metro's most popular malls and you get a lot of activity with malls, major theaters etc such as shoplifting and auto theft. Before you say anything else, note that Oak Park Mall had more crime and auto thefts than Indep Center last year. That doesn't make Oak Park a bad place, it's just a location where a lot of crime occurs compared to residential neighborhoods.

So my point is that the crime stats don't mean jack unless you break it down by area, not by city and understand how the crime stats would affect certain areas of a city.

Crime stats would say that KCMO is one of the most dangerous cities in the country, but 90% of the crime in KCMO occurs in one area of the city, especially violent crime.

I have no problem with you not liking Independence. But I want to make sure those that don't know much about the city get a full understanding of the city.

PS, I have lived in metro KC, not Smithville, or rural MO or KS, but Metro KC (mostly KCMO) nearly all my life, nearly 4 decades, with the exception of a few years in StLouis.

I am quite confident I know metro KC on a level far superior to you, even Johnson County. Try me…

BTW, I was being sarcastic about the stereotypes, but hey, it would have been cool if I had been right?

One more thing. If you live in JoCo and don't go to Oak Park Mall or any other shopping center and you seem intimidated and scared in general of the MO side and KCK, I gotta wonder how you spend your time.

Watching KU games and waiting for the next KU game?

haha. Take care. This has been fun and interesting...

[luzianne]

I don't go to Oak Park Mall because I am not into shopping, and when I do need to shop I don't need to do it at Oak Park. I didn't know hanging out at the mall was a requirement for knowing the city. And FYI, I spend most of my time working, as I run a business. I have clients on both sides of the state line. I have lived in the Kansas City area since 1957, both sides of the state line, other than 4 years in Lawrence, 2 years in rural Kansas and about 6 months in rural Missouri. So I doubt you know more about the city than I do, but if you want to think so that's fine.

You can skew the crime statistics any way you want; makes no difference to me. And no, I'm not intimidated or scared of Missouri of KCK at all. I am in both Missouri and KCK often for business. And I live in Johnson County because I prefer Johnson County.

And you can stop with your stupid jabs about KU. Yep, I am a KU fan, but you are ridiculous with your stereotypes. I happened to see that KU was playing basketball last night but I hadn't realized they were playing last night till I happened to see it on TV. I didn't watch because I was busy planning work for tomorrow.

What do you do with all your time? Online cheerleader for Kansas City, Missouri?

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by luzianne

What do you do with all your time? Online cheerleader for Kansas City, Missouri?

Somebody has put a positive spin on metro KC.

Believe it or not, most people are not thrilled about moving to KC in the first place, especially if they are from other big cities. People don't see KC as an interesting, "big city" type place.

And when all they here from the locals is how suburban the city is and how the only places worth a crap in the metro are in the newer suburbs 30 miles from anything and how they seem intimidated by 80% of the metro, well, you get what I'm saying.

Southeast Independence along with northern Lee's Summit and western Blue Springs is fine. Just as nice as most of NE JoCo.

Schools are great, you have any price point you can think of for housing, lots of new retail centers, great parks and lakes and really very little crime. I do not feel any less safe in the area around Independence Center than Merrian Town Center, Mission or Oak Park Mall.