up North or Brookside (Kansas City, St. Louis: how much, affordable houses, employment)

[simpleinthecity]

We currently live in Kansas City and will be purchasing our first home in the next couple of months. Due to my husband's employment we have to maintain a Kansas City MO address. We are looking at either up North (Liberty school district) or Brookside. I love the Brookside area and spend a lot of time there. I have quite a few friends there, my daughter's ballet is there and our church is in Westport. If we moved up North that would be a long drive on a weekly basis to drive to the these places. The problem is that we need to stay around the $200,000 range for a house and that doesn't get you a whole lot in the Brookside area and gets you a ton up north. We have two kids in which we are currently homeschooling but are considering regular school next year. I don't know if I'm open to public schools or not. I keep hearing how wonderful the Liberty school district is. My big question is, what exactly constitutes a "good school"? For those of you that have kids that attend Liberty schools, what do you like about the school? We would be looking at Shoal Creek Elementary. I'm a little concerned at how large these schools are, i.e., 22+ per class room. Is this average?

[kcmo]

I personally would "try" to make Brookside work. We moved from Brookside to the burbs because of the schools and even though we enjoyed our house, I really missed living in the city, missed the housing styles, the proximity to the urban core and all the suburbs, the general walkability of the area, brookside trail, max transit etc. If I were to do it all over again, I would have stayed in the city and found a way to afford private schools. But financial constraints are what they are. Paying more for a house and paying for private school is a challenge. Even though at the time, I thought there is no way, now that I look back, and see how much our salaries increased, how much we spent on other things (commuting etc), we could have made it work. Plus housing values are much more stable in Brookside than just about any of the suburbs, especially right now.

Having said that, Shoal Creek would be ok. Pretty much your typical newer and middle to upper middle class suburbia. Schools are good because they are new, demographics are high, parental involvement is high etc. You know all the regular things that make outer suburban schools what they are.

Since you plan to be in the city a lot, I would also look at Platte County like around 64th and I-29 or even NKC. The "Parkville" area seems much closer to the city than Liberty and I find that area's topography more appealing than Shoal Creek. NKC has some urban charm while still having good schools.

You also might check out some of the far southern or eastern parts of KCMO. Lee's Summit Road, Bannister etc has lots of newer housing developments that are full of KCMO cops, firefighters, city workers etc that are in KCMO, yet have Lee's Summit schools.

[WiseOwlSaysHoot]

I would choose Brookside, hands down - and it seems like that is what you want to choose.

If you're worried about the public schools, there are some great private schools in the area.

[famusdarlin]

My husband and I are making the same decision, however for us it is a longer term decision, Liberty vs. Brookside.

We had the option to move to Brookside when we first married about 10 years ago and opted for the southland, feeling we got more for our money. I regret moving based on getting more for our money. Our girls attend school in Brookside and most of our activities are in Brookside, midtown, or downtown. It is tough making the drive all the time, but it's only about 10-12 minutes, so it's not terrible. But the drive from Liberty is about 10 minutes more, so that might be tough drive to make at first.

Having spent alot of my childhood in Liberty, I know you get used to the drive. My parents still drive from Liberty to downtown everyday. It's typically a 20 minute drive with no traffice and 30 minutes in traffic. My husband and I love Liberty and I love the schools. I have many friends whose children attend Liberty schools and I've not heard any significant negative things about the schools from any of them, perhaps an occasional complaint about a specific teacher or another parent, but I think you get that with any school district. I am also impressed with the extracurricular opportunities in the Liberty schools compared to my daughters schools. If we move to Liberty, it would be my plan to shift most of my shopping, after school activities, and play dates for my daughters to the Northland. There are so many options up North, that is what I love about Liberty and that has really changed over the past 10 years. You really don't have to leave once you are there.

[OneKC]

If you go a bit further south than Brookside you hit Waldo, which is a cute little area with more affordable houses.

But you can't really beat Brookside. Keep looking, there are some decent houses in the area that are fairly reasonably priced. You're not going to get a huge lot like up north, but there are tons of great parks (including the best park in the city - Loose Park), great neighbors with lots of kids, and an easy to walk to shops and cafes. I think Brookside is totally worth it.

[westender]

Small quibble: Loose Park is really in Country Club/ Sunset Hill rather than Brookside. Agreed that it is the best park in the city (although Swope Park may make a comeback someday!)

Loose Park used to be the home to the Kansas City Country Club (and hence the origin of the neighborhood's name) before KCCC moved to the brand new Mission Hills "development" in the 1920s.

[OneKC]

Originally Posted by westender

Small quibble: Loose Park is really in Country Club/ Sunset Hill rather than Brookside. Agreed that it is the best park in the city (although Swope Park may make a comeback someday!)

Loose Park used to be the home to the Kansas City Country Club (and hence the origin of the neighborhood's name) before KCCC moved to the brand new Mission Hills "development" in the 1920s.

True, but its within walking distance or a short bike ride. Brookside also has a great running trail!

[pblack02]

I wouldn't be afraid of any school district that is highly rated, as Liberty is (rated 10 of 10). It usually reflects several factors, one of which is a pretty well to do population with many stay at home moms and/or very involved parents. Private schools have the tendency to sometimes be a little more personal and that can be very good or very bad. I've experienced both. Class sizes of 22 or even more are not unusual - they probably have a district limit (call & find out), and in a public school, will even have additional help in the room if needed (for kids who need extra coaching). Public schools that are highly rated normally have much better, more modern facilities and better programs for the kids. Being public, they have to treat everyone more the same instead of some of favoritism that can be quite apparent in private schools.

I don't know if that helps, good luck in your decision, but don't be afraid of going with a great public school district.

[anr_black]

I was wondering the same thing about Liberty. My husband may be taking a job in KC, working downtown...we're coming from St. Louis, so I was pleasantly surprised to see the housing costs in the KC burbs! We live in the city now and pay for private school, but we think we're ready to settle down in a (relatively) close area to downtown and find a good public district. I'm having trouble finding many pics of the Liberty area online. It seems it's a historic small town that now has newer subdivisions? Is that correct? Would love to hear input from any residents on what you like/don't like about the area. Or if anyone could suggest other areas with good public schools within 20-30 mins of downtown (by the downtown airport), I'm all ears. Thanks.

[famusdarlin]

I spent half of my childhood in Liberty, graduating from Liberty High in the late nineties. Most of my family is still there. You are correct, it is a historic town with quite a few newer subdivisions. Some of Liberty subdivisions will actually lie in Kansas City, but will be in Liberty school district. If you are on facebook there is a historic downtown Liberty MO group with lots of pictures and information on goes on in that area.

Others who know more about other areas will have other suggestions, but I think you will be pleased with Liberty. The areas close to downtown are very walkable with most aminities availble in walking distance, schools are great, people are genuinely friendly, and you have all the stores and shops in close proximity.