How do you like living in Kansas? (Kansas City, Lee's Summit: lease, new home)

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by luzianne

kcmo, will all due respect, the area around UMKC is not that safe. I wouldn't walk around there alone at night. But then, I'm used to being/feeling completely safe, and I wouldn't feel that there. During the day, sure.

Yes, I know that some of the crime in Johnson County is from Johnson County criminals. But a lot (maybe most?) of it is not. All you have to do is look at the Johnson County booking and release record to see all the people from Missouri (and KCK) arrested in Johnson County. I don't think the reciprocal is true; I don't think you see a lot of Johnson County residents perpetrating crimes and being arrested on the Missouri side.

And yes, you are right - we do have a buffer that Waldo and Brookside don't have. And I know a lot of people like living in Waldo and Brookside (my husband grew up in Waldo and loves the area), it's just not for me. I grew up in Shawnee within a stone's throw of Shawnee Mission Park, when it was pretty much rural but still was Johnson County feel.

You should really try to do a ride along with the kcpd. I did it many times while studying criminal justice. (I wasn't sure what I wanted to do while in college and did it while in high school too).

A very large portion of the people we busted in the city causing trouble were from joco. Now I don't recall busting any joco people for carjacking anybody, but they were often in kcmo bars starting fights, the johns picking up street prostitutes or participating in gay prostitution or sex in kcmo parks, buying drugs etc. Many of the biggest kcmo slum lords live in joco and they contribute to the crime in kcmo by being slum lords rather than simply owning rental property. Oh and most of the biggest white collar crimes in kc seem to be committed by joco residents.

So while joco may not have the ghetto crime, they have plenty of criminals and they often come to kcmo to do their thing and slip back into joco for the other sides of their lives.

And I would also have to completely disagree with you on the area around UMKC. It might get a bit sketchy several blocks east of UMKC, but come on. That area is fine.

[aragx6]

Originally Posted by kcmo

And I would also have to completely disagree with you on the area around UMKC. It might get a bit sketchy several blocks east of UMKC, but come on. That area is fine.

The hundreds of students who walk to and from the Plaza daily -- particularly on weekend evenings -- with no trouble at all agree with you as well, but everyone's crime tolerance varies and I can live with that.

But that is so wildly outside of having anything to do with what JoCo suburbs are and are not desirable. If we want to talk about suburbs, let's talk about suburbs. Comparing suburban Johnson County to urban Jackson County instead of suburban Jackson (or Clay or Platte etc.) is wildly unfair and well beside the point. Plenty of folks who live in Missouri have a similar low tolerance for crime.

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by kcmo

You should really try to do a ride along with the kcpd. I did it many times while studying criminal justice. (I wasn't sure what I wanted to do while in college and did it while in high school too).

A very large portion of the people we busted in the city causing trouble were from joco. Now I don't recall busting any joco people for carjacking anybody, but they were often in kcmo bars starting fights, the johns picking up street prostitutes or participating in gay prostitution or sex in kcmo parks, buying drugs etc. Many of the biggest kcmo slum lords live in joco and they contribute to the crime in kcmo by being slum lords rather than simply owning rental property. Oh and most of the biggest white collar crimes in kc seem to be committed by joco residents.

So while joco may not have the ghetto crime, they have plenty of criminals and they often come to kcmo to do their thing and slip back into joco for the other sides of their lives.

And I would also have to completely disagree with you on the area around UMKC. It might get a bit sketchy several blocks east of UMKC, but come on. That area is fine.

I have perused the Missouri arrest records, kcmo, and I completely disagree. I haven't seen arrests of Johnson County residents to any degree at all. If you can show me something different I would be happy to take a look at it, but the records I have seen, you rarely see an arrest involving someone from Johnson County. Although I think I have only seen sheriff's records for Missouri and maybe Platte County PD, and maybe most of what you talk about takes place in Jackson County.

I did know of one slumlord that lived in Johnson County; not sure if he is still around. Used to drive a Jaguar and owned slummy apartments in KCMO. He was a sleazebag.

And I can see your point of joco people who might have double lives. That's disgusting too.

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by aragx6

The hundreds of students who walk to and from the Plaza daily -- particularly on weekend evenings -- with no trouble at all agree with you as well, but everyone's crime tolerance varies and I can live with that.

But that is so wildly outside of having anything to do with what JoCo suburbs are and are not desirable. If we want to talk about suburbs, let's talk about suburbs. Comparing suburban Johnson County to urban Jackson County instead of suburban Jackson (or Clay or Platte etc.) is wildly unfair and well beside the point. Plenty of folks who live in Missouri have a similar low tolerance for crime.

I said in one of my posts that the Kansas City suburbs are probably just as safe as Johnson County suburbs. I don't deny that they are. I didn't intend to compare Joco suburbs to urban Jackson County and I'm sorry if I implied that. I just don't like urban areas (I know some do), I prefer suburbs, and specifically I prefer Johnson County suburbs. But didn't mean to imply that there was anything wrong with Missouri suburbs.

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by luzianne

I have perused the Missouri arrest records, kcmo, and I completely disagree. I haven't seen arrests of Johnson County residents to any degree at all. If you can show me something different I would be happy to take a look at it, but the records I have seen, you rarely see an arrest involving someone from Johnson County. Although I think I have only seen sheriff's records for Missouri and maybe Platte County PD, and maybe most of what you talk about takes place in Jackson County.

I did know of one slumlord that lived in Johnson County; not sure if he is still around. Used to drive a Jaguar and owned slummy apartments in KCMO. He was a sleazebag.

And I can see your point of joco people who might have double lives. That's disgusting too.

Well, I doubt if too many people from joco drive to platte county to pick up prostitutes or buy drugs. Platte County people come into the city for that too.

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by aragx6

The hundreds of students who walk to and from the Plaza daily -- particularly on weekend evenings -- with no trouble at all agree with you as well, but everyone's crime tolerance varies and I can live with that.

But that is so wildly outside of having anything to do with what JoCo suburbs are and are not desirable. If we want to talk about suburbs, let's talk about suburbs. Comparing suburban Johnson County to urban Jackson County instead of suburban Jackson (or Clay or Platte etc.) is wildly unfair and well beside the point. Plenty of folks who live in Missouri have a similar low tolerance for crime.

agreed. I tried to get the thread back on topic. I said I liked Fariway for inner ring suburbs and Western Shawnee for outer suburbs. Not that it matters since the OP has not returned and they may not return because the OP started a similar thread in MN and never posted again.

Although this could still be a good thread for others, so I guess we can stop talking about crime in kcmo

[aragx6]

Luz, that's totally fair; it's really this line from your initial post in this thread that -- certainly to someone not from here -- I think could be easily taken the wrong way:

I've also spent some of my adult life in Kansas City, Missouri and moved back to Kansas as soon as I could afford to because I prefer the lower crime rate and neighbors who take care of their property and I like the suburbs better than urban areas.

[UTVols865]

Thank you for all helpful posts about JoCo suburbs and their comparsions to MO side!


It seems that Overland Park, Shawnee, and other suburbs closer to MO state line are more popular.


I did some research comparing cost of living between states. It's pretty much same when it all evens out except for higher housing prices in Johnson County.


Throughout our marriage, we have lived in Tennessee, Florida, Minnesota, and Maryland (currently) for our career advancements. We are growing tired of our fast-paced job environment so we want to settle down near my wife's family in Olathe and my family in Blue Springs, MO.


Based on our research, I believe my wife and I prefer Overland Park, Shawnee, or Lenexa since it's kinda in the middle between our families.

[Living The Struggle]

I moved to Lenexa,Ks from the bay area to be near my dad who needed my assistance a short while.upon moving to (joco) I exsperience alot of hatered and bitterness from white folks and evan from my own black folks. I would greet my peers of the same skin color as me and they would give me a strange look as if to say I was'nt welcome. And the whites there had there heads stuck up there ass. And all the police knew me by my first and last name, because I literally got pulled over every other day by a diffetent cop.After my 1 year lease was up I got the hell out of Kansas and went back to the bay.

[luigi1212]

KC is not that bad, trust me The suburbs can be a bit overwhelming in the racist/look weird at you department but eh, as a minority, if they stick up their nose at you, then stock yours even higher at them!

In my experience, they would look at me weird at restaurants because I was conversing in another language, I would just continue speaking louder in that other language, I mean, it's not like it's me the effing !diot who only speaks English and has not experienced the world

But I feel that is changing gradually with the influx of diversity into the suburbs.

For the readers, everything posted by "Luzianne" is bannanas :0

KC metro, in my opinion, is one of the most beautiful areas in central US, I would even dare to say that it's 3rd after Chicago and Austin, TX as far as scenary, architecture, urban feel, etc! Too bad its residents spend too much time fighting over stupid things such as "whos got the best suburb" I mean come on, break your bubble, it's only a suburb! Rather, spend your time working together to make your metro better!