Young Professional Looking for Apartment Advice

[xenokc]

And if you don't end up with a yard, there's a large dog park in Penn Valley Park between downtown/midtown (off 31st street).

[MRG Dallas]

You sound like you might live in Uptown area of Dallas. Depending on where you will be in OP (OP is very large suburb, especially running north/south), your commute if you live in Downtown KC will be similar to Uptown to Plano. When I moved to D from OP I wanted to be close to Downtown due to unfamiliarity with the rest of Dallas and wanted to have a short, convenient commute. Then if I wasn't happy living there, I had least had a year to get my bearings straight and try other areas (which I didn't have to do fortunately). At least by living close to work, I could take that advantage for granted.

Some additional considerations about commuting from KC to OP:

Weather. It does get very cold and lots more snow and ice in KC. Commuting during this kind of weather is a monster. Granted, the Midwest will devote more resources to inclement weather (unlike Dallas), but this kind of weather can occur for days/weeks on end. This can increase your commute time (and frustration) substantially.

KC Earnings Tax: If you live in KC, you will pay 1% of your compensation to the City of KC, with no deductions. Flat 1%.

Missouri and Kansas income taxes: If you work in Kansas and live in Missouri, you will need to file tax returns for both states. You will get a credit to prevent double taxation however, the tax rates differ so you might wind up paying more in taxes just by virtue of living in Missouri. You might want to factor in an overall state tax cost of 4-6%.

When I lived in OP, I commuted Downtown (a monster commute) from 87th and I-35. However, I did not mind the drive to and from Plaza and Westport. Again, depending on where in OP, but Ward Parkway was a beautiful drive home especially on a warm summer night. You might want to consider living close to work in Year 1, see where you like to socialize, and decide accordingly for Year 2. In any event, KC is a wonderful town and I miss it alot.