Moving to Kansas City from Texas. (Independence, Lee's Summit: real estate, apartment complex, crime rate)

[Tuathal]

Hi all......my wife and i are planning on moving from El Paso Tx up to Kansas City within the next couple of weeks. It'll be a culture shock to move out of the desert, but the work situation down here on the border isnt good. I've had a few job offers in some engineering firms in the Mission, Lenexa areas and wouldnt mind moving somewhere close to this.
From what i've read, this area of the city is quite nice. My question is, what areas in that part of the city are not so good, and are worth avoiding. I'm Irish myself and my wife's Hispanic and from what i've been reading the south-southwest part of the city (overland park, olathe, mission and lenexa) have a good cultural mix. Is that true?

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by Tuathal

Hi all......my wife and i are planning on moving from El Paso Tx up to Kansas City within the next couple of weeks. It'll be a culture shock to move out of the desert, but the work situation down here on the border isnt good. I've had a few job offers in some engineering firms in the Mission, Lenexa areas and wouldnt mind moving somewhere close to this.
From what i've read, this area of the city is quite nice. My question is, what areas in that part of the city are not so good, and are worth avoiding. I'm Irish myself and my wife's Hispanic and from what i've been reading the south-southwest part of the city (overland park, olathe, mission and lenexa) have a good cultural mix. Is that true?

Lenexa, Overland Park, and Shawnee are good if you are looking at suburbs on the Kansas side. What is your price range? JOCO can be rather expensive compared with other areas of the KC metro. Lee's Summit and Liberty in Missouri offer good value.
Yes, the SW portion of the KC metro area is becoming more diverse all the time so it should not be a problem at all.

[Tuathal]

Good to know about the diversity.

We're keeping our house in Texas, so we'll be in the market for something small, around the $100,000 mark. Probably a fixer-upper.

Lees summit..............that could work too, looks like a nice place.

[piggydiva]

Lee's Summit and Blue Springs Missouri are nice--but stay away from Grandview! Personally (I lived in BS, MO and worked in Grandview for 3 years), I would stay on the Kansas side. The roads are waaaaay better. In fact, taxes, and everything are better in the KC area on the Kansas side! I happen to know that Lee's Summit (and to an extent, Blue Springs) frown on inter-racial marriages. Just my two cents, but I don't know how happy you would be there. Independence, MO is a more forgiving place (if you truly want to live on the MO side).

I'd stick with Lenexa, Mission, or Olathe if I were you. Try to find someplace close to where you will work. Traffic is hellish!

[Destiny38]

Originally Posted by Tuathal

Hi all......my wife and i are planning on moving from El Paso Tx up to Kansas City within the next couple of weeks. It'll be a culture shock to move out of the desert, but the work situation down here on the border isnt good. I've had a few job offers in some engineering firms in the Mission, Lenexa areas and wouldnt mind moving somewhere close to this.
From what i've read, this area of the city is quite nice. My question is, what areas in that part of the city are not so good, and are worth avoiding. I'm Irish myself and my wife's Hispanic and from what i've been reading the south-southwest part of the city (overland park, olathe, mission and lenexa) have a good cultural mix. Is that true?

I use to live in Kansas City Kansas and I know the City very well I lived their for 15 Years overpark is Great place to live Lexna and the other towns Are very Great places to live and the Schools Are Great if you have kids the Jobs Are great up their for relocating But the cost of living is HighDollar Don't move around the Crest drive or central Ave. Don't go to far North Past Shawnee Mission Park way it gets real bad up that way The Crime is every where But in Kansas City Kansas The Crime Rate is way up their .I wish you and your Wife the very Best with your new relocate Destiny38

[aragx6]

If you're looking to stay near work on a 100k budget you will definitely be lokoing at a fixer upper, but there were definitely some options.

This place on realtor.com looks like it needs work, but you can't beat the price!
Single Family Home - Lenexa, KS, 66215 - Realtor.com


There were a few other options as well. Good luck!!

[Thrillcekr]

Originally Posted by piggydiva

Lee's Summit and Blue Springs Missouri are nice--but stay away from Grandview! Personally (I lived in BS, MO and worked in Grandview for 3 years), I would stay on the Kansas side. The roads are waaaaay better. In fact, taxes, and everything are better in the KC area on the Kansas side! I happen to know that Lee's Summit (and to an extent, Blue Springs) frown on inter-racial marriages. Just my two cents, but I don't know how happy you would be there. Independence, MO is a more forgiving place (if you truly want to live on the MO side).

I'd stick with Lenexa, Mission, or Olathe if I were you. Try to find someplace close to where you will work. Traffic is hellish!

Actually that's incorrect. Taxes are quite a bit higher on the Kansas side. State taxes are similar but property taxes as well as those on groceries and gasoline are significantly higher.

[Thrillcekr]

Originally Posted by Tuathal

Hi all......my wife and i are planning on moving from El Paso Tx up to Kansas City within the next couple of weeks. It'll be a culture shock to move out of the desert, but the work situation down here on the border isnt good. I've had a few job offers in some engineering firms in the Mission, Lenexa areas and wouldnt mind moving somewhere close to this.
From what i've read, this area of the city is quite nice. My question is, what areas in that part of the city are not so good, and are worth avoiding. I'm Irish myself and my wife's Hispanic and from what i've been reading the south-southwest part of the city (overland park, olathe, mission and lenexa) have a good cultural mix. Is that true?

I think you're misunderstanding what is meant by the south/southwest side of the city. Whoever told you that was probably talking about the south/southwest side of Kansas City. Here are the actual stats on Johnson County, Kansas in relevance to that subject:

"As of the U.S. Census in 2000,GR2 there were 451,086 people, 174,570 households, and 121,675 families residing in the county. The population density was 946 people per square mile (365/km²). There were 181,612 housing units at an average density of 381 per square mile (147/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 91.11% White, 2.83% Asian, 2.61% Black or African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.55% from other races, and 1.54% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.98% of the population. 25.1% were of German, 12.2% Irish, 12.0% English and 7.9% American ancestry according to Census 2000."

Don't be confused by the bottom part. When it says ancestry it definitely means ancestry. As in where their relatives came from 200 years ago. You'll find very few true Irish people anywhere around here. The 1.55% from other races in the above demographic includes hispanics.

As you can see, the areas you were enquiring about (which are in Johnson County) are not so diverse. On the other hand, many of the more diverse neighborhoods in the area are also kind of on the shady side. Are you interested in new construction or would something like a well kept classic Victorian suit your tastes? If the answer is the latter then you can find more of the diversity you are seeking by moving down in the midtown area of old Kansas City, Mo. It's sort of the old money part of KC and it is safe. Very trendy and pricey but a lot more diverse mix of people. It's also close to the hispanic areas on both the west and east sides of downtown and the Asian areas surrounding Rivermarket.

There's also a very small community that is just across the river from downtown in a community called North Kansas City. Not to be confused with the "northland" which is basically a less crowded version of Johnson County. North Kansas City is a nice safe little city with a great view of the downtown KCMO skyline and is probably the most diverse suburban city in the metro. It's also very close to I-35 so a commute to Kansas is no big deal.

[Thrillcekr]

One more thing. The northeast side of the old urban core is a very up and coming area. It has a reputation because of it's past but it's really cleaning up and real estate values are increasing rapidly but are still very affordable. It's definitely the next trendy neighborhood (ala Brookside or Waldo). There are still some shady areas further to the east but if you look in neighborhoods like Pendleton Heights and Scaritt, you will find a nice safe neighborhood at a very affordable price for the time being. One of my friends that grew up in a small town called Holt lives down there. If a guy like him, who's one of the biggest rednecks I know, feels safe enough to live there then you know it's not bad.

There are some absolutely spectacular homes in this area and it's extremely diverse. At one time it was almost exclusively Italian but now you can find it all. There's hispanics, Vietnamese, Koreans, Italians, Somalis, Croats. You name it really.

Here's some links to photos of that area:

Pendleton Heights June 07

Scarritt :: Part of the historic Northeast

Architecture of Columbus Park :: KCMO October 2006

KC's Old Northeast ~ including Pendleton Heights

Pics of a new neotraditional neighborhood built in previously mentioned North Kansas City:

Northgate Village neotraditionalism in North Kansas City

(This neighborhood is being built where there was once a dumpy old apartment complex. Very nice improvement.)

Downtown North Kansas City (Notice downtown KCMO in the background):

NORTH Kansas City's downtown area

Here's some of the midtown/plaza area I mentioned (Aerials first-some downtown mixed in):

Kansas City aerials :: Tosspot's helicopter ride

ABOVE URBAN KCMO

The Plaza Lights of 2007

My May Plaza Pics

South of the Plaza : Rockwell Lane & Sunset Drive

The West Edge of the Plaza

Around Rockhill & The Nelson Atkins

Waldo at Sunrise

Loose Park + South Plaza + Kirkwood Circle

I could keep going and going. There are literally tons of fantastic neighborhoods in this area but I don't wanna spend all night digging up links. You've got enough there to get a general idea of what it's like.

[magdallena]

Liberty is a great town to raise kids. Northeast of the city, not far from town.