Moving to Olathe or Overland Park.. need advice

[pioneer88]

Both communities would be great to live in. Great school districts in both, you can find nice homes in your price range in both. Personally, if I were to live in Olathe I would prefer to live on the west or northwest side. There's hilly/forested neighborhoods both older more established and a lot of newer homes. It has decent access to hiking/trail systems/Parks that I personally enjoy. That said, if you prefer to feel more in the city/suburbs then the eastern side of Olathe would be a good fit or Overland Park itself. It flows directly into Overland Park and from there you have quite an array of neighborhoods to choose from. Either way, it's nice that you both will be working close together. Good luck and welcome to the area!

[East Coast RN]

Thank you for all of the responses and advice.

We decided we are not going to be renting since this will be our hopefully final house. We had a starter home for 11 years on the East Coast which was a nightmare and have been saving for the dream house. Another reason we aren't looking into less than 4 bedroom homes is because one of our friends is actually moving in with us (I should have mentioned that). I want her to have her own space hence the basement with a bedroom or otherwise. Hubby went to high school in OP a million years ago and is partial to the area but is open to homes in Olathe. Also our 3.5 y/o was in early intervention with his previous preschool so a good public school program is vital as he has a few learning difficulties.

On a good note we finally got our preapproval from the mortgage company so we can stop window shopping. I'm very excited about that. Driving out to KS tomorrow permanently!

[rwiksell]

I'm not partial to Olathe, but I had some friends buy a house there, and when I saw it I was really surprised by how charming both the house and the neighborhood were. It's important to keep in mind that not everything in Olathe is cookie-cutter suburbia.

[Okey Dokie]

Have you noticed that Google maps always seems to shoot "street view" on trash day?

[SPonteKC]

Originally Posted by rwiksell

I'm not partial to Olathe, but I had some friends buy a house there, and when I saw it I was really surprised by how charming both the house and the neighborhood were. It's important to keep in mind that not everything in Olathe is cookie-cutter suburbia.

Indeed it is charming. It is also the area the realtor was likely referring to as "iffy", and the area of Johnson County most likely to be called "kind of ghetto" by someone named Adyson or Mackenzie.

[rwiksell]

Originally Posted by s.davis

Indeed it is charming. It is also the area the realtor was likely referring to as "iffy", and the area of Johnson County most likely to be called "kind of ghetto" by someone named Adyson or Mackenzie.

I thought the realtor was referring to west Olathe as iffy. This is smack dab in the middle.

And yeah, I would expect a person named Adyson or Mackenzie to describe any charming historic middle-class neighborhood as "kind of ghetto".

[TabulaRasa]

The widely varying perception of what constitutes "ghetto" is always interesting.

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by RadioSilence

There is nothing wrong with western Olathe. Perhaps by "iffy" the realtor meant flimsy construction. I don't know.

If you can live in Overland Park, and get into the Blue Valley School District, that would be ideal for your kids. But Olathe schools are good too.

Agree.

As for inside the 435 loop, I think the OP is better off outside the 435 loop, where the houses are newer and nicer for roughly the same price.

[thefallensrvnge]

I have family that lives in West Olathe. Some of the suburban residents have been all bent out of shape because a sizable Latino population has formed south of Santa Fe road. I hope that is not what your relator was referring too because the area is fine. West Olathe isn't not bad. It's a little far from Kansas City (if you want to go to the Plaza or event there), but it's a short distance for me to see some of my friends in Lawrence. It also has reasonable access to the Legends if your around K-7.

[East Coast RN]

We just arrived in OP today. I'm going to see my realtor on Monday and I'll ask him what he meant. Where we came from was a huge melting pot so that doesn't bother me. I'm excited to be here finally and to go house hunting. Thanks for all the input everyone!