Single and moving to KC. Need relocation advice... (Kansas City, Blue Springs: low income, sales)

[casualsuede]

Hi Everyone!

I'm moving to Kansas on a job relocation and will be working in Overland Park.

I want to know the best place I can live but I will be renting and I am currently in my thirties and single, so strong family oriented communities are not for me at this point in my life.

I'm into the nightlife and the urban cafe lifestyle and I want to live in a place that is diverse, and of course, has low crime. I am looking for 5~10 miles from Overland Park.

I'm coming from Toronto, Canada, which has one of the most diverse populations in the world (ranked 2nd to NYC) and while I don't expect as much diversity, I am looking for a place that is not too much of a single thing.

While money isn't really an issue, I am not rich, so I won't be looking at $2000/month bachelor pads.

Also, I don't know if there is a difference between KC, KC and KC, MO, so if anyone can help me on that, it would help me out!


Any areas you can point me to would be highly appreciated.

[jeffmsilver]

KCK = Kansas City, Kansas (KS is the state abbreviation)
KCMO = Kansas City, Missouri (MO is the state abbreviation)

Two different cities, but they are right next to each other. KCMO is bigger and probably the "city" you'd imagine.

The post about people from Portland would be helpful. I'd suggest first the West Side of downtown. It is more diverse than most KC neighborhoods. Beyond that, the usual favorites: Brookside, Westport, South Plaza... I find the River Market a bit dull, but people disagree.

[kcmo]

First off. Even though you will work in Kansas, you will not want to live there. Not coming from the "city" of Toronto. Not being single and wanting to avoid suburbs.

KCK really has nothing for you at all and Johnson County, where Overland Park is located, is 100% suburban. Think Mississauga, ON. Only less dense.

From what you describe, "urban" KCMO is really your only option.

Let me try to explain KC to you real quick.

First.

The Metro has about 2 million people. 60% of that is on the MO side.

The "city" is on the MO side and the suburbs are split pretty evenly in MO and KS.

There is really no comparison between KCMO and KCK. KCK is basically a blue collar suburb of KCMO. Some people don't like to call KCK a suburb, but when you see the area, you will think it is a suburb. KCMO is a "big city" like any other big city ie, Denver, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, Cincy etc.

KCK is not only a suburb, it’s a pretty small city with only about 150,000 people spread out over a very large area. It’s also very low income etc with some middle class sprawl occurring out by the speedway. Coming from Toronto, KCK will appear almost rural to you in most parts of town. You won’t like it. KCMO is also a very large city geographically, but it has a very old, dense urban core. This area of KCMO is about 250-300,000 people. You will want to avoid the suburban areas of KCMO such as the far east, south and northland areas.

The MO suburbs are also not something you will want either. That includes the Northland and all the east and southern MO suburbs like Blue Springs, Lee’s Summit, Belton, Liberty etc.

You will want the urban core of KCMO.

Most jobs in OP are only about 20-30 minutes from the urban core of KCMO. You not only can reverse commute, but you will more than likely not even have to get on an interstate. You will probably be more than 15 miles from your job, but again. If you want something that is not suburban you will have to live 10 miles from College Blvd. minimum. But again, the commute is not bad at all.

I would look at the Country Club Plaza area. You will find a ton of mid to high end urban housing there. You can also look into midtown KCMO around the Art Museums or Westport where you will also find a wide variety of apartments, condos and even some single family homes for rent.

A bit further north, you can look into the Crown Center and Crossroads area where again, you will find a lot of condos for rent. People bought a lot of condos in the past few years and many of them are for rent now. There are a lot of really charming historic buildings in KCMO that are now condos. We have so many of these that it's even hard to find a new construction condo building. But they are out there too.

Western Auto, San Francisco Tower, Union Hill etc to name just a few in this area.

Go a bit further north and you get into the downtown and river market areas. Same deal there. Wallstreet Tower, Quality Hill, 909 Walnut, the View and many others.

Just stick to the area of the city between the river and about 55th and state line and about Gillham. And you will be fine.

Any place else and you are in for some major culture shock coming for a large and diverse city like Toronto and you will want to leave the first week you live here.

Trust me. I see it all the time. People here don't understand that most young, single (or married) people from other large cities do not want to live in a place like Johnson County. But people move to KC and settle in the KS suburbs and end up hating KC even though they never even experienced the actual "city". People "looking for" a good suburban area tend to really like Johnson County, but in your case, stick to urban KCMO. You will also find urban KCMO much less conservative and far more diverse and open minded.

Good luck.

[casualsuede]

Quick question KCMO: Are shops open on Sundays or is their a Blue law (what we used to call it in Toronto) in place?

[kcmo]

No, everything is open on Sundays.

I think the Kansas side still has some odd laws in place such as not being able to buy beer on Sundays, but I'm not sure. They may have lifted that.

In general, the Missouri side will be less conservative than the Kansas side when it comes to things like buying liquor etc.

But for the most part, it's not an issue in KC.

[casualsuede]

So, I am on the realtor.com website, because they provide a great sector/neighborhood mapping system, but of the 219 areas of the greater KC area, there is no listing for Country Club Plaza. Can you point out where this neighborhood is?

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by casualsuede

So, I am on the realtor.com website, because they provide a great sector/neighborhood mapping system, but of the 219 areas of the greater KC area, there is no listing for Country Club Plaza. Can you point out where this neighborhood is?

Here is a map of the general area:
Yahoo! Maps, Driving Directions, and Traffic

[smellykat]

Canadian poster:

Try these zip codes when searching realtor.com:

64112 - country club plaza
64111 - westport area
64113 - south of plaza

KC is on Google streetview too.

[casualsuede]

One last question:

Is there a cost of living difference between KCMO and KCK? I mean state income tax, sales tax, gas prices and food prices?

[casualsuede]

Thanks all for your help. I picked a place in Westport that was great and close to Whole Foods, and the local bars.

Hey, one more question. I visited the Power and Light and Arts district near a trek to Arthur Bryant BBQ (I think I like Jack Stack's better, but that another story).

Are there any nightclubs (dance clubs) in KCMO? I've never seen one yet.