Relocating to Kansas City area (Lee's Summit, Blue Springs: new home, school district, living in)

[Clowny]

Hi everyone,

I will be moving to the KC area soon to work in Fairfax. I would appreciate any help in finding a good location for my family.

I want something out of the city and a little north of the city. I don't know if Kansas is better or Missouri. I have two children, ages 9 and 11, so good school choices are very important to me.

I prefer a smaller town away from the big city (15 or 20 minutes), with shopping not too far away.

Any info would be a great help.

Thank you

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by Clowny

Hi everyone,

I will be moving to the KC area soon to work in Fairfax. I would appreciate any help in finding a good location for my family.

I want something out of the city and a little north of the city. I don't know if Kansas is better or Missouri. I have two children, ages 9 and 11, so good school choices are very important to me.

I prefer a smaller town away from the big city (15 or 20 minutes), with shopping not too far away.

Any info would be a great help.

Thank you

Look into Western Wyandotte County. You will be working in that county, may as well try to find a place to live there.

Suburban Wyandotte (west of 435) (KCK, Bonner Springs) and Leavenworth County (Lansing and Leavenworth) offer exactly what you describe. A smaller town, lower density / more rural type area, yet still a nice area. The area has everything you really need with the speedway area and would be a very quick drive into the Fairfax District. There is a lot of new housing in this area and the housing will generally be a little cheaper and on larger lots than other aeras of the metro.

You won’t really find anything similar without getting pretty far away from Fairfax in MO or Johnson County, KS. Just look west of 435 and along K-7.

[Samantha S]

Originally Posted by kcmo

Look into Western Wyandotte County. You will be working in that county, may as well try to find a place to live there.

Suburban Wyandotte (west of 435) (KCK, Bonner Springs) and Leavenworth County (Lansing and Leavenworth) offer exactly what you describe. A smaller town, lower density / more rural type area, yet still a nice area. The area has everything you really need with the speedway area and would be a very quick drive into the Fairfax District. There is a lot of new housing in this area and the housing will generally be a little cheaper and on larger lots than other aeras of the metro.

You won’t really find anything similar without getting pretty far away from Fairfax in MO or Johnson County, KS. Just look west of 435 and along K-7.

I'd recommend western Shawnee (just a couple of minutes further South. The DeSoto school district is top notch. KCK, Bonner, Lansing and Leavenworth schools would not be my first choice given that Desoto district is right next door in Shawnee.

We live near 435 and Johnson Drive at the moment. The commute to the Fairfax district is about 15 minutes and is not affected much by rush hours.

You don't say what price range of houses you will be looking in. You can get a basic 4BR 2-story with a nice yard around here starting about $180k. Same type houses will be a little less in Wyandot county and less still in Leavenworth area.

[kcmo]

What about Piper, Bonner Springs, Turner etc. I have heard a lot of good things about those districts.

Jesus, is there only 2 or 3 districts in this entire metro worthy of sending our precious children too? If so, this country is in a lot more trouble than I thought.

There are a lot of new homes going up in western WyCo and Southern LvCo. I'm sure those people are not all total fools.

Look into Desoto district, but don't overlook options like Turner, Bonner, Piper and Lansing. It would be closer and it may even be an area you fall in love with since it's a bit more blue collar and spread out then the ultra suburban and fast growing Desoto school district is. I'm not trying to tell you to avoid the western JoCo, just don't overlook your options, you might be sorry later on. If you find out western Shawnee or Lenexa is for you, go for it!

[Samantha S]

Originally Posted by kcmo

just don't overlook your options

That's all I was saying as well.

According to Greatschools.net (which certainly doesn't tell you everything, but is an okay place to start gathering info) on their 1-10 scale, Bonner and Piper HS's rate a 4, Turner is a 2, and Mill Valley HS in Western Shawnee is a 9.

Are we going to go through this every time I post?

You can say things like " I honestly don’t see why any family looking for the perfect suburban area wouldn’t live in Platte County." But I can't recommend where I live?

[Clowny]

Thanks for your responses!! They are very helpful.

I sent out for some info also, but only received a packet of information from Smithvillle, Mo. thus far. Does anyone know anything about Smithville?

It looks like a decent small town and the schools are highly rated according to their info they sent me.

My price range for housing would be starting at about $160k but not exceeding $210k.

I am now going to explore the areas you have listed and send out for info from their chambers, but it is always better to get info first hand from people living in the area.

Thank you so much and please add anything that you think will help me.

Have a great day!!

[Samantha S]

Originally Posted by Clowny

I sent out for some info also, but only received a packet of information from Smithvillle, Mo. thus far. Does anyone know anything about Smithville?

It looks like a decent small town

It is, and it has a nice lake. It's a little further North than I'd care to be, but it's so pretty and peaceful up there, it might well be worth it!

I don't know anything about the schools in Smithville. Greatschools has the elementary and middle schools ranked highly. The HS is a 6, which doesn't necessarily mean it's "bad", but the most recent comments from parents aren't favorable. Sounds like the Principal has ticked off some parents. Unfortunately people are more likely to post negative comments on a website like that than they are to post positive ones. So keep it in perspective.

Best of luck to you!

[kcmo]

http://photos.imageevent.com/kcphotos/misc/kcmap3_800.jpg (broken link)

If you look at this map, Smithville is at the very top of the metro area. It’s probably only about 5 minutes further from further from the GMAC plant as western KCK is and about the same as western Shawnee and those areas. You can go straight down 169, which is not congested at all unless you take it past 29 into Downtown KCMO. You would take 29N for a couple of miles and then take 635 South to 69 South which will take you right into Fairfax. It sounds complicated, but it’s not a bad drive at all.

Smithville is very nice and the area is very wide open. There are a lot of “large lots” north of 435. The town of Smithville is nice and it has a decent amount of retail. Major retail centers in the Northland are only 15 minutes from the heart of Smithville. The lake is huge and is very popular for boating, hiking etc.

Smithville schools are probably very similar to those in Bonner Springs, Turner etc. It’s more of a small town district then a large suburban district. I happen to think districts like that would be fine, but if you want a district that would offer a lot more options, activities, programs etc, then I would look more into the larger suburban districts like NKC, Park Hill, Desoto and Shawnee Mission.

Again it’s one of those things that is all about personal preference. You will have to spend some time in the area and see what you like for yourself.

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by Samantha S

That's all I was saying as well.
You can say things like " I honestly don’t see why any family looking for the perfect suburban area wouldn’t live in Platte County." But I can't recommend where I live?

I would only say that if the people would be working in Downtown KC. If you work in Downtown KC, then yea, I think Platte County is really the best option. Not becasue it's better, but because it's your typical suburban crap, only much closer than driving in from Johnson County, Lee's Summit, Blue Springs, Cass County etc.

I just don't get why so many people think that 95% of the schools in this metro area are not good enough. I would never tell somebody that the schools in Bonner Springs or Lansing or Raytown would be a bad choice. I know people that teach and live in districts like that and I tend to hear nothing but good things about them. That's my point.

[Samantha S]

Originally Posted by kcmo

I just don't get why so many people think that 95% of the schools in this metro area are not good enough. I would never tell somebody that the schools in Bonner Springs or Lansing or Raytown would be a bad choice. I know people that teach and live in districts like that and I tend to hear nothing but good things about them. That's my point.

Once again, "Option B is better choice than Option A" is not the same thing as saying "Option A sucks." Why is this such a tough concept?

I didn't say Bonner Springs or Lansing or Raytown would be a bad choice, I said the Desoto district was a better choice and right next door.

You are a bit further removed from this area than I am. And what I "tend to hear" is that people for whom schools are a top priority and are able to do so are leaving those districts for the Desoto district. It's one of the reasons this area has exploded like it has.

So it isn't that 95% of the schools "are not good enough". It's that if someone asks me where I think the best schools are, I'm going to recommend what I think is "best". It doesn't mean every other school sucks.