KCRag Forum

Those who have lived it, tell me about the transition. No kids and no plans for them. Bonus points if you walked to work before the move. For a friend currently (and maybe me in the future)

For a friend currently (and maybe me in the future)

KCP moving to the burbs.
Say it ain't so.

I transitioned from downtown (garment district) living to the far south end of south hyde park. was also looking in BKS/waldo.

What would be the difficulty in transition? I would imagine 99.9% of people who currently live in downtown KC grew up in a suburban or street-car suburban type environment.

Instead of living in an apartment/condo, you would have a house. Which is cool b/c it's easier to have indoor/outdoor living (i.e. not having to take an elevator, walk down corridors, etc. to get outside; backyards, porches). More trees. More families with kids.

aknowledgeableperson wrote:

For a friend currently (and maybe me in the future)

KCP moving to the burbs.
Say it ain't so.

Not so fast.... I'm using this guy as a trial balloon though.

I wouldn't call it the burbs though.

chrizow wrote:I transitioned from downtown (garment district) living to the far south end of south hyde park. was also looking in BKS/waldo.

What would be the difficulty in transition? I would imagine 99.9% of people who currently live in downtown KC grew up in a suburban or street-car suburban type environment.

Instead of living in an apartment/condo, you would have a house. Which is cool b/c it's easier to have indoor/outdoor living (i.e. not having to take an elevator, walk down corridors, etc. to get outside; backyards, porches). More trees. More families with kids.

Less frequent bus service, worse restaurants, not as walkable, also transitioning to actually up keeping a house.

If I did ever move and wanted a house I'd be much more looking at Westside for these reasons.

Call it what you need to, but Waldo and/or Brookside is the burbs.

KCPowercat wrote:
Less frequent bus service, worse restaurants, not as walkable, also transitioning to actually up keeping a house.

If I did ever move and wanted a house I'd be much more looking at Westside for these reasons.

If bus access is important, living near the MAX (or possible future streetcar) would be key. There are other busses that go through BKS/Waldo but I have never used them.

If someone is not planning to have kids and requires walkable restaurants and lots of transit access, I am not sure if a BKS move is a great idea.

Upkeep of a house is an issue, but if someone is already used to paying maintenance fees on a condo, financially it shouldn't be too much of an adjustment. Actually doing the work (or hiring the work to be done) will be an adjustment, but it's not outrageous. Thousands of non-handy people live in old homes in this city without significant issue - and if your friend has some DIY skills, all the better. Also, depending on budget, one can get a renovated house that shouldn't need much (or any) significant work for a long time.

I don't regret making the move to a single-family house in a relatively non-walkable area. I much prefer it to apartment/downtown living for a number of reasons. I prefer the feel of an old house vs. new loft. We have a 60+ acre, well-used park across the street. Diverse neighborhood (age/economics/race/etc). Outdoor living space is great - front porch living, fire pit, etc. We can walk to Westport or the Plaza in about 20 minutes, which is roughly comparable to walking to the Crossroads when I lived at 6th and Central. If someone is a die-hard downtowner and needs the walkability, then it will be a bit of an adjustment - but this is KC, it's not like moving from Manhattan to Connecticut. A compromise point between downtown and BKS/Waldo is obviously midtown - you get walkability (depending on 'hood) and transit access, but the benefits of a single-family home.

heatherkay wrote:Call it what you need to, but Waldo and/or Brookside is the burbs.

Welp that rules me out then!

chrizow wrote:

KCPowercat wrote:
Less frequent bus service, worse restaurants, not as walkable, also transitioning to actually up keeping a house.

If I did ever move and wanted a house I'd be much more looking at Westside for these reasons.

If bus access is important, living near the MAX (or possible future streetcar) would be key. There are other busses that go through BKS/Waldo but I have never used them.

If someone is not planning to have kids and requires walkable restaurants and lots of transit access, I am not sure if a BKS move is a great idea.

Upkeep of a house is an issue, but if someone is already used to paying maintenance fees on a condo, financially it shouldn't be too much of an adjustment. Actually doing the work (or hiring the work to be done) will be an adjustment, but it's not outrageous. Thousands of non-handy people live in old homes in this city without significant issue - and if your friend has some DIY skills, all the better. Also, depending on budget, one can get a renovated house that shouldn't need much (or any) significant work for a long time.

I don't regret making the move to a single-family house in a relatively non-walkable area. I much prefer it to apartment/downtown living for a number of reasons. I prefer the feel of an old house vs. new loft. We have a 60+ acre, well-used park across the street. Diverse neighborhood (age/economics/race/etc). Outdoor living space is great - front porch living, fire pit, etc. We can walk to Westport or the Plaza in about 20 minutes, which is roughly comparable to walking to the Crossroads when I lived at 6th and Central. If someone is a die-hard downtowner and needs the walkability, then it will be a bit of an adjustment - but this is KC, it's not like moving from Manhattan to Connecticut. A compromise point between downtown and BKS/Waldo is obviously midtown - you get walkability (depending on 'hood) and transit access, but the benefits of a single-family home.

Great points and really why I never thought I'd make the move ... But always keeping options open.

5 years ago I moved from the garment district to Volker. I did it primarily so my wife and I could have a yard for our kid but I could still catch the bus to work and walk to a bar (Fric and Frac). I immediately regretted not being able to walk home for lunch every day but I enjoyed the night life better. Trade offs. Downtown KC has improved a lot in 5 years…I’m not sure I would have made the same decision today.

We recently moved to Hyde Park to be closer to friends and get a bigger place for the kids. I love the neighborhood but someone really REALLY needs to put a bar in over here.

I like Waldo/Brookside just fine but it’s too far from downtown for my taste. You also get a nicer house for the money in Hyde Park/Squire Park.

Agreed with Volker Dad. This would make perfect candidate for a chill neighborhood bar. Someone with some loot and a love for drinks should get on this: http://www.kansascityhomes.com/Kansas-C ... 36263.aspx

Damn, that is gorgeous and cheap.

.

Even though I am new here, that sounds lovely. This place is so easy to wonder around for hours. Imagine if alcohol was involved.

Might be time to change the thread to Hyde Park Needs a Bar.

GiveThisManABeer wrote:Agreed with Volker Dad. This would make perfect candidate for a chill neighborhood bar. Someone with some loot and a love for drinks should get on this: http://www.kansascityhomes.com/Kansas-C ... 36263.aspx

This would be a perfect place for a Pub/Brewery Co-Op like this one in Austin. That building is beautiful
http://www.blackstar.coop/

If anyone wants to form an ownership consortium, I'm in. But I call dibs on the juke box.

heatherkay wrote:Call it what you need to, but Waldo and/or Brookside is the burbs.

I agree completely

we know that development occurs in rings. the distance tends to define the period. raytown and mission and gladstone are in much the same situation on development for this reason.

looking at a satellite map of KC and the map of KC annexations I'd pick basically the 1909 annexation and 1897B annexation areas as suburban while the 1885 and 1897A annexation is urban.

one can nitpick back and forth by blocks each way but much of Prospect is much like Metcalf. beyond density and era of development they're the same streets. Brookside and Waldo are even more suburban than Prospect is. Troost is more urban than Prospect but less than Main. The Paseo south of US 71 is a suburban street. It's very similar in feel to Chouteau north of I-35 just with different eras in play


some of the comments, especially by chrizow, about distance makes sense. UMKC and Briarcliff are the same distance. Briarcliff has good schools, yards, lots of price points for homes, a neighborhood bar, bikes lanes, 7-day transit. it's not as walkable but a lot of waldo requires a car as well. for someone moving from downtown but still wanting to stay close, it's a fair choice. and it's closer than Brookside is. We considered moving downtown but I couldn't find a place that fit our needs as well. maybe when I don't have preschool aged kids, daycare is important for me right now and that's a hole downtown. there's some good opportunities coming, maybe in 5-7 years there will be a really good family home option there isn't today

GiveThisManABeer wrote:Agreed with Volker Dad. This would make perfect candidate for a chill neighborhood bar. Someone with some loot and a love for drinks should get on this: http://www.kansascityhomes.com/Kansas-C ... 36263.aspx

Oh wow, great call.

At the very least, we should make it our ghostbusters headquarters.

That is an awesome building. I would totally drop a few grand into an ownership pool to pick that building up and turn it into a bar or brewery co-op, with the understanding that all the "owners" have access to the crash pad upstairs.