Where does a Garmin-bound recent college grad live?

[staubio]

I have a family friend who just got a job at Garmin and is looking for suggestions on where to live. She asked me if "OP was just a boring suburb" and qualifying it with a few exceptions like downtown, I said it basically was, though it offers all of the amenities one would expect from a modern city and that plenty of young people live there. I also suggested Waldo, though that is still 20 miles from Garmin's campus (which is insane) and is a hard sell. I'm pretty familiar with OP but are there any other redeeming areas that would better suit a young person? Maybe around Mission Farms or something? 119th and Metcalf for the concentration of grocery, bars, restaurants, etc? I don't know what to tell her and I'm balancing my pro-city bias with pragmatism about her daily commute.

So, any ideas?

[heatherkay]

She can be downtown almost as fast as Waldo, especially considering a reverse commute. Any idea if she's looking to buy or rent? There are some attractive older homes in Old Lenexa.

[staubio]

She can be downtown almost as fast as Waldo, especially considering a reverse commute. Any idea if she's looking to buy or rent? There are some attractive older homes in Old Lenexa.

I assume rent. This is her first job, so that makes it more challenging and rules out redeeming parts of Leawood, Lenexa, etc.

How is downtown Olathe? Does it have any cohesion as a neighborhood at all?

[ComandanteCero]

So I guess she's ruled out urban living outright?  I mean, even driving from 119th and Metcalf (or 119th and Nall) will take her 20-23 minutes.  But yeah, I think between 119th/135th and Metcalf/Roe that area has a large concentration of groceries/restaurants/shopping/bars/etc, you can easily get just about everything you'd want from that area.  There are also a fair amount of apartment complexes around there.

As to whether it's young people friendly?  I have no idea, although the apartment complexes are usually full of younger folks I guess.  I can't see it being any less friendly than any other part of JOCO.  The only thing is it might be pricey (but i have no idea how pricey). 

I don't know, if I were her I'd bite the extra 7-10 minutes each way and live downtown.  But that's just me.

[trailerkid]

Lawrence.

My friend works there and commutes.

[mary]

Downtown Olathe doesn't seem like it has much going on.  Downtown O.P. or older Lenexa would be better but I don't know that there is much there in the price range for a recent college grad. 

Garmin is right off 35, so as others have mentioned, the reverse commute to and from downtown would not that bad. 

[KCMax]

Downtown OP might be kinda interesting - 80th and Santa Fe. Ypu can have a quasi-urban environment - live in a loft, have restaurants, coffee shops, movie theater, all within walking distance. It would still be a heckuva commute though - Metcalf can get nasty for rush hour.

http://www.downtownop.org/

[WSPanic]

I have a few friends that work at Garmin and live in midtown. While it requires some early waking up - there is good, direct bus service to the Garmin offices (I'm assuming the JO). From what my friends say, work never really interferes with them catching the bus.

[LenexatoKCMO]

I would ask her how big a priority night life is.  If she is the sort of twenty-something that is going to want to go out a lot and do the whole Westport/Plaza/P&L thing with friends then the long work commute is probably worth it to locate closer to one of those areas and avoid the hassle of having to get home in the suburbs after a night at the bars.  However, if she is the sort who is likely to stay at home like a spinster until she eventually meets some dude online and gets hitched - then by all means get the apartment in some south olathe complex. 

[chrizow]

^  exactly.  unless she wants to live in BFE olathe, she is going to have a 15-30 minute commute no matter what.  if she is interested in going out, being near cultural amenities, etc., it might be worth it to have a 30-minute commute from the Plaza area vs. a 20 minute commute from 95th and Metcalf. 

if she is interested in urban amenities, she should live among them.  there is no reason for her to have to "commute" to restaurants and bars in town after she commutes from work.

[DaveKCMO]

mission isn't a horrible alternative.

[dangerboy]

mission isn't a horrible alternative.

True.  Mission is probably the best JoCo alternative for a young single gal.  Waldo could be a good choice too...  A increasingly vibrant nightlife scene with easy access to I-435.

[GRID]

Garmin it out there a ways and even with a reverse commute from Downtown, there will be some days where she will have delays.  Some parts of 35 can backup in the reverse commute direction in a snap with only a minor incident.

You could still get out there faster from Downtown than Waldo probably.  Coming from Waldo you will have more city streets to get through and WB 435 jams up often till you get past Metcalf or so.

Garmin is just in a bad spot.  People don't realize how far away they are.  If they were in MO, it would be like Kearney or Platte City only more traffic.

Those apartments at 435 and Quivira are decent and would put here closer to more metro area stuff.

I think Olathe is just a horrible place.  She should look at the complexes along 435 from Wornall to 87th in Lenexa.  I used to live in the apartments at 435 and Wornall and worked in JoCo.  It was perfect.  Waldo, Brookside and the rest of urban KCMO was close, so was shopping and dining in Leawood and OP.

[chrizow]

don't forget that midtown dwellers, at least east of main, have great access to 71.  i've made a few rush-hour commutes to medical appointments in the college blvd/roe area recently from south hyde park, and it took at most 20 minutes.  what's garmin, another 10-15?

sidenote: why the fuck is garmin in the middle of nowhere? 

[Appraiser]

Not a big fan of young folks living in the far flung burbs, however, for that location (Garmin) I would tell her to check out 143rd & Metcalf.  There are several newer apartment complexes along that stretch and some resturants and bars in the area and along with 119th.  Depending on where she lives now and when her start date is at Garmin, I would encourage her to try the commute from downtown and the Metcalf location to see what the travel difference would be like.

[chrizow]

She asked me if "OP was just a boring suburb"

if a young person even has this thought enter her mind, then she should not live in OP or Olathe (or Mission).  pretty easy answer, really.  she should move to the city. 

if the commute ends up being absolutely awful, there is no shortage of apartments in JoCo for her to move to.  i cannot imagine being a newcomer to KC and moving to 143rd and Metcalf or 435 and Quivira.

[GRID]

Not a big fan of young folks living in the far flung burbs, however, for that location (Garmin) I would tell her to check out 143rd & Metcalf.  There are several newer apartment complexes along that stretch and some resturants and bars in the area and along with 119th.  Depending on where she lives now and when her start date is at Garmin, I would encourage her to try the commute from downtown and the Metcalf location to see what the travel difference would be like.

That's true.  Forgot about that area.  There are some really nice apartment complexes out there near the sort of started mall near 135.  Just stay away from Olathe complexes, some can be pretty ghetto.

[GRID]

if a young person even has this thought enter her mind, then she should not live in OP or Olathe (or Mission).  pretty easy answer, really.  she should move to the city. 

if the commute ends up being absolutely awful, there is no shortage of apartments in JoCo for her to move to.  i cannot imagine being a newcomer to KC and moving to 143rd and Metcalf or 435 and Quivira.

That's where most go.  That's why there are so many apartments in JoCo.  Too bad because they won't get to experience the real KC and many will probably end up leaving the area when that opportunity arises thinking all of KC is like JoCo.  I have heard of that happening.

[LenexatoKCMO]

Too bad because they won't get to experience the real KC and many will probably end up leaving the area when that opportunity arises thinking all of KC is like JoCo. 

After they get a DUI from trying to attempt a 40 minute drunk drive back to south Olathe from Westport.

[Midtownkid]

sidenote: why the fuck is garmin in the middle of nowhere? 

No kidding.  We should get them to move downtown!!