KCRag Forum

GRID wrote: But Fairway is nice.  I like Fairway.

Grid, this must have been painful for you to type and I appreciate that  

GRID wrote:

chrizow, I have never thought of you as a kansas hater at all.  Actually, I have always thought you were more of a closet JoCo fan.  You will end up out there someday when you have kids.  I'll bet you a gates mixed plate on that one.  (sorry, no okjoes)

Not to speak for anyone, but I think Chriz, like a lot of people, appreciates some of the housing stock that just happens to be across the state line, if barely across the state line, not that it should matter at all.

"Closet JoCo fan" makes me think of someone with beige valspar samples scattered all across the floor and 435 South mag cutouts taped to the wall.

warwickland wrote: "Closet JoCo fan" makes me think of someone with beige valspar samples scattered all across the floor and 435 South mag cutouts taped to the wall.

So why exactly is Lincoln Prep so easily dismissed as a quality school???  It's consistently in the top schools in the nation as is Sumner.....yet the Shawnee Mission school district fans completely discount it.


Personally I'd pick Waldo just for the mass transit option going into downtown.  Don't be forced to drive to work.

warwickland wrote: Not to speak for anyone, but I think Chriz, like a lot of people, appreciates some of the housing stock that just happens to be across the state line, if barely across the state line, not that it should matter at all.

"Closet JoCo fan" makes me think of someone with beige valspar samples scattered all across the floor and 435 South mag cutouts taped to the wall.

exactly.  it's not that i am a "fan of joco," closeted or not.  the vast majority of joco holds no appeal for me whatsoever - same with the northland, east jaxco, etc.  i am a fan of places that are appealing to me in some way - and plenty of 'hoods in the city of KCMO do not qualify, and a few in JoCo (or other suburban areas) do.  westwood hills, fairway, parts of PV and leawood, etc. are an extension of urban or streetcar-suburban KCMO, specifically the west plaza and BKS/Waldo areas.  yes, they are across the state line, but they feel (and are) much more connected to the urban core than, for example, any part of eastern jackson county or 98% of the northland.  

contrary to GRID's firmly held convictions about kansas, i believe that your average person driving a car with JO plates and KU stickers who lives at 49th and mission or even 87th and Lee is much more likely to be a part of the urban core experience than the average person living up in shoal creek or out in blue springs.  

feeling connected to the urban core is not a state line issue - it should be obvious to anyone who has spent time in the MO-side burbs that these folks can be as out of touch with the urban core, and as hostile to it, as anyone. 

I brought up the school rankings, so I'll respond to the all the weird high school alma mater defensiveness:

I am - quite vocally and quite proudly - a Kansan.

I went to a large, racially mixed, urban public high school in Kansas.

I now live in KCMO, which I do, in fact, grossly prefer to JoCo (which is my least favorite part of Kansas).

That said, I would likely consider moving to NE JoCo if it was an option, in part because of the reputation of KCMO public schools. Like Chrizow, I consider NE JoCo to be more a part of KC than the MO side burbs or the Northland.

My kids go to KCMO public schools.

A few of those schools, mostly in BKS/WALDO, are truly exceptional public schools. There are 3 very rare public elementary schools in the immediate area. 2 Montessori schools and a language immersion school. I also think there are extra-curricular advantages to KCMO schools that sometimes get forgotten in this debate. Namely, interacting with a more diverse group of peers.

Lincoln Prep is an exceptional public high school, that happens to have been recently ranked higher (by hundreds) than any JoCo school. I don't really put much stock in such rankings, but anytime someone says they are considering moving to KCMO, someone immediately asserts that if you care about schools for your children, Johnson County is the clear choice. I think that allowing that mantra to be repeated unchecked, like some kind of gospel, is pretty destructive.

I don't think SME school is a bad school. I think its the best school in JoCo. It's the one I would send my kids to if I lived there. But I do not think JoCo schools are - de facto - better than the best KCMO schools and I'm shit full of hearing that they are.

What are the good elementary schools in BKS/Waldo?

^^Two consecutive great posts by Chingon and Chrizow.

I understand the defensiveness when it comes to KCMO vs. SMSD, since most SMSD fans/grads/residents really have no clue what is going on in KCMO.  And perception is really one of the worst impediments to improvement that KCMO has had lately.  The KC Star headline was really misleading and typical.  I also agree with Chriz that the vast majority of JoCo has no appeal to me. 

Personally, I love being close to highways.  I live within two minutes of I-70 and I-35.  I can get almost anywhere in town in 30 minutes or less.  I grew up in PV, not too far from Waldo, and I can say that my friends who lived/live in Fairway could/can get places pretty quickly when driving due to Shawnee Mission Parkway.  That said, Waldo is actually in the middle of an interesting area, and the cheap public transit through to Plaza/Brookside/downtown is unmatched in the KC area.

Border Star and Academie Lafayette are both top notch and have great curricular orientations. Holliday at 72nd and Jackson is not technically in BKS or Waldo, but is close and is a great school.

Its also worth noting that KCMO schools are open enrollment, so you can send your kid wherever you want, as long as you provide transportation. That opens up a pretty wide range of other options, including the Foreign Language Academy in midtown, which is a very good elementary, or whatever else you might think fits your desires.

None of which is really germane to the thread, however. I don't think schools are an issue for the poster and perhaps we should focus on things that are...

bobbyhawks wrote: Personally, I love being close to highways.  I live within two minutes of I-70 and I-35.  I can get almost anywhere in town in 30 minutes or less.  I grew up in PV, not too far from Waldo, and I can say that my friends who lived/live in Fairway could/can get places pretty quickly when driving due to Shawnee Mission Parkway.  That said, Waldo is actually in the middle of an interesting area, and the cheap public transit through to Plaza/Brookside/downtown is unmatched in the KC area.

People also tend to forget that Waldo has excellent access on the east to 71 HWY and thus Dowtown, Midtown, the Northland/Airport and whatever the hell it is that is south of here. Plus, on the west, Ward Pkwy/SW Trafficway functions as highway for all intents and purposes.

If one is wanting to live by highways....downtown is your answer.

KCPowercat wrote: If one is wanting to live by highways....downtown is your answer.

That is what I was referring to and where I live.  But access to get places you love is an important consideration wherever you choose to live, unless you absolutely love to drive.

Single, 30's, I would say Waldo all the way.  Once your friends find out how fun the area can be, walkable, great bars, they will understand why you chose Waldo.  My daughter and son in law moved there about 9 months ago from Lenexa (medical insurance reasons), I doubt they will ever move back to JoCo and they have two small kids.  Really friendly people, just a real neighborhood feel.  Also, a basement is way better to have than an extra bedroom.  Really cute looking house, maybe you can talk them down some.  If we move at some point I am sure we will be looking at Brookside/Waldo.

chrizow wrote: exactly.  it's not that i am a "fan of joco," closeted or not.  the vast majority of joco holds no appeal for me whatsoever - same with the northland, east jaxco, etc.  i am a fan of places that are appealing to me in some way - and plenty of 'hoods in the city of KCMO do not qualify, and a few in JoCo (or other suburban areas) do.  westwood hills, fairway, parts of PV and leawood, etc. are an extension of urban or streetcar-suburban KCMO, specifically the west plaza and BKS/Waldo areas.  yes, they are across the state line, but they feel (and are) much more connected to the urban core than, for example, any part of eastern jackson county or 98% of the northland.  

contrary to GRID's firmly held convictions about kansas, i believe that your average person driving a car with JO plates and KU stickers who lives at 49th and mission or even 87th and Lee is much more likely to be a part of the urban core experience than the average person living up in shoal creek or out in blue springs.  

feeling connected to the urban core is not a state line issue - it should be obvious to anyone who has spent time in the MO-side burbs that these folks can be as out of touch with the urban core, and as hostile to it, as anyone. 

I agree with this.  I too think NE JoCo is a bit more urban oriented than probably any other suburban area.

I was just giving you a hard time because you always seem to be okay with JoCo (even south joco), but pretty much can't stand the MO burbs.  IMO, it's all about the same.  The MO burbs can be a bit more blue collar, but then so can much of the KS side, it doesn't get much more blue collar or even hick than KCK.

I actually do like NE JoCo and it doesn't hurt me too much to say that kcjayhawk .

I do think the area is extremely overrated and overhyped in kc though.  Sure, you will find some neat homes and neighborhoods just over the KS side, but I honestly don't think they compare to the MO side.  It's like you skip over 30 years as soon as cross state line.  The Mission Hills mansions compare to the Ward Parkway mansions, but I just find the rest of the housing stock on the MO side far more appealing to what is mostly upgraded raytown ranches etc of PV etc.  There are some really really nice homes in Fairway etc though.

You pay for the schools to be in PV, Leawood etc.  You want charming, historic housing stock, the vast majority of that is on the MO side of the area.

It is what it is.

GRID wrote: I choose Waldo, just because I could never ever say that I live in Kansas or drive around the country with Kansas plates.  Just can't do it. .

That’s funny because one check mark against Missouri for me is the required front license plate.  I like that spot for a plate that talks about who I am. 
Back in the '80s-'90s it was exacerbated by those UGLY burgundy-rust colored MO
plates that made every car look dowdy.

slimwhitman wrote: That’s funny because one check mark against Missouri for me is the required front license plate.  I like that spot for a plate that talks about who I am. 
Back in the '80s-'90s it was exacerbated by those UGLY burgundy-rust colored MO
plates that made every car look dowdy.

I miss the burgundy-rust colored MO plates.  I like for a license plate to simply state the information required - not to describe the lesser known or irrelevant qualities of a state.

If you are asking that house specifically, not Waldo in general.  I would go with the Waldo house.  It's "barely" Waldo (just on the other side of Gregory--the Brookside/Waldo dividing line).  You're less than a block from a restaurant/bar, diner, salons and varied other businesses.  Less than a mile, you can walk to the Gregory/Wornall shopping area.  Just at a mile, you're in the middle of Brookside shops, or the other way, middle of Waldo entertainment area.  Most houses in that area are $250k+ (3br/2ba though).  It's a really nice neighborhood/feel.   If you were any further south or west, then I may question it because of safety/resale.

it doesn't get much more blue collar or even hick than KCK.


Really?  Raytown, Riverside, Northmoor? 

WyCo wrote: it doesn't get much more blue collar or even hick than KCK.


Really?  Raytown, Riverside, Northmoor?  

Okay, I'll give you Riverside and Northmoor, but those are TINY towns.  KCK is like 140,000 people.

Raytown?  Raytown can be pretty blue collar, but everybody I know there work at places like DST, Halmark and Sprint, have no interest in hunting, fishing, nascar etc.  The city is now pretty full of african americans that migrated there from urban kcmo.  Raytown really doesn't have that hick feel to me, at least now.  It's inner ring suburbia that leans blue collar.

Raymore?  Now that place is pretty hick and I think a lot of the people that used to live in Raytown and gave Raytown that image in the 80's moved to Cass County.

I'm not saying that all of KCK is hick.  It's just that a very large part of it has an arkansas feel to it.  It's like half ass suburban sprawl that is not done.  Lots and lots of open space, narrow country looking streets in built up areas etc.  30 year old strip malls next to cow pastures... People in KC call KCK urban yet most of it feels sort of like rural sprawl to me outside the core (west of 635) and the core is just difficult for me to describe, it's not urban like kcmo, but more like St Joe or something.

Out by the speedway?  That area is pretty hick.  Just like Cass County, only I think worse.

I forgot about Independence.  While I would say half of it is very much typical suburbia (blue collar older areas along I-70 and the newer JoCo looking southeast area), but the north part of Independence can be very hickish.  lots of pickup trucks, yard art etc.

i don't know anything about the residents who live there, but there are some areas just off SW Trfcwy in KCK that feel like rural hollers in the ozarks or something.  narrow country lanes with ramshackle homes 500 feet apart - all within a mile or two of downtown KCMO.

the same can be said of the extreme eastern fringes of urban KCMO - some deep alabama vibes out on the far east side.  shotgun shacks, trailer parks, almost comlpetely forested areas.