KCRag Forum

KC wrote:I personally don't want a yard......that's why I live where I do. I'm just saying most people want some space when they have kids.....mostly because they are scared to death to send their kids to a park anymore....which is sad.

About 3 years ago, a friend of mine was kickin' a soccer ball around with his kids in Bethany Park in KCK. One of his 3-year-olds fell down and started cryin' because a hypodermic needle stuck in his hand. My friend was terrified, rushed his kid in for an HIV test, but the doc told him he had to wait 6 months before a good blood test could be made. Luckily, his kid tested negative. Scarey shit. Makes you wanna kill careless druggies.

QueSi2Opie wrote:

KC wrote:I personally don't want a yard......that's why I live where I do. I'm just saying most people want some space when they have kids.....mostly because they are scared to death to send their kids to a park anymore....which is sad.

About 3 years ago, a friend of mine was kickin' a soccer ball around with his kids in Bethany Park in KCK. One of his 3-year-olds fell down and started cryin' because a hypodermic needle stuck in his hand. My friend was terrified, rushed his kid in for an HIV test, but the doc told him he had to wait 6 months before a good blood test could be made. Luckily, his kid tested negative. Scarey shit. Makes you wanna kill careless druggies.

This sounds like a common reason to keep your kids out of public parks...

When I first moved to Midtown about 5 years ago, I was surprised to see all kinds of kids in the neighborhood. There were many more families than I expected in an urban neighborhood. Kids here seem just as likely to walk to the park or to a friends house as kids in a small town.

I think it's a myth that you can let kids out of your sight in a big city. Depending of course on the specific neighborhood and how well you have taught them to handle themselves.

When I received custody of my daughter, and when she moved with me to finish high school, I lived in Missouri. There was NO WAY I would have considered her going to a school in the KCMO school district.
I attempted to get her in several private schools, the waiting list on some of them were over two years. She still lives with me and goes to KU.
I moved to Johnson County, I still do not regret the move, and I love my home and yard.
I suppose it is a matter of preference, but many of the people on this forume that embrace living in the urban core of the city probably do not have children. They are your most important asset and investment. Far more important than being able to walk to the store for bread, hell I can do that in Lenexa.
If KCMO would improve their school district to the level of it's Missouri and Kansan suburbs, you would probably see a huge influx of families.
If they do not, you will see many people that moved to the city center in the rebirth go back to the burbs when they start to have children.
Good public schools are an essential element to the community as a whole.
Better schools in KCMO would be a far more positive thing than ball parks and arenas.
I realize that there are some improvments in KCMO ISD, but I do not see them happening fast enough.
Hopefully it will be soon.

gil

Aric:

if you are looking for an "urban" experience on par with DC, you will be disappointed, especially if you are wanting a single-family detached home. Brookside is pretty walkable, but you're still going to drive the vast majority of the time.

in KCMO, if you want a great old house in a cool neighborhood, then you can't go wrong with Brookside, as others have mentioned.

since a pedestrian life is almost totally out of the question if you want a house, other neighborhoods that are great, but not real ped-friendly are:

Romanelli Gardens: great, relatively inexpensive Tudors on treed lots.

Waldo: awesome, stable neighborhood that (IMO) is a little more down-to-earth than Brookside, which seems to be increasingly chi-chi and pretentious.

Hyde Park: amazing homes. i'd have no problem living there, but i wouldn't raise kids there.

Meyer Circle: I dont know your financial situation, but if it's pretty secure i'd look in Meyer Circle or the Country Club district.

on the KS side, you can get Brookside-quality homes (and good public schools) in Fairway, Westwood, Westwood Hills, and Mission Hills, KS.


so yeah, hate to break it to you, but KC is not a very pedestrian town.

also, the problem with raising a family in KCMO is that even great neighborhoods (including the ones mentioned in this thread) are a stone's throw from bad neighborhoods (similar to DC in that regard). Brookside and Waldo are probably the best from that standpoint.

and, while some KCMO elementary schools might be OK, do NOT plan on sending your kids to KCMO secondary schools. it's a sad fact, but KCMO schools are pretty much like "Dangerous Minds."

Lincoln Prep, however, is a great school. i'd probably still rather send my kids to shawnee mission schools or blue valley or lee's summit. if you live in KCMO you can pretty much plan on sending your kids to private school.

Again, it depends on your willingness to walk. I find KC more walkable than other cities I've lived in or visited. I wouldn't say that it "isn't a pedestrian town" -- that strikes me as part of that annoying inferiority complex so many KCitians have.

You can walk for most all of your needs in Brookside. You can walk for most all of your needs in Westport/Plaza. You can walk for everything except groceries in the Crossroads or the Rivermarket. I don't there is a place anywhere where you can get a house surrounded by everything you could possibly want in two blocks, but if you are willing to walk a mile, you have a plethora of options in KC that are walkable.

I grew up in Hyde Park, South Plaza, East Side, SKC/Ruskin, Hickman Mills. I have since lived in Brookside, Waldo, KC,North, Redbridge, StL and now Blue Springs. So I have a little knowledge of KC.

Valentine

The JoCo people don't know about it, the ghetto people don't know about it, yet its right in the middle of the city, very close to Downtown, Crown Center, Penn Valley Park, Westport and the Plaza. Transit is not real close; groceries are going to be a drive etc. But don’t kid yourself, this is KC and you are going to drive a lot regardless of where you live especially if you have a family.

Just drive down Karnes Blvd west of the Trafficway and you will see just an awesome neighborhood with good parks etc that are used by the many children who live in those amazing historic homes.

Hyde Park

Like Valentine, Hyde Park has many parks and amazing older homes. Hyde Park is a huge area and can be very diverse in areas. The area runs right smack into the ghetto areas of the east side of KC and even though there are not many problems in the area, it has more problems than many other urban areas of KC, but I would definitely give it a try because it is so large and offers so many choices in so many different areas of the near east side. Once again, there really is not very much in the way of services etc though.

Brookside

Pretty well described above, you really can’t go wrong. It’s not really urban, but it’s not suburban either. I love Brookside, transit is decent, you have the trolley track trail, the homes are just awesome and you truly can walk to a grocer or other retail and restaurants in the area. But it’s not original anymore. Too much commuter traffic, homes are extremely expensive and it’s too close to KS for me. Too many JoCo plates constantly buzzing around over there like they own the place anymore. But, it’s really just a nice old inner suburban area, much like Prairie Village etc on the KS side.

Waldo

I don’t think this is what you are looking for. Great place to buy a starter home and expose your family to more of a “cityâ€

Um, Blue Springs?

What, don't like my humor?

I like Blue Springs. My uncle lives there. (not kansasfarmboy)

KCforumer wrote:

cdschofield wrote:Here's my take on Brookside. The vast majority are 30's - 40's married professionals planning to have kids or already have them. Although 2 of my neighbors are gay, 1 single and the other a couple

Do you happen to live on Cherry St?

No, Edgevale Rd. Maybe Brookside is a little more diverse than I thought.

It was mentioned recently but I drove through Fairway/Westwood and I think it is very comparable to Brookside and there are better public schools to boot. Most neighborhoods within 5 - 10 blocks of Main from the River Market to Brookside are a good bet. The northern end is more single friendly and the southern end is more family friendly.

GRID wrote: Valentine

The JoCo people don't know about it, the ghetto people don't know about it, yet its right in the middle of the city, very close to Downtown, Crown Center, Penn Valley Park, Westport and the Plaza. Transit is not real close; groceries are going to be a drive etc. But don’t kid yourself, this is KC and you are going to drive a lot regardless of where you live especially if you have a family.

Just drive down Karnes Blvd west of the Trafficway and you will see just an awesome neighborhood with good parks etc that are used by the many children who live in those amazing historic homes.

Valentine's eastern border is Broadway, which is served by the #51. It's western border is SW Trafficway, which is served by the #47. I'd say it is a great neighborhood for transit access.

On the other side of the trafficway (Roanoke, Coleman Highlands), there is service on 39th and 31st, and the trafficway... but something in the core of those neighborhoods might require a walk of several blocks to get to a bus. All in all, though, you are pretty much always within range of a bus route if you can walk a few blocks.

cdschofield wrote:It was mentioned recently but I drove through Fairway/Westwood and I think it is very comparable to Brookside and there are better public schools to boot.

Aye, I was gonna mention Fairway, Westwood, Mission and Prairie Village because of GRID's JOCO comments. These are walkable JOCO, KS neighborhoods that have a slight urban feel to them. However, stay in Missouri if you want more home for your buck.

Aric, I'd look into the neighborhoods near Loose Park, in the South Plaza area. I know homes around the park itself are quite expensive, but there are many beautiful houses a few blocks off of it, with Brookside and the Plaza both close by; lots of restaurants, shops, groceries in BKS (not necessarily walkable, but easily bikable).
Also an area not mentioned yet is Crestwood...it's very close to the neighborhoods mentioned above (east across Brookside Blvd. at 55th, more or less). Right next to UMKC, very pretty old homes tucked into hilly landscaping...easily walkable old strip of upscale shops and at least one restaurant (Aixois, French place) and used bookstore (Bloomsday). Similar proximity to Brookside and the Plaza. Both neighborhoods are great for kids, though I'd go with private schools after primary for sure at this moment in time (I attended both public KCMO and private catholic).
Rockhill is similar, with even larger and more elegant homes, just east of the Nelson (art museum) and easily walkable to the Plaza.

If you're willing to be a little adventuresome definitely check out places in Union Hill (awesome views and a blossoming urban neighborhood) or pick up a grand old mansion in Hyde Park (can't go wrong with that).

Best of luck to you and welcome...

"Valentine's eastern border is Broadway, which is served by the #51. It's western border is SW Trafficway, which is served by the #47. I'd say it is a great neighborhood for transit access."

Actually, I'm thinking of the area west of the trafficway.

It is hard to get around anywhere in Kansas City without a car. It is needed even downtown because there are not enough basic services returning yet to fill the needs of the populace. Brookside would be a great place, but I also suggest Plaza West. There are some great houses and its an old mature neighborhood with mature trees. From certain places there you would be able to walk to the Plaza. Also, there are neighborhoods being redeveloped around UMKC, which provides a nice academic atmosphere. Sad to break it to you, you'll be using your car a lot more than you have to.

Sounds like another chicken and egg discussion brewing in here. You can't get great bus service that isn't use, but you can't use the bus service if it isn't great.

I'd encourage you all to do an experiment and park your car for a week. It isn't as hard as you'd guess. Between my bike and the bus, the impact upon my day was neglible, besides having less stress from driving and more exercise.

Perhaps I should start another thread and issue a challenge -- because I think people love to marginalize the ATA and love to justify their car dependence. I admit, I'm often guilty. I have a car and I use it for quick trips. I'm putting faith in the progress of KC and am hoping to be car-free in 4 years.

Seriously, folks... it isn't as hard as you think.

if you don't work in a major employment center, it's not easy....and will take you 2 hours. I've tried.

Now if you live downtown and work on the Plaza, no reason to drive.

KC wrote:if you don't work in a major employment center, it's not easy....and will take you 2 hours. I've tried.

Now if you live downtown and work on the Plaza, no reason to drive.

True, it depends greatly on where you work. It takes me an hour on the bus and about half that much time to drive, but I spend 30 minutes in the morning reading or doing other idle tasks that I can take with me on the bus. I try to ride the bike to work when the weather is nice.

I think, in a discussion of neighborhood choice, walkability, etc, the main issue is non-work-related transportation. Can you get around the area using transit and walking when you aren't going to work, i.e., when getting coffee or going out to eat. I think this was the original intent. With that in mind, I'll concede that many people that have to drive to work certainly have a case, but if you live anywhere in the city, you can get to downtown, Westport, the Plaza, Brookside and all points in between fairly painlessly. When running small errands and hanging out in the city, the bus works great and many neighborhoods are very walkable.

I use the bus the most on Saturday for leisure. I hop on and head downtown, get some produce in the City Market, get some lunch, meet some friends, visit the library (when it is open), etc, and then use transit to get around wherever I want to go from there. Of course, it always helps to have a bike with you. BRT is going to help immensely in relying on transit and not being bound to the schedule. I hope other lines are tweaked to serve as efficient feeders to the BRT.

Of course, this comes from a guy that has walked from the Plaza to downtown for the fun of it.

Staubio, there is a real sociological link between wanting a yard and the loss of community. I agree, I would settle for not having a yard and believe that society would benefit greatly from people meeting in the park to allow their children or dogs play. There have been several studies confirming this, which associate the decline of bowling leagues and the loss of community. I have to admit though, I currently live in an apartment and I long for a yard, only for my dogs because I'm too lazy to take them out. So we must take into account this non-spurious effect on the question.