rxlexi wrote:it's also much more walkable to amenities and services than our prior location (south hyde park)
trying not to derail the conversation about BKS, but this statement is such a perfect example of how far Hyde Park, specifically, is from functioning as a truly desirable urban neighborhood. Without any retail in or near (Troost) it's boundaries, it's a little island of fine old homes but not really a great destination "neighborhood".
Needs just a couple decent spots (coffee shop, bar, cafe, boutique, grocer, whatever) to develop that feeling where an urban core home buyer can look there and say "yeah, it's a neat old house close to everything, AND I can walk to XYZ". Northeast has the same problem, and then some. Hopefully will change going forward, Troost in particular.
indeed. we really enjoyed being on the park, and Troost did offer a couple of nearby practical amenities (True Value, and CVS/Walgreens) which were sometimes handy, but overall Hyde Park (esp. Central and South) are quite remote from things if you are on foot. And, for that matter, it wasn't exactly pleasant to walk to Walgreens or True Value anyway.
In BKS we are a short and pretty pleasant walk away from two grocery stores, CVS, multiple coffee options, restaurants/bars (although, as others have said, not the most interesting restaurant/bar options), the dime store (which sells a surprising variety of practical things), wine/liquor shops, a nice neighborhood organic farmer's market, multiple parks, etc.
BKS might be "the suburbs" but it's also probably one of the most "complete" neighborhoods in KC from the standpoint of having the ability to take care of a lot of needs on foot (or by bike). the lack of diversity is def. a shortcoming but it's a trade-off we're making in the interest of other life metrics (and, at this point, it's probably not that much less diverse, functionally, than HP.)