Moving to KC in 2007

[schugg]

where you want to live is total suburbia, just like the place I'm sure you live in now.  so go ahead, that's what you want, do it! 
good luck to you and your family.                    p.s. don't dare let your kids wonder off into the city!  they might be exposed to something great.

[KCDevin]

"Is Johnson County bad because it's outside the city limits of Kansas City, Missouri?  Or is it that it is suburban?  Let's get specific here."

Neither... Since the 60s, Johnson County has been stealing businesses and residents from the rest of the metro area. Sprint built a sprawling campus instead of building in Downtown KCMO or KCK.
It is entirely because of Johnson County that we are having to rebuild our Downtown. KCMO lost over 50,000 people from the 50s to 1990.
Johnson County still remains a major opponent to KC and the rest of the metro area.

Some of our largest companies such as Sprint, Executive Hills, Waddell and Reed, etc... are located there. Executive Hills WAS going to build this in Downtown:

Most likely the tenants would have been Executive Hills and Sprint. However, because of various reasons, this wasn't built, and those companies instead chose this in Johnson County:




Now, Johnson county is still gaining people. Instead of medium and high wealth people (not entire families) moving to Downtown and the Plaza, you'll find most live in this god-forsaken place.

KCMO recently tried to call a cease-fire with Johnson County, however Johnson County declined it outright.

After Sprint Center was proposed, a lot of those against it were in Johnson County. After it was approved, 3 Johnson County cities decided to try and outdo us and decided to propose their own arenas.

Since the TSC were proposed. Johnson County has been trying to make sure the vote is voted down so they have a chance of gaining the Chiefs. So that they will have both the Chiefs and the Wizards (MLS)...

That is a short history of the hostility against Johnson County.
when I said it was a very bad neighborhood. I was meaning it is very bad for the city and the metro. Without it, Kansas City could be comparable to Minneapolis.

Also, if you want to live in suburbia, that is ok with me. I live in the Suburbs. I just hope you don't choose Johnson County. The supposed city of "Perfect"... (They were shocked when a fire started in OP... Saying that sort of thing could never happen there. However after that statement, the fire later spread and burned some of it's Downtown)

NOTE:
I'm not being hostile to you or anything. Like I said, I like the suburbs, almost as much as I like the city. But I believe the suburbs are for agriculture and small business. I encourage you to take your kids to the suburbs, better schools in those areas. Just like I said, be a friend to KC and don't go to Johnson County

[ComandanteCero]

uh oh, look at what you started moving2kc  .  Honestly, just post the query in the "Kansas Suburbs" part of the forum if you want potentially helpful advice.  All you'll get here is an earful of anti-JOCO rants (not that they aren't uncalled for unjustified in many ways, but i doubt it will help you make a decision about where you want to locate) 

[KCDevin]

I saw this as an opportunity to hit the jerks in JoCo in a small way... We need to screw JoCo as much as possible. Convincing him and his wonderful family to stay out of JoCo is a way to slap them in the face (in a tiny fashion)...

[schugg]

maybe we can suggest '' up north ''

[Sportster]

Ok, you've confused an Omahan.  You get the prize.


Come on you guys.  This is your chance to help a newcomer. 

You aren't really Tom Becca are you?

Oh my Gawd!!!

Sportster
...stutter, stutter, stutter

[Paintfumes]

Don't listen to paintfumes... (name)

That county is very very bad... It's the evilest most terrible part of this city.

its nice over there . My parents have lived in that area for over 20 years. Overland Park has everything I wish Midtown would have. I love living in Midtown but if you can stand  the different kinds of people around here and go for it. If you are more into the safety of your family then head toward OP.

[schugg]

^^^^^^don't you know that crime happens everywhere?

[Paintfumes]

dont you think he probably live in the burbs in Omaha ?

[schugg]

dont you think he probably live in the burbs in Omaha ?

yes,  and I said that about 9 posts up you nimwad.  If you would just read!

[GRID]

I wouldn't touch Johnson County with a ten foot pole. .

If you want to live in the suburbs, choose the northland, more trees, nicer terrain, closer to everything and about 20-40% less for the same home.

And you won't turn into a prick in two years. , plus in KS, they require you to place a college logo on the licence plate holder on the front of your car.

[schugg]

I wouldn't touch johnson county with paintfumes wiener........or would I ?

[Highlander]

Interesting replies

I'm not working for or at Sprint.  We came down & looked around and liked the area near there.  I hate to burst any bubbles, but while we did like the plaza, downtown(city market is very nice), and the older neighborhoods, we sadly are confirmed suburbanites.  We prefer a neighborhood with kids our kids age.  If it's any comfort, we'll bring the kids into the city from time to time and show them people who actually look differently than them.

As far as price, we are looking in the 250-350 range.  What we'd like is a 2 story, 4 bed, 2.5+ bath house.  

If you are still around after that barrage, there are plenty of us on this board that believe Johnson County is a great place to live and the fact that it is far and above  still the fastest growing county in metro (in actual growth/not percentage growth) means that a lot of people in the metro feel  the same.  If you have kids and want to live in a suburban area, there are several choices depending on where you will work.  While it might make sense to work in the city and live in the suburbs, or vice versa, the KC metro is pretty spread out so it makes little sense to work in one suburban area and live in another (unless you are concerned about housing cost....but 250-350 will expose you to a good range in Johnson County).  You have not actually said this, but I assume you are going to be working in JoCo?  There are those on this board who actually live in JoCO and enjoy it and they would have a lot more recent info than I do on actual neighborhoods.  The county can be divided into north and south of I-435 (and a growing area west of I-435).  South of I-435 is where Sprint is and it can be a pretty high priced market in the immediate Sprint area.  As I understand it, housing prices are somewhat cheaper towards Olathe (west) but the neighborhoods become a bit more bland also.  South of 435, you are in the Blue Valley School District which I understand to be one of the better in the metro if not the nation.  Further west Olathe district takes over but I understand it is still a good district (KC Cracka can fill you in on that one). 

Like others have said, the northland is a nice place to live but a LOOOONG commute to JoCo but you probably can get more house there for your money.  Lees Summit, SE of KC, is also nice as suburbs go but it is somewhat isolated.  Both those places have excellent schools too.  I am not nearly as familiar with eastern KC.  North of 435 in Johnson County becomes a bit more urban with some pretty old established neighborhoods and one cannot go wrong in Leawood or Prairie Village but you will not get near as much house for your money there and Leawood will be mostly outside your price range.  These areas are all in the Shawnee Mission School District which is a fairly mixed bag anymore.  As I understand it, SM East, SM South and SM NW are still great HS's but some of the others have slipped a bit in recent years.

Hope that helps.  Most of the folks on this board are die-hard urbanites, many as you correctly surmised are very young, and there are the occasional (if not constant) Johnson County vs Missouri battles that are, at times at least, somewhat entertaining. 

[KCLofts]

If you're looking for a nice suburban home, you can't go wrong with Johnson Co.  If you're looking for a KS suburb, it's the only place to consider.  Highlander provided a pretty good break down on the "new" vs "old" parts of the county.  The area around the Sprint Campus would be in the newer part of Overland Park.  If you're within 2-5 miles of here, there is nothing to worry about.  All neighborhoods in this area are probably pretty much the same, so it just comes down to what you like.

You might also want to expand your search to the parts of Overland Park and Prairie Village just north of I-435, especially P.V. down to 83rd or 79th ST.  The homes are older than the area that you are looking at, but the neighborhoods are more established, more mature trees, and less commercial buildup as the area around 119th Street.

Welcome to KC.

[KCDevin]

Stop encouraging them to become a Stepford family! Convince him to move somewhere other than JoCo

[chrizow]

Stop encouraging them to become a Stepford family! Convince him to move somewhere other than JoCo

what the hell?  are YOU a robot?  let him move where he wants to.  forcing him to move somewhere other than JoCo due to forumers' unthinking/robotic hatred for JoCo is reprehensible, rude, and more "stepford/automaton" than anything in JoCo.

Moving2KC - if you get in contact with someone from Reece + Nichols realtors (or whatever realtor) and tell them you want to live close to the Sprint Campus, they will have TONS of homes to show you.  that is a very popular area of the metro, and it is probably the "best" new suburbia in the area.  never fear. 

and don't let the people on this website turn you off.  you're welcome on this site.

[KCDevin]

He is welcome on this site. But we don't need anyone else moving to JoCo. It's a shit hole plain and simple. Those people belong in the inner core of the city, not in a cookie cutter - stepford - pleasantville - business stealing - sprawling hell hole.

JoCo should have died out a long time ago, but they decided to KILL Downtown and the inner core and steal businesses and prevent large companies from moving Downtown and keeping it alive.

Unless Johnson County gives Downtown KCMO and KCK Sprint-Nextel, Executive Hills and Waddell and Reed (plus others), and stops giving tax incentives to businesses and residents to make them move there, then it will always remain the worst area of the metro bar-none.

Those companies, and those people belong in the Urban Core. No suburb should EVER grow faster than the inner-core. If it does, then it deserves to have all it's businesses stolen as well as it's residents.

[chrizow]

He is welcome on this site. But we don't need anyone else moving to JoCo. It's a shit hole plain and simple. Those people belong in the inner core of the city, not in a cookie cutter - stepford - pleasantville - business stealing - sprawling hell hole.

JoCo should have died out a long time ago, but they decided to KILL Downtown and the inner core and steal businesses and prevent large companies from moving Downtown and keeping it alive.

Unless Johnson County gives Downtown KCMO and KCK Sprint-Nextel, Executive Hills and Waddell and Reed (plus others), and stops giving tax incentives to businesses and residents to make them move there, then it will always remain the worst area of the metro bar-none.

Those companies, and those people belong in the Urban Core. No suburb should EVER grow faster than the inner-core. If it does, then it deserves to have all it's businesses stolen as well as it's residents.

you sound insane. 

moving2kc - don't listen to Devin about johnson county.  it isn't my cup of tea either, but to each his own.  devin apparently feels differently, and irrationally so.

[chrizow]

also, moving2kc is being relocated to KC for work.  he wants a nice suburban home for him and his family, not to make a $350,000 donation to the KC is better than JoCo fund.  i am pretty sure that the KC/JoCo rift is far from his mind - as it is for 99.9999999% of people shopping for a new home, let alone transplants from another city who could care less. 

i abhor sprawl as much as anyone, but some of you forumers are sounding very immature, irrational, intolerant, and absurd. 

[KCLofts]

Stop encouraging them to become a Stepford family! Convince him to move somewhere other than JoCo

Oh god, the old Devin is coming back.  Stop this BS now or leave the board again.