Help me find the best place

[warnett]

Hello,
I need help. My wife, daughter and I moved to the area last April. We moved from downtown San Francisco (top of Nob Hill for those of you who are familiar with SF) to Overland Park. I really wanted to move downtown but my wife convinced me to live in OP. Our lease is going to expire April 1st and I'd like to move downtown. Since we moved her last April we had a baby boy so we'll need some space. Can anyone recommend a nice 2 or 3 bedroom condo or loft downtown that is for rent. Our price range is ~$1000 +/- $200. Is it possible to find a unique 2 or 3 bedroom in a nice area with stuff near by to do in that price range? I'm tired of the suburbs. I'm tired of crappy restaurants and commuting. I’m also tired of living so close to in-laws. Please help!

[ComandanteCero]

there are a couple of realtors floating around here, and bunch of downtown residents with a good idea of what's what.  From a quick glance at http://www.kc-lofts.com/ , these two bad boys stand out:

http://www.kc-lofts.com/rent.php?id=1063

http://www.kc-lofts.com/rent.php?id=1065

[bahua]

Give the folks at New Quality Hill a call. I lease from them, and they have two-story townhomes with lots of great features, available for about $1200 a month.

816 472 1000

[warnett]

I like that 2 bdrm you posted a link to. I think I saw that listed on Craigslist a little while back. Any others?
Thanks

[KCPowercat]

I second QH....good value, great location.

[warnett]

Is there any truth to the rumors I hear from JoCo people that MO has crappy schools and the roads are lousy? My only experience with MO is downtown (limited to work only) and the Plaza. Do many people live downtown with multiple kids? Should I look into downtown KS like the City Hall Lofts?

Thanks for the recommendations. I emailed the SoHo place. I can't find much info online for the Quality Hill Apartments. I'll call in the morning. I have to take my sister-in-law to the airport in the afternoon so maybe I can stop by there on my way back.

[bahua]

If you can get your kids into a charter school, like the Derrick Thomas Academy, then the schools are good, but the normal public schools in the city, yes, are pretty lousy.

I wish they'd open a downtown day school.

The roads are fine enough, but they are definitely much nicer in Kansas.

[KCPowercat]

http://www.apartmentguide.com/Property/ ... tyID=13247

[ComandanteCero]

i have friends raising a daughter in one of the downtown neighborhoods, but they send her to a private pre-school/elementary.  I don't know how much better schools are in KCK, i think if public schools are your main concern you'll have to head to the burbs (be they Northland, JOCO, elsewhere). 

[warnett]

Thanks for the link.
What do decent charter schools here cost? There was no cost info on the Derrick Thomas Academy web page. One of the reasons we left SF was the schools are so lousy. Anyone with money puts his or her kids in private school. Everyone else leaves the city when his or her kids get to school age. People spend upwards of 20k per year for school alone in SF.

[chrizow]

i am sorry to report that you will not be very pleased with KCMO public schools for the most part.  even good schools like Lincoln Prep are a bit too "edgy" for most folks.

if you are determined to send your kids to public elementary schools, look in the Brookside area.  is that French immersion school public?  i've heard great things. 

if i lived in the core and had a decent household income, i would send my kids to Barstow Academy, no question.  http://www.barstowschool.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1

[Sportster]

WOA WOA WOA -

We got dandy roads here in Missery, er, Missouri. If ya got a Hummer or a jeep, they're dandy.

First off, divorce your wife. South Overland Park, REALLY!!! (not really) ...ahem

O.K., all seriousness aside, (veterans you can here this comin from me) Take a look at Pendleton Heights or Scarritt Renaissance Neighborhoods. You'll find plenty of 2,000 + sq. ft. homes for under $200-k. Public schools leave a little to be desired, but at the elementary level, you should be ok. We neighborhood folks like to say: "Live here, send your kid to private school with the property tax $$ you'll save. There are Charter schools as well as perochial (Catholic) too.


Historic Northeast is literally 20 minutes from everywhere in the city, 10 minutes to Downtown, 20 minutes to KCI, 15 minutes to the nearest Harley dealer...but I digress - ahem.

Check out this site: www.northeastnews.net
Its the community paper that serves Historic Northeast.

KC Realtor is a good source for both homes and lofts. He's good people and he's right smart too!


Sportster
...yeah i'm on my soapbox - so what!!!

[ComandanteCero]

speaking of Barstow where the heck is that?  I roughly know where Pembroke, Rockhurst, Bishop Miege, St. Theresa's, etc are, but I have yet to stumble by Barstow's in my many trips through the city....

[warnett]

The roads shouldn't be that big of a deal. I drive on them now to work and back. When we moved to KC and the suburbs we did the proper thing by trading in our small sedan for a gas guzzling SUV. Not a hummer but a new Xterra.

My kids are 2 1/2 and 3 months by the way.

I found an ad just now for Quality Hill on Craigslist. Check it out.
http://kansascity.craigslist.org/apa/134122711.html

[chrizow]

speaking of Barstow where the heck is that?  I roughly know where Pembroke, Rockhurst, Bishop Miege, St. Theresa's, etc are, but I have yet to stumble by Barstow's in my many trips through the city....

it's way way way south.  115th and state line on the MO side...so it's not in the urban core, but it is close enough that families in Brookside/etc. could make it work.

[chrizow]

The roads shouldn't be that big of a deal. I drive on them now to work and back. When we moved to KC and the suburbs we did the proper thing by trading in our small sedan for a gas guzzling SUV. Not a hummer but a new Xterra.

My kids are 2 1/2 and 3 months by the way.

I found an ad just now for Quality Hill on Craigslist. Check it out.
http://kansascity.craigslist.org/apa/134122711.html

i do not want to betray my urbanist brethren by saying this, but here goes:  send your kids to public schools in the "nicer" areas of KCMO (Brookside, Crestwood, etc) or cough up the dough to send them to private school.  like i said before, if you can swing it, send them to Barstow Academy K-12. 

[CrossroadsKid]

like i said before, if you can swing it, send them to Barstow Academy K-12.

Let me guess chrizow, you went to Barstow?  I grew up near there and knew a lot of people that went there.  Let's just say if he could afford to send his kids there, there would be no way he would be renting.

[chrizow]

Let me guess chrizow, you went to Barstow?  I grew up near there and knew a lot of people that went there.  Let's just say if he could afford to send his kids there, there would be no way he would be renting.

no i went to Ray-South.  i know some Barstow alums, though, and it it is a fantastic school. 

if warnett is intent on sending his kids to public KCMO schools, i would not be looking around downtown.  sad, but true.  it is very easy to be a diehard urbanist in theory, but the last thing you want to do is send your kids to a shitty school.

[voltopt]

a co worker of mine recently moved to kcmo from tulsa with his wife and kid... initiallly they lived downtown near 10th and broadway and sent the kid to St. Paul's Episcopal Day School at 4100 Main Street.

[url][http://www.speds.org/sch-about-us.html/url]

they moved to old briarcliff (which is kcmo just north of north kansas city) but the kid still goes to St. Paul's.  I hear good things about this school... just not sure of tuition cost...

[chingon]

my wife and i have been literally pouring over info on kansas city schools, as we try to decide where our children should go.  i would suggest that you take into consideration a private school payment when deciding how much you can spend on rent.  ( i would also suggest not renting...this is the midwest, the ability to own one's own property is one of the few real benefits of living here).  however, if schools are the deciding factor, the elementary schools in northeast and midtown are reasonable, as long as you don't rely on them to raise your children for you.  or educate your children for you.  but as subsidized daycare, they're ok.  middle schools begin to get dicey, and the public high schools here are practice prisons.  so budget in private school or parochial school for your children if you're serious about their education.  that said, i have heard mixed reviews of lincoln prep, paseo academy and the spanish/french immersion schools.  otherwise, i have not found any evidence to recomend anything but the wholesale abandonment of kcmo public schools.
of course as long as we have pro sports, who gives a shit...go chiefs!!