OP and Olathe 2 of the top 15 places to live in America?

[tella100]

not sure if this has been posted before:

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag ... index.html

Not sure that I can trust any survey that rates Overland Park the sixth best place to live in the entire US. 

[skim82]

R U sure this should be in Urban Living?

Funny thing is, I currently live in Olathe, and I'm moving DT in several months.

I think the fact that no only Olathe, and OP made it, but LS made the top 50 as well.  I think that speaks well for KCMO, as it does for east jax and joco. 

[Tosspot]

It seems all these dipshit studies come out at the same time each year. And without fail, they all take suburban life and put it on a pedestal and assume that's what everyone wants.

[Moniker]

It seems all these dipshit studies come out at the same time each year. And without fail, they all take suburban life and put it on a pedestal and assume that's what everyone wants.

I'd say that the study CNN Money published is pretty spot-on for the sort of lifestyle most families in America wishes to lead. In fact, we tend to put urban living on a pedestal and assume that is what everyone needs.

A rose by any other name....

[warwickland]

I thought it was interesting that the only soundbite i heard from a blip about this study on TV from a life long OP resident:

"we used to play in the fields, now they are all subdivisions..."

[ComandanteCero]

well, i'll just say when my parents first moved to the mid-west (in another city) their first instinct was to figure out the mass transit lines closest to my dad's job, and look for homes along that line.  They did this, got a nice house in a decent neighborhood (although the area at large was a bit shabby around the edges), and my dad rode the light rail system to work evey day.  However, once school was set to start, and we realized the high school had boarded up windows, and police officers lined the path from the entrance to the enrollment office (spaced 20 feet or so), and the principal is proud to say the school has not experienced any gang shootouts on school premises for 4 months, etc etc.  You realize very quickly that the public school has just nullified all the other benefits you had carefully built your decisions around.  The private schools in the area were astronomically expensive (especially seeing as i have multiple siblings).  Pretty quickly my parents made the decision to move out to a good school district, even if it meant a long high way commute (which my dad loathed), and higher rent for a house a third the size of the urban one.

When my parents moved to KC, they didn't make the same mistake twice, they simply looked up the best school districts in the metro (at that time it was Shawnee Mission and Blue Valley).  We visited different schools, and quickly came to the conclusion that the kids in Blue Valley blew chunks (not to mention rent was insanely expensive down there, and we would have had to live in an apartment if we'd gone for that school).  Anywho, we figured out where we could rent a house in the Shawnee Mission district (it turned out to be OP, although to my parents it was all the same difference, i remember them looking at houses all over the district area in various cities).

Long story short, quality of public schools are huge in where you decide to live, atleast for families. 

[leaf]

^

exactly.  i understand perfectly why families in KC choose to move to OPKS and Lee's Summit and Parkville.  they are safe, have good schools, and are "nice" and "new." 

what i don't understand, is all the single people flocking to apartments and condos in the suburbs, whether it be independence, lee's summit, or johnson county.  i realize that not everyone has the same taste as me, but i find it hard to believe that single people have a "taste" for living at 39th and Crackerneck in Independence or 12913401 Black Bob.

[KCMax]

^

exactly.  i understand perfectly why families in KC choose to move to OPKS and Lee's Summit and Parkville.  they are safe, have good schools, and are "nice" and "new." 

what i don't understand, is all the single people flocking to apartments and condos in the suburbs, whether it be independence, lee's summit, or johnson county.  i realize that not everyone has the same taste as me, but i find it hard to believe that single people have a "taste" for living at 39th and Crackerneck in Independence or 12913401 Black Bob.

Great post. I think most don't know any better. But the tide is turning. Expose them to downtown and they'll consider it an alternative to the drab, dull lifestyle of the burbs.

[kcmetro]

I can't imagine living out in the suburbs. Some of my friends do and I think they like it, but they're the suburb type so it fits them. The only bad thing is that if you want to hang out with friends who live near the Sprint Campus, it takes them a half hour or more just to drive to Midtown. Kinda makes going out to bars a real task.

[BVC]

^

exactly.  i understand perfectly why families in KC choose to move to OPKS and Lee's Summit and Parkville.  they are safe, have good schools, and are "nice" and "new." 

what i don't understand, is all the single people flocking to apartments and condos in the suburbs, whether it be independence, lee's summit, or johnson county.  i realize that not everyone has the same taste as me, but i find it hard to believe that single people have a "taste" for living at 39th and Crackerneck in Independence or 12913401 Black Bob.

Over the past 20-30 years, there has been little to no reason to move downtown or to urban areas in KC.  The Plaza was the most developed and inhabitable area from my standpoint when moving to urban KC but I was frothing at the mouth to move to the River Market or the Founders at Union Hill by the time I moved to Atlanta.  Urban KC in a few years will have every bit of the allure that it should have always had and will become the hip place for young professionals to habitate.  The single folk will flock back to the core...

[schugg]

Over the past 20-30 years, there has been little to no reason to move downtown or to urban areas in KC.  The Plaza was the most developed and inhabitable area from my standpoint when moving to urban KC but I was frothing at the mouth to move to the River Market or the Founders at Union Hill by the time I moved to Atlanta.  Urban KC in a few years will have every bit of the allure that it should have always had and will become the hip place for young professionals to habitate.  The single folk will flock back to the core...

I think you are correct, me and my wife bought a house in midtown and are going to raise our kids here as well, luckily we are in a situation financially to do that. so we will send our kids to private schools.

I have a great wife

[dangerboy]

That whole list should just be called "15 Places where you are the least likely to have a black, brown, or poor neighbor"

[nota]

That whole list should just be called "15 Places where you are the least likely to have a black, brown, or poor neighbor"

I don't have any poor neighbors-at least none who can't afford to live in this area, but I have black, brown and yellow neighbors. Even next door. Are you afraid of having neighbors who are different?

[dangerboy]

I don't have any poor neighbors-at least none who can't afford to live in this area, but I have black, brown and yellow neighbors. Even next door. Are you afraid of having neighbors who are different?

Not at all.  I have rich, poor, white, brown, black, young, and old all on my block.  My point was that the majority of cities on this list are affluent and mostly white.  The implicit message is that cities with too many poor people or too many minorities are not desirable places to live.

[Appraiser]

Not at all.  I have rich, poor, white, brown, black, young, and old all on my block.  My point was that the majority of cities on this list are affluent and mostly white.  The implicit message is that cities with too many poor people or too many minorities are not desirable places to live.

You are exactly right and you said it well.

[aknowledgeableperson]

It seems all these dipshit studies come out at the same time each year. And without fail, they all take suburban life and put it on a pedestal and assume that's what everyone wants.

NO!!!!!!!!!!!
It is not what everyone wants, but what many want.  And that number probably exceeds the number that want "urban living" or "city living" combined.

[aknowledgeableperson]

Not at all.  I have rich, poor, white, brown, black, young, and old all on my block.  My point was that the majority of cities on this list are affluent and mostly white.  The implicit message is that cities with too many poor people or too many minorities are not desirable places to live.

You forgot to add that those cities have some of the best school districts in the area.  And for many families (either two parent or one parent) that is a determining factor of where to live.  And for OP and Olathe that is close to their jobs.

[Tosspot]

NO!!!!!!!!!!!
It is not what everyone wants, but what many want.  And that number probably exceeds the number that want "urban living" or "city living" combined.

akp, i still think though that if the unwashed hordes actually experienced living for say, a week or a month in  a place where they can walk to a few daily destinations, the demand for "urban living" as we know it would skyrocket.

[supastudio]

akp, i still think though that if the unwashed hordes actually experienced living for say, a week or a month in  a place where they can walk to a few daily destinations, the demand for "urban living" as we know it would skyrocket.

Tosspot, I think many Kansas Citians wouldn't want to walk to a few daily destinations in 100 degree weather, lugging around groceries and melted ice cream to their "urban living" dwelling  .  Urban living is just not there yet in Kansas City.  Give it some time and I'm sure Kansas City will be just as viable as Chicago for Urban living.  I stayed in Chicago for a while and was able to take the elevator down to street level, walk just one block to get groceries and go back up to my room in 20 minutes.  BTW, this was at around 10pm and I felt safe. 

Also bare in mind that this nation love thier cars. Even with soaring gas prices, you'll always see the one 5'3" lady driving her massive SUV with no one else in the car, drive down the block to buy her $5 coffee "milkshake"  at the drive thru Starbucks! 

Tosspot,  do you accomplish your daily routine by just walking with no other mode of transportation?  Where do you live in the Metro?

[Tosspot]

Of course it's not going to happen overnight, I know.

I live just off of Westport Road, and my new job I've picked up recently is within walking distance, which is great. A lot of the groceries and daily items I need I can get from the QuikTrip up the street. Mostly my car stays parked during the week and then I use it on the weekends to drop by my mom's or other family members.

I think many Kansas Citians wouldn't want to walk to a few daily destinations in 100 degree weather, lugging around groceries and melted ice cream to their "urban living" dwelling

Rationalizations like this IMO kind of miss the point; with sufficient built density and population density, those trips will be more frequent and less stressful. What I have in mind is most certainly not the reality of midtown in its present state, where the poor are forced to haul all their groceries up Southwest Trafficway six blocks to the bus stop.