Moving to Kansas City and Clueless Where to Start Looking

We're up north and coincidentally have a home for sale ;) haha, great shopping and a new supertarget very near us among other things. Wonderful schools both private and public, but it sounds to me like you'll be in KS to stay near DH's work (I dont know the KS area much but assuming Overland Hills is Overland Parkish area) There are wonderful schools also, OP is a very clean area with good shopping, but I think (not positive its still the case, but it was one of our reasons for choosing MO over KS 8 years ago) the KS side is higher for taxes and overall home prices.

Hi! Welcome to KC! I'm thinking by Overland Hills you mean Overland Park, which is one of the largest suburbs of the KC area. It's on the Kansas side, which is what I would recommend for the school districts alone. Shawnee Mission, Blue Valley, Olathe and Mill Valley are all excellent. KCMO School District is in shambles (lost accreditation years ago), so you'd probably want to look at private school if you chose to live on the Missouri side. Overland Park is pretty big, so you'd have a wide selection of places to live - older established neighborhoods on the north side and brand new cul-de-sac cities out south. I could go on an on, so if you'd like to chat more, let me know! You'll love the affordability here, and for the most part, KC is very friendly like Minnesota without the harsh winters! ;-)

I'm assuming that you are referring to Overland Park as well. It's kind of in the "heart" of a lot of other suburban towns in Johnson County. You've had some good suggestions so far, but I thought I would put in my two cents worth. I live in Western Shawnee, which is in the DeSoto School district. It is a great district that is growing VERY fast. If you are looking for neighborhoods with lots of kids, this is the area. Just on our street alone there are about 50 kids, the youngest about 6 months old to about 6th grade. There are a handful of older kids too. Right now would be a buyers market in this area. Unfortunately, there are several houses that have been forclosed on in the area and there are some that have been on the market for SEVERAL months.

We are very close to several highways that can get us all around Kansas city area pretty quickly. But, we still have that "small town" feel where we are at. We have a Taget, Wal-mart and other stores, as well as Hardware stores just a few miles from us too. We are also very close (about 10 minutes) to The Legends...which has a lot of shopping,Nebraska Furniture Mart,restaurants, hotels,a ballpark and the Kansas Speedway.

I grew up in Olathe and would also suggest their schools as well. They are also a growing distric and the housing cost is generally a little less there too. Again, with the markets lately though, I think you could find "bargains" in several areas of Johnson County.

Good luck on doing your research and finding a new home!

Hi S.,

I am a SAHM of 3, ages 7, 5 & 3. The Northland is a very nice place to live, it is close to the airport. The Park Hill School District is one of the #1 School Districts in the state of Missouri, We are close to every highway possible and only about a 20-25 minute drive to Overland Park (depending on traffic) We have a shopping area called Zona Rosa which has just about everything you could possibly need including restraunts. Target is extremely close. My children go to Hawthorn Elementary and they are wonderful. Our area is close to I-29 and Barry Rd in Kansas City, Missouri. I'm not sure about the property taxes but I do know they are ALOT cheaper than Kansas. We are in Platte County if you need to do some research. Welcome to Kansas City I'm sure you will get comfortable real soon..... and hopefully you will become a CHIEFS FAN! Even though we are 0-2 starting out the season. Best of Luck P.S Just because we are in Kansas City, Missouri doesn't mean we are in the Kansas City School District---You want to stay away from Kansas City School District Schools, We are the "Park Hill" School District.

Hi S.,
I have lived in the Kansas City area my whole life. I highly recommend the Blue Valley School district, it is in Overland, Park Kansas. Blue Valley North was one of 5 schools listed as a blue ribbon No Child Left Behind school in Kansas and on of only 350 in the country. The school district is consistently ranked amoung the top in the nation. I grew up in Olathe which has a pretty good school district also and the homes are a bit more affordable, Shawnee Mission, and Desoto are really good too. I personally live in Missouri now, and wish I could afford to move back to Kansas. The laws especially when it comes to getting services for your children, my daughter has a bit of a speech problem, but because she is smart the school district won't help. It is just really frustrating Johnson County, Kansas has programs for everything from mental health to speech therapy, so that your child doesn't start out behind in school. I did live in Lee's Summit and also say it is pretty much like Overland Park, they have one of the best school districts in Missouri but you still have the state laws. My daughter will have to wait to go to school a whole year longer if I stay in Missouri, because the cut off dates are different. August 31, or before in Kansas, before August 1st in Missouri. I recommend if you haven't found a good website no matter what Realtor you go with take a look at www.reeceandnichols.com I love window shopping for houses, and in my opinion the have by far the best search engine and are also the largest real estate company in town. You can search for home by school district, even though your kids are a ways away from school, consider this please because I bought my house 2 years before my daughter was even born and I thought for sure if I ever did get pregnant I would have 5 years to get back to Kansas and she just turned 4 and I appear to be stuck in Missouri now because my house has basement issues, has since we bought it, and the market has tanked, so bad if you want to sell, great for you wanting to buy. You can get what were $200,000 homes 6 months ago for $150,000. Some of them brand new. Good luck!
M.

Hello! I think you'll love it here. Same kind of people as in MN from what I've seen. I grew up in KCMO (wouldn't recommend living or putting kids through school there) and now live in Johnson County. Overland Park is nice and your family will like it a lot. I'd say, beware of I-435 traffic if possible near Metcalf. It's a very busy area.

Also, the taxes are higher in Johnson County, but that's what makes it a nice place to live - better schools, cleaner, better highways, etc.

Shopping is one thing you can find anywhere in Jo. Co. I also live in Shawnee next to the Target - same as another mama's post. The houses are reasonable, great neighborhoods, and great schools. Good luck with your move.

I'll admit I'm a Johnson County snob - born and raised here. :) Overland Park is a very safe, family-friendly community. There's no shortage of shopping, restaurants and movie theatres. (FYI, there are 5 Targets in or near OP.)

It has excellent schools - the Shawnee Mission School District is also one of the tops in the country and has been consistently for the last 25 years or so. This website http://www.schooldigger.com/go/KS/search.aspx will show you locations of the schools and their ratings.

Parts of OP are older and more established - homes from the 1950s - and other parts, mostly on the south side - are brand new. Several highways are nearby so if you wanted to live deeper in the city or farther out on the outskirts of town, you could and your husband would still have a reasonable commute time.

We currently live in Roeland Park, a small town north of Overland Park, just south of downtown. It's a great little neighborhood with starter homes, but we are planning to move south to OP or Leawood in the next year or so to our final house where we can be when our daughter starts school. Congrats and let me know if there's anything I can help you with!

Hi, S.. I am not sure if you are wanting Kansas City on the Kansas side or Missouri side. I have not heard of Overland Hills, but I live close to Overland Park. I live in Shawnee, and I am five minutes from a shopping center that includes a Target! If you are looking in Kansas, the school districts that are the best would be Olathe, Shawnee Mission, and Blue Valley. DeSoto is also good. There are tons of houses to choose from out here, and you will love it here. Johnson County is a great place to live and raise a family. There are lots of things for kids to do here. Good Luck with your move.