On my way to KC... a little help?

[Jim Herrmann]

On the Kansas side, there are two counties, Johnson and Wyandotte. 
 Johnson has nicer amenities like restaurants and shopping, but you can 
buy a house for a lot less $ in Wyandotte.  I live in Kansas City, 
Kansas, which is in Wyandotte county.  I like to joke that we pay the 
highest tax levy in the metro area, but we make up for it with low 
property values.  :-)  That is becoming less and less true as the area 
around the new Kansas Speedway gets built up.  Our levy isn't changing, 
but our property values are going up.  Supposedly that will eventually 
lead to lower levies (I hope I hope).  KCK is also about 20 minutes from 
all parts  of the city.  20 to Overland Park, 20 to the Northland, 20 to 
the Plaza, and only 10 to downtown.  The schools are a different story. 
 The Johnson county schools are highly rated, but the schools in western 
Wyandotte are not too bad either.  If you chose to shop for a home in WY 
county, stay out west.  That's where all the new development is 
happening, and property values are rising fastest.

If you are going to work in Kansas, do not live in Kansas City Missouri, 
because they have a 1% payroll tax that they take if you live there, or 
if you work there.  I work downtown, so I pay the 1%.  It pisses me off. 
 There are other municipalities on the MO side, where you would not have 
the KCMO city tax, but they would all be farther away from Lenexa.

I'd be interested in hearing other's opinions on your question.

HTH,
Jim Herrmann

Matt Graham wrote:

>Looks like I'm on my way to KC come Summer.  (Accepted the Job.)
>
>The only problem is . . . I don't know anything about the place.  Here
>in Salt Lake City, I know about the "sides" of the city.  The west side
>isn't that great to live in...but it's cheaper.  The east side is
>nothing with Yuppies with 3 PHD's each.  
>
>Can anyone tell me about the "zones" around KC?  I'll be working in
>Lenexa, so I'd want to be _sortof_ close to that.  
>
>I'm gathering that Overland Park / Lenexa is pretty Ritzy!?!  Will I get
>more bang for my buck planting my family (wife and son) somewhere else
>close by?  I must be close enough to attend meetings, right??  
>
>Since I'm a total KC n00b, I'd love ANY comments or feedback (or
>warnings).
>
>Thanks, 
>Matt
>
>  
>