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

[J. Eric Gilliland]

There is some good advice in many of these posts. JO County
(JO CO hereafter) is not as homogonized as some would have
you believe, however.  The southern part of the county is
pretty much identical (expensive) subdivisions and strip
malls, but some of the older communities in the northern
part of the county are better.  I live in Prairie Village
(PV), a very small "town" north of Overland Park (OP), and
it is an established neighborhood with lots of big trees. 
I am 10 minutes fm the plaza, 10 minutes from all the great
resturants in Westport, 15-20 minutes from stuff downtown,
etc.  Very convienent, and the houses are a good deal
compared to the rest of JO CO.  There are many houses in PV
in the 100-130k range for a 3 bedroom.

I generally try not to go south of I435 myself.  A recent
article in a local small paper (not the Star) talked about
how southern JO CO was extremely conservative politically,
while the northern part of the county was more liberal. 
Just salking with friends and co-workers, I have found this
to be true in a general sense, although of course there are
important exceptions.

I don't have children, so I can't give first-hand evidence
about the schools, but I will say that the shings written
by the others generally agree with what I have heard from
friends and co-workers.

As far as JO CO being very white, this is true, but you
have to consider that the whole midwest is very white.  my
neighborhood is not as racially and ethnically diverse as I
would like, but it is not completely 100% white.

>If you are looking for a more multi-cultural environment
>then you might want to check out the Westport area in KC
>Missouri.

This is true, Westport is one of the best (if not the best)
areas in KC.  You could do a lot worse than buying a house
in this area.

Some people mantioned midtown.  If you want to live in 
town itself, there are many great areas in midtown to live,
and it is also very convient.

Keep in mind that KC is the poster child for urban sprawl.
If you live down in southern JO CO, you can expect to deal
with some horrible traffic if you don't have enough sense
to stay off the main roads and the interstate.

> Looks like I'm on my way to KC come Summer.  (Accepted
> the Job.)

Congratulations on getting the job and welcome to KC.  All
in all, it is a great town.  Large anough to have big city
ammenities (for the most aprt) but not too large.

Of course, the above represents my opinion and means
nothing to anyone.

HTH,

Eric Gilliland

=====
J. Eric Gilliland
patzeric at yahoo.com

The archaeologist has a unique chance to determine empirically how preliterate cultures came to be 
as they were.  His use of technical procedures in reaching an ever more finely drawn chronological 
scale needs no apology; these are prerequisite to his determination of culture change through time, 
a subject in which he should be able to work with unique authority. 
-- G. W. Brainerd 1951

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