Moving to KC, Missouri

The Kansas City, MO public school district is in shambles. They closed several schools at the end of last year and even the charter schools have too many kids/class. If you want a good public school district you'll have to go out of the city proper, Overland Park, KS is one of the best in the country (while KC, MO is one of the worst). Raytown and Independence in MO are decent as well. KC, KS is better than KC, MO but not good. They're are several private options that aren't bad in price and the way I see it, either you pay cheaper taxes and tuition or higher taxes, either way you pay for the school in some way. We moved here in October for the same reason, so let me know if you want to chat about anything else.

Oh I forgot, Global Montessori on the plaza was the preschool we used, we really liked it. I've heard Border Star is awesome for after Global, in fact a large portion of that school goes there, we opted for Catholic school instead.

grrrrrr. my whole post was just deleted. I guess i will try to shorten it.

If you are going to look into the MO area, then look into Waldo, Lees Summit, and even Blue Springs. The advantages of MO is that there are more middle/higher lower class people and some lower middle class people, so the cost of living is much lower. However, the draw backs are that the education is not quit as good unless you are going to private school and neither is the updates and maintenance. The roads arent plowed as well in the snow, it takes more for pot holes and what not to get fixed, etc.

If you jump over to the KC side, then look into Shawnee, Merriam, Lenexa, and Olathe (maybe even a little of Overland Park) Here you will also find the middle/high lower class and lower/middle middle class people. The advantages are that the education is some of the best in the nation, even in the public schools, they have great recreational teams for kids of all ages and everything is tried to kept up to par. However, the cost of living is higher, especially in terms of daycare.

The Blue Valley school district in Johnson County, KS is one of the best. Top notch, caring teachers, good facilities, generally the best test scores in the entire metro, etc. The cost of living is probably higher here, if only that gasoline is 7 cents a gallon more expensive than in Missouri due to tax rates. There is a range of housing available within the district, though more on the higher side. The cities seem well run and functional.

Soccer is big in Johnson County. They just put in a lighted field complex at 135th & Switzer that will be used for the National Youth Soccer Championship games this July. There are lots of programs for the kids. My daughter played with the Blue Valley Soccer Club for many years.

It's been a long time since I've needed day care so I can't speak to the current situation. I had my daughter in a lovely day care home in Overland Park, until she was 2. She then went to Global Montessori Academy on the Plaza since both my husband and I worked in Kansas City, MO.

I think that price wise and school wise Liberty Missouri is a great burb just outside of KCMO. I live right next to Liberty and wish I had moved there instead.

I don't think any of the actual North Kansas City schools or any of the Kansas City Schools downtown and south are worth going to. I don't know anything about soccer leagues.

You don't want to move towards KS. The cost of living is outrageous and the daycare situation out there is horrible expensive and contentious with the providers fighting among themselves.

If your husband doesn't mind a 30 - 40 minute drive, depending on where exactly he works, Smithville and Kearney are darling communities that are country like and unspoiled by the city. But I don't know about their schools.

School districts to avoid at all cost's are the Kansas City School District, Grandview School District, Center School District and Hickman Mills School District. Independence is also not the best.
I urged my kids to move to Lee's Summit, the school district there is fantastic, even with the economy they are still growing. The downtown area is quaint, with lot's of mom and pop businesses, there are two fairly new shopping areas, one is just developing so new businesses soon, lots of good eating. My daughter lives in an area called Raintree, the neighbors are sooo nice, the kids ride there bikes in the streets, street party's, home association parades, most streets are dead ends, pool, lake and very affordable or you can go for upper scale housing if you can afford it. My son is actually going to move in with her next year so he can go his Sr. year in the district, sadly we live in one of the districts I listed above, I'm working on my hubby to move there too, we've lived here so many years and he see's no reason to move.

For schools: definately move to the Kansas side, in Johnson County if you can. Do not send your kid to KC, MO schools, unless you send them to a private school! For affordable housing: The MO side is cheaper.

We love Lee's Summit. They have great school districts, and you're close enough to the edge of town that we have cows and cornfields and stuff. We also have some of the best school districts, and a couple of great hospitals very close by. We live a couple of blocks away from Lee's Summit hospital, and we're still less than 20 minutes away from St. Luke's. I work in Overland Park, and it's only a 30-40 minute drive to work.

Platte County offers excellent schools and kid activities. Parkville is a great town you will want to check out, plus it is near downtown. This is just NW of KC, MO. The housing is more affordable in Platte Co., there are beautiful parks, good shopping (Zona Rosa), restaurants, etc...

I'm definitely a fan of the Kansas side, but housing is more affordable on the MO side and depending on where in KC, MO he is working, it might make more sense to be on that side. Especially since there can be double taxing issues. Raytown-Peculiar is a good area I hear, but really the schools are better on the KS side if you can swing it. Blue Valley and Shawnee Mission are both in Johnson County and not that far across the border. Best of luck!

First let me say, I have lived in KC, MISSOURI my whole life. I'd need a lot more info on your family & lifestyle to give you concrete info, but with the little you gave us, here goes.

Presuming you don't want to change all the paperwork in your life (like driver's licenses), I suggest you stay on the Missouri side. A lot depends on where your husband's job is located and how he feels about communting.

Schools: As other posters mentioned, the KCMO school district is not good. If you're going to live in KCMO, then you need to send your child to a private/parochial school. These private-type schools are excellent, at both grade and high school levels.

Neighborhoods: If you're a city person, like I am, Brookside, Waldo, the Plaza and South KC are all very family friendly. Westport can be family friendly (& cheaper), but there are more singles/renter-types in this area. Brookside, especially, has a huge, very stable family feel. Now if you're a suburb type person, Lee's Summit, Independence, Blue Springs, Kearney & Liberty are all stable cities in the burbs with good school districts. I guess it all depends on what you like and the type of community you are used to.

Best of luck on your move!

I live in Lee's Summit and my daughter attended the LS school system from Kindergarden thru HS. Lee's Summit is a Gold ranked district, one of only a few in MO. If you'd like more information here's a link http://www.leesummit.k12.mo.us/.

Lee's Summit also before and after school programs in all elementary schools and an excellant summer program thru the LS Parks and Rec. The Parks and Rec also has tons of activities for all age groups from soccer to horseback riding lessons.

Lee's Summit is on the southeast corner of the KC metro area which makes for an easy commute to Overland Park. There is also bus service to downtown KCMO.

Ditto on Terri M's comment. Lee's Summit is GREAT! We have nationally ranked school district, wonderful community activities, active and quaint downtown area and a Soccer Association to boot! Another great advantage is if you will be commuting for a little while to and from St. Louis, Lee's Summit is on the East side of the KC Metro and very easy to get to from I-70.