**Official Kansas City Thread**

I think user Prada_Ferragamo lives there, and a few others do as well. KC is almost comically segregated in that little stretch around UMKC to the other end of the Plaza. I'm not really familiar enough with the rest of KC to know, but my sister, and most of my high school friends who have ended up there are white and live in Mission or OP.

stand on the corner, 12th street and vine, with a kansas city baby and a bottle of kansas city wine.

My only advice really is: grab a train, grab a plane, and if you have to crawl just get there all the same.

My student days were there, but I visit often. Good city. Alot has changed. There are loft downtown and in a section called the Bottoms =galleries, boutiques, coffee shops.
40th and Main is Westport area /bar disrtrict -should the Royals ever win again, this is (or was) the place to be.
SW of the Plaza -you follow Swope Parkway into Mission Hills which is quite wealthy.
Lots of newer residences in this mid town area and around downtown.
East of the plaza Troost -dicey -or was when i was there.
I cant speak to the burbs. I lived in midtown.

I personally would not want to live downtown. It's just not there yet. Really not that much to do outside of Power and Light, shopping is limited, etc. Look at the Plaza area, Westport, River Market, even midtown. There are definitely some areas you want to stay away from, crimewise, as well. A lot of it will depend on where your office is. The metro area is very sprawling, as you would expect, and you have to drive to get anywhere since there is no mass transit to speak of.

If you want to be within walking distance of anything you'll need to be down around the plaza.

If you want to be suburban then live near Overland Park. You can do KC and you are closer to Lawrence, KS - which is where the University of Kansas is located. Plenty of things around Overland Park area... well, for Kansas City that is.

Feel free to PM me any places you are looking at and I would be more than happy to give my thoughts on the area. I'm 22, and have friends that live in apartments all over the city so I've spent my share of time hearing people's thoughts on living in different parts of town

Im 26 live in downtown KCMO. It's great if you work in the area, if you don't its also a nice place to go out at night with the power and light enterteinment district just around the block. Westport is a good neighborhood, a lot of cute student girls frequenting the coffee shops, good nightlife, one of the best restaurants in the city is there. Crossroads is more alternative, young, bohemian, big plus is the art galleries and first fridays art shows. Plaza is older, but can fit the personality of some younger people. probably safer then any of the neighborhoods mentioned above so i would recommend for single female or guys looking for single females Feel free to pm me if you have any other questions as well

Do not move here. I warned you first.

My 2 cents: KCMO: Jackson County is consisted of the Plaza, Westport, Midtown, Downtown, West Bottoms, and other areas that others have mentioned. Personally if I lived in an urban setting, I would live in the Plaza as opposed to the other areas. Older age but still young. Close to everything and has shopping (Halls, Tiffany's, Tivol, Burberry, etc, etc), also few blocks away from Nelson-Atkins Art Museum. Westport and Midtown has your share of hippies and drifters. Westport used to be a nice area but has deteriorated in the last few years (not going to state the reasons here, don't want to be labeled a racist). Downtown has be rebuilt since I moved here 7 years ago. The main attractions are Power and Light District, the Sprint Center, the Art District, KC symphony, and other typical downtown attractions. Downside: dead during weekdays, lots of drunk hicks on the weekends. The jazz district by 12th and vine has Arthur Bryant's BBq, but I wouldn't live there. Don't want to get shot at night (drug infested apartments on the east and prospect/troost on the west). Troost was featured on MTV as one of the most dangerous streets in the nation before. The burbs consists of North KC, Independence, Blue Springs, Lee's Summit, etc. I wouldn't recommend the burbs unless you like driving. KCKS: not much in downtown area except drug holes, factories, run-down houses. The burbs are nice. Overland Park is a huge area which consists many smaller neighborhoods, I currently live in Leawood. Mission Hills is also nice if you spend a mil to buy a house. The Garmin guy grew up in Mission Hills. OP has your fair share of suburban restaurants/bars. Not so much night life, but if you have a kids or a family, definitely an area to consider. Good points: BBq, steak, beer (boulevard and other smaller micro-breweries), Mexican food, white girls, lots of Vietnamese, good jazz, some decent colleges around, people are generally nicer and more relaxed, good schools to raise kids and family. Cost of living is cheap, but nice things can be had. Bad points: nothing to do at night, no culture, close-mindedness, white girls, lots of northface/uggs/abercrombie/hollister/true religion (horrible dressers), highest meth users in the nation (might be a good thing if you want the occasional hit), cold winters but hot summers, no massive transit, obesity. Feel free to add or change.

Mainy: long time no see.

Any hot ones?

Were you originally from around here?

Inside "the loop" is a good place for lofts. This would be around the Power and Light district. Look up Wall Strett Tower lofts. I have a couple of friends that live there, and its nice. The Crossroads district, just south of the P&L district, also has some great lofts. The Crossroads dist has most of the good bars and restaurants in KC. It also has a lot of great local art galleries. Even if you don't end up living in or near the Crossroads, definitely party here, oh and look into "First Fridays".

P&L is tends to be slightly "bro ish" but not overly so, and Crossroads is slightly hipsterish. As many other posters mentioned, check out the plaza area. There aren't many lofts there, but there are lots of great apartments.

I'd rank the living options as followed: 1.Plaza 2.River Market 3. Brookside 4.Crossroads 5.Westport 6a. Downtown (Quality Hill) 6b. Downtown (Power & Light) --------------------- I wouldn't live anywhere besides those unless you want to live in a house, which would put Prairie Village and Mission near the top of the list.