kansas City MO. HAMB'rs............

OK, I did this a while back about St. Louis, I'd like to chat with some of you from the KC area 'cause its one of the places my wife and I would like to move to. Monsterflake was a fantastic help with the St. Louis area! any help would be great. good & bad areas, work, hang outs, housing (I'd like 5 or more acres) etc. as always Thank You
FRITZ

 

5 acres around kansas city is going to be expensive... you should probably look into the smaller farm towns around kc... i live up by saint joseph and there are some small farms for sale around here...

 

fritz,
Yeah...KC would be a big change from NY. The cost of living in Kansas City is very good compared to many states (especially east coast and west coast). In order to find/build a home on 5+ acres you will have to move to a suburb of KC...not to worry there are many. The housing market is not good anywhere in the country right now but compared to other states...you will get alot more for your money in Missouri. Example....the wife and I are in the process of building a 3000sqft home in Liberty, MO(a suburb of KC)for just under $300,000. You cannot do that in many states....BUT there are no ocean views, or scenic mountain drives! Don't really know what line of business you are in but there are jobs available(if you have the experience). Hang outs, cool things to do, night life.....I guess that depends on your idea of entertainment. I personally think that is one of the down falls to this city. I would really like to have all the car enthusiast stuff that goes along with a place like So Cal here ..but it just isn't happening. The best thing to do would be probably bundle up the family and make a road trip. There are quite a few HAMBers that live this way. I've met some cool folks on this board that are from the KC area like Raven61, Cos(a couple of my club mates from the Knuckle busters CC) and Porkn'beaner. Hope this helps some.
Later and good luck,
Vince

 

Thanks Speed & Vin,....as far as the 5 acres goes I just want some space to spread out and do my thing, right now i live on a 95 by 100 plot -LOL- I just dont want anyone complaining when im outside grinding fiberglass, or have a wreck sitting for a month or so, maybe 3 acres??? I dunno space baby! the think i dont have here. I'm a body man by trade but i can weld just about anything, used to paint 747's for Pan Am, I'd swing bagadge at the airport in the rain on midnight shift for all i care. I'd live "outside" the city, Hell I live 35 miles from NYC and it takes me 1 1/2 to 2 hours to get there,......you guys catch my drift yet, I gotta get out
FRITZ

 

Fritz,
I am in southeast KC, in Lee's Summit. Nice area, close to most everything, good highways, a bit of traffic but nothing like you are used to. Average houses around us are $165,000 for 1500 to 1600 sq ft. I drive 12 miles to work, takes me 16 minutes at 5:45 AM and 3:15 PM. LOTS of car stuff around here. We are sort of close to Pittsburg's MOKAN Dragway; I live five miles from KCIR Dragstrip; we have cruises all over town and the GreaseRama this summer, late.
Tom

 

Kansas City is a beautiful area (and the whole region in general). Try going to Worlds of Fun, it is a good sized amusement park. Just because you can see the top of the roller coaster from about 10 miles away when coming in from the North is nothing to worry about. Heck, it looks worse when you stand next to it. But for real, you and the wife could have some fun there. Write to the tourism office there and ask them to send you a information packet. It is also fun to go to a Royals game, whether they win or lose, a beautiful ballpark. Dollar nights are even better if they still have those. Just my 2 cents.

 

well i agree with the sinat joe deal thats where i'm at get to kc in under an hour. saint joe is 80,000 people but every one knows every one 2 degrees of seperation hear. butt lots of land just out side of town.

 

I am here as a default through Marriage. Definately not my first choice but there is no real way out. I guess I was spoiled growing up in Portland, Oregon!

Winters suck! It takes about 2 1/2 hours to get 15 miles after the first real snow. Spring and fall however are quite enjoyable here because the humidity is low and the weather is typically temperate.

Events that are car related are easy enough to find. Belton has a Saturday night cruise in every 4th Saturday. I believe that Lee's Summit has one every months as well.

Greaserama is pretty RAD! Enough cars to look at but more important the people are open and cool to talk to. The movie at the end on the old drive in screen is just a bonus.

Hamb drags nationals - excellent and only about an hour and a half south.

Prime development growth areas would be Lee's Summit, Raymore and suprisingly Belton. There are some good areas in all three that you might just find 5 acres on the outskirts with a decent fixer upper. Also don't look past Wynnedot county. The race track and surrounding growth of new businesses has surprised me lately.

Just my 2 cents! If I could make it financially I would rather move a bit more rural like down to the Carthage Joplin area.

 

What? This far into the thread and nobody mentions BAR-B-QUE???!!! Arthur Bryants.

Kansas City is a great city. People are friendly out here (I am originally from CT). It can almost be unsettling until you get used to it, like when you realize "Hey, that's how people are supposed to act."

Cost of living is as you know much less. I was looking hard earlier this year around KC, as like you I wanted space. There were alot of nice places on the outskirts of KC within a 30-45 min drive of downtown. Here is a real-estate search that I found very useful because it has a hard search for acreage and # of garage spaces, not like pos realtor.com.

If you have any questions I or any of the KC guys will surely answer them.

 

Ah NO SURF,......I feel you know what I am talking about to a "T" Yes, yes the east coast life -LOL- I want my space//because i dont want to piss of the folks nextdoor, i want the yard space to have a garden, i want to see trees & growth not the fat guy from next door getting his mail in his black soxs and boxers -LOL-.....
I have learned from my travels in the mid west with the "Roswell Rod" doing the indoor shows with the ISCA that people are nice to you and take the time to say "HI" alot of you guys do'nt get the fact that not everyone here wants to mug you but they really could'nt give a shit about you unless there is something in it for them.
Imagine driving to work 30 miles away at 15 miles per hour the entire way,.......thats where i live. My wife and I dont care what we do for work anymore as long as we can have a "good quality of life" I just want to go to work and come home and build fiberglass bubbletop show rods and yet still have a place to keep them. I sold the Roswell Rod cause hey The money was right but in the reality of it I had no place to keep it other then inside my trailer! YES space is that tight around here. another thing that came into my head "Junkyards" we dont have any we call them salvage yards and they dont have cars any older then 1998, I'm not kidding,.....I can go on & on,...Thanks so much Guys Please keep it coming, Cause Our big move is soon
FRITZ

 

search for Kansas City Land Auctions... you can score big at auctions as far as land/farmhouses go.

Oh, and the Kansas City Chiefs suck, but that's okay, they are a Missouri team.

 

Go West young man.........

 

KC - I love it, born & raised in Ks. "You don't need a tractor to pull a ho around here." Carl Hagan

 

That's what they make satellites for...Jets or Giants?

Here's why I moved=

 

there ya go NOSURF,... I have 5 brown rabbits & 3 squirles in my yard, thats our "wildlife" you look like you have the "space" use NYC folk are looking for how big is your land? how was the move & when did you move? shit I have so many questions, I'd love to call ya if ya dont mind
FRITZ

 

I moved here in May last year. Lived in St Louis for a year before that and LA for 3 years before that. I also came by default for the wifes job. From a house buying point of view - it seems to me that house prices are dropping around here (I know its US wide as well) so you might be able to get a very good buy. During winter there are not many houses on the market, they seem to all come on the market in spring. Real estate agents like to work off offers being within 5% of asking. This is not how it works in LA where if you want to lowball they are happy to put in that offer. Having said that, housing is pretty cheap in KC. Our fairly new house here is 3600sq feet and worth less than our 960sq feet condo in SoCal!

One other thing nobody has mentioned about living in KC and KS vs MO, is car registration. It is a lot tougher in KS than MO to register an out of state old car - it needs an inspection in KS and they are tough (well they are in johnson county - you need correct numbers on frame, corect vin tags, paperwork and 2 out of the three main components (body,frame,motor) must be original)! Do some searches on the hamb. If you bring old cars with you or want to buy some that would be a consideration. If I was to move again in this area I would look to move to MO just for the easier old car regulations.

Finally, I had my first taste of Buffalo here and its mighty tasty
cheers
ricki

 

PM sent.

 

There is a real nice place for sale in grandview, right between me and KCsledz. 4 1/2 acres and 2-3 minutes to the highway, 20 minutes to downtown most days. feel free to come visit, and about the old car registration, well, we have ways around that.

 

All I can tell you is that Florida sucks, so does where you live now Fritz.
I wanna get the hell out of Orlando, I'm sick of it, too many fucking people, too much traffic, expensive as hell, and not enough room.
I kinda like the 130% constant humidity though, it keeps my skin nice and girly soft, and the 90 degree plus heat helps keep my weight down to a manageable 225 lbs.

 

Ok, I'm a younger guy but I moved to KC when I was 15. Before that I grew up in OK and TX (Houston). Now the first and foremost thing to remember when moving to KC vs. NYC. KC is basically a small town turned city. For the most part people here are nice and cordial and genuinely good people. There are always some assholes that have to ruin it but most people are pretty cool.

Land/houses are cheap compared to either coast... heck if I lived in LA I'd move to the midwest for retirement simply to cash out and not get hit with capital gains! I live "north of the river" as they say around here in Liberty. I live in an existing older (50-70's construction) neighborhood and have 1800sq ft or so for $115K that I bought 3 years ago. Now places out south of the river.. particualarly Johnson County are more expensive because its a more yuppie desireable place to live. If you want land/space your going to want to be up north or to the east (Blue Springs, Belton, Grain Valley) area.

Things to do... well one thing folks in KC are not afraid to do is EAT! We have a plethora of great restaraunts.. most of which are centered around beef . Hey they don't call it cowtown for nothing! As mentioned earlier our BBQ joints are second to none.. Arthur Bryants (my fav), Gates, Smokestack, KC Masterpiece, Jackstack, Smokehouse, Quicks, Zarda, etc, etc... I think I read one time there were over 300 BBQ places in KC! Seriously.. there are alot.. and alot of them are good!
Entertainment wise there are a few things. Worlds of Fun, Chiefs, Royals and maybe soon a hockey or basketball team (building a new downtown arena). A huge blossoming downtown "night life" scene with things like First Fridays in the art district (open galleries, street performers/vendors, booze, etc.), various other public events throughout the year. There never seems to be a shortage of stuff to do!

Concerts and bars... KC has a huge assortment of bars and live music venues. Plus if you don't mind a little drive Lawrence, KS is 45mins to 1hr away (home of KU) and has a awesome little local bar and music scene.

Racetrack! No one has mentioned the speedway... there are several races every year and of course the Goodguys show. Plus Cabelas has a big store there as well as Nebraska Furniture Mart, etc. Bass Pro is coming to town in a big way as well and the Plaza offers upscale shopping and dining as well. The best part is really its all reasonable price wise as well.

Car stuff... while it might not seem like there is a "ton" to do here car wise (how can anyone compare anywhere with SoCal!??) but there are usually cruise nights and various shows almost every weekend during the summer and of course Good Guys comes to town as well. Things like World of Wheels goes on too. Greasearama is getting pretty big as well. I think alot of it is what you make of it. If you sit around and bitch about how there are no shows... well there won't be. However if you gather up a bunch of your buddies and start your own thing Oh keep in mind within KC there are several large manufacturers. Aeroquip, Procharger (ATI), Weld/American Racing, Keystone Automotive (distribution), Relco, Carriage Works, Victoria British, Ford, Pete & Jakes is in Peculiar (suburb), etc, etc.

Driving distance is Dallas, OKC, Tulsa, Denver, Omaha, Des Moines, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Chicago, Little Rock, etc... its not a bad location!

I've been to alot of places... and no matter what KC is still "home". I just never feel at home like I do when I'm here. Its small town enough that if you talk to a few folks the world gets real small real fast around here.

 

Sorry to bring up an old thread but my new wife and I will be moving to KC soon after our baby is born, which will be in 4 or 5 months. Just looking for people to talk to or meet up with to get some contacts and friends in the automotive world in that area. I've been a general auto tech and fabricator/ body man on the side for 5 years now, and the car scene in our area and the need for my skillset just isn't there. Went to Liberty, MO which is right outside of KC and practically shit myself over all the cool cars and shops in the area, 65 in Liberty alone