Yeah sad to say but I know very little about this city on the other side of my state. Oops! My older daughter graduates in May and has been offered a teaching position there. So rather than a two and a half hour commute from St Louis, oh that would be me driving it may actually take longer for normal folk...and she drives like an old lady, she is going to find an apartment or house to rent. She doesn't want to buy since she is only planning on living there for two or three years.
She may be living with friends, not sure yet. Still most likely she will have at least one roommate so rent can go pretty high without it being an issue.
So for those that know KC where would a 22 year old want to live?
She has a bit of tree hugger in her so she prefers to walk when ever she can. *I* don't want her in the city but she may so if there are safe parts of the city. I know with St Louis there are plenty of safe places you can live in the city so I assume it is the same there.
She is coming in today for Easter break so I wanted to have some idea because I am sure she will want to discuss this. :)
I don't know which school yet, it is through Teach for America so it is an at risk school. I am not even sure if she has the assignment other than high school science.
Dawn she texted me a few months ago asking what is easier, finding a job in this economy or childbirth. I told her childbirth, they let you have drugs. :p
I am no help, but I am always excited to see posts about KC now.
My daughter will graduate in June and head off to KC for college in the fall. She will attend an art and design school there. KCAI--Kansas City Art Institute. We go visit for the first time in mid-May!
Where is the teaching position? The city is big and some areas are pretty spread out from others. I have a friend who teaches in Oak Park schools, a grandson in Park Hill near Zona Rosa. It's pretty spread out. If I knew where I could ask the teacher friend about the area as they grew up in KC, MO area. You could send me a message if you want and I could ask them.
If she likes that urban feel then she would probably love Brookside/Plaza/Westport area. I know the downtown area has been heavily revitalized in recent years with the Power and Light District. I do know these places are on the pricier side and crime in the Plaza area is rumored to have increased. Great suburbs that surround the city part are Lee's Summit, Olathe and Blue Springs, Liberty,Gladstone-North KC area). Hope that helps! I taught in Independence School district for 8 years. It is a great district and some parts of Independence would be ok to live in. Good luck to her and congrats on the job!
HTH,
A.
For someone who loves to walk I say:
Westport or the The Country Club Plaza aka The Plaza (kind of pricey for small space, even with roommates, but those are nice communities with lots of things within walking)
The Waldo or Brookside area.
Brookside is my favorite though.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brookside_Shopping_District
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brookside,_Kansas_City
Hope that helps. Best wishes to your daughter.
ETA: I forgot to mention Ward Parkway. Brookside would still be my pick though.
Ha ha on your SWH! That epidural was priceless!!
Original:
Congrats, Mom, for your daughter getting a job right out of school! It's an accomplishment these days!! :) :) :)
I know nothing about the area, but just want to say that if she is working at an at-risk school, she shouldn't be walking to work. Hopefully she'll have a used car that's nothing to look at, but runs well, that no one will want to steal. A friend of mine who lived in downtown Atlanta learned the hard way after having his car broken into twice so that homeless people could sleep in it, to finally start leaving it unlocked when he was parked in front of his house, especially on nights that it rained. And of course, he kept absolutely nothing of value in it. He ALWAYS looked in the backseat of the car before opening the door!!
Don't know if this is something for your daughter to do, but I thought I'd point it out just in case you want to chat about it with her.
Congrats again for a job well done, Mom!!!
Dawn
I just recently started traveling there for work and really like the Overland Park area in the 'burbs. Worth checking out!
My cousin and her family live in Overland Park and just love it! She also used to teach in that area too! I've also visited her there and it's a great area!
Congrats!
I could give you better ideas if I knew which are the school is in. If it's at risk it could be a number of schools...not a lot of public transportation here. At least not a lot of transportation that can/will go from KC to the suburbs. PM if you find out I will totally get you in the right direction.
