Gardner, KS or Belton, MO, comparisons (Lee's Summit, Raymore: real estate, home, theater)

[1090300]

Hello,

My family relocated to Lenexa for a new job in June. Husband is from this area (MO side) but moved away 4 years ago.

We have a 2.5 year old and another on the way. We have been looking for a home and have our eyes set on Belton and Gardner. We like a small town feel. The schools in Gardner are much better but they aren't bad in Belton.

Can anyone give me some feedback on these areas? Belton is 20.5 miles from his place of work, Gardner is 16. It's an extra 10 minute commute if we live in Belton vs Gardner. It seems like both cities have some good development going on.

Thank you in advance for any feedback!

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by 1090300

Hello,

My family relocated to Lenexa for a new job in June. Husband is from this area (MO side) but moved away 4 years ago.

We have a 2.5 year old and another on the way. We have been looking for a home and have our eyes set on Belton and Gardner. We like a small town feel. The schools in Gardner are much better but they aren't bad in Belton.

Can anyone give me some feedback on these areas? Belton is 20.5 miles from his place of work, Gardner is 16. It's an extra 10 minute commute if we live in Belton vs Gardner. It seems like both cities have some good development going on.

Thank you in advance for any feedback!

Gardner has fared quite poorly for property value appreciation due to the proximity of the very large Logistics Park Inter-modal Facility that has brought a huge increase in truck and rail traffic. Gardner also is in a very ugly area in terms of landscape, nothing very nice there. I would substitute Raymore instead of Belton. Raymore actually ranks better than Gardner in most respects. Lee's Summit also ranks better than Gardner as well. Driving time distances would be negligible for the adjacent towns.

[luzianne]

I think Belton and Gardner are pretty comparable. My husband calls Gardner "the Belton of Kansas." If I had to choose one or the other, though, I'd pick Gardner. It's in Johnson County, Kansas. Better schools, lower crime.

[TabulaRasa]

I'd put them on fairly equal footing.

Our closest friends who are living in Gardner actually grew up in Belton, and they consider Gardner to be "Belton in Kansas."

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by TabulaRasa

I'd put them on fairly equal footing.

Our closest friends who are living in Gardner actually grew up in Belton, and they consider Gardner to be "Belton in Kansas."

That is statistically not the case in terms of educational attainment. Belton is below Gardner. Raymore is a very close match to Gardner.

[chicago2kc]

I would think there would be more future upside to living in Gardner. Olathe has almost grown out to Gardner. I could see it being one of the next towns to start experiencing true suburban growth on the south side. Whereas Belton likely won't see the same uptick in growth. I could be wrong. People could go more toward DeSoto and Spring Hill, leaving Gardner in the middle. But with I-35 passing through, and growth seeming to move along freeway corridors, I could see Gardner being and up and comer.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by chicago2kc

I would think there would be more future upside to living in Gardner. Olathe has almost grown out to Gardner. I could see it being one of the next towns to start experiencing true suburban growth on the south side. Whereas Belton likely won't see the same uptick in growth. I could be wrong. People could go more toward DeSoto and Spring Hill, leaving Gardner in the middle. But with I-35 passing through, and growth seeming to move along freeway corridors, I could see Gardner being and up and comer.

The greater upside real estate appreciation potential is western Olathe or Lenexa, certainly not Gardner. The huge intermodal facility that was built there led to a large increase in big truck traffic, cutting into quality of life issues. That is what some people I know that live in the area have indicated.

[RadioSilence]

If I worked in Lenexa and wanted a small-town feel, I would probably live in De Soto, Kansas.

[empires228]

Originally Posted by chicago2kc

I would think there would be more future upside to living in Gardner. Olathe has almost grown out to Gardner. I could see it being one of the next towns to start experiencing true suburban growth on the south side. Whereas Belton likely won't see the same uptick in growth. I could be wrong. People could go more toward DeSoto and Spring Hill, leaving Gardner in the middle. But with I-35 passing through, and growth seeming to move along freeway corridors, I could see Gardner being and up and comer.

The Spring Hill school district already extends up to right behind BVSW at 175th and Quivera. The DeSoto district also serves a very nice area of Shawnee so I would watch for those to become the new not districts as the Shawnee Mission district continues to decay. Olathe schools are a mess too with Olathe North being disproportionately underprivileged compared to the rest. The Shawnee Mission district basically has east and it’s feeder schools at this point. South and Northwest are a mixed bag and the others aren’t great. I would compare both districts to her how the districts in Platte County and in Lee’s Summit have a mixture of really good and really poor high schools. Else we are on the Kansas side, the Turner district has basically given up on functioning district and cut the entire theater budget amongst other things. There still rated above KCK, KCMO, Center, and Hickman Mills, but that’s not saying much. I have a friend who works at JC Harmon in KCK And they’re only morale at this point is that they’re doing better than two of the districts on the Missouri side, even though they’re one of the worst districts in the state and metro.

I would choose Gardner because of its potential for future growth. Olathe will probably meet it to the north before on the east. For whatever reason the city hasn’t really ever pushed out a long 35 for the past 20 some years. The great mall was supposed to spur a bunch of residential development, but developers have been focusing on the K-10 corridor. It’s amazing how short the drive to Lawrence feels no the freeway goes all the way to Iowa Street.

[TabulaRasa]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

That is statistically not the case in terms of educational attainment. Belton is below Gardner. Raymore is a very close match to Gardner.

I'll be sure to let them know of their statistical inaccuracies in terms of educational attainment. I'm sure that's what they were getting at.