Anybody from Kansas City?

[TexanSam]

I have a potential opportunity to move to that city for work soon, if I do move, it will likely be on the Kansas side of the river. If anybody is a local please feel free to chime in.

My main real questions are

1) How's the hunting
2) How's the fishing
3) How's the night life for a single man in his mid 20's
4) How expensive is a 1-2 bedroom shack in an area where I won't get shot walking from my pickup to my front door

I can't really think of any other criteria when searching for a place to live to be honest.

 

[Schism]

I lived on the KS side of the river for a few years.

1) I don't know where you are coming from but compared to MT/ND where I'm from, hunting opportunities were different. I did successfully hunt deer while I lived there but it wasn't the wide open expanses that I'm used to. Waterfowl hunting can be superb if you can get access.

2) I didn't fish much while I lived there but there are known fisheries within an hour of the city and even within the city. For example: Shawnee Mission park has a pond that is fishable.

3) Night life is pretty solid. Again this is coming from a guy from MT/ND so it doesn't take a lot to surpass what I'm used to. KC Power and Light district and Crown Plaza were popular spots while I was there.

4) We purchased a townhouse in Lenexa when the economy was still depressed. The mortgage was several hundred less than renting an apartment at that time. If I recall correctly, apartments we considered were in the $1100/month price range. I haven't paid attention to housing costs since we moved out in 2015 but they were on their way up and we sold at a profit. If I were to move back I'd look to Lenexa, Olathe, Overland Park areas. That of course is dependent on where you will be working and what type of commute you are willing to tolerate.

 

[TexanSam]

I guess I should have mentioned, I am coming from North Texas where public land is pretty sparse.

 

[Schism]

Public land isn't as plentiful in KS as it is in western states but there is some. I've never hunted Texas so I'm not qualified to make a comparison between Kansas and Texas. I utilized the Kansas Walk-In Hunting Area (WIHA) program which opens private land to sportsmen.

Hunting Atlas

The official website of the Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks

ksoutdoors.com

 

[pre6422hornet]

I lived on the Missouri side ( Liberty area) from 2011-2014. We had 3 little ones at the time but LOVED the power and light district for date nights. I would suspect being single you could have a blast every weekend and not go to the same bar for month!

El Patron is the place to go for awesome margaritas and mexican food! Ponaks ( right across the street) isn't had either!

As far as fishing/hunting I didn't do either on the KS side, but I did fish and hunt in missouri quite a bit. I took 4 deer 3 seasons, two with bow, two with rifle. Three bucks and one doe ALL on public land. Caught some nice crappie on Smithville lake and down on Truman.

I have heard the KS walk in program is pretty good.

We would move back to KC in a heartbeat if we could. Low cost of living and the infrastructure was great ( roads etc..).

 

[MO Betta]

I have a potential opportunity to move to that city for work soon, if I do move, it will likely be on the Kansas side of the river. If anybody is a local please feel free to chime in.

My main real questions are

1) How's the hunting
2) How's the fishing
3) How's the night life for a single man in his mid 20's
4) How expensive is a 1-2 bedroom shack in an area where I won't get shot walking from my pickup to my front door

I can't really think of any other criteria when searching for a place to live to be honest.

1. Hunting can be great, but you may have to travel some. Drive West past Great Bend and historically there was great pheasant hunting (haven't been in years, had a messed up knee last time and walking through bluestem in a foot of snow was agony). Duck hunting throughout the state can be excellent. Kansas is pretty famous for it's whitetails, and as a resident it's a whole lot more affordable. Turkey is down but still decent enough, quail hasn't been good in years. Always plenty of squirrels and rabbits. The only thing you will probably run into is the prevalence of hunting leases on private ground, something a lot of us who remember what it was like before are still miffed about.
2. Fishing - Lake fishing isn't horrible, stocked farm ponds are always fun, lots of big cats in the rivers. Again, may have to travel South or West for opportunity.
3. Night life is awesome, KC P&L is a blast.
4. No clue, Overland Park is expensive as hell. Depending on where you're working you can live somewhere like Olathe - but if you're primarily concerned with night life you'll probably want to be closer in.

KC traffic can be a bit intense.

 

[archp625]

I have a potential opportunity to move to that city for work soon, if I do move, it will likely be on the Kansas side of the river. If anybody is a local please feel free to chime in.

My main real questions are

1) How's the hunting
2) How's the fishing
3) How's the night life for a single man in his mid 20's
4) How expensive is a 1-2 bedroom shack in an area where I won't get shot walking from my pickup to my front door

I can't really think of any other criteria when searching for a place to live to be honest.

TexasSam,

I live 60 minutes North of KC now but i used to live in Overland Park and Shawnee, KS. What kind of hunting are you into. If you are looking for public land deer/turkey hunting the MO side may be your best bet. Tons more public land in MO than KS. As others have said Power and Light is where at lot of people go to hang out. Depending what you are into there is a bar for you. There are some good fishing lake in the KC area. Smithville is a good bass, crappie, and occasional walleye lake. Lawrence, KS is a good lake for the same fish species with smallmouth thrown in the mix.

If you do make it this way hit me up and Ill show you around. I am no long single and have a family but love getting out to hunt and fish and have a boat as well. Plus I have family from Mineral Wells, TX. I have Texas blood in me.

Drew

 

[JLDemo]

The hunting and fishing can be awesome, some of the states best crappie and cats are in that area. If you're willing to drive, the bird hunting can be really good out west. Kansas also has some solid mule deer and the turkey hunting is there as well. I've never lived in Kansas City but have family and friends there, the night life won't be a concern!

 

[MEG2]

I live 30 mile north of Kansas City on the MO side. Can't say much about the night life because I am past the point of partaking in that, but from what I hear, there are plenty of quality places to go. The suburbs around the city have higher price housing, but I would not know how this compares to other cities around the country. However, if you are willing to commute 30-60 minutes from outside the city, in smaller communities, you might be able to find something more reasonable. There are plenty of hunting and fishing opportunities on both sides of the state line. The Kansas City area is a great place to live, IMO. The people are generally friendly. We have major sports teams, the race track, arts & entertainment, along with plenty of things to do and places to eat. I've considered moving west, but just not sure that I want leave.

 

[TexanSam]

So I just found out it wouldn't matter which side of the river I lived on. The job will be home based, with a territory that is to be covered that I will be doing a lot of travelling in. Most of the travelling will take place in the kansas side of things so that is the reason I was leaning west. I will not really have a commute so that is not an issue.

Those of y'all who can speak on the matter, simply for hunting and fishing purposes, would y'all rather be a kansas or missouri resident?

 

[MO Betta]

As someone who spent their first 30 years in Kansas and the last 6 as a Missouri resident, Kansas all day. It's much less expensive hunting as a non-resident in MO, being near the state line you'll feel the urge to hunt both states. Live for a year in Kansas and you can get a Lifetime License for hunting (applies to all game including deer, turkey, antelope, elk) and fishing. I get to buy resident tags in Kansas no matter where I live, my father got me one for my 16th birthday and it is the best gift I have ever received.

 

[TexanSam]

As someone who spent their first 30 years in Kansas and the last 6 as a Missouri resident, Kansas all day. It's much less expensive hunting as a non-resident in MO, being near the state line you'll feel the urge to hunt both states. Live for a year in Kansas and you can get a Lifetime License for hunting (applies to all game including deer, turkey, antelope, elk) and fishing. I get to buy resident tags in Kansas no matter where I live, my father got me one for my 16th birthday and it is the best gift I have ever received.

Now that's what I'm talking about! I really hope I get this job after doing some research. The amount if public land is astonishing compared to what I'm used to!

Now about the fishing, I have a 17 foot bass boat I'll be dragging with me. Can anyone speak of the bass and crappie fisheries around there?

 

[JLDemo]

Pomona, Hillsdale, Melvern, Perry and Burlington are all heavy Crappie producers. Haven't targeted bass up there but you're within very close proximity to some really good bass fishing such as Truman, Lake of the Ozarks and Table Rock in MO. There's some good public strip ponds down by Pittsburgh (KS) too.

 

[Pucky Freak]

I used to live an hour and a half north near on IA border, so would frequent St. Joe and KC with some regularity. W/ housing you get what you pay for - many suburbs are more expensive but much nicer places to live. Also, don’t rule out exurbs in the 40+ min away range as prices start to dip again if you don’t mind a commute downtown. You’ll need somewhere to park that boat, remember. KC like any big city has seedy places you won’t want to be at night, but there are also a great selection of restaurants too. If I HAD to live in a city anywhere in the US my first picks would be Omaha, Des Moines, or St. Louis, but KC comes as a solid #4. If you are not into channel cat fishing (yet) don’t pass this up if you move there, as there are some great opportunities for this, plus you have a boat already! I know nothing of KS hunting, but MO public land tempted me many times for WT, especially seasons other than the main rifle (less crowding).

 

[nontyp]

I have a potential opportunity to move to that city for work soon, if I do move, it will likely be on the Kansas side of the river. If anybody is a local please feel free to chime in.

My main real questions are

1) How's the hunting
2) How's the fishing
3) How's the night life for a single man in his mid 20's
4) How expensive is a 1-2 bedroom shack in an area where I won't get shot walking from my pickup to my front door

I can't really think of any other criteria when searching for a place to live to be honest.

I currently live on the KS side. I have a small acreage west of Lenexa. I think KS has a lot to offer in terms of hunting and fishing, but as you can imagine if you live right next to 2 million people the public opportunity isn’t going to be right out your back door. you may have to travel an hour or two for hunting. check out the WIHA and IWIHA programs in KS. There are two reservoirs by Lawrence and a bunch of smaller lakes around. I think you could find some good fishing close to town. I’m beyond the nightlife years but power and light district is a good spot. i wouldn’t want to live down there but you can uber over there from the suburbs pretty cheap. I think you can find reasonable housing without much of a problem. Id check out the more rural towns on the edges of the suburbs.

 

[pre6422hornet]

These are all MO public land bucks and they are all within 20 minutes of the Kansas City boundry. I could leave my house and be sitting in my treestand within 45-50 minutes, including a 3/4 to a mile walk in.

I have the left side of the buck in front from 2012-2013 and his matched set from 2013-2014. Never saw him during daylight. His left side shed was 70" his next year left was 67" I don't think he made it the following year as in the pics he looks pretty old and his antlers are way down in size.

Missouri has some hidden public land areas that are gold mines. I only saw two other hunters in 3 seasons during bow season. It was almost like I was hunting my own farm.




I would have loved to have hunted this guy, but we moved to ABQ that fall.



My 2011 buck

2012
267 pounds by the girth method. The following fall, 2013, I had an identical antlered buck at 40 yards. Same exact antlers except a LOT bigger. Never did get a shot at him but it was cool to see a twin of this one.



2013. Little dink I shot. Wife was about to have our third baby and I told myself first legal buck ( missouri allows 2 with a bow, has to be 4 points to a side)

 

[TexanSam]

Well guys, I officially signed my offer letter today. Looks like Texan Sam will be on the move

 

[Pucky Freak]

Well guys, I officially signed my offer letter today. Looks like Texan Sam will be on the move

Welcome to the Midwest!