To Hope 2001 and others who are concerned about "safe" neighborhoods:
I have lived in KC most of my adult life and 2 blocks away from UHS for 20+ years (yeah, I'm an OLD premed!) Anyway, the neighborhood that UHS is situated in is the first residential neighborhood in KC and has been declared an historic district. The neighborhood association is very active and strong and money is pouring in by the bucket-loads to fix it up, because as is typical with old residential neighborhoods near downtown areas, they get rundown first and most and the homes lose value after everyone moves out to the suburbs. UHS has itself been very proactive and committed to helping the neighborhood, and I know for a fact that not more than 2 blocks away, a beautiful mansion has been restored to period and has recently been appraised at nearly $500,000. Other homes are in the process of being restored, the motels (where the "crack-******" used to congregate) are being torn down, and the projects across from UHS are now very beautiful and there is a KC Police Dept annex situated right in it. (And people who don't have a job are not allowed to live in them anymore.)
A few more blocks away, more Victorian and Queen Anne period homes and mansions have been restored and are appraising out in excess of $100,000 - $1,000,000 and more. It is entirely possible to purchase a nice two-story brownstone for $50-70K, live on one level and rent the other and therefore live basically "rent-free" while going through med school, not more than a few blocks away from UHS - and be in a "safe" neighborhood - if anything can be considered safe these days.
How safe, you say? The ad-hoc committee for crime in KC says that the Northeast (an old Italian neighborhood, BTW) is one of the safest, if not THE safest neighborhood in the entire KC metro area, contrary to popular belief. One drawback to the area, is that there is still some Section-8 housing and a lot of immigrants are "bequeathed" on the area. As immigrants, mostly from 3rd world countries, they are not familiar with our customs concerning trash disposal and other things, but several organizations work with them to Americanize, i.e., train them as to how to correctly dispose of trash, etc. (Can't throw it directly out of your window for instance!) However, I have never been afraid to move around in this neighborhood freely at anytime of the day or night and I raised 3 children here. And that was when the projects were really the projects and the crack-****** were living next door, literally. And it's way, WAY better now!
So, if you love old homes, read: solid and loaded with character, and you like some "character", read: ethnicity, in your neighborhood - the Pendleton Heights district is as safe as any. That is the area that UHS is situated in, and it's all part of what is called "The Old Northeast."
Also, the KC city fathers - and mothers - are working very hard to revitalize the urban core, and there are some very, VERY beautiful townhomes, condominiums, lofts and apartment buildings in the downtown area; very reasonable and not 10 minutes from UHS in heavy traffic. UHS itself is happy to work with students to find affordable living close by, is my understanding, because as I said, they are very committed to the neighborhood. They could have moved out of the area and chose not too, for that reason.
Now, the only drawback to not living close by the school that I can see is the KCMO school district, so if you have children and plan to have them in a public school, you will be wise to move to Blue Springs, Lee's Summit, Liberty or Parkville. Not quite as good, but adequate, is the North Kansas City school district just north of the river, if you want to be a little closer. I homeschooled my children so that was never an issue for me.
As a long-time KC and Old Northeast resident, I may be a bit prejudiced, but I know for a fact that people's fears concerning this area are very much unfounded, whether they are from the KC metro area, or not. The true ghetto area has been deflected much further south and is not even close. The Old Northeast is a beautiful neighborhood, but colorful, and, well, I can't help it but I just like colorful. I do get a little irritated with the immigrants who can drive, but can't read English, but I get really bored really fast in the 'burbs.
Oh, I forgot, but there are other old neighborhoods just a bit further south of downtown and west of "the ghetto" in the Longfellow, Hyde Park, Union Hill and Westport neighborhoods, as well as the West Plaza area. The Plaza is probably too expensive for the average med student but all the other areas have affordable housing. The main thing is that once you get south of the city, in KC itself, you want to be as far west of Troost as you can manage. There are about 10 blocks between Troost and Paseo, which is where the ghetto starts from about 23rd street on down. So anything west of Troost is O.K. if you're in Hyde Park - which again has many beautifully restored mansions if you like that atmosphere! However, the Westport area, although popular, is probably NOT the safest option, just because it is so popular and congested - lots of bars and drunks, etc. - although I lived there for 18 months without incident.
Sorry this is so long-winded, but I've been meaning to post for awhile and have just been too busy. I wanted to let people know that might be interested that the suburbs are not the only safe and affordable option in KC.
Catherine Anderson
UHS 2006 (I hope! I hope! I hope!)
