How are property taxes, schools, crime?, outdoor stuff, long range shooting (PRS), USPSA, better areas to live, traffic, etc.

Thanks

All three of those areas are nice in general.

The three area school districts are very good.  From what I hear/ see; Overland Park (blue valley schools) have the most money and nicest schools.

For homes, one thing I have noticed is, there is a lot of new homes going up and people out here are more likely to buy/move to a nicer home than upgrade what they have.

My co worker just bought a new construction home for 550k and her annual tax bill on the home is $7500 a year.  Johnson co just laid down a major tax increase about two years ago, so I hope they are done with increase for a while.

O yea have to pay property tax on your cars too.  Newer and nicer it is, the more it costs.  New 30k car can set you back $500 at the dmv in taxes.  Brace yourself for that one.

As far as shooting

There is a pretty good gun club in desoto, it’s private and have to know someone to get in.  ARF members have been pretty good about helping out with that.  They do Appleseed shoots and other stuff out there.  I believe it’s only a 200 yard range and a few times a year they shut down the range and configure a 1500 yard range (but that is rare).

Lots of indoor ranges that allow pistols/ rifles / full auto / suppressors but they are 25 yard.

I don’t keep up with the shooting competitions very much, but every time I see one it is in Missouri.

Hope this helps...

Pretty much....Overland Park may get you Shawnee Mission school district
Lenexa will either be Shawnee Mission or Olathe, maybe Desoto(more taxes for school district, due to smaller tax base)
I'm in one of the aforementioned locations.

Are there better cities to be looking at in the area?

Better???

What is your criteria for better?

My opinion, as far as schools go, Overland Park Blue Valley is going to be the best in the areas you outlined (most likely the best in the state).  One could make an argument that the newer schools in Olathe (West and North West) would be a good second place.

As far as just "real nice place to live", you could go over to Leawood area, but be prepared to spend some money on a house over there.

There is a lot of new developments going in around the Legends area (435 and i-70; Kansas side), Have no info on the schools there.  Have heard through random comments that Wyandotte Co. taxes are more expensive than Johnson Co. taxes; so might have to look into that if you start to get serious about living over there.

The three cities you listed, all of them are good.

Now, if you are angling for the 10+ acre piece of land with good schools around the three cities you mentioned, then that will narrow down the possible locations real quick.

Stay away from Wyandotte County, KS.  It continues to deteriorate, and is mostly crime-ridden with the exception of a few communities to the west.

If your job will be in Johnson County, KS, and you want an easy commute, then the cities that you listed are fine.

There are some very nice communities on the MO side, with excellent schools.  Parkville (north of the MO River), and Lee's Summit (Southeast side of KC) are great places to live.

My wife is from this area, and we come back here every Christmas to be with her side of the family.  If at some point we decide to bail from Illinois, Overland Park or Olathe will be where we end up.  She jokingly refers to this area as the Promised Land, and I can understand what she means.  Johnson County is a very nice place in general, with good... well, everything.  I suspect that if the county and cities had their way, firearm ownership would be a concern, but state-level preemption has kept the local governments in line.

I was born in the area and grew up partially there as well.  I remember Spring Hill being some small town on the frontier next to Miami county, and you could still see the old 169 hwy.  A lot has changed since then.  My nephew was in Blue Valley district and my sister raved about how good they are.
That said, they just had a shooting in Overland Park over the weekend.  She said anything north of 95th was getting bad.
I was mortified looking at Zillow when I saw the property taxes.  Even Miami county was high.  We’re looking to move back east, but i think SW Missouri May be where we send up

Johnson County is a very nice place to live, best in the Metro IMO. Probably in the top 20 of the wealthiest counties in the nation.

They are building/developing land to the West and South. So Desoto, Gardner, and Spring Hill offer some good value.

There are pockets of Olathe I don't care for. They call it Little Mexico. Nice people, just a lower income area. Most of Olathe is gtg.

Im in Spring Hill. Id rather live in Gardner I think. My $0.02

I live in JOCO as well and tend to agree with the previous comments.

Good schools, lots of choices on homes based on your budget, and for KS JOCO/KC metro offers many options for culture and entertainment if that is what your after.

If your working on the MO side there is a1% earnings tax to be aware of. KS property tax is too high and as mentioned you get popped for personal property tax on vehicles yearly in addition to sales tax when you buy. Unfortunately the KS legislature has used these DOT funds to give K-12 schools so much money that the road system is not being enhanced or maintained.

Good firearms laws, constitutional carry open/concealed, and many folks are gun owners (hunting / sporting clays / etc.). If there is a no firearms sign in a business you can walk past it without any issues, if asked by the establishment you must leave. There are no fines or violations if you leave, if not it is trespass.

With KSU/ Chiefs football, KU basketball, Royals/T Bones, and NASCAR there are good sports locally. Many folks hunt/fish here as well.