best kansas city neighborhoods for young professionals

Best Kansas City Hoods for Young Professionals

Despite its smaller size, KCMO provides an energetic, bigger city vibe at a lower cost. This is very attractive to millennials and young professionals looking to call Kansas City home.

Whether you like spending your evenings networking or taking in a jazz concert, or you devote your weekends to hitting a jogging trail, Kansas City has a host of wonderful options.

The best neighborhoods in Kansas City for young professionals

If you’re new to the area, you need to know where the other young professionals in Kansas City are living.

These neighborhoods are some of the most popular around K.C. They offer fun, food and plenty of personality.

Central Hyde Park

central hyde park kansas city mo

Source: Rent. / Richelieu

This neighborhood is about two miles south of Crown Center, a commercial district filled with city attractions. Central Hyde Park offers residents a tree-lined living space with access to museums, shopping, dining and entertainment.

This area has a very distinct community feel. Neighbors engage in everything from preserving historic homes to reaching out to the greater community. Maintaining the local architecture is so important that the neighborhood opens up twice a year for the official Hyde Park Festival and Home Tour.

Though the area boasts older homes, it also has attractive apartment complexes perfect for people just starting out in their careers. Central Hyde Park’s location puts it close to the Crossroads Art District and Country Club Plaza. With quick access to the city center via bus, you’re never far from anything going on throughout the city.

Country Club Plaza

country club plaza kansas city mo

Located on Kansas City’s southeast side, Country Club Plaza is one of the country’s oldest outdoor shopping and entertainment districts. The neighborhood has an aesthetic similar to a Spanish village. You’ll find fountains, hand-painted mosaic tiles and iron street lamps.

Luckily, the area isn’t all retail. It’s also a great place for young professionals to live. It’s very popular with singles and young couples looking for somewhere to call home. There are many housing options available, ranging from apartment buildings and complexes to small condos.

For some outdoor fun, the Brush Creek Waterway runs through Country Club Plaza. Take a jog or walk alongside the canal. Surrounded by boulevards and apartments, you can also live right alongside the area. In fact, some properties even face the European-inspired bridges that cross the water.

Crossroads

crossroads kansas city mo

With a toe into the downtown area, the Crossroads Art District has undergone a revitalization in the last decade. Today, this neighborhood is home to art galleries, restaurants, bars and local, independent shops. Public transportation has improved in the area, with bike-sharing stations being the latest addition.

Millennials and young professionals, many in their 20s and 30s, are moving to Crossroads. They’re attracted by its energetic vibe, as well as its reasonably priced housing options. You can find affordable lofts, condos and apartments.

The big venue for entertainment here is the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. You can catch a concert or see an opera or ballet performance. Round out the night with a stop in a retro-themed bar, hip coffee shop or grab some local barbecue. For something different, check out First Friday events each month with food trucks and local craft booths.

Midtown-Westport

midtown westport kansas city mo

Situated on the south side of Kansas City, Midtown-Westport offers residents an eclectic array of bars, restaurants and shopping. Roanoke Park has easy access to hiking. You can even brush up on your local history by visiting the Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio.

Find most of the entertainment in the Westport section of the neighborhood, with brewpubs, bars and retro diners. This is also where all the trendy fashion boutiques sit.

Young professionals like this area for its urban-suburban mix. You can find older homes and quieter streets alongside plenty of activity. The commute into downtown isn’t very long either. You get the best of both worlds while still staying within the city limits.

River Market

river market kansas city mo

Situated between downtown Kansas City and the Missouri River, River Market is a quaint neighborhood with city energy and waterside scenery. It’s also home to one of the largest and oldest public farmers’ markets in the Midwest. This links growers and producers to the entire community, citywide. Most of the neighborhood’s residents are in their 20s and 30s, so you’ll have no trouble meeting other young professionals like yourself.

River Market has numerous apartment types, with loft-style housing being one of the most popular. This neighborhood is less than four square miles, so you can walk to almost anything you need. Find shops of all kinds lining the streets of River Market, making it easy to pick up groceries or a new outfit. The area also hosts many events year-round, such as a wine walk and outdoor film screenings.

Because River Market is so close to downtown, young professionals can use public transportation to get to work and avoid any commuter traffic.

Union Hill

union hill kansas city mo

As a nice, quiet pocket around plenty of fun things to do, Union Hill is an urban hidden gem. Perfect for young professionals, the area offers plenty of shopping, bars, restaurants and coffee shops. Housing choices reflect the vibe, too. Options range from trendy apartments to Dutch Colonial-style homes.

Right along the western edge of the neighborhood, you’ll find Liberty Park, a great green space for your favorite outdoor activity. For history buffs, the National World War I Museum and Memorial has more than 300,000 unique artifacts to view.

Union Hill is also home to another very important, historic spot in Kansas City, Gates BBQ. This legendary restaurant has been around since 1946 and has remained family-owned from the start.

Waldo

waldo kansas city mo

Source: Rent. / The Ridge at Chestnut

A little further out from the city center, you’ll find Waldo. This neighborhood continues to maintain a unique character even as it grows. This walkable, bikeable area has something for everyone, including young professionals. The commute to work might be a little further, but you get plenty of bakeries, bars and nightlife spots to pick from when you get home.

Waldo plays host to a variety of events and festivals throughout the year. There’s always something special for bringing people together. For every day, visit a local brewery or stop into a gift shop full of handmade items. There’s also an artists’ co-op for unique gifts.

Places to live range from larger, single-family homes and townhomes to small, studio apartments. You may even get lucky and end up in a historic building with some architectural charm.

Live and play in K.C.

It’s obvious that Kansas City has a lot to offer young professionals looking to call this area home. Whether you decide to live close to downtown, or a little way out, you’ll definitely have no trouble finding a neighborhood with its own unique character.

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