Kansas City vs Springfield (home, school, colleges)

[Camerado]

I have an opportunity to relocate for work to Kansas City, MO or Springfield, MO. I'm wondering what advantages the cities have over each other.

[xenokc]

Do you want a metro that has major league sports/arts/amenities (KC 2M people) or small metro (Sfld under 500K)? There's a huge difference between the two if you don't realize the size difference.

[luzianne]

Athough it has grown a lot the last 10 years, Springfield is much slower paced, much more "country" feel to it than Kansas City, to me anyway. I think it's beautiful down there, but I can't stand that slower pace, nowhere to go, nothing to do. Even if I sit at home and never do anything in Kansas City, I know I could if I wanted to, and that makes all the difference. I don't like he whole country/cowboy feel of Springfield. I feel the same way about Manhattan, Kansas. Maybe others don't perceive it that way, but I always have, and because of that, Springfield's not for me.

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by luzianne

Athough it has grown a lot the last 10 years, Springfield is much slower paced, much more "country" feel to it than Kansas City, to me anyway. I think it's beautiful down there, but I can't stand that slower pace, nowhere to go, nothing to do. Even if I sit at home and never do anything in Kansas City, I know I could if I wanted to, and that makes all the difference. I don't like he whole country/cowboy feel of Springfield. I feel the same way about Manhattan, Kansas. Maybe others don't perceive it that way, but I always have, and because of that, Springfield's not for me.

I would agree with this. But if you would rather have a smaller city and love the outdoors then Springfield may be more you style.

Kansas City is a major metro area where you can find just about any lifestyle you want though, including something similar to Springfield.

[Camerado]

I'm visiting both cities in a couple of weeks, so I expect to get a better idea of each city's character. Honestly, I could stand a quiet little city for a year or so...but I'll have to see if it's the kind of little city I can live in.

Another consideration is that I'm gay. I'm out, politically active, and I'm not especially looking for a completely gay-friendly city. I'm happy to help make the city more gay friendly. But it would be really nice to live in a place where being gay just isn't that big of a deal. I lived in Boulder, for example, which was a small city where being gay was irrelevant to most people. I know enough about Springfield and KC to expect (I think) KC to be more accepting like that. But if Springfield seems like a place I could call home for a year or so, I could still move there.

[christina0001]

Kansas City is a small city, but definitely has an urban feel and most of the amenities you would expect out of a city. It is surrounded by some nice suburbs, and countryside is not far away.

Springfield is a very large town. It has no urban feel whatsoever. It has multiple colleges, yet does not feel like a college town. Springfield has all the amenities you would expect out of a large town. It is surrounded by a handful or so of suburbs, and a lot of countryside.

I started out in KC area for the first year I lived in MO. Now I am closer to Springfield and go to school in Springfield. Both are nice places. They have very different "vibes." I am sure that if you visit both you will easily know which you prefer, because they are both truly different.

As far as being gay, keep in mind this area is pretty heavy conservative Christian, and definitely more so in Springfield. Having said that, I think the college scene, MSU in particular, keeps Springfield from becoming TOO conservative. I don't know where you are coming from. I moved here from NJ and to me it is shockingly white Christian conservative here. But if you are not coming from a super liberal, open-minded place it might not be such a shock to you.

Best of luck to you, and welcome. Let us know if you have any other questions.

[prairiestate]

Originally Posted by christina0001

Kansas City is a small city...

Yup. Just a mere 450,000 in the city and 2 million in the metro area. Barely a dot on the map.

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by Camerado

I'm visiting both cities in a couple of weeks, so I expect to get a better idea of each city's character. Honestly, I could stand a quiet little city for a year or so...but I'll have to see if it's the kind of little city I can live in.

Another consideration is that I'm gay. I'm out, politically active, and I'm not especially looking for a completely gay-friendly city. I'm happy to help make the city more gay friendly. But it would be really nice to live in a place where being gay just isn't that big of a deal. I lived in Boulder, for example, which was a small city where being gay was irrelevant to most people. I know enough about Springfield and KC to expect (I think) KC to be more accepting like that. But if Springfield seems like a place I could call home for a year or so, I could still move there.

When you are visiting Springfield, you could check this out - PROMO - Springfield | Gay-friendly Missouri (http://www.gaymissouri.com/PROMO%20-%20Springfield - broken link)

Being gay likely wouldn't be an issue at all in Kansas City.

[xenokc]

Originally Posted by prairiestate

Yup. Just a mere 450,000 in the city and 2 million in the metro area. Barely a dot on the map.

It's fair to say that of major metros, KC is one of the smaller ones, but KC is still a major metro with major city amenities. Springfield is a small town with more of an outdoor culture and yeah, more WASPy Christians.

On the gay thing, KC did make the top 25 of large cities for gay couples in Census, about same % as Chicago and LA and about same in raw numbers as STL. I've heard Springfield has a tranny culture, but they didn't make couples list for smaller cities.



On the religion thing, KC metro is slightly below US average for religious identity. I've seen a good 4 sources that all show KC has less religious identity. Springfield is higher than KC for non-black religious but still below US avg overall, though S MO area has much more conservative religious than avg.

Here are some metros... The first number apparently excludes black specific congregations, the second includes black per link below.

Religious Identity

US 50% 63%

NYC 62 79
BOS 64 73
PIT 66 78

KC 48 59
SFLD 52 58
STL 51 65
MSP 56 64
Chi 56 71

DFW 52 64
HOU 50 63
ATL 44 62

DEN 40 45
SEA 32 37
SF 39 46
LA 52 61

The Association of Religion Data Archives | Maps & Reports | Select Report

[MOKAN]

Originally Posted by xenokc

It's fair to say that of major metros, KC is one of the smaller ones, but KC is still a major metro with major city amenities. Springfield is a small town with more of an outdoor culture and yeah, more WASPy Christians.

On the gay thing, KC did make the top 25 of large cities for gay couples in Census, about same % as Chicago and LA and about same in raw numbers as STL. I've heard Springfield has a tranny culture, but they didn't make couples list for smaller cities.



On the religion thing, KC metro is slightly below US average for religious identity. I've seen a good 4 sources that all show KC has less religious identity. Springfield is higher than KC for non-black religious but still below US avg overall, though S MO area has much more conservative religious than avg.

Here are some metros... The first number apparently excludes black specific congregations, the second includes black per link below.

Religious Identity

US 50% 63%

NYC 62 79
BOS 64 73
PIT 66 78

KC 48 59
SFLD 52 58
STL 51 65
MSP 56 64
Chi 56 71

DFW 52 64
HOU 50 63
ATL 44 62

DEN 40 45
SEA 32 37
SF 39 46
LA 52 61

The Association of Religion Data Archives | Maps & Reports | Select Report

What's the purpose of isolating blacks?