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Did anything like that happen in Kansas City? I mean, did the Italian families who once lived in the Little Italy section (when it existed) all go in the same direction?
I think a significant number of Italians moved north, most noticeably to North Kansas City, as well as other parts of the Northland, however it doesn't seem to be a high enough concentration to be a noticeably Italian area, and I think it gets more and more diluted as time passes. There is a yearly Italian Festival up north in Zona Rosa.
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does Kansas City have any "soccer bars" or "soccer cafe's"?
I know of one specific soccer bar - Futbol Club Eatery and Tap in Overland Park.
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I simply worry a bit about my parents. They are older, and while they do speak English, and have been Americanized over the last 40 years they have spent in this country, they are so used to walking out the door, having a bakery blocks away, speaking the language casually, going down to the docks to get their fresh fish everyday
Living in Brookside, near Bella Napoli might be a good fit. It is an Italian deli/grocer/coffee shop/restaurant opened by first generation immigrants - although I don't know if you will hear much Italian spoken there. Brookside is good for walkability in general and has the largest Catholic population in the city (though mostly Irish).
St. Luke's looks like a very good hospital, and that is quite encouraging. As for restaurants, Kansas City seems to have quality establishments in abundance, which is also great.
Thank You WiseOwlSaysHoot for all of those concise and valuable answers. I look forward to looking into those areas and locations and seeing what else I can find.
I could not help but smile when reading this statement, because my fiance is (quite literally) the biggest Palermo fan you will ever meet in your life. He has a "Palermo Room" in our house with framed game worn jerseys, autographs, framed write ups from Giornale di Sicilia and La Gazzetta dello Sport. We have to get special TV packages so that we get RAI, RAI 1, RAI 2, RAI America, and RAI Sport - just so we have all the games covered. There are almost as many pictures in that room of Fabrizio Miccoli, Santiago Vernazza and Carlo Radice as there are pictures of family in other rooms. So, just to see that you even mentioned Palermo brought a smile to my face.
As to soccer as a culture, that is a huge thing for us. My fiance was a standout collegiate player in the states, and was planning to go play in Argentina before a car accident put a halt to those plans. He is okay now, but fracturing your spine at 21 sort of puts athletic careers on hold. We do not follow the MLS to any noteworthy degree, but we do know that Seattle and Kansas City have the most prolific fan bases in the country, and that excites us. Let me ask this, does Kansas City have any "soccer bars" or "soccer cafe's"? In Boston for example you can watch any Italian Serie A game at any number of bars and cafes in the North End. The same goes for where my fiance lived in Miami, Philadelphia, and other larger metros. Are there soccer bars and cafes in Kansas City, even if they are "Sporting KC" bars specifically?
Thanks so much!
I was surprised. It should be noted that its unlikely you'll just bump into a Palermo fan walking about the street, but i have seen it. (Although a specific Italian deli in the River Market comes to mind that are pretty big Palermo fans)
As for as football bars. Yes for Sporting, no for Serie A. The bars pretty much only focus on Sporting KC and the USMNT. They'll occasionally show EPL matches, but not much else. The big one is Johnny's Tavern in the Power and Light District. This is where SKC's main Curva/ultras (The Cauldron) hang out to watch SKC matches. Arsenal Fans tend to hang out here as well. Also for bigger SKC and USMNT matches they'll show these matches on the larger screen in the Kansas City Live! area. Creating a great experience and atmosphere to watch games in.
Going back to what you mentioned about programming, If Google Fiber is in any way a part of your decisions it should be noted that Google does not offer RAI or Bein Sports (i've had to make do with streaming Milan matches) as of yet. Time Warner Cable, AT&T and the other cable providers do offer both though.
I won't claim to be an expert on soccer, but It seems like the smaller Mexican restaurants on the west side along SW Blvd always had international soccer matches on the TVs for what its worth. Might be a fun place to catch a game and have some fajitas.
First, I'm not sure it's fair to say that KC's MLS team is equally as popular as the Royals in a sustainable way. I'm pretty sure TV ratings etc would say otherwise despite the Royals continued struggles on the field. The Royals fan base has taken a major beating for the past few decades and what you see now is pretty much a team at the low end of its fan drawing ability. They bottomed out at about 19k fans for 81 home games and now average about 23k a game for a team that's highest goal anymore seems to be staying above 500. Compare that to a team that has been extremely competitive (winning the MLS cup last year) and playing in new stadium with limited seating (creating supply and demand) that draws about 19k a game for 17 home games. The same team that was consistently in or near last place in attendance and MLS apparel sales for most of its existence. The same can be said about the Chiefs who also had a decade long waiting list for season tickets that literally evaporated in just a matter of a couple of poor seasons. I think KC is a great NFL market, but KC fans can quickly turn their backs. I still think KC is one of the best baseball towns in the country that just has had a terrible team to support and if the Royals were to ever become competitive on a regular basis, KC would awaken a fanbase that has been in a coma for a long time. The Royals would draw very well. They would draw even better with a downtown ballpark IMO. I only bring this up because I hear a lot of KC MLS fans ripping on the Royals and their fan base. I don't really get that, why can't they be fans of both teams? Regardless it's not a fair comparison.
So what happens when Sporting starts loosing over half their games, the new stadium wears off etc? I honestly think the jury is still out on KC being the best MLS market outside of Seattle.
Having said that, what's going on in KC right now with the MLS is nothing short of amazing and a miraculous turnaround for not only an MLS franchise but probably one of the most impressive turn arounds in all of pro sports. A few more years of this type of success and I think MLS soccer culture will become less of a fad and more of an embedded sports establishment into the KC culture and should continue on to the next generation of fans. It's awesome that KC has embraced the MLS and has gone from a situation where most people wanted KC out of the MLS to a role model franchise.
Here is a good article on the current situation. As of right now, metro KC residents are solid fans, second only to Seattle in support with nearly 13% of residents being fans of the MLS.
I never said that Sporting are more popular in the city than the Royals, just, that they pull about the same per game attendance. I have noticed alot of overlap fans of the two teams and I'm glad about it. Sportings Fan base also start building over 3 seasons ago, it's not as if it popped up suddenly after becoming champions. And even before the stadium switch the actual fans of the team have always been loyal and prolific ones.
Although I find the Downtown Ballpark argument a bit funny considering Sporting Park is Located on the other side of KCK
Living in Brookside, near Bella Napoli might be a good fit. It is an Italian deli/grocer/coffee shop/restaurant opened by first generation immigrants - although I don't know if you will hear much Italian spoken there. Brookside is good for walkability in general and has the largest Catholic population in the city (though mostly Irish).
Bella Napoli is great, almost all, if not all to a basic level of the staff speaks italian, and its still owned by the original family who are heavily involved and always around to chat with customers. Brookside/East Ward Parkway does sound like a really good fit. Especially if you're considering private schools. You didn't mention your sons age, but if you're looking for Elementary schools, there are many located in close proximity to Brookside one of them being Border Star, located directly in the entertainment/ shopping area of Brookside.
I never said that Sporting are more popular in the city than the Royals, just, that they pull about the same per game attendance. I have noticed alot of overlap fans of the two teams and I'm glad about it. Sportings Fan base also start building over 3 seasons ago, it's not as if it popped up suddenly after becoming champions. And even before the stadium switch the actual fans of the team have always been loyal and prolific ones.
Although I find the Downtown Ballpark argument a bit funny considering Sporting Park is Located on the other side of KCK
yea, it wasn't really directed at you but more of a post directed at defending the Royals. You didn't really say anything negative about the Royals, but I do hear such comments all the time from MLS fans. Although I'm sure many Royals fans will put down soccer too.
I have been a fan of the "wizards" since they came to KC, so it's been nice watching them finally get things going with the community.
As far as a downtown ballpark. I'm not sure it matters as much with soccer, but most of the newer MLS stadiums are being proposed for urban locations. I think the MLS is even trying to require new MLS markets build downtown stadiums (not sure how enforceable that is). I have not been to a game here in DC, but will go to them once the new stadium opens near the baseball park. I think you have the ability to pull from a different demographic with urban stadiums. You will lose some of the suburban crowd and smaller children (due to perceived parking issues, crime etc), but gain more of the younger urbanites that would prefer the location and areas around it. As for the Royals, I think a new stadium would have really brought in some nice crowds for a few years, but then it would settle down and depend on performance of the team. But they would bring much needed energy and spin off development to downtown KC (hotels, etc) and help justify transit investment. Sorry to keep this off topic. Anyway. Good to see Sporting do well. Hope it keeps up. Location is not really my cup of tea, I have been to a couple of games at the stadium though and it's a nice stadium with great atmosphere, I'm just not fond of the suburban/rural retail mall location. Kind of like Kauffman with its industrial and run down residential location. But like Kauffman, its location wouldn't keep me from going to games if I still lived there. I would just be going to lot more if it were downtown.
As far as the original topic. Lidia's is awesome. The one in Pittsburgh is great too. Both are in awesome near downtown locations in historic structures within gentrifying industrial districts. KC is lucky to have that place.
Bella Napoli is great, almost all, if not all to a basic level of the staff speaks italian, and its still owned by the original family who are heavily involved and always around to chat with customers. Brookside/East Ward Parkway does sound like a really good fit. Especially if you're considering private schools. You didn't mention your sons age, but if you're looking for Elementary schools, there are many located in close proximity to Brookside one of them being Border Star, located directly in the entertainment/ shopping area of Brookside.
Bella Napoli in Bside is one of the few legit in KC. The also use imported IT cold cuts on stock sammies - capocollo/cappicola, prosciutto, soppressata, etc. Corrollo's in City Market use both imported and E Coast versions and maybe Consentino's too though I see mostly Boarshead, which I don't see the fascination with. The majority of 'Italian' delis in KC are otherwise pretty watered down with cheap meats, like d'Bronx.
BTW, there's a new small AmItalian joint in Westport called Cucina della Ragazza that is quite good for 3rd gen+ AmItalian and also nice neighborhood happy hour bar - mostly lesbian crowd at bar. Place is always busy. If not too hot out, they do old school air conditioning with a fan in front of ice bucket, which is a cute touch. Cool small urban rehab joint with maybe 6 tables and bar.
We have never had Google Fiber here on the east coast (that I know of anyway) and have always simply used whatever cable provider offered RAI, BeIn Sport, and other entertainment necessities. As long as some provider there can offer those stations, then we will simply use that provider. That is, as silly as it may sound, a necessity for us.
As to these other suggestions about possible locations to watch soccer, we will look into those as well. I have been reading that the soccer culture in Kansas City is "as close to a European soccer culture that can be found in the U.S." Of course, it mentioned Seattle as well, but nonetheless that is also encouraging.
The schools are the next thing we are examining, however with private school options it is less than pivotal for us. We will likely find a community that we would like to live in, where my parents would also be comfortable, and then figure out the school thing from there. My son, who is 8 years old, would be enrolled in elementary school upon our relocation.
As it pertains to the "River Market", could you tell me some more about that. It appears to be a planned urban community which is part condo development, part apartment complex, part farmers market, part restaurant strip, and part retail plaza. I'm unsure I have ever seen anything like it before. We wouldn't live there ourselves, but is my interpretation of it accurate? It looks quite impressive.
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