Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I grew up in Lenexa and Shawnee, and later on moved to Overland Park.
There is a HUGE difference between OP, Olathe, and Shawnee.
OP is by far the city that has the most "it" factor, and probably seems more desirable to outsiders. It is by far the most stable, normal feeling city of the three. It is one of the top ten places in America to raise a family. North Overland Park is much different than the newly developed Southern Overland Park. In the North are poorer working class and lower middle class folks. As you continue south of College blvd roughly, you start to get a stable upper middle class vibe, as you go towards their major chamber of commerce. Overland Park is home to Black and Veatch world headquarters, Sprint World headquarters, Garmin headquarters, etc. As you go way further south, you have Overland Park's magnificent arboretum. And everything starts to feel a bit more spread out.
Shawnee is a completely different animal. It is way more laid back, and has a sort of glazed over, depressed vibe. It's not a great place for mom and pop businesses to open up. In the 80's and 90's, there was a more stable working class, bordering on lower middle class presence in central Shawnee, but in the early to mid 2000's it seemed to disappear. Huge shopping centers with strip malls were left desolate, like the one on 75th and Quivira. Western Shawnee is mostly newly developed, but holds nothing to Overland. Park. There are places to eat and shop, and even a new Wal-Mart off k-7, but the area just has a depressing, glazed over vibe. It's something that you really don't notice when you grow up there, but you notice when you move away to a more lively city.
Olathe has considerably more to offer than Shawnee, but still has a really depressing, weird, non-lively zombie vibe. Once more, if you grew up there, you probably wouldn't notice it until you moved away.
Both Shawnee and Olathe feel like more Kansasy type cities in comparison to Overland Park. OP is completely in a class of it's own, and I have heard it compared to Naperville, IL, a suburb of Chicago. OP feels plugged in, and competitive with other major suburbs on a national scale.
Olathe and Shawnee feel like depressing, glazed over Kansas cities. Overland Park doesn't even feel like Kansas, it's so raked over.
One benefit of getting out there to Olathe and Western Shawnee is that you are very close to the country, and the further west you go, the more spread apart houses are. In western Shawnee, there are some absolutely huge, expensive looking houses with tons of space in between, and look very peaceful.
That being said, Overland Parkers are known to be very cocky, and have a reputation of being entitled, like people in Leawood and Prairie Village nearby. It's the truth. Overland Parkers, especially nearer to downtown, are ruder, more short with you, impatient, racist, and cocky... Bordering on jackass. They act like OP is some world class city and they can get away with it. But really, it's hard to say there isn't any city like OP that doesn't have the same problems... I think it's more of an American thing.
I'd say when you go roughly east past Nieman, you get a considerably more Great Prairie, Kansasy vibe...
If your brother is a kind of laid back guy who may have children with mental illnesses/developmental disabilities, I would strongly urge him to live in Shawnee or Lenexa. I would steer clear of Olathe completely, unless you were interested in one of their many interesting churches. Shawnee is a great place for recovering drug addicts, mentally challenged people, elderly folks, and outcasts to live... It is a place where they are more likely to thrive and go a long way without feeling judged or cut off by society, and also, feel a bit more left alone. Perhaps it would also be a great temporary place for college students going to. JCCC, which is technically in. Overland Park, but feels very close to Shawnee and Lenexa. Say, you were studying to join the Santa Fe railroad or get a bachelors degree in IT at JCCC... You could move into one of the many cheap apartment complexes and get your life together.
If your brother is really fast paced, highly motivated, moving quickly from one thing to another, has a good chunk of money, is well educated, well-to-do, and wants a city that feels plugged in, and has a little bit of everything... I would urge him to move to Overland Park, although, I would encourage him to stick on the Southern parts nearer the bigger business headquarters, and away from northern and central/downtown Overland Park, which are going downhill, despite many attempts to open new and interesting businesses.
I grew up in Lenexa and Shawnee, and later on moved to Overland Park.
There is a HUGE difference between OP, Olathe, and Shawnee.
OP is by far the city that has the most "it" factor, and probably seems more desirable to outsiders. It is by far the most stable, normal feeling city of the three. It is one of the top ten places in America to raise a family. North Overland Park is much different than the newly developed Southern Overland Park. In the North are poorer working class and lower middle class folks. As you continue south of College blvd roughly, you start to get a stable upper middle class vibe, as you go towards their major chamber of commerce. Overland Park is home to Black and Veatch world headquarters, Sprint World headquarters, Garmin headquarters, etc. As you go way further south, you have Overland Park's magnificent arboretum. And everything starts to feel a bit more spread out.
Shawnee is a completely different animal. It is way more laid back, and has a sort of glazed over, depressed vibe. It's not a great place for mom and pop businesses to open up. In the 80's and 90's, there was a more stable working class, bordering on lower middle class presence in central Shawnee, but in the early to mid 2000's it seemed to disappear. Huge shopping centers with strip malls were left desolate, like the one on 75th and Quivira. Western Shawnee is mostly newly developed, but holds nothing to Overland. Park. There are places to eat and shop, and even a new Wal-Mart off k-7, but the area just has a depressing, glazed over vibe. It's something that you really don't notice when you grow up there, but you notice when you move away to a more lively city.
Olathe has considerably more to offer than Shawnee, but still has a really depressing, weird, non-lively zombie vibe. Once more, if you grew up there, you probably wouldn't notice it until you moved away.
Both Shawnee and Olathe feel like more Kansasy type cities in comparison to Overland Park. OP is completely in a class of it's own, and I have heard it compared to Naperville, IL, a suburb of Chicago. OP feels plugged in, and competitive with other major suburbs on a national scale.
Olathe and Shawnee feel like depressing, glazed over Kansas cities. Overland Park doesn't even feel like Kansas, it's so raked over.
One benefit of getting out there to Olathe and Western Shawnee is that you are very close to the country, and the further west you go, the more spread apart houses are. In western Shawnee, there are some absolutely huge, expensive looking houses with tons of space in between, and look very peaceful.
That being said, Overland Parkers are known to be very cocky, and have a reputation of being entitled, like people in Leawood and Prairie Village nearby. It's the truth. Overland Parkers, especially nearer to downtown, are ruder, more short with you, impatient, racist, and cocky... Bordering on jackass. They act like OP is some world class city and they can get away with it. But really, it's hard to say there isn't any city like OP that doesn't have the same problems... I think it's more of an American thing.
I'd say when you go roughly east past Nieman, you get a considerably more Great Prairie, Kansasy vibe...
If your brother is a kind of laid back guy who may have children with mental illnesses/developmental disabilities, I would strongly urge him to live in Shawnee or Lenexa. I would steer clear of Olathe completely, unless you were interested in one of their many interesting churches. Shawnee is a great place for recovering drug addicts, mentally challenged people, elderly folks, and outcasts to live... It is a place where they are more likely to thrive and go a long way without feeling judged or cut off by society, and also, feel a bit more left alone. Perhaps it would also be a great temporary place for college students going to. JCCC, which is technically in. Overland Park, but feels very close to Shawnee and Lenexa. Say, you were studying to join the Santa Fe railroad or get a bachelors degree in IT at JCCC... You could move into one of the many cheap apartment complexes and get your life together.
If your brother is really fast paced, highly motivated, moving quickly from one thing to another, has a good chunk of money, is well educated, well-to-do, and wants a city that feels plugged in, and has a little bit of everything... I would urge him to move to Overland Park, although, I would encourage him to stick on the Southern parts nearer the bigger business headquarters, and away from northern and central/downtown Overland Park, which are going downhill, despite many attempts to open new and interesting businesses.
"We were somewhere around De Soto on the edge of civilization when the drugs took hold."
well, I read over what I said... the only thing I would change about it is that I said that east of Nieman is a very great Plainsey vibe... I clearly meant west. West of Nieman, and then past Lackman and Renner... you definitely notice quite a bit more of an authentic Kansas feeling.
well, I read over what I said... the only thing I would change about it is that I said that east of Nieman is a very great Plainsey vibe... I clearly meant west. West of Nieman, and then past Lackman and Renner... you definitely notice quite a bit more of an authentic Kansas feeling.
So that's it, huh? Change the word "east" to "west" and you're golden...
Alright... I admit I was a bit harsh and used some pretty hasty generalizations. At the time I was highly sleep deprived and stressed out while working at a Walmart, combined with trying to type on a tablet which kept inserting periods in weird places. My cognitive functioning was suffering tremendously, and my thoughts were a bit off.
I was really harsh on Overland Park (and the other cities)... honestly, I have to say I think this is a really great city and I am thankful to live here. IMO, this is definitely one of the best cities in the entire state of Kansas to live. It manages to remain very composed and peaceful while having some of the amenities of bigger and busier cities. It's really a great balance, and I like it.
I think there's a new suburbia coming up from the west in Shawnee and Lenexa... and it could be very exciting in times to come. I have been trying to keep up with the progress of this Lenexa City Center they are building. Just in 10 years time I have seen a huge difference.
Last edited by Patriarchal.Paradigm; 07-02-2016 at 07:51 PM..
I have been trying to keep up with the progress of this Lenexa City Center they are building. Just in 10 years time I have seen a huge difference.
As have I. Very interesting development. One of several that have already been completed in the KC Metro. Seems a bit forced, but, very nice nonetheless. Commercial and residential construction projects continue to boom in the KC Metro...esp on the KS side. I'd like to know how many apartment units are available today, and scheduled to be available by the end of 2016, compared to what was available 3, 5 or 10 years ago.
We live in Western Shawnee. I feel like it is an incredible hidden gem. The topography is nice too look at with lots of hills and trees, the lots are large, the traffic is light, and there are some nice local restaurants nearby. I live right off of Johnson drive with K7 and 435 close by.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
