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But it's night and day from the east and west coast when it comes in racial integration etc. There is no place in KC where you have the type of racial and social diversity and interaction that you have in large coastal cities
You are right about large west coast cities (though many of them are well below the mean), but you are dead wrong about east coast cities.
Kansas City has a lower segregation index than the four biggest east coast metros:
NYC, DC, Philly and Miami. Also more integrated than Baltimore.
You are right about large west coast cities (though many of them are well below the mean), but you are dead wrong about east coast cities.
Kansas City has a lower segregation index than the four biggest east coast metros:
NYC, DC, Philly and Miami. Also more integrated than Baltimore.
I 100% disagree with you. Sure, the metro stats might say otherwise since there are massive counties that are nearly all black etc. DC has PG county which has nearly a million people and is nearly all black and DC itself is segregated with most blacks on the east side. Gentrification is drastically changing DC though.
In "reality" to say that KC is more integrated than DC is ludicrous. Having lived in the DC area now for almost 7 years, I can honestly say that KC and DC couldn't not be more different when it comes to diversity in everyday life. Everywhere you go in DC and most of the suburbs, you will be among a VERY racially and socially mixed demographic. Same with Philly and NYC. Boston is pretty segregated, but I don't think it's all that racially diverse. Boston still has a ton more affluent minorities that you will interact with compared to KC (both professional and students). Baltimore is much more like KC though. It's a (mostly poor) black city with with the gentrified areas being mostly white plus the tourist areas which is a racial mix of tourists. However the suburbs of Baltimore are very diverse, at least Baltimore County and most of Anne Arundel County, where if you go to a mall or restaurant, it's very mixed.
I'm sorry, but KC is VERY different than both coasts. Almost anywhere you go in KC it feels like a white metro even though it has a sizable minority population. There is just not a lot of interracial interaction there. You go too any mall in metro DC/Baltimore even the most affluent and whites will likely be 40% of the racial breakdown of the customers. KC also has very few professional blacks etc for how many black live in the metro. It's just different, regardless of the stats you might find. Live here for a while and you would understand.
"Ahh, people must be jealous of me since I live in Joco."
Keep telling yourself that; that attitude is the main reason people are not fond of Joco. Its similar to someone from San Fran coming to this metro and saying "KC is so boring; they all wish they lived in San Francisco!"
"Ahh, people must be jealous of me since I live in Joco."
Keep telling yourself that; that attitude is the main reason people are not fond of Joco. Its similar to someone from San Fran coming to this metro and saying "KC is so boring; they all wish they lived in San Francisco!"
Its just obnoxious and untrue.
Modcut Just because somebody notices how people drive doesn't mean they are not happy. Come on. It's true. For some reason, drivers in KC actually create slow traffic. It's NOT because of volume. They just slow down and drive really far apart. That doesn't make KC a bad place. Every city has some negative characteristics. In DC, it's pure volume. The roads can't handle the volume. I'll complain about it, but I still love the area.
Last edited by GraniteStater; 11-12-2015 at 12:36 PM..
You can keep saying that people are jealous of JoCo, but that doesn't make it true. Why would people be jealous? There is nothing about it that appeals to me. And it is not as if living in JoCo is some exclusive, unattainable goal - there is plenty of cheap housing available. In fact, housing in KCMO west of Troost is more expensive per sq. ft. than the vast majority of JoCo. I could sell my house today and by something much larger in Olathe, but you couldn't pay me enough money to do that.
And bringing up Ferguson and Columbia is really grasping at straws. Those places have nothing to do with what we are talking about - Kansas City, MO. Yep, there are some pretty crappy places in MO, but they have nothing to do with KC. It's not like Kansas doesn't have plenty of things to be embarrassed of, like Westboro Baptist Church, inept government bankrupting the state, banning science from being taught in schools, poor and dying rural areas and towns throughout the state, the list goes on.....
You can keep saying that people are jealous of JoCo, but that doesn't make it true. Why would people be jealous? There is nothing about it that appeals to me. And it is not as if living in JoCo is some exclusive, unattainable goal - there is plenty of cheap housing available. In fact, housing in KCMO west of Troost is more expensive per sq. ft. than the vast majority of JoCo. I could sell my house today and by something much larger in Olathe, but you couldn't pay me enough money to do that.
And bringing up Ferguson and Columbia is really grasping at straws. Those places have nothing to do with what we are talking about - Kansas City, MO. Yep, there are some pretty crappy places in MO, but they have nothing to do with KC. It's not like Kansas doesn't have plenty of things to be embarrassed of, like Westboro Baptist Church, inept government bankrupting the state, banning science from being taught in schools, poor and dying rural areas and towns throughout the state, the list goes on.....
Yea, what does MIZZOU have to do with the KC metro?
Missouri still has much more to offer than Kansas if she really wants to go there. I mean other than south/west JoCo, Lawrence, Manhattan and the speedway area (college towns and corporate welfare areas lol), the state is pretty much a deteriorating mess fiscally and literally.
You can keep saying that people are jealous of JoCo, but that doesn't make it true. Why would people be jealous? There is nothing about it that appeals to me.
And you can say that people aren't jealous, and that doesn't make it true. Maybe not you, but there are plenty of people jealous of Johnson County.
What appeals to me about Johnson County is the great schools and low crime, people who care about their communities and take care of their property. Unfortunately, crime has been increasing in Johnson County in recent years, both because of people from adjacent counties coming into Johnson County to commit burglaries and because of people moving into the area from said adjacent counties where crime is higher...and I guess they bring their habits with them.
I'm not saying there aren't suburbs on the Missouri side that have good schools, low crime and people who care about their communities and their property, but I am in Johnson County because it has all those things and is just a very pleasant place to live. And apparently there are a lot of people who agree with me.
And you can say that people aren't jealous, and that doesn't make it true. Maybe not you, but there are plenty of people jealous of Johnson County.
I guess they would be the same people that would be jealous of Lee's Summit or Liberty? People that can't afford something nicer I guess? Is that what you mean? If you live in an apartment in a less affluent area, sure, you might be jealous of some people in JoCo. But those people would be jealous of most of suburban america. Keep in mind that most people that choose to live in places like Raytown or Independence are perfectly content on where they live and don't wish they lived in JoCo everyday. Also, there are tens of thousands of people on the MO side of KC that have a more affluent lifestyle than most of JoCo. Why would people in Briarcliff, Lakewood, Riss Lake, Loch Loid, or the Plaza be jealous of JoCo. I don’t think the people living in their 450k home in Parkville want to move to Mission or Lenexa. I bet most people in Merriam or Olathe would give anything to live in a million dollar Briarcliff or Ward Parkway mansion though!
There are also people in JoCo that wish they could live in Brookside or the River Market or in a plaza or downtown condo with an urban view but are stuck with a more bland suburban lifestyle do to kids, lack of money etc. I actually know people that live in Prairie Village (happily) yet they have admitted to wishing they could live in Brookside or South Plaza, but they can't afford to move there as they live in a modest ranch. It goes both ways.
You said "I" was jealous of JoCo, which is ridiculous. That type of living ranks way down on my list of preferable places to live with maybe a remote rural area ranking below it. I have zero interest in anything that the entire state of Kansas has to offer. How could you be jealous of something you have zero interest in? While not jealous, It would be neat to live in a midtown Manhattan penthouse AND have vacation homes in Vail Colorado and San Diego and Seattle and Miami.... But not really. I like where I live in the DC area just fine just like I liked living in all the parts of metro KC I lived in.
Here is the thing. Johnson County Kansas is nothing special. It's just not. If you think it is, then you just don't get out much or are so wrapped up on your bias opinion of it that you have a very warped image of just how unique and special JoCo is. It's just stores, office parks and subdivisions in a rather un-interesting mostly flat, often barren county of a declining landlocked agricultural midwestern state. It's not even up to date as most of JoCo looks like it's still 1980. The best thing about JoCo is that it's a suburb of a rather interesting and culturally rich major city so you can enjoy things with the rest of the metro like a World Series run! Metro KC is what makes JoCo special. It's fine for what it is, but nothing you can't find within every single metro area in the country or in other parts of metro KC like Tiffany Springs, Parkville, Shoal Creek and Lee's Summit which are all exactly like Johnson County and collectively close to the same size!
I guess they would be the same people that would be jealous of Lee's Summit or Liberty? People that can't afford something nicer I guess? Is that what you mean? If you live in an apartment in a less affluent area, sure, you might be jealous of some people in JoCo. But those people would be jealous of most of suburban america. Keep in mind that most people that choose to live in places like Raytown or Independence are perfectly content on where they live and don't wish they lived in JoCo everyday. Also, there are tens of thousands of people on the MO side of KC that have a more affluent lifestyle than most of JoCo. Why would people in Briarcliff, Lakewood, Riss Lake, Loch Loid, or the Plaza be jealous of JoCo. I don’t think the people living in their 450k home in Parkville want to move to Mission or Lenexa. I bet most people in Merriam or Olathe would give anything to live in a million dollar Briarcliff or Ward Parkway mansion though!
There are also people in JoCo that wish they could live in Brookside or the River Market or in a plaza or downtown condo with an urban view but are stuck with a more bland suburban lifestyle do to kids, lack of money etc. I actually know people that live in Prairie Village (happily) yet they have admitted to wishing they could live in Brookside or South Plaza, but they can't afford to move there as they live in a modest ranch. It goes both ways.
You said "I" was jealous of JoCo, which is ridiculous. That type of living ranks way down on my list of preferable places to live with maybe a remote rural area ranking below it. I have zero interest in anything that the entire state of Kansas has to offer. How could you be jealous of something you have zero interest in? While not jealous, It would be neat to live in a midtown Manhattan penthouse AND have vacation homes in Vail Colorado and San Diego and Seattle and Miami.... But not really. I like where I live in the DC area just fine just like I liked living in all the parts of metro KC I lived in.
Here is the thing. Johnson County Kansas is nothing special. It's just not. If you think it is, then you just don't get out much or are so wrapped up on your bias opinion of it that you have a very warped image of just how unique and special JoCo is. It's just stores, office parks and subdivisions in a rather un-interesting mostly flat, often barren county of a declining landlocked agricultural midwestern state. It's not even up to date as most of JoCo looks like it's still 1980. The best thing about JoCo is that it's a suburb of a rather interesting and culturally rich major city so you can enjoy things with the rest of the metro like a World Series run! Metro KC is what makes JoCo special. It's fine for what it is, but nothing you can't find within every single metro area in the country or in other parts of metro KC like Tiffany Springs, Parkville, Shoal Creek and Lee's Summit which are all exactly like Johnson County and collectively close to the same size!
Yeah, Johnson County is special. That's why Overland Park is on the list of Best Places to Live every year. Not Parkville. Not Braircliff, Lakewood, Riss Lake, Loch Lloyd (with the correct spelling) or the Plaza and not the Ward Parkway mansions, either. None of those places make the list. You contradicted yourself. You said JoCo is not special. Then you said Metro KC is what makes JoCo special. Um, JoCo is not special because of metro KC. Johnson County could stand on its own. Not sure KCMO could stand on its own without the influx of JoCo money. And Tiffany Springs, Parkville, Shoal Creek and Lee's Summit are NOT exactly like JoCo. I can't even believe you said that.
You don't like Johnson County. We get it. There are a lot of us who love it. And I would not live in Brookside or South Plaza or any of the places you mention on the Missouri side, actually. Not even a Ward Parkway mansion. I would live in western Lenexa on a few acre lot, though. Western Olathe too. I'd have to pass on Merriam.
Johnson County is what it is because of Kansas City. There's a reason you won't find it in the middle of Kansas, or in Wichita for that matter (even though Wichita has some nice suburbs). Its the same with those St. Louis suburbs. Those rich neighborhoods wouldn't have been built had it not been for the city; you probably won't find many Ladues in the Missouri countryside.
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