What do you think when you think of Kansas City? (St. Louis: apartment, condo)

[kcmo]

Smellykat,

I’ll apologize to Luzianne, but if I had a dollar for every time I heard Johnson County resident tell somebody to stay out of KCMO and move to JoCo where they have good schools, I would be rich. There many fine school districts on the MO side, including many in the city of KCMO.

It’s bad enough most of what is in JoCo came from KCMO (businesses etc) and it’s bad enough that JoCo has such a negative tone toward the MO side (see the KC Star website forums for documented proof), and it’s bad enough that even though JoCo has very little positive to say about the MO side, they will be first in line to use all the assets of the MO side like the zoo, the museums, the stadiums, the arenas etc while refusing to chip in and help fund them.

The last thing we need is people continuing to put JoCo in the spotlight while overlooking or even downgrading what the MO side offers.

Like I stated, the internet has become a great tool for people to overcome the powerful JoCo driven realestate industry in KC, but people are researching and finding out that there is much much more to metro KC than the Plaza and Johnson County.

I want people to look at Johnson County, it might be the perfect place for them. But I also want them to look at Platte County, Clay County, Jackson County, Cass County and Wyandotte County. Then they can make that decision.

So, again, my apologies to Luzianne, but if you think I’m the only one on the MO side that resents how many JoCoers feel about us, then you are nuts.

[smellykat]

I want people to look at Johnson County, it might be the perfect place for them. But I also want them to look at Platte County, Clay County, Jackson County, Cass County and Wyandotte County. Then they can make that decision.

kcmo - I agree with you 100%!

So, again, my apologies to Luzianne, but if you think I’m the only one on the MO side that resents how many JoCoers feel about us, then you are nuts.

Who cares what SOME Johnson Countians think of you! If you are disliked because you live in Missouri (or Kansas) those type people are VERY small and VERY shallow!

[NewToCA]

My experiences with Kansas City are kind of unusual, because I was transferred to the area in 1973 and lived there for a little over two years. I went back and spent a week in Kansas City a few years ago, and saw a very different city.

When I was there over 30 years ago, the major place to go was a downtown area known as "The River Quay". We used to go to the area every weekend, and it was a blast. Lot's of activity and nightlife.

Development at that time was taking place around 103rd to 110th street. Also, much development was taking place on the south side of Bannister Rd, and west of Metcalf and 95th St on the Kansas side. Kemper Arena had recently opened at that time, and I saw the Kansas City Scouts play my Philadelphia Flyers.

When I returned, the major differences I noticed were the extensive developments to the south and west, and significant development between the airport and about five miles north of downtown. The area where I used to live, around 95th St and Blue River Rd had significantly deteriorated. I also saw that a large shopping mall had been built north of the old Venture Store (a discount store co-located with a super market, but with separate entrances) but apparently it had failed. South of Bannister, it looked to me like the Grandview area had gone downhill significantly during the 30 year period.

However, once I got south of 103rd, the areas seemed to get a bit nicer, especially on the Kansas side of the state line. I found the Missouri side to be a bit more hit and miss, some nice developments and other areas that could use updating. I also saw some nice new retail centers, done in the very classy manner that metro Kansas City develops areas.

Overall, I thought the city evolved rather well, I was pleasently surprised to see how well Ward Parkway still looked and the evolution of the Plaza area. Some areas, such as the Hallmark Center were less impressive than they used to be, but some new development showed good evolution in area usage.

BTW, my favorite restaurant of all time, anywhere, was Smokestack, located on Prospect Ave around 85th St. I was disappointed to see it had pretty much gone out of business, but was thrilled to find the same food I used to enjoy was available at Fiorella's Jack Stack BBQ, around Warnall and 130th St. It was as great as I remember the food being at Smokestack.

[rvegas8]

I personally think Kansas City is alittle more developed then Indianapolis or Memphis. I think Indianapolis is to bland for me. Denver's defiantely way bigger and more developed then Kansas City.I thought Denver was so-so. At first, I didn't really like Kansas City but there's alot to do. It's a really nice city. That has its own style.

[dredio05]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

Memphis is not anywhere near the level that cities like Denver and Chicago are. Memphis is now losing population, and has lost many jobs since 2000. I would compare Kansas City favorably to cities like Columbus and Indianapolis. Highlights for Kansas City include the Plaza area and cheap housing compared to national averages.

I understand the comparison between Columbus and K.C., but not sure how Indy got thrown in. I live here in the Northeast Kansas area and have properties in K.C., the city is average at best, sometimes lively, the growth is very segregated and the politicians spend to much time arguing. Indy has a phenominal growth rate right now and everyone's on board with it, it's already the 14th largest city, with an astronomical amount of universities, and as of late many cultural and art type districts have been established. I have property in both places. The housing prices are unbelievable in Indy, you get a lot of house for your dollar, while in K.C. you get what you pay for, not much upside.

Indy: Pacers, Colts-super bowl champs, hockey, Notre Dame, Indiana State, Ball State....... and on and on and on

Kansas City: Chiefs ()

Indy: Broad Ripple Village, The Wholesale District,Canal and White River State Park, Fountain Square, Indiana Avenue, Massachusetts Ave, Murat Centre.........

The Conseco Field house, Circle Centre Mall (no mall in K.C. compares) The new football stadium

2010 superbowl
14th Largest city in the U.S.

Kansas City: Power and Lights....18th and Vine() West Plaza, no other real sports teams, Crossroads, West Bottoms, etc.

This can not be a serious comparison. Both are growing cities, but Indy has been on the up for awhile, and Kansas City has a long way to go. First they gotta get rd of there politics, there overly conservative views kill alot of the growth.

[dredio05]

Originally Posted by kcmo

Well, I too am sorry, but I have to flat out disagree.

The only area that KC is "catching up" is Downtown residential and retail development. But.....KCMO has had more "urban" residential and retail long before condos began springing up in Denver and Minneapolis. The areas south of the Downtown such as Crown Center, Midtown and the Plaza offer some of the best urban/high density housing in all of the midwest.

People in KC tend to forget or just don't realize how many high-rise or rowhouse condos and apartments there are in KCMO’s urban core.

Now that Downtown is coming back as well and even the shady parts of Midtown are seeing amazing re-investment, that combined with the Crossroads and City Market areas, KCMO has one of the most interesting and cosmopolitan urban cores of any big city under 2.5 million people and an urban core that blows away many much larger towns like Dallas, Houston and Phoenix.

The arts scene is amazing in KC, the museums are simply world class in KC, the architecture in KC is in a league of its own for a city this size from the art deco skyscrapers to the union station and nelson to the some of the world’s top new structures like the Nelson Bloch Building, Sprint Center, Performing Arts Center and West Edge project on the Plaza.

There is more to do and see in KC than people in KC will ever give credit. This is coming from somebody that has thoroughly visited every single major city in the USA. I know Denver like the back of my hand. I have been there 2-3 times a year for 15 years. I have been to Minneapolis a dozen times. I love both towns, but to say they offer more than KC does, you are mistaken and that’s sad. It’s so easy to come to KC and spend at least 3-5 days seeing some of the top attractions.

I have family that have never been to the WWI Monument and Museum, a top museum in the nation IMO. The Steamboat Arabia is something you will not find anywhere else. The Negro Leagues Baseball museum is more popular with people passing through town than with our own residents. The Kemper Museum of Modern art is top notch, the Nelson in now a top art museum in the world, yes, the world. The new college basketball experience is very cool, even if you don’t like basketball.

We have a great live theater scene. Startlight is one of the top Broadway play facilities in the nation and it’s an amazing theatre. There are many theaters downtown and we are building a 400 million dollar arts center that will rival the Sidney Opera House and the Disney Performing Arts Center in LA.

We are rebuilding our “pro” sports complex that when complete will be as good or better than any MLB or NFL stadium out there, regardless of its location which many wanted to move downtown. The Sprint Center is hosting some of the country's biggest concerts and will eventually get an NBA or NHL franchise. KC is now large enough to support a pro winter sport. The Wizards will soon have one of the top soccer complexes in the nation.

Worlds of Fun, Oceans of Fun and soon Schlitterbaun will make KC one of the top cities in the Midwest for theme parks. People don’t even give Worlds of Fun credit when it’s one of the top parks around, better than Elitch Gardens and Valleyfair.

Having been a friend of the kc zoo a long time, we have had a chance to visit many zoos across the country and again, contrary to popular belief, KC has a great zoo that is getting better every year. I personally think it stands up to the San Diego Zoo or San Antonio Zoo and the main reason is because you don’t have 2000 animals in a square block in tiny cages. We have a great zoo that needs a regional funding source. I wish people could see that.

KC has some great festivals all summer long, including one of the largest art shows in the country (Plaza Art Fair), parades, air shows etc. The City Market is one of the largest farmers markets in the nation. History in KC is deep. We have the Truman museums, the Jazz museum etc. Union Station is one of the most amazing structures in the entire country and KC people can’t find enough bad things to say about it. That station brings in major tourist attractions to KC like the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Titanic, bodies revealed.

OK, I’m going to stop now, but what I’m trying to say is that till people in KC have pride in KC, the city will never be what they want it to be. KC is an amazing town that tends to blow away first timers (so long as they are not told to go to the Legends or Oak Park Mall by locals) when they come to KC and see what the town is like and what it offers. The problem is the locals ignore the city and continue to tell everybody that KC is boring and sucks, even though 95% of the people that live in metro KC know almost nothing about the city. KC will just continue to exist in a vacuum.

Best of all? You can live in KC and afford to do all this and see the rest of the country because our job market is stable, our housing cost a fraction of what it cost in most large towns, it's easy and cheap to get around as parking is free to cheap and traffic tends to be light. We are close to much of the country by car and have the most user friendly airport in the nation with some of the lowest nonstop fares to nearly every large city.

I can sell KC to anybody, anytime. You just have to know the city and when more people from Omaha have been to our local attractions than the people that actually live here? Well, we have issues I guess. It’s called major inferiority complex.

There are two major problems with KC.

Its crazy inferiority complex and the state line where half the city freeloads off the other half. But even so KC is great place to live and it's just as easy to find something to do in KC as it is in most towns.

Again, that’s sad and really just too bad. Metro KC simply deserves better.

So go to the 16th St Mall and LODO and hit the aquarium and mint in denver. Just remember that you have stuff to do in KC too.

Or you can do what most KC people do. Sit out in the burbs and talk about how bad the crime is or how ridiculous the etax is then go buy a couch at Nebraska Furniture Mart.

No, the San Diego Zoo is hands down the best in the world. That's a ridiculous comparison.

[dredio05]

Originally Posted by RjRobb2

Are you serious? I didnt even know Memphis was known for BBQ.

I worked Customer Service for 7 years where I talked to anywhere from 80-150 people a day. Many of those people would ask where I was and when I told them KC the first thing out of their mouths is always one thing and that is BBQ.

KC is known as the BBQ capital of the world. I have talked to people in Europe and all over the world that even reply BBQ when I tell them where I am.

I gotta say, after eating BBQ in Memphis I wondered why they even mention BBQ in Kansas City. It was superb, the K.C. BBQ was average in comparison. I was in love with K.C. BBQ until I had a layover in Memphis, haven't had BBQ in K.C. since.

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by dredio05

I gotta say, after eating BBQ in Memphis I wondered why they even mention BBQ in Kansas City. It was superb, the K.C. BBQ was average in comparison. I was in love with K.C. BBQ until I had a layover in Memphis, haven't had BBQ in K.C. since.

You sampled Memphis BBQ from their airport? Where did you samples KC's from a casino?

Just kidding, I don't care. I like Memphis BBQ too. Not into BBQ enough to really notice a huge difference though.

Originally Posted by dredio05

No, the San Diego Zoo is hands down the best in the world. That's a ridiculous comparison.

So they say. That's why we went and we found it very overrated. I think Omaha has a better zoo than SD.

[TabulaRasa]

I moved to Mo/KC in 2007, and had no real experience even visiting KC until earlier that year. I had no preconceived notions, and the only association I had in my mind with Kansas City before moving here was Charlie Parker and jazz music.

[Bill Lehman]

Originally Posted by Firefly007

I am curious about what people associate Kansas City with. What is the major significance of Kansas City? If you were traveling from coast to coast would you plan on making a stop in Kansas City? What are the major tourist attractions in Kansas City? Does Kansas City have as much significance as other major cities like Nashville, St. Louis, and New Orleans? Would you hold the city as high in status as cities like Denver, Memphis, or Chicago? How would you compare it to Columbus Ohio?

I was in the high schools in the 60s when the schools were first integrated (Northeast H.S. 1961-2, Westport, 1963-66, Central High School, 1966). I recall teaching summer school at Central High School in summer, 1966. I taught composition to seniors, Ernest Jennings and Curtis Martin were in the class (They were to go on to the Air Force Academy).That year, I developed a debating team. We went to schools to debate that had never seen a black student, let alone a debater. Central High School was the first Kansas City high school to be integrated and, by 1966, was completely resegretated: 3000 black students, 1 white students (From Austria, a Foreign Exchange Student), 125 faculty, with only three black teachers.