KC questions (Kansas City, St. Louis, Blue Springs: fit in, renting, insurance)

[Stargazing789]

Hello all, I'm looking to relocate to the Midwest from Los Angeles and I'm excited about most of what I've read about Kansas City. I do expect there will be some culture shock and I'm okay with that but I have a few concerns that I'm hoping people here can help address.

About me: 41, white male, work in the insurance industry, single but living with my girlfriend who is Mexican, she works in the tech industry. We don't have any kids and might get married one day but we're happy with our current set up. We are currently renting and I'd like to buy a house but that is almost impossible to do in Southern California unless you're willing to live in a bad area. We are educated, friendly people who want to live in an area with good job opportunities and good people. So far, we are considering Kansas City, St Louis, Omaha, and Des Moines and we really like what we've seen and heard about Kansas City.

Will a mixed race relationship be an issue in the KC area, specifically Johnson County?

Will we be given dirty looks by our neighbors if we're living together but not married and have no kids? I know JoCo is very family oriented.

Both of us grew up in religious households but as adults, we never go to church anymore. I would expect nearly everyone there attends church regularly. Will that be a huge issue in Johnson County?

Neither one of us has ever owned a gun and I expect that many people in the Midwest own one. We're fine with that but I wonder if seeing people openly carrying guns in public will freak my girlfriend out. It's not something we see in Los Angeles. It seems that Johnson County has very low crime so I'm guessing we have nothing to worry about but I do wonder what happens when people mix guns and alcohol in public places such as bars, restaurants, and county fairs. Thoughts?

Locals in the KC metro seem to despise Johnson County residents. Is that something we need to worry about? Also, how do people feel about Californians moving to their county? Is that something we need to worry about?

Thank you for reading! If you have any feedback it would be very much appreciated!

[kcmo]

Jesus. Could you possibly be more stereotypical?

I am from KC and live on the east coast now and prefer it over the midwest, but it's not that bad there especially in a large metropolitan area like KC.

"nearly everyone there attends church regularly" Yeah, don't think so. They have a lot more of those big suburban mega churches and stuff, but it's still not most people. I'm not religious and find KC to be fine.

Why would people care about your interracial relationship? KC is not some small town.

Same with guns. Not really a thing most people think about. You don't see people just carrying guns around. Well you might if you hang out too much on KCMO's east side lol.

You really need to get out more. KC and StL are both relatively large metro areas and are not that much different than similar sized metros on the coasts (Sacramento, Portland etc) despite being slightly more conservative. The center cities are very liberal and the suburbs are a mix, but lean conservative. Even Des Moines and Omaha are mostly just normal cities not giant hick towns filled with gun loving bible thumping racists. (basically how you are describing people)

Johnson County is fine. It's an affluent suburban area. Office parks, malls, and subdivisions for miles and miles and nothing much else. It sounds like you would culturally be a better fit in the city or at least in an inner ring suburban area like Brookside, but it's not like people are going to give you dirty looks in Johnson County. I would not live in a place like JoCo unless I had kids, and even then I would not live in JoCo. It's just not my cup of tea. But people live there with and without kids.

I have issues with Johnson Countians because they think they are special when it's just run of the mill suburbia you find in any major metro. I mean it's great compared to the rest of Kansas, but that doesn't take much. That and nearly everything they have has come at the expense of the urban core. In order to grow, the KS side has had to syphon everything from KCMO since KS is not a very attractive place on a national scale. So they just take established things from MO.

But overall, you really should learn more about the country. Even in the Midwest, it's an urban vs rural divide. Big metros are very different than the rural areas. There is just more rural areas.

I would say that the rural areas of the east coast are as bad or worse than midwest when it comes to church going, gun loving, ignorant trumpster types. But they are just outnumbered by people in the metropolitan areas and the suburbs are not as conservative.

[sub]

whoa boy...

As a conservative-ish religious person from the Bible Belt south who has zero issues with guns but doesn't own one, nor do I have anything against Trump voters any more than I do with Biden voters, here's my take:

I did live in KC for several years, now in another part of the midwest.
Hispanics are probably the largest minority group and no one's going to care.
The overwhelming majority of people will be too polite to say anything one way or the other about your marital status. Probably the ONLY time you would hear it is if you decided to actually attend a conservative church regularly. Still, it won't be about your race or hers, it will only be about your marital status.

Kansas City isn't even Bible Belt, certainly not in the way you might see in some places down south, but even then, it's all just silly stereotypes and exaggerations.
Sure they have megachurches, just like you do in SoCal.

Sorry, but I chuckle at the gun concerns. Crime is an issue in the bad neighborhoods of KC, but the problem is vastly more complex than "guns".

There is a little back-and-forth between residents of the two states, but people are civilized and generally don't think about it much.

To be honest, you could probably live in most rural parts of the midwest and get along just fine as well. For that matter, most parts of the deep south these days.
It's not just coastal people who have misguided stereotypes.

Of the places in consideration, KC is easily my favorite. Des Moines and Omaha are nice but smaller.
St. Louis is... well, it's St. Louis. The overall metro area there is okay though.

I love certain aspects of California, but when I visit family out there it becomes apparent that the people are pretty detached from the rest of the country.

Not trying to be snarky, I do wish you luck. In my opinion, the midwest would be a noticeable improvement over the west coast in a lot of ways. The weather, culture, and scenery will be different, but not in a bad way. Like anywhere else, you just have to embrace your new surroundings.

[Floorist]

I would suggest Blue Springs or Lees Summit on the Missouri side. Olathe or Shawnee on the Kansas side. All have good schools and hospitals. And they are mostly clean.

[Okey Dokie]

I don’t consider a white/Hispanic couple to be “mixed race.” It will be a total non-issue, IMO.

You’ll only run into anti-California bias if you constantly compare the midwest to the “superiority” of California.

As far as guns go, I’ve never seen anyone openly carrying. Maybe I don’t get out enough.

Have you ever been to the midwest? Seriously.

[MarketStEl]

Like kcmo, I left Kansas City for the East Coast when I left for college in 1976, and I also prefer living here to living in the Midwest. But something I've learned over my years in Philadelphia is that Kansas Citians carry the place with them in their hearts no matter where they may live now or whether they may ever return there. And when I returned to KC in 2006, it hit me that if I had to come back home to live, I would be just fine with that — the only thing I don't quite like about the place is its drive-everywhere quality, but they're working on that, too, in places. But as a Southern Californian, you should find driving around Kansas City to be a breeze compared to where you live now.

kcmo pretty much said everything I would have said about your post. But I would like to add that, yes, many KCMo residents do have a thing about JoCo precisely because its residents think their s**t don't stink. My cousins Back Home usually refer to the county with a three-word phrase, the middle word of which begins with F.

Most of the people I know here in Philadelphia who have visited both Kansas City and St. Louis tell me they liked Kansas City better, and I don't think they told me that to humor me. Omaha IMO is a smaller version of KC, while Des Moines is not quite as urbane as either of those cities.

It's also my impression that half of Southern California has relatives in the Kansas City area — I noticed when I was growing up that in the summer, California license plates became almost as numerous as Missouri and Kansas plates on city streets, and the longtime principal railroad that operated passenger train service in KC, the Santa Fe, carried travelers from Chicago and Kansas City to LA and San Diego. You may be able to find someone among your circle of friends and acquaintances who is familiar with KC through familial connections.

[Floorist]

Originally Posted by Okey Dokie

I don’t consider a white/Hispanic couple to be “mixed race.” It will be a total non-issue, IMO.

You’ll only run into anti-California bias if you constantly compare the midwest to the “superiority” of California.

As far as guns go, I’ve never seen anyone openly carrying. Maybe I don’t get out enough.

Have you ever been to the midwest? Seriously.

Open carry is legal in Kansas and Missouri. In Missouri, in a city like Kansas City that still has a "no open carry" ordinance on the books, you need a CCW to open carry. I don't know if Kansas has anything similar. Both allow conceal carry with no permit but there are a few restrictions, at least in Missouri.

[Stargazing789]

Thank you all so much for your replies, I really appreciate the valuable feedback! I sincerely apologize if I offended anyone with my questions at the top, I certainly didn't intend to insult anyone or anything in Kansas City. I can assure you that if we move there we will not think of California as superior at all. We're excited about Kansas City and think our quality of life there would be an upgrade over what we have now and the people there seem to be very friendly. We can't wait to visit. Thanks again for all of your answers and insights!

[Floorist]

Originally Posted by Stargazing789

Thank you all so much for your replies, I really appreciate the valuable feedback! I sincerely apologize if I offended anyone with my questions at the top, I certainly didn't intend to insult anyone or anything in Kansas City. I can assure you that if we move there we will not think of California as superior at all. We're excited about Kansas City and think our quality of life there would be an upgrade over what we have now and the people there seem to be very friendly. We can't wait to visit. Thanks again for all of your answers and insights!

Just be aware, people in a store line might talk your ear off. Most people in this part of the country have no concept of strangers.

[elvira310]

I'm a native Californian, and all of your fears (as you have already been told) are unfounded. There are plenty of decent suburban places in the area where you will be able to live comfortably without getting the side-eye from anyone.

Of all the places you list (Omaha, St Louis, etc) Kansas City is the "best," or rather, least unpleasant. I'd pick somewhere else if I had the choice, but you gave those limited options and in that case, yes, Kansas City would be my first pick. Please be prepared for the culture shock that is known as "winter" and "humid summer." And if you expect to be a stone's throw away from pretty views like the beach or the mountains, forget that too (though the Lake of the Ozarks is quite nice and there are very nice and green hills in Kansas City).