Possibly moving from Chicago to Kansas City (St. Louis, Ozark: transplants, condo)

[Chicago-Eman]

Young professional currently living in Chicago, Illinois (Lincoln Park-specifically). I have a great job opportunity that would require relocation to Kansas City. My question is should I make the move for the job?

A little background:
I love living in Chicago (the urban life) with everything to do: nightlife, restaurants, street fests, music fests and venues, bars, sports and sports teams, the beach/Lake Michigan in the summer, everything walkable or by public transportation, family nearby and strong friend base...as you can tell I love living here and am hesitant to move but it is a great opportunity.

So, can I find similar living lifestyle in Kansas City? I have read many mixed reviews and am concerned about up-rooting my life here and starting again in a smaller city. Any advice??

[Samantha S]

It definitely will have a smaller feel to it. You will most certainly want to have a car. But I think you will find many things you really like about KC and will consider an improvement, starting with the COL.

Check out the plaza area for an apt until you get the lay of the land and decide for sure where you want to live. There are several decent pockets of night life and things to do, although fewer sporting events. And the crowds will be nothing like Chicago. We have no lake in the city, but there are some beautiful lakes in the surrounding area.

And when you get homesick, several airlines can get you back to Chicago for a weekend fairly inexpensively.

Good Luck!!

[TabulaRasa]

As somebody who lived in (and loved) Chicago as a young professional and now live in (and love) Kansas City, maybe my thoughts will be of some value.

1. You can have an urban life in KC complete with the same amenities, albeit with a less wide variety, that you now enjoy, with the glaring exception of having a beach/Lake Michigan anywhere nearby (traveling to Lake of the Ozarks is about as close to that as you're gonna come).

2. It's nowhere near as walkable in many areas, and the public transportation is going to be something you will definitely find lacking in comparison to Chicago, but it does exist, and is good in many ways. Just not what you're used to, at all. This gets disputed often on here, but my personal opinion is that it's tough to really live in Kansas City and not be fairly car-dependent. Especially if you're coming from a city like Chicago with awesome public trans infrastructure.

3. There isn't a Lincoln Park, per se, in KC, IMO. There are semi-similar areas, but nothing with that same feel. It's just a different city. However, there are neighborhoods that put you near nightlife, there are plenty of music options and street festivals. There are establishments with the same type of vibe as those you find in your current neighborhood. For living, the Plaza is probably the area you'll find to be most like where you are, and it's still not like Lincoln Park, it's just, well, like the Plaza. I lived on the Plaza when I moved here, and for me, it was fine.

4. I find the fact that the benefits of it being a smaller city to outweigh any of the negatives that go with it being a smaller city. It's easier and more expedient to get around, although it covers a large geographical area...driving/traffic are never, ever an issue for me the way they were in Chicago. There is minor backup (in comparison) here, but it's nothing like Chicago. Parking is nowhere near the pain in the ass it was in Chicago. The COL is much more reasonable, my dollar goes a lot further here. It's less crowded here, less claustrophobic, which will only really matter to you if you have an aversion to teeming crowds (doubtful, if you go out regularly in Lincoln Park, but still, there it is). However, I didn't spend my whole life in a city, I grew up in small towns before moving to Chicago, and that has a lot to do with my perspective. Somebody who is born and raised somewhere much larger may feel differently about all that. But for me, I get the perks of an urban area with few of the hassles, in KC.

5. My family is back in Illinois, and visiting them doesn't happen that often. The drive and the train trip take nearly the same amount of time (but the train trip is more relaxing and generally less expensive), and I've rarely found a worthwhile fare to fly.

[Chicago-Eman]

Samantha and TabulaRasa-

Really appreciate the responses!! After reading so many mixed reviews about KC, it is nice to get these straightforward and honest comments. I actually moved a bunch since a kid so you would think that this decision would be easier;; but since graduating college, I have been in the city of Chicago and like the fact that I have begun to put down some roots and family is close by throughout Illinois and Wisconsin.

It is good that there is an urban type feel to KC, which is what I really want as I am not quite ready for suburban living. Maybe that will change after a while in KC. What do you think I will miss the most by moving to KC? Is KC a transient city like Chicago, as in there are always new transplants to meet?

[kcmo]

I wasn't going to post here because I thought Samantha and TabulaRasa posted great posts.

I lived in Chicago for a while and I generally love urban areas.

I think you will be pleasantly surprised at what KC has to offer for a medium sized city. KC has a horrible sprawl problem, as do a lot of cities, but the core of the city is quite dense and the building stock there originated and developed around one of the most intense transit systems in the nation up till the 40's and 50's.

KC had one of the largest street car and bus systems between the coasts, with the exception of Chicago of course.

It’s too bad it’s nearly all gone now .

KC has morphed into a very suburban city and a very suburban minded city that still has some amazing urban fabric left in it. You will have to go against the grain a bit, but you can live in a very urban part of the city (even with kids) and get by just fine and actually really enjoy it.

KC is a relatively transient city, but we get most of our transplants from the rural states that surround us like Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma etc and a fair amount from Chicago, LA and St Louis.

But most are a generation from the farm and that has caused some problems with the city being a bit more progressive and “afraid” to be a city at times.

Regardless, if you can get past the overwhelming and annoying people of this town that can’t find a place to park in the easiest and cheapest big city downtown in the country to park in for example or the general mentality that if it’s not beige, surrounded by grass and under 5 years old, it’s ghetto, you will love it here!

[TinaMcG]

I lived my whole life in Chicago before moving to the KC area twi years ago. I spent the last 20 years in the suburbs, but before that, I lived in different parts of the city of Chicago, from Edison Park to Rogers Park. I attended college downtown and spent many years enjoying Near North, the lakefront, the festivals, the museums, and the clubs. I always felt so ALIVE when I walked around that city. I have to be honest with you -- I don't think KC lives up to Chicago in the ways you will want it to. Plus, as you've said, you'd be leaving family and friends.

But you really need to spend some time here and get a feel for yourself. I love the people here, and I like having little snow in the winter. I miss Chicago hot dogs and Italian beef stands. I miss really good Chicago pizza (and I'm sorry, Uno's doesn't cut it). And wow, I sure do miss Lake Michigan and drives down Lake Shore Drive. I do not miss jury duty in Cook County or dealing with Cook County, though!!

If you have a good job opportunity, I think it's a good idea to SERIOUSLY consider a move. I know I'm not too encouraging in my comparison of the two cities, but a good job opportunity is golden these days, and it might afford you the opportunity to move back to Chicago in your future career path.

[kcmo]

^ Agreed. I think most people that end up really liking the move from Chicago to KC wanted a city that was not quite as large and intense as Chicago. Even if you move into a very urban part of KC, the pace will be much slower and it’s just an easier city to navigate and live in, plus, it’s cheaper, much cheaper.

I too would seriously consider it. You might really love KC, but even if you don’t LOVE the city, from what I have seen, people seem quite comfortable here while they wait to get back to their home town or move on to something else. KC is not by any stretch a horrible place to live and it typically offers far more than what people would initially think having never lived or even been here.

KC is a nice midsized major metro area. But it’s a long way from comparing to Chicago. That’s a high bar.

[northbound74]

KC does get much of it's population from the surrounding countryside, but it's one of the least transient major cities I've come across. I was surprised to see so many people who have lived here for generations.
It can be very difficult to make friends around here. Whether or not it's the lack of movement and people have all the friends they need from way back in high school or whatever, I don't know, but it's just my observation.

[Chicago-Eman]

KCMO- thanks for the information. It sure would be nice if KC still had the street cars from the 50's. My concern with KC is the suburban sprawl, where people work in the city and disappear at night back out to the suburbs, similar to St. Louis. I had a project in St. Louis and was surprised that the city was barren during the week after 5:30!? I know the weekends are different, but I want a city where professionals actually live, work and play. And if KC is like that, I could definitely make it home. And yes I am seriously considering the offer.

Tina- great to hear about your experience. Sounds like you miss all the same things I would miss and not sure that I really want to give it up. The opportunity I have is actually really lucrative, but would require me to be there for a good period of time. If it was a two year gig with the option to return to Chicago I would jump at it, however, it would be for significantly longer as I would build my new territory.

North- I understand what you are saying. The project I had in St. Louis allowed me to interact with some locals when I went to a gym at night and the common question was "Where did you go to high school?" When told that I wasn't from the area, it took a little longer for them to warm up to me. But that could be anywhere. Thanks for your input.

KC sounds like it would be a good fit for me, I really have to weigh the friends and family aspect though. I know we live in an age where getting a hold and maintaining relationships is easier, but you cannot substitute actual face to face get togethers (i.e., hanging out with friends and family). This is going to be a tough decision for me!

[kcmo]

There is just not a lot of people in KC from other large or larger cities and those that are tend to be from the suburbs of other large cities and tend to settle into the suburbs here. We just don’t get the young couples that just moved from a condo in Denver or San Francisco or Dallas or Boston and want the same lifestyle in KC.

I would say that even most people that do like urban kcmo are typically from the college towns around the area (Midwest) and simply don’t want a suburban life just yet. But I wouldn’t really compare them to true urbanites from other large cities. College sports and drinking seem to be all most really get into.

It’s not a bad thing, but it’s one of the things that I think really hurts KC. We need to be able to attract people from other major urban centers and I don’t think we are anywhere near doing that yet.