It's ok, you can like BOTH Kansas City AND St. Louis... (Washington: high crime, home) - Missouri (MO) - City-Data Forum

kcmo · 06-11-2009, 04:00 PM

I have never understood the KC vs StL thing.

Why do people from StL dislike KC and why do people from KC dislike StL?

I think for the most part, it’s all talk and most of the people I hear ripping on the other city are actually totally clueless about the other city. People in KC, especially Johnson County, love to rip on how “ghetto” StL is (of course they do the same thing to KCMO). While people in StL tend to look down on KC as a more rural city based on very limited exposure to the city such as where the stadiums are or where the airport is.

Both of those assessments couldn’t be further from the truth however.

I think people in this region of the Midwest, especially Missouri residents should be proud that there are two wonderful, vibrant metropolitan areas in the state. Both cities offer culture, attractions, museums, sports etc that can’t be found anywhere else in the region. How many states in these parts have one, let alone two, major metro areas that offer all the things that KC and StL offer?

I love StL and I also love KC. I have lived in StL. I have relatives and friends on StL and go there all the time. It’s an amazing city that has a fantastic urban core that is bouncing back. Just like KCMO.

I find the people to be about the same in both towns. They are both big Midwestern metropolitan areas.

I think people need to spend more time in both towns though. People in KC need to visit more than the arch and union station and the zoo. Most people in KC do not know of all the amazing urban areas of StL like Soulard, CWE, the Loop, Washington Ave, the Hill, SLU etc. They drive to the Landing and Union Station and think the rest of the city is ghetto and suburbs.

StL people need to visit KC period. I think StL people try to overlook or ignore KC because it’s not good enough for them in their minds. They try to put KC on par with Tulsa or something and would rather drive to Chicago and play with the big boys.

That’s all fine. Chicago is awesome, but you are missing out on an amazing city 250 miles to your west. That has an urban arts, culture, nightlight museums, theater… scene that easily rivals, if not exceeds that of StL.

So I challenge people in KC and in StL to visit the other city. There is much more to KC than the plaza and there is much more to StL than a free zoo and the arch.

Get out and explore and hopefully people will see that we are pretty lucky to have two fine urban metropolises 3.5 hours apart in the middle of the rural Midwest which can be as redneck, conservative and boring as people on the coasts make it out to be.

Go urban KCMO and StL City. Both cities are back from the dead and are now two of the most charming and interesting urban centers between the coasts.

mdwstgrl · 06-11-2009, 04:52 PM

I was raised in StL and moved to KC 7 years ago. When I moved here I was shocked to find out that people from KC disliked people from StL. In all my 20-something years in StL I had never heard any person say negative things about KC. Personally I think this whole things is related to the 1985 World Series. The Royals only won the title because of a bad call, yet they hate StL??? Go figure!?! It doesn't make sense.

KCRichard · 06-11-2009, 05:32 PM

Waa Waa Waa! Bad call my ***. If Jack Clark wouldn't have dropped that easy fly ball, the Cards might have won that game, and BTW, you had a chance to win the damn thing the next night, but Whiney Herzog couldn't manage his way out of a bar, let alone a World Series game.
All this has been going on way before 1985. When I went to MU in the early 70's, there was a lot of division between KC and STL, and when they got done fighting, they would join together and make fun of kids from the rural parts of the state.
Growing up in KC, I never heard anyone say anything bad about STL. Most folks here were Cards fans, not only because we did not have major league basaball untill 1955, but because until the Dodgers and Giants moved west, the Cards were the western-most team in the majors, and people always rooted for them because they were a Missouri team, and had won more championships than anyone except the Yankees.
I've always enjoyed STL and agree that the two cities have much in common. I've been to virtually every city and region in the US. Each are unique and have great things to offer. I would suggest that instead of sitting at a computer trashing our neighbors, get off your duff and go see the great cities this country has to offer-Boston, NYC, Chicago,Denver, Dallas,the Twin Cities, Atlanta, Pittsburg, Philly,SF, and maybe you would see that they all have something to offer. I've never been anywhere I didn't enjoy, but I'm always glad to come home to MISSOURI.

TabulaRasa · 06-12-2009, 10:44 PM

I don't get it, either, as somebody who is a Missouri transplant as an adult, and grew up with no allegiance to either city, and no particular opinion of either coming in. I grew up closer to St. Louis than Kansas City, but much closer to Chicago than either, so that being the case, neither was much on my radar. Same for the MU/KU crap. Not my battle.

luzianne · 06-13-2009, 08:44 AM

I don't like the high crime in St. Louis. It's always listed up there as one of the most dangerous cities in the US. Other than that, I don't think much about St. Louis at all other than it's not my cup of tea.

northbound74 · 06-13-2009, 08:55 AM

I spent a large portion of my life in northeast Arkansas, which meant frequent trips to St. Louis for any kind of cultural activity that couldn't be had in Memphis.
Nice enough town. I like all the free stuff to do there, but would never want to live there. I'm ready to move on from KC, and St. Louis would be too much of a sideways move, both figuratively and literally.
There are things about a certain baseball team over there that irritates me, but no big issues.
KC and St. Louis are about the same. Same size, similar culture, same amount of stuff to do. It's no wonder there's friction, they're too much alike! Like relatives.

RichMonk · 06-13-2009, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luzianne

I don't like the high crime in St. Louis. It's always listed up there as one of the most dangerous cities in the US. Other than that, I don't think much about St. Louis at all other than it's not my cup of tea.

Crime stats in STL are skewed a bit higher b/c of its, comparatively, tiny city limits. The urban core of STL is actually on average with crime but with the smaller city limits it comes out seeming like there is much more crime b/c there aren't large empty spaces where crime never happens.

TabulaRasa · 06-13-2009, 11:50 AM

St. Louis has a MUCH better zoo (and it's free). Other than that, they're fairly comparable in amenities, to me. If I lived in St. Louis, I'd be much closer to my family. But I love Kansas City.

KCRichard · 06-13-2009, 03:09 PM

I agree about having a better zoo. Last time I went hunting there, the selection was a lot better and I never had to worry about running out of ammo, as many of the locals had plenty and were happy to trade some for part of the bounty. And yes, baby seals DO taste like chicken.

luzianne · 06-13-2009, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RichMonk

Crime stats in STL are skewed a bit higher b/c of its, comparatively, tiny city limits. The urban core of STL is actually on average with crime but with the smaller city limits it comes out seeming like there is much more crime b/c there aren't large empty spaces where crime never happens.

Hmmmm....maybe to an extent, but I'm still inclined to believe that there is lots of crime in St. Louis.