Overland Park is one of America's Best Places to Grow Up

[Samantha S]

Originally Posted by sparksharp

I guess I just expected that a large city like KC would have less redneck folks and more people with progressive attitudes. Am I wrong?

You might be. But it's all relative (no redneck pun intended ) ... you'll be fine.

[sparksharp]

Originally Posted by Samantha S

You might be. But it's all relative (no redneck pun intended ) ... you'll be fine.

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!

Yep, yep, yep...ya just might be a Redneck if you find yourself going to family reunions to meet hot chicks! LOLOLOLOL!!!!!

[northbound74]

Originally Posted by sparksharp

Hey, I've been living in Tennessee for the last 20 years, so it's not like I can't tolerate a redneck or two! LOL! I don't know...I guess I just expected that a large city like KC would have less redneck folks and more people with progressive attitudes. Am I wrong?

No, not really. It's certainly not Tennessee.

[sparksharp]

Originally Posted by northbound74

No, not really. It's certainly not Tennessee.

With that, I'm encouraged! LOL!

[sparksharp]

Originally Posted by northbound74

You're the one coming from Spring Hill, right?
Yeah. I know Spring Hill from earlier days. They had yet to build the factory there, but everybody was talking about it.
Quite the impoverished place, if I remember right. I was a kid, and Nashville seemed like a faraway place. When I went back as an adult, Nashville was a lot closer for one, and Spring Hill still VERY much looked the part of a little hick town. I was a bit shocked, really, and I was visiting from Arkansas!
Come to think of it, KC isn't remotely like that.

Yeah, Spring Hill was a tiny little town of about 4,000 people before Saturn (GM) landed! Whew! There was a political firestorm over all that too! Turns out that local folks from Maury County were expecting to be hired by GM, but alas the UAW contract took priority and GM brought their own people in for the jobs on the line! At that point...anybody who worked for Saturn (GM) was a natural enemy of anyone who lived in Maury County from birth! Talk about a toxic situation! It's better now, but the first few years were a real wake up call for me! As a white woman, I never really knew what prejudice felt like...but I sure as hell do now after experiencing all that crap!

However...Spring Hill has grown by leaps and bounds in the last 10 years or so! It's really taken off on the Williamson County side! Spring Hill is a city that falls on the county lines of both Maury and Williamson counties. Williamson County is the wealthiest county in Tennessee and most of the growth has occurred on that side because they have better schools, better roads, better government too! I believe the population of Spring Hill now approaches around 30,000. Still a small city by any means, but a far cry from the 4,000 people who lived there before Saturn came to town.

Part of the growth in Spring Hill is attributed to the growth of the Cool Springs area further north in Williamson County. It all started with a mall and now there is a ton of out shopping and business centers as well. As a matter of fact, Nissan recently moved their United States headquarters from California to that area. It's become an area of large employment and it's growth has fueled the growth of Spring Hill.

[TabulaRasa]

Originally Posted by sparksharp

Hey, I've been living in Tennessee for the last 20 years, so it's not like I can't tolerate a redneck or two! LOL! I don't know...I guess I just expected that a large city like KC would have less redneck folks and more people with progressive attitudes. Am I wrong?

It's a middle American city. It only gets so progressive.

And, yes, that's a generalization. You will find progressives in KC. Right alongside serious, die-hard conservatives, and everything in between. But, no, middle America is not known for an overwhelming reputation of progressive values.

That said, I'm a progressive and a liberal, despite being born and raised in a cornbelt village of 350 people in the middle of the great plains. I'm not a hick, am highly educated, have never hunted, or fired a gun, for that matter, and I loathe NASCAR. I love small towns. I also love the inner city. I don't love cookie cutter suburbs, but I have no problem with ones that have maintained a sense of uniqueness and community. I love down-to-earth, neighborly people. I don't love snobs.

Since moving to KC, I've found tons of flaming liberals to befriend. I've also found moderates and conservatives to befriend. I don't care who you are, what community you live in, or what your ideological stripe is...If you manage to come off as a reasonable, kind, intelligent person devoid of arrogance or snobbish characteristics, I will give you a chance.

[OneKC]

That's the great thing about bigger cities - you can find all sorts of different kinds of people. Republicans, Democrats, moderates, socialists, bible-beaters, atheists, blacks, whites, hispanics, Asians-Americans, gays, sports nuts, artists, marathoners, animal-lovers, we got em all. No matter how unique your interest is, you can probably find someone in the metro who likes the same thing.

[sparksharp]

Originally Posted by OneKC

That's the great thing about bigger cities - you can find all sorts of different kinds of people. Republicans, Democrats, moderates, socialists, bible-beaters, atheists, blacks, whites, hispanics, Asians-Americans, gays, sports nuts, artists, marathoners, animal-lovers, we got em all. No matter how unique your interest is, you can probably find someone in the metro who likes the same thing.

It's been a long time since I lived in a large Metropolitan area. I'm looking forward to it!

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by kcmo

The suburbs of DC are so amazing compared to a place like Overland Park.

KC has a few small areas where there is mixed use like Longview.

But DC's newer suburbs are almost entirely mixed use. Million dollar homes next to town houses. Pocket Parks, front porches, detached garages, neotraditional housing, small neighborhood shopping centers in every neighborhood, transit nearby, extensive bike trails and parkland and extremely diverse racially all with some of the best schools in the nation. Growth is also limited to control sprawl which causes housing prices to go up, but keeps blight in check.

Great suburban areas all 30 minutes from a vibrant urban core of major city.

It reminds me of Denver which is also like this now only everything is a bit more intense than Denver. But Denver is light years ahead of KC when it comes to this.

KC is stuck in the 80's. It’s still 99% 3/4 acre lots, tall fences, super zoned out by class (apartments, single family, condos retail) no transit at all, very limited parks and bike trails (even in JoCo), and just flat out boring. It’s almost all white people with giant homes on huge lots in the suburbs that surrounds a city and even many older suburbs that are in various stages of decline.

So far, I don’t miss KC in that respect.

Funny, seems I have seen you over on the DC forum making friends (not!), telling them you are not impressed and telling them how much better Kansas City is, and how much more house you can get for the same price in the Kansas City suburbs. And wasn't that you who posted pictures a few months ago of your kids on bike trails in Johnson County, and you admitted you come to JoCo because you like the bike trails? I think you are going to look to find something to hate/complain about no matter where you go. Here it is Johnson County/Kansas. Now you are in DC complaining about that area (and still coming back here to complain about Johnson County/Kansas). Let it go! You don't live here anymore, so forget about hating Johnson County. We like it here and you're not here, so why keep complaining?

P.S. - I hate Longview

[kcmo]

My beef with DC is the cost of living, houses are expensive. Other than that, I love the area and we are getting over the sticker shock. I'm actually doing quite well, have made many friends (online an in person). Thanks for asking though!