Whats up in Liberal (Garden City: rent, work, school)

[jbear182]

A few years back I drove through Liberal and i found it very interesting. Lots of 70's style cars and architecture. Any locals out there that can provide some insight on what its like to live there?

[Quill]

I lived in Liberal for several years (moved in 1991). Still have family there, so I visit fairly often.
Liberal is one of the larger farming communities in the area. It has an awesome air museum, which is well worth a visit.
The city also has a big and varied ethnic population, which could be wonderful if locals would take advantage of all of the opportunity that offered. But sadly, those ethnic communities just stay segregated from each other. There's no opression - they just seem to keep to themselves. It's really odd.
The population even seems to be clearly broken into the educated vs. the working class sectors. With all of the interesting history and heritage the area has to offer, I've always found it odd community leaders didn't make more of an effort to draw the community together better.
That said, if you enjoy agricultural-type pursuits, the area has rodeos, roping events and fairs. There are also car races, and the annual Pancake Day race in February.
On the downside, the closest city to Liberal is Amarillo, Texas - which is about a 2.5 hour drive. There's not much in the way of cultural events such as concerts.
But, if you enjoy wide-open spaces and wind, which is ever-present, visit Liberal.

[bubbadean]

Liberal is one of the worst places to live in Ks.It's only claim to fame is Dorthy.
Turists that come to LIberal are always disappointed-there's nothing here.Truthfully,LIberal is severely in debt,overcrowded and considered "Little Chicago". There is a lot of corruption here as well.We are overloaded with illegals and drugs.In the past 10 years about 75-80% of all citizens have left.Liberal continues to supress those that live here with high cost of living and continuous landscaping that it can't afford as well as foolish buisness deals.They're trying to keep up with the Jone's.(Garden City)
There is nothing for kids to do in this community so a good percentage of them are constantly in trouble.The school system is a joke and there is nothing but headaches for the parents of special needs children.
If Liberal continues to ignore all these problems there won't be anyone left here other then doctors,lawyers,city official & it's workers and illegals.A lot of
us think that's their goal.Nobody would be able to challange their tax increses
or pay raises.As for those that are citizens, many of us are moving while still
others are planning to do the same.

[jbear182]

Originally Posted by bubbadean

Liberal is one of the worst places to live in Ks.It's only claim to fame is Dorthy.
Turists that come to LIberal are always disappointed-there's nothing here.Truthfully,LIberal is severely in debt,overcrowded and considered "Little Chicago". There is a lot of corruption here as well.We are overloaded with illegals and drugs.In the past 10 years about 75-80% of all citizens have left.Liberal continues to supress those that live here with high cost of living and continuous landscaping that it can't afford as well as foolish buisness deals.They're trying to keep up with the Jone's.(Garden City)
There is nothing for kids to do in this community so a good percentage of them are constantly in trouble.The school system is a joke and there is nothing but headaches for the parents of special needs children.
If Liberal continues to ignore all these problems there won't be anyone left here other then doctors,lawyers,city official & it's workers and illegals.A lot of
us think that's their goal.Nobody would be able to challange their tax increses
or pay raises.As for those that are citizens, many of us are moving while still
others are planning to do the same.

What do you mean by "little chicago"?

[spinfree]

Originally Posted by bubbadean

Liberal is one of the worst places to live in Ks.It's only claim to fame is Dorthy.
Turists that come to LIberal are always disappointed-there's nothing here.Truthfully,LIberal is severely in debt,overcrowded and considered "Little Chicago". There is a lot of corruption here as well.We are overloaded with illegals and drugs.In the past 10 years about 75-80% of all citizens have left.Liberal continues to supress those that live here with high cost of living and continuous landscaping that it can't afford as well as foolish buisness deals.They're trying to keep up with the Jone's.(Garden City)
There is nothing for kids to do in this community so a good percentage of them are constantly in trouble.The school system is a joke and there is nothing but headaches for the parents of special needs children.
If Liberal continues to ignore all these problems there won't be anyone left here other then doctors,lawyers,city official & it's workers and illegals.A lot of
us think that's their goal.Nobody would be able to challange their tax increses
or pay raises.As for those that are citizens, many of us are moving while still
others are planning to do the same.

why do you live there then? I grew up in liberal, graduated LHS in 1975, and although I haven't lived there since 1978 when I moved to texas to go to college, I do still visit several times a year.

Your claim that 75-80% of the citizens has left is bogus. When i left in 1978, the population was around 14,000, no I beleive it's over 20,000. yes I realize lots of imigrants.

[finboss]

Originally Posted by jbear182

What do you mean by "little chicago"?

It means that the crime rate in Liberal is exceptionally high. According to City-Data's crime index...that is correct. To be fair, I live in a city that also calls itself "Little Chicago" because of a high crime rate (Chickasha, Okla.) and this is a great little city. That "LIttle Chicago" thing is pretty common in a lot of small cities with a high crime rate. Everyplace thinks that they are the worst.

[KevK]

Originally Posted by bubbadean

Liberal is one of the worst places to live in Ks.It's only claim to fame is Dorthy.
Turists that come to LIberal are always disappointed-there's nothing here.Truthfully,LIberal is severely in debt,overcrowded and considered "Little Chicago". There is a lot of corruption here as well.We are overloaded with illegals and drugs.In the past 10 years about 75-80% of all citizens have left.Liberal continues to supress those that live here with high cost of living and continuous landscaping that it can't afford as well as foolish buisness deals.They're trying to keep up with the Jone's.(Garden City)
There is nothing for kids to do in this community so a good percentage of them are constantly in trouble.The school system is a joke and there is nothing but headaches for the parents of special needs children.
If Liberal continues to ignore all these problems there won't be anyone left here other then doctors,lawyers,city official & it's workers and illegals.A lot of
us think that's their goal.Nobody would be able to challange their tax increses
or pay raises.As for those that are citizens, many of us are moving while still
others are planning to do the same.

Sounds pretty liberal to me!

[KevK]

Originally Posted by jbear182

What do you mean by "little chicago"?

More like "Little Chipotle"

[Jim West]

I lived and worked in Liberal for many years. I just sold my house in Liberal. It was known as Little Chicago before I moved there, not necessarily because of the crime rate, but because of the corrupt City Council and Law Enforcement.

If you play that right, there is a fortune to be made in Liberal. It is a seriously rough cattle and oil town, but it has one of the highest per capita incomes in the nation. It is definitely a collection of the haves and have nots. The few haves spend a lot of their time making sure that the have nots do not join the upper ranks. But if you can penetrate the ranks of the haves, then the money flows.

Depending on how you play the game, Liberal can be your way to fortune, or it can be the move that buries you.