Johnson County, Kansas: The American Dream? (Overland Park, Kansas City: appointed, apartment, city hall)

[Mathguy]

Originally Posted by denverian

I don't think this is the thread to try and define liberal, but I'm not a pot smoking, vegan hippie on a commune. I know in recent years the right has tried to take mainstream liberalism and re-define it as "extreme/distant" left, so let's not go down that road.

I consider myslef to be mainstream liberal and live around mostly people with similar political views. Being gay and having children, I would never live someplace like JoCo because I guarantee you there would be issues with neighbors and my children would have issues in school for having gay parents. In Denver, we're not just "tolerated", but accepted and embraced as a family, and that's a lot healthier environment for us and our children. Not to mention, KS doesn't recognize same sex parents, whereas CO does.

60/40 huh? Not bad for Kansas!

It seems that we agree on many of the points. I think you are right that they are less "liberal" on gay issues than on other "liberal" issues here. I also think that you may being carrying memories from this area from over a decade ago and things may have changed a bit. Certainly there can be pockets too...my neighborhood might work fine and 3 blocks over you might have some wingnuts for neighbors. (I certainly wouldn't mind you. )

Best of luck and I'm glad you like Denver.

[denverian]

Originally Posted by Mathguy

It seems that we agree on many of the points. I think you are right that they are less "liberal" on gay issues than on other "liberal" issues here. I also think that you may being carrying memories from this area from over a decade ago and things may have changed a bit. Certainly there can be pockets too...my neighborhood might work fine and 3 blocks over you might have some wingnuts for neighbors. (I certainly wouldn't mind you. )

Best of luck and I'm glad you like Denver.

Thanks! Yes, I only see JoCo for a few days every couple years, so I'm probably not qualified to judge it in 2008. One thing I've noticed in recent years is how much more diverse it is racially. Back in the 80s, my neighborhood was 100% white, and the only minorities you saw were people who took the bus out to JoCo to work in fast food restaurants. It may not be the most diverse place in the country, but way more than it used to be.

And speaking of crazy neighbors, the nuttiest neighbors we ever had were in California - everything from drug dealers to off-the-charts religious nuts (wife wearing 1800s dresses, husband wore a beard sans mustache), alcoholics, Jesus Freaks, hippies, tweakers, crack heads, etc. Quite a diverse mixture of everyone you'd never want to live near! So compared to that, JoCo is a pretty tame place to live.

[TwoWheelRider]

Originally Posted by Scraper Enthusiast

Is Johnson County, Kansas symbolic of the American dream? I recently visited the area, and I must say that I was impressed. The streets were clean, the neighborhoods were beautiful, the people were friendly. Frankly, I felt that the place had a nice and homey feel to it. I could say the same for the Kansas City metro area, as a whole, to an extent.

So tell me whether I was simply seeing the area through, perhaps, a "Grass is Greener on the Other Side" set of lenses.

JoCo was the wealthies county in Kansas at one point and could still be.
It was also ranked in the top 50 wealthiest counties nationally (not sure where it is ranked now). Contrary to what some of the other posts claim. JoCo is not a bunch of conservative bible thumpers (although if there were more of them this place would be better). The worst thing about this area is the extremes in weather. There is not much for scenery if your in to that.

[GraniteStater]

I read an article a few days ago saying that JOCO did not elect Phill Kline. At least the majority of the residents in JOCO have some common sense!!!

[Mathguy]

Originally Posted by TwoWheelRider

Not to get off the topic but i totally disagree! Kline is an aggresive attorney general. We need more like him to help put criminals where they belong...in jail or the electric chair.

This country is way to lax on criminals especially repeat offenders. There are countless examples like the story in California where criminals were released from jail only to go out and kill again.

I like the law and order aspect but found Kline too political in his job. His firing attorneys when he took office was his choice, but it reeked of politics and firing prosecutors for political reasons isn't a boon for getting criminals put away.

I feel that here in Kansas, we can find ample prosecution and tough sentences for those that deserve it and putting overly political people in those roles actually does the opposite.

The only people that actually liked Kline were the ones that bought into his anti-abortion grandstanding. I like the idea of actually reducing abortions, who wouldn't? But I found his tactics to be self-serving.

[Traveler87]

How bout' we all take a breather, and calm down. Lets get back on topic here. Or we can shut down the thread.

Thanks.

[TwoWheelRider]

Originally Posted by Mathguy

I like the law and order aspect but found Kline too political in his job. His firing attorneys when he took office was his choice, but it reeked of politics and firing prosecutors for political reasons isn't a boon for getting criminals put away.

I feel that here in Kansas, we can find ample prosecution and tough sentences for those that deserve it and putting overly political people in those roles actually does the opposite.

The only people that actually liked Kline were the ones that bought into his anti-abortion grandstanding. I like the idea of actually reducing abortions, who wouldn't? But I found his tactics to be self-serving.

Firing prosecutors happens all the time. For example Paul Morrison announced his intention to fire McKinney within minutes of being sworn into office (Jan 2007). Recall Paul Morrison went from Republican to Democrat in a blink of an eye when big support money came his way. Everyone thought he was so good until his affair was discovered.

Yes, we should be able to doing a better job handing out tougher sentences for those that deserve it. Problem is that there are extreme political views by both sides.

Even if his zeal was excessive I think it is better than someone who is constantly bought off and accomplishes nothing.

[siteReviewerYYY]

Originally Posted by Scraper Enthusiast

Is Johnson County, Kansas symbolic of the American dream? I recently visited the area, and I must say that I was impressed. The streets were clean, the neighborhoods were beautiful, the people were friendly. Frankly, I felt that the place had a nice and homey feel to it. I could say the same for the Kansas City metro area, as a whole, to an extent.

So tell me whether I was simply seeing the area through, perhaps, a "Grass is Greener on the Other Side" set of lenses.

Johnson County KS is a great place to live.

It has great schools, businesses and thriving housing market.

Here is a great site that I use to find Johnson County Businesses, etc

www.johnsoncountyinformer.com

Hope this helps...

[luzianne]

I grew up and was educated in Johnson County from age 7 to 15. Family then moved away and my goal was to get back there. I went to college after high school, then moved back to the KC area. Had to live in less desirable areas of KC at first because I couldn't afford Johnson County, but I made darn sure by the time I had kids we were living in Johnson County because that's where I wanted my kids raised and educated.

It used to be better than it is now, but still a great place to live. Some people have called it snobby/snooty or whatever. If liking your streets clean and neighbors who take care of their property is snooty, then I guess I like snooty. Seems that you have to keep moving a little further south to be in the really nice areas. When we travel I always look for the "Johnson County" equivalent of wherever we are going to find a hotel or whatever. Disappointing to find that a lot of places don't have a "Johnson County." I absolutely love it here. I've always wondered what it would be like to live somewhere else (especially someplace warm year round) but I honestly don't know if anyplace else would compare.

[jeffmsilver]

Johnson County is fine. It's boring.