So, what do you LOVE about Kansas? (Wichita, Chase: job market, high school)

[ShyDaisi]

Wow! Thank you all for posting such great responses! This has definitely helped me to see that if everything works out for my job transfer, Kansas would be a great place to live with my son. I really appreciate your time.

[thriftylefty]

I'm used to traveling all over the United States for my work and then come home to Kansas. and something I always saw in Kansas that was'nt as prevalent every where else was small towns mostly or 99.9% white with maybe one ethnic minirity there who feels completely comfortable there . I think ethnic minorities from the Larger Urban areas feel they could only feel safe or comfortable among their own. Being a minority person my self , when I telll some one from New York that I live in a small town in Kansas they always say "no way"

[KansasKris]

j_k_k,

I LOVE that saying on the T-shirt! I will have to look for one of those, my siblings would die to have one, I'm sure....

Once when I was on my way to Manhattan I got behind the once-a-year parade in Cottonwood Falls. I was delayed over an hour because the only bridge (that I knew of) between CF and Strong City was full of horses, 3-wheelers, 4-wheelers, marching bands, etc.....

One of my family members is on the board for Camp Wood, and they are making a lot of changes to update the camp. It will be even better when they are finished. There will be a central building like a "lodge" and then the smaller cabins all around. I think they are going to leave the old cabins too with the sides that lift up - that's what the campers love! 10 kids in one tiny cabin, and it's like sleeping outdoors but with bunk beds!

I live between Andover and Wichita and commute to Eureka a couple of days a week....

Small world!

[tlawwife]

I love living in WESTERN Kansas where the people are friendly, the schools are small and great, and a person can be involved in whatever they want. I love being able to see for miles and to see the clear night sky with lots of stars. I love watching the falling stars. I love small town celebrations. I love walking down the street talking to people I know. I love the feeling of safety. I love that people can let their kids go to the park by themselves because they will be safe while they are there.

[j_k_k]

Originally Posted by KansasKris

I LOVE that saying on the T-shirt! I will have to look for one of those, my siblings would die to have one, I'm sure....

You can only get them from JoeCollege.com.

Not a great deal occurs in Cottonwood, but when it does, most people participate. I've never seen that parade but I can easily imagine it. That's great about Camp Wood. I should have asked my mother about it when she called Christmas Eve; she'd know more about it than I would. Probably went there as a little gal. Kids need stuff like that, now more than ever.

Just how small a world it is, I learn any time I wear one of my Kansas t-shirts in public. It is quite normal for a perfect stranger to stop and visit. Seeing the t-shirt, they presume that being from Kansas, I must be friendly and approachable. That's another thing to love about home.

The religious and conservative side of Kansas doesn't pose an issue for me except when it gets in my face or tries to put its moral code into law. That part bothers me a lot. But what goes unseen, because the media do not consider it newsworthy, is the quiet, decent, religious lives of many Kansans who never bother anyone else with it and simply make a real effort to live their own lives according to their beliefs. That is mostly what I encounter in Kansas when I encounter religion. Of course, no one wants to tune in to CBS News to hear 'About a million Kansans today went to work, did their jobs, played with their kids, said grace at dinner, got along with their less religious neighbors just fine, said howdy to Vern, and made it through yet another day without trying to restrict anyone else's freedoms or mess with them.' Nope. It would be accurate, but it wouldn't feed the news bulldog.

The same happens in every area, I think. I lived sixteen years in Seattle. To hear the media tell it, Seattle is full of poorly dressed music enthusiasts who alternative between reloading espresso IVs and Peta meetings, taking time out in between to hate Jesus. I knew plenty of religious conservatives in Seattle; it took Cobain's suicide for grunge to even get my attention; not everyone was lined up at Starbucks. (Actually, the real deal in Seattle is one's local coffee cart on the street, not Starbucks.)

The Missouri stereotypes, on the other hand, are all 100% true.

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by j_k_k

Happy day this morning: my wife got me one of those t-shirts from Joecollege.com showing John Brown with the Good Book in one hand and a rifle in the other, and proclaiming: "Kansas--keeping the world safe from Missouri since 1854." Can't wait to wear that one back home, especially since my own beard resembles Brown's.

Our whole family has "Muck Fizzou" shirts. I don't wear mine out in public; only at home when KU is playing Mizzou. My son has the one that says "Columbia, Missouri - keeping ugly women out of Lawrence since 1839." DDs have "Rock Out with your Hawk Out," "Beware of the Phog", "Hawkaholic - Recovery is not an option." They have great shirts!!! Did you know the university had a lawsuit against Joe College (probably still do), trying to shut him down...so get shirts while you can because someday it may not be possible.

I also like the shirt from Gameday T-shirts that says:

Little Johnny went to school wearing a KU t-shirt. His teacher asked why he was a KU fan and he replied "Because my parents are." His teacher said "Johnny, you should decide things for yourself. What if your parents were drug addicts or hookers?" Little Johnny answered "Well then I guess I'd be a Missouri fan..."

[chele123]

I was thinking about this topic today. There are so many reasons I love Kansas. I live in a small town in SW Kansas. The absolute safeness here is irreplaceable. I can't see myself living anywhere else. There is a sense of community and pride in our community and everybody volunteers for something because it takes everybody to keep everything going! But the thing that really got me thinking about this topic today is the weather! I LOVE our crazy weather! When I lived in St. Paul, MN the winter just streched on brutally and relentlessly. Last night we had a hard frost, I think the temp was down in the low 20's yet by the time I fed my horses at 7:30 it had warmed up enough to give the world a damp smell like the kind of smell you get in spring. It got up to 67 today and tonight we have a 40% chance of snow! How much crazier than that can weather be?

[KansasKris]

The weather here this week has been crazy, even for Kansas!

When I went to work on Tues am, it was 4-5 degrees outside with "freezing fog" (whatever that is) and more freezing rain as the day went on. Then by late afternoon, everything had melted and it was around 34 degrees.

Today it was almost 70 degrees and balmy. Tonight there are tornado watches out for almost all of eastern KS. Later tonight, we are supposed to get a cold front and then temp is going to drop over 30 degrees!

WoW! What a "winter mix" that is!!!

[GraniteStater]

I tend to not be a big promoter, but I have to toss out a recommendation...
As a professional Geographer and student of History I recommend a book that I just finished reading about Kansas. The title of the book is "Cities on the Plains" by James Shortridge, a University of Kansas professor. I found the historical detail about his description of settlement patterns of Kansas, the important influence of railroads, and the growth of cities in Kansas to be quite interesting. He does an amazing job with synthesizing the complex data so that it is easily understandable to the reader.

[Mercator Projection]

Spring. March truly is, "In like a lion, out like a lamb." Back in upstate NY, March seemed to come in like a lion, and out like a really ticked off lion.

The Flint Hills. Incredibly beautiful. Especially in spring.

Free land.

The Rock Chalk chant.

It isn't Missouri.