So, what do you LOVE about Kansas? (Wichita: quality of life, taxes)

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by 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 .

March is a winter month, especially in terms of temps/snowfall in the Upper Midwest and areas off to the east. Saranac Lake, NY has recorded temperatures as low as -35F in March as well as northern NH. The big advantage of that extended winter period is a general boost in back country recreation tourism dollars. Kansas is generally in a precarious position between the Great Lakes trough and the Western ridge that tends to lead to periodic episodes of downsloping winds during the transitionary months.

[silverhaired51]

I was born and raised here, left, came back, left again, came back. I do love Kansas, it does have alot of different things to see. One of my favorite areas is the Flint Hills, I love driving through them on the turnpike, and driving into them. You have wide open spaces, hills, lakes, rivers, a little bit of everything.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by silverhaired51

I was born and raised here, left, came back, left again, came back. I do love Kansas, it does have alot of different things to see. One of my favorite areas is the Flint Hills, I love driving through them on the turnpike, and driving into them. You have wide open spaces, hills, lakes, rivers, a little bit of everything.

Absolutely. One of my favorite spots in the Flint Hills is the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Chase County that has thousands of acres. I went on a guided tour there several years ago, and the local expert pointed out all of the various native plants and grasses found there.

[Mrkando]

I have been a Kansas resident for most of my life. With the exception of 4 years in the Navy out of high school and two years in Louisville Ky. I have lived, for the most part in Wichita or the surrounding area.

Now it took the two years in Louisville to make me really applicate what Kansas has. Many say it's the weather and I admit I don't like winter but while living in Ky., at least for the time we were there, I found how boring it can be with little to no weather change. After being there awhile, with wind being an exception and not the rule I came back to Kansas to see our children. It was late spring and while driving through the flint hills I came across a good old Kansas thunderstorm. I could see it from a distance and I loved it. In that moment I knew I had to come back no matter what and I did.

Now Kentucky is a very beautiful state as are so many other states but I would so much rather just visit them. Kansas has been my home and will always be. It may be that you have to grow up here to really appreciate what it has but all it really takes is observation. While different from other states it has it's own special beauty.

To drive through the countryside and see the wind blowing the wheat. To see the cattle grazing in the pastures. There are no mountains but there are plenty of hills that are beautiful any time of the year.
I grew up in north central Kansas in an area they call Blue Valley. A small town encased by hills. It was a typical Kansas small town except it was in a very lovely setting.


I have been a lot of places in this world but Kansas is home and I thank the Lord and my parents for it.

[silverhaired51]

When going into the Flint Hills, one of the other things I like seeing is the cattle off in the distance. All grazing on grass, not bunched up, but spread out. I also noticed this time going into them, that they have put up a beautiful large rock with Flint Hills on it.

[AnywhereElse]

That so many people who seem to appreciate the state, no longer live here

[j_k_k]

Originally Posted by AnywhereElse

That so many people who seem to appreciate the state, no longer live here

Wasn't up to me. I cried all the way to Colorado when we left Hutch in 1971. By the time it was up to me, it took me awhile to remember what I had missed, and I went back most years for a visit. Still do, though less often. Then I got married to an Alaskan, and it was no longer just about what I wanted. I have to exert all my efforts to keep from ending up in Anchorage. If I ever dislodge a single heel from its dug-in position, I'll find myself dodging moose on a highway faster than you can say 'Northern Lights.'

[anifani821]

Originally Posted by AnywhereElse

That so many people who seem to appreciate the state, no longer live here

Believe me, I would be there right now . . . moved b/c of DH's job/career. Love Kansas and try to make an annual trip back . . . left a piece of my heart in Kansas . . . people laugh when I tell them I am seriously thinking about retiring to Kansas, HeeHee, cause I am here in NC - where people really do flock to retire.

There is just something about the light there . . . the air . . . maybe it is the pioneer heritage . . . Kansas is beautiful, wild and wide open.

[GraniteStater]

I like heavily forested areas so Kansas never really "felt right" to me. To compensate I spent nearly every vacation in the northwoods of MN and WI. Those areas have "real" lakes.
The main reason I left Kansas was the poor job market in my career field. I also have Scandinavian ancestry so the intense solar radiation at KC was quite dreadful- so I never cared for the summers too much. I tended to wear a thick pair of sunglasses to avoid the rays. LOL

[Mercator Projection]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

the intense solar radiation at KC was quite dreadful- so I never cared for the summers too much.

Sometimes my wife and I feel like the sun is a giant angry eye that follows us where ever we go. Its oppressive. In summer, it lends the entire landscape a pale yellow tint, like in a washed out color photo from the 70's. My wife and I have seasonal affected disorder in reverse - a dreary cloudy day puts a spring in our step and a smile on our faces. I fear summer.

Oops - this is supposed to be a thread about what we LIKE about Kansas. Hmmm... Cloudy rainy days. Even if they are far and few between.