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This thread reminds me of my step-daughter. She is now a vegetarian, eats no meat, no chicken, mainly due to the cruelty of the animals as they are being processed. Which, you know that is fine, I don't have any issues with that. But, when I remind her of her leather Italian made high dollar high heels and her alligator handbag she gets all pissed off and wants to change the subject! I guess it only works when she wants it to!
Most of the very large livestock handling facilities in the United States were designed by Temple Grandin. In North America, almost half of the cattle are handled using her center track restrainer system. It is extremely efficient and the animals don't suffer at all. If you've read anything about her, she is absolutely brilliant and amazing. She is autistic and understands exactly how the animals think. I've seen videos of the animals going through her systems. They are extremely calm and relaxed, not frightened at all, and feel absolutely no pain.
II don't know what handling systems are used in Dodge City, but if they use Grandin's center track restraining system, than you can rest assured the animals are well taken care of.
I have lived in several areas of the country from mega-metropolitan areas (Phoenix), to cute liberal cities (Portland), to the freezing cold of the UP. I moved to a town of 3000 in western Kansas five years ago, and at first it took a little getting used to, but I have found it to be a very satisfactory place to live.
What is small? Many of the posts said you could move to someplace "smaller" than Dodge. Currently, I am sitting in a five-room motel in eastern Oregon after having a job interview. They offered me the job, but like you, I am a little leery about accepting it because I'm not sure how I will fare in a town of 140, fifty minutes from the next little town and a good 4 hour drive to the city! However, by looking at the glass as half-full, I can see where it might be a big adventure to move here.
I've never lived in Dodge, so I can't speak to a particular "neighborhood" that is good or bad. I have found in a lot of western Kansas towns, neighborhoods tend to be mixed (300K houses next to trailerparks). Check realtor.com and input Dodge City, KS. That will pop up a few more houses than you've been able to access so far. Someone made the comment to rent for awhile. I think that is excellent advice. If you are single and don't have too many animals, getting a month-to-month apartment lease might be your best option until you settle in, can view "the neighborhoods," and know if you want to stay in the area for more than a couple of years.
It is true that Dodge has a larger Hispanic population than, say, towns in NW Kansas. Compared to Phoenix, however, there are only a smattering of Hispanics. And as much as the racist nay-sayers would like you to believe, they are not all illegal, and they are not all out to rape, rob, and beat you. People who are not white, heterosexual, Christians are sometimes viewed warily by those in western Kansas who have never lived anywhere else in the country. But that is a small amount of people. I have found most people to be really nice and accepting.
I also agree that meat-packing, ranches, and feed-lots are a western Kansas staple. I don't think any noise would bother you (though it gets windy, and the mooing of cows tends to fly on the wind), but try not to live within five miles of a feed-lot. Cow urine (particularly in the evening) is definitely something I have been unable to get used to.
Someone else mentioned tornados. It's true, Dodge City is in what is termed "tornado alley". On the other hand, there are few and far between Greensburg-type disasters when you think of the hundreds of tornados that area spawned every year. However, having an underground shelter nearby is also something you should think about.
I have been searching for jobs as well, and so far I have been offered jobs in Oregon, Kentucky, and in southwestern Kansas as well. I know the pressure you were under to say yes and not let the opportunity slip away. I've been lucky, thus far, in putting-off everyone until I have a chance to mull over the best opportunities, but everyone pretty much wants an answer by the end of this week. I know whatever I choose doesn't have to be permanent and might end up being a place I find a lot of friends and a lot of happiness. I'm sure your move to Dodge will turn out OK too. Just breathe!!
Most of the very large livestock handling facilities in the United States were designed by Temple Grandin. In North America, almost half of the cattle are handled using her center track restrainer system. It is extremely efficient and the animals don't suffer at all. If you've read anything about her, she is absolutely brilliant and amazing. She is autistic and understands exactly how the animals think. I've seen videos of the animals going through her systems. They are extremely calm and relaxed, not frightened at all, and feel absolutely no pain.
II don't know what handling systems are used in Dodge City, but if they use Grandin's center track restraining system, than you can rest assured the animals are well taken care of.
W.
Temple Grandin has special gifts due to the fact that she has Aspergers disorder. She can think extraordinarly clearly in pictures and can visualize + conceptualize why systems work. I am also on the Autistic Spectrum, but not very severe. I am an extremely visual person and have utilized those skills in Geography through urban planning, GIS, + landuse in my career field area.
Thanks for all the feedback. You guys are an interesting forum, that's for sure ...
I got such useful information, and my whole trip seems so much more solid now.
Woofwoofwoof - you know, I have heard of that method of butchering cows -sorry, j-k-k, I mean steers - by the autistic scientist, Temple Grandin, although I didn't recall her name. I remember a documentary film or TV show I saw about her years ago, and if they use her method in Dodge City, you are right: I'll feel a lot better. I even found Hoohoohaa's depiction of a bullet to the head to be strangely comforting, because that isa painless way to go - but you're right, Hoohoohaa, I won't be taking any tours of the meat packing plants any time soon.
I do want to reiterate that I really did, and do, have a very positive overall feeling about moving to southwestern Kansas. I just hadn't realized that the beef industry was right smack there in Dodge City. Now that I think about it, is actually pretty funny that I was looking forward to the wide open spaces, yet had somehow managed to forget that the cattle are not just there as part of the picturesque scenery. I mean, in the movies, when the cattle drive gets to Dodge, everyone just heads for the saloon, and the only ones who might take a bullet to the head or face a firing squad are the bad guys, not the cows! It's true that the cows, I mean the cattle, always mysteriously disappear at that point - and that should have tipped me off, but I always thought the herd had either checked into a hotel or moved on to Virginia City ... or was that Walton's Mountain? I forget.
Seriously though, I am glad to know that more humane methods are used, and even though I'll never be okay with eating beef, I'm keeping an open mind - that way, I might learn something. Since I already know what I think, I'll leave some room in my brain for other people's opinions.
FiveHorses and KansasSky, a sincere thank-you for your kind words. It's not often that I get called graceful, mature, and non-judgemental all on the same day, and it was particularly encouraging to read during such a stressful time, and after having gotten laid off so unexpectedly. I just hope I don't get a big head, but I will probably write another spectacularly foolish post just in time to avoid that.
Piggydiva, I won't forget to breathe if you won't. I thought 30,000 was a small town, but 140 people is, like, half an apartment building! It sounds like you're the kind of person who can see how interesting most people are, though, and that you appreciate the varieties of human communities. And five years in southwestern Kansas makes you an expert on the region in my book, so I hope you'll post again. Did you visit Kentucky yet? I'm a fan of the western half (haven't been east of Louisville) and you may like it as much as I did. It's just so lush and green, and Paducah is an undiscovered little jewel of a town IMHO. It is hard to have to chase jobs around the country, I know, but at least we have a lot of company.
Well, it's obvious that I've been out of work for too long. As soon as I start getting paid to write, I'll start complaining that I have too much of it to do - but just lay me off and I'll sit and type all night long. Go figure.
I moved to Dodge City for a job six years ago. Yes, the beef industry is a big part of life here. The packing plants themselves are on the southeast edge of town, mostly in an industrial area with a few old houses and trailer parks. I've rode my bike past both plants, and you can't hear any horrible death cries or anything like that. There is a smell when they are rendering, but personally I find the feed lots worse. In the center of town, the smell mainly gets to you when there is a good southeast wind.
Speaking of humane slaughterhouses and Temple Grandin, I just listened to the audio version of her latest book, Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals. It's very interesting, and I learned that the beef industry has made better strides towards treating the cattle better than the pork or chicken plants. It also talks about dogs, cats, horses, zoo animals, etc and how being aware of their core emotions can help us treat them better.
Back to Dodge City, I would recommend not living in a trailer home unless you absolutely can't afford otherwise. They can get rolled in straightline thunderstorm winds, let alone tornadoes. (An elderly woman in Garden City was killed this way a few years ago.) Plus the trailer parks we have here in town are not very nice.
Rental property can be very hard to find in Dodge, as you've probably noticed from looking at the classifieds. A co-worker of mine who moved here last fall ended up buying instead of renting because of this. There are some duplexes and fourplexes north of the "bypass", which is where I live. Your best bet might be just to drive around and look for signs in yards when you get here. Or contact the local real estate offices, they may know who has rental property in town. There is also one managment company, but I've heard mixed reviews on how well they treat tenants. DM me if you want contact info.
In general, your best bet would be to stay north of Comanche Ave. There are some nice areas south of there, but it's more hit and miss. It's too bad, since even on the not so nice streets there are some neat old houses that would be really cute if fixed up.
Congratulations on the new job, and I hope that helps some. Welcome to Dodge.
I think also housing is going to be a biggie. In a historic Sante Fe trail town they have had Imigrants, illegal and other wise for a lot longer the rest of the US (1821.) Land Lords don't treat them as well . The Cattle or Cowboy culture was imported from Mexico
kevk; i vote for answer b. however seeing what a world it is, and the mass inhumanity to man and beast, the cow might prefer answer a.
laisoffreporter, there are some 30 small towns and a few cities that are home to meat packing plants in the midwest. quite a number of them in nebraska and iowa. i was born in sioux city, iowa, some called it sewer city due to the smell. while it has provided jobs, i think in the long run it hasnt been positive for the cities image. pple are right that part of kansas has little in common with the east side of the state. but you may still see the famous kansas storms if you are there in the spring and summer. you have a good attitude about the job and new experience, im sure you will do well. best wishes. btw, i enjoyed your humor in your previous post on pg 2. im a vegetarian, and its for moral reasons i dont eat meat. i dont push how i feel on anyone, but i do wish pple were more aware of abuse of animals rather than just closing their eyes to it. but same can be said about many problems i know. anyway hope you find a nice place to live there. i would ask your new employer for help about finding a apartment so you have some possible things lined up prior to getting there.
this article you might find interesting as it talks of migration of africans to the meatpacking towns. forced to flee their own countries and unhappy with the high cost in cities, they must see this as a positive, which is sad i think.
Don't they now put a bolt in the brain? Its fast and the animals don't know what hit them. They just go down in a lump. Now the Jews want kosher meat and it has to be cut the throat time. This is when the cows get a bit upset. I have no problem with people who are vegan or vegetarian. I get up set when anyone wants to tell others what to do and create laws to force them to do it. This not only goes for vegetarians who do not like the animal industry or the Christians who want to tell a woman she can not have an abortion. I have my opinions and it is not my right to tell some one that they have to believe the way I do. If a person wants to eat meat or smoke a joint it is their right as long as it does not endanger others. This country has turned into a place where you are free to do what I think is correct. All of us need to mind our own business and not worry about what the other guy is doing. If the next door neighbor wants to marry another man or woman a woman what the heck business is it of yours? You believe in the bible good for you live your life according to what you believe and quit worrying about if someone else is living by your standards.
I suspect you're getting slightly more than you bargained for.
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- by the autistic scientist, Temple Grandin, although I didn't recall her name. I remember a documentary film or TV show I saw about her years ago, and if they use her method in Dodge City, you are right: I'll feel a lot better. I even found Hoohoohaa's depiction of a bullet to the head to be strangely comforting, because that isa painless way to go - but you're right, Hoohoohaa, I won't be taking any tours of the meat packing plants any time soon.
