Kansas: My impressions

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by WX_Watcher

Arthur Bryant's? The last two times I visited my brother in Kansas City, he insisted that we eat at Arthur Bryant's. Fatty pork served on white Wonder Bread? And the flies? I don't think so. It might be a Kansas City icon... but, ugh! There are plenty of great BBQ restaurants in Kansas City. That isn't one of them!

I grew up in Johnson County (Mission) after having moved there with my family when I was 10 years old. [We called it Johnson County back then. I hadn't heard it called "JOCO" until I found this forum.] It was a GREAT place to grow up. After I graduated from KU I went into the Navy. I spent 24 years living in great places like Pensacola FL, Corpus Christi TX (Texas BBQ... very fine BBQ also), San Jose CA (5 years, but never became a hippy), Patuxent River MD, Newport RI, Norfolk VA, Kingsville TX, and Ewa Beach HI. All great places and I enjoyed each one of them for their respective qualities and attributes. But, none of them ever made me think that I had ever missed anything in my childhood by living in Kansas. I certainly never thought of myself or any of my friends as "stuck up", "backwards thinking", or "stuck in our ways".

BTW... EverywhereElse's not so subtle slam on Johnson County is curious. My only experience with Fort Scott is a spring Monday during which our Shawnee Mission North Track Team traveled to Fort Scott to participate in the Fort Scott track meet which had been postponed from the weekend due to weather. Several of the Southeast Kansas schools that were there complained that they would not compete if SMN was allowed to participate. Seven hours round trip in a yellow school bus only to be told that us kids from Johnson County were not welcome in Fort Scott. And now, I guess those anti-NE KS feelings still exist.

One more BTW... my Vermont GF and I are seriously considering moving back to Johnson County. Bring it on, Jack's Stack!

I don't care for Arthur Bryant's, either, or Gates for that matter. But Jack Stack is really good!

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by rosecitywanderer

I just arrived in Overland Park last night around 9 PM (drove in) and I must admit, I'm very impressed. It's clean, people are nice, the road system is good and the traffic lights are actually timed decently well. That last bit is a great relief as suburban Portland's traffic light system SUCKS (putting it mildly).

I'm just driving my car with Oregon plates and I feel really out of place.

I hope you enjoy your time here! If there is anything you are looking for be sure to post and let us know so we can tell you the best place to find what it is you want.

The timed traffic lights are kind of new. Before they had sensors so if there wasn't any traffic and you approached a light, it would turn green just as you got there. I liked that a lot better. I guess there's too much traffic for that now but it sure was nice.

Don't let the wind today/tonight scare you! We are used to it here; we don't freak out about wind. I have lived here pretty much all my life and I have never been blown away by a tornado or known anyone who has. When the tornado sirens go off, we go out in the street and look at the sky to the west. Of course if a tornado were heading straight for my house I would take cover, but that's never happened...

[missyboo]

I live in Paola... actually in a rural area outside of town... I enjoy it here. I do commute to Johnson County for work because the pay is nearly twice as high as it is in Paola. It all depends on what you are looking for... I'm a suburban girl from way back and it took me a long time to adjust to the small-town and country feel of Paola. But that being said, I have to say that after 11 years, I definitely prefer Paola. Johnson County is neat and clean and low in crime but to me, it also lacks the character, sense of community and heritage that Paola has. People here know each other, and their parents knew people's parents, and you can tell by somebody's name who their 'people' are. As an 'outsider' who moved here as an adult, it took a little getting used to but as long as you are friendly and make an effort to be involved, you will fit right in. To me, those things make it better than Johnson County. Is it also quite a bit cheaper to live here (but housing prices are slowly but steadily rising), the county and city governments are less frazzled and more responsive, and the schools are great. I have nothing against Johnson County at all... I have worked here for over 7 years and find it a beautiful place and wouldn't have a problem living here. But for me, there is a history and sense of family about Paola that is missing in Johnson County and probably in any big, newer city.

[cp1969]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

I would also suggest trying NH! It is one of the best states in the eastern US along with one of the lowest unemployment rates. We have no income or sales tax. Also, the natural ammenities are incredible here. I can be at the ocean in an hour or in the mountains in a half an hour. I would NEVER move back to the Plains again and I only visit family there a few times a year. I have a great deal of respect for those that live on the land as my relatives are ranchers. However, I always felt out of my element in KS. It is not a good place at all for single people.

Pardon me...if NH is so great, and you are 'out of your element in KS', why do you spend so much time hanging out in the Kansas forum and trashing it?

[cp1969]

Originally Posted by kcmo

I’ll say it again.

If JoCo people were not so arrogant and snotty toward the MO side, there wouldn’t be any of the resentment toward them from Missourians. Missourians know they live in nice areas (urban or suburban) they know they have good schools (public suburban and private urban), they don’t have to say they are better than those KS schools, they simply know they have good schools. Shopping, dining, movies and 1000 times more entertainment options can be found on the MO side and they know it. They are not “jealous” of the KS side. They simply resent the fact that so many on the KS side think they are better than those on the MO side. Ask people that live on the MO side. Most of them will tell this to you.

Ever hear of a thing called an inferiority complex? I will ask you, too: If things are so great on the Missouri side, why are you reading the Kansas forum? From what you describe above, there would be absolutely no reason for you to be looking elsewhere.

[mjb62676]

Although I haven't lived in KS for 7 years or Missery for 2 years, and actually miss the area dearly, I have to laugh every time I read one of kcmo's posts. This poster does the exact things he's on here complaining about others doing.

For the record, I'd be willing to bet I could tell when crossing over from KS to MO and vice versa while riding in a car blindfolded with no other information given to me.

I love areas of both states. The animosity Missourians have for KS and vice versa is pretty funny, but I lean to the KS side as I'm a native and believe that there is a very real "Missourian Mentality" that exists...that I cannot stand.

[opelske]

Originally Posted by Repubocrat

Why everything has to be about race? I don't care if people that live in JOCO are green, yellow or blue, as long as the place is nice, clean and low crime, that is the kind of quality of life I look for. What I was trying to say is that I saw a lot of parts of KCMO that are obviously lacking in infra structure, terrible roads and lots of urban decay. As soon as I crossed over to KS, everything looked cleaner, newer and more convenient. The race of the people who live in JOCO was the LAST thing that crossed my mind to be honest with you

I agree! I find that when a town is made up for the most part of decent folk, and if it happens to have a large percentage of 'whites,' there will almost always be at least one poster who makes condescending, demeaning, and insulting remarks about 'whites,' 'lily-whites,' etc. The focus should be on the town, decency, safety, crime, politics, visions, etc. - Not every town appeals to every single individual - there's many to choose from - in this Country, we are all free to move about - let's keep it that way.

[opelske]

Originally Posted by AnywhereElse

Impressions of Kansas? Not exactly. Johnson County really doesn't represent the entire state of Kansas - completely the opposite.

Could it be better politics, with less corruption?

[AnywhereElse]

Think wealth and opportunity. - Johnson County

[Mathguy]

Originally Posted by Repubocrat

I visited Kansas for the first time this weekend via KCMO and I really liked it. I thought Johnson County was really NEAT especially compared to the MO side of KC and I felt right at home. People were extremely friendly and incredibly helpful and it felt a lot like here in MN. We drove down to the Paola area and unfortunately, the place we were looking for was closed on Sunday, BBQ Shack, Why? I liked the Paola area because it sits in the "middle of nowhere" but it is really convenient to Overland Park and other suburbs. Anyways, I did not know anything about KS but I really liked what I saw, can anybody tell me what it is like living in a place like Paola and surrounding communities?

Next time, go to JackStack at 95th and Metcalf for BBQ.

I've lived here 9 years and my thoughts are:
1) Low cost of living, housing is a fraction of the coasts and 1/2 of Chicago costs.
2) Short commute times and generally light traffic for a metro area. (Parts of the area are bad but these are avoidable if you know this in advance and don't move there.)
3) Great public schools
4) Fairly good mix of diversity...the lily white comment is ignorant, there are a ton of hispanic immigrant kids in my school just as one example...not to mention all the Pakistani's, Indians, Chinese, Blacks etc. but if you don't like this you can live in other parts of the area and go to schools that are about 5% white if you wish.
5) In <30 minutes drive I can get to the airport, a pro-sporting event, major concert, symphony, state park, or be out in the middle of farm-land.

I like the whole metro area.