Possible relo to Kansas City... (Lawrence, Osawatomie: school, university, live in)

[kcmo]

JoCo is nice area. Platte fits the OP much better though and is nice as well. Although I have a pretty good feeling you didn't read what the OP wanted or any of the rest of the thread..

At least I try to explain why Platte County would be ideal rather than just saying it's a wealthy county. There is much more to life than raw stats.

Work at Sprint or College Blvd, live in JoCo. Work anywhere near Downtown, live in the Northland. I honestly think it's that simple.

[sparksharp]

Originally Posted by luzianne

Johnson County, on the Kansas side. Overland Park, Prairie Village, Shawnee, Lenexa, Westwood. Johnson County is THE wealthiest county in Kansas (at the risk of sounding like a snob) and one of the wealthiest (not sure the number) counties in the nation. It's a nice place to live and very low crime. Overland Park is ALWAYS on - is it Money Magazine's? - best places to live. If you are looking for upscale, look at the newer areas of Overland Park and Leawood.

I've been told on several occassion that I have a sort of "snob appeal"!

Maybe Johnson County would be a good fit! I appreciate your input! It sounds like I need to check out both Johnson County and Platte as well.

I have to say that a couple other things I appreciated about the state of Kansas in general that I found out in my research was that they were one of the first states to embrace women's suffrage back in the day. Also they withstood a lot of pressure and violence from the state of Missouri and entered the Union as a free state instead of a slave state. Those are two things I can respect!

This tidbit probably wouldn't cross anyone else's mind when thinking of a place to relocate to, but having lived in a state with a heavy Confederate influence for the last twenty years (Tennessee)...if I never hear the word "Confederate" again, it will be too soon! I would also have absolutely NO PROBLEM with never being called a "yankee" again!

[Samantha S]

Originally Posted by sparksharp

I have to say that a couple other things I appreciated about the state of Kansas in general that I found out in my research was that they were one of the first states to embrace women's suffrage back in the day. Also they withstood a lot of pressure and violence from the state of Missouri and entered the Union as a free state instead of a slave state. Those are two things I can respect!

Believe it or not (and may people don't know or believe this) a lot of the animosity between KS and MO dates back to the pre-civil war days.

People will say that's hogwash and that most people don't even know the history and that's true! But the animosity has been passed down for generations to the point that people often don't know for sure why they don't like the other side - they just don't!

Missouri, IMO, does have a more "Southern" state feel to it whereas KS has a slightly more Northern feel. There have been many discussions and arguments about this. But in the end, the animosity is very real and you will feel it if you spend any amount of time in KC.

[sparksharp]

Originally Posted by Samantha S

Believe it or not (and may people don't know or believe this) a lot of the animosity between KS and MO dates back to the pre-civil war days.

People will say that's hogwash and that most people don't even know the history and that's true! But the animosity has been passed down for generations to the point that people often don't know for sure why they don't like the other side - they just don't!

Missouri, IMO, does have a more "Southern" state feel to it whereas KS has a slightly more Northern feel. There have been many discussions and arguments about this. But in the end, the animosity is very real and you will feel it if you spend any amount of time in KC.

People in Tennessee don't realize they're still fighting the Civil War either. Whenever someone mentions that tidbit (which is very obvious to anyone who hasn't lived here all their life), it is denied vehemently by the natives of the state. They don't see it because it's just what they know and were brought up with! But the newcomers to the state see it plainly and take a beating from the locals when they mention it too!

I understand that most of the Civil War was fought in the South and it's part of their heritage...but for Pete's sake...it's a done deal! Has been for a long time too! It seems to me that there are a lot of Confederate "wanna be's" in the South. It's a heritage that they claim proudly...even though it was the most treasonous act from within our country that we as a nation have endured.

[thriftylefty]

another interesting fact about Kansas is during 1924 gubernatorial campaign a News Paper man named William Allen White is credited to chasing the Klu Klux Klan out of the state or at least getting them out of politics in the state . You will see a lot of schools named William Allen White in Kansas, Kansas May have been the first state to legalize interracial Marriage, it was also a hot bed of progressive activity in the twenties.

[sparksharp]

Originally Posted by thriftylefty

another interesting fact about Kansas is during 1924 gubernatorial campaign a News Paper man named William Allen White is credited to chasing the Klu Klux Klan out of the state or at least getting them out of politics in the state . You will see a lot of schools named William Allen White in Kansas, Kansas May have been the first state to legalize interracial Marriage, it was also a hot bed of progressive activity in the twenties.

Kansas is sounding more and more like "my state"!

[Samantha S]

Originally Posted by sparksharp

Kansas is sounding more and more like "my state"!

Well, it's always been home to me, and while it's not perfect by any means and I can readily admit its shortcomings, I love KS - warts and all.

I can find many things to be proud of here.

Sometimes certain aspects (like the conservative politics, and yes, the rednecks) get to me. But if all of us liberals up and left, where would that leave KS? Some of us have to stick around and be the voice of reason!

[kcmo]

I don't think the rivalry has anything to do with the civil war. Samantha, do you realize that KCMO actually wanted to be in Kansas at one time because KCMO was not really on the same page as Missouri when it came to a lot of issues? That is why KCMO is more of a "Kansas" city in many ways than a "Missouri" City. KC has a very interesting history.

I think the rivalry today is mostly based on how the Kansas side interacts with the MO side. Most people don't get into the rivalry like myself and samantha. We tend to take it to the next level.

There are two things that cause 90% of the friction between the two states in KC. The college sports rivalry. Which is really pretty harmless, but in the process of that rivalry, things can be said that really set the other side off.

The other is having a state line down the middle of a city is devastating to regional cooperation. The MO side points at the Kansas side and calls them freeloaders and people resent how the Kansas side generally leaches off the MO side for everything form entertainment to a source of growth by luring businesses over. The Kansas side points at MO and says take care yourself, you can barely do that, you need us or you wouldn't have the things you have.

Then there are the little snide comments that people in JoCo don't even know they do that really do the most damage. Like this one....

Missouri, IMO, does have a more "Southern" state feel to it whereas KS has a slightly more Northern feel. There have been many discussions and arguments about this. But in the end, the animosity is very real and you will feel it if you spend any amount of time in KC.

So many people I know that have moved to KC from other areas that have settled on the MO side have noticed this enough to begin to resent KS people at some level. While people I know that settle on the KS side begin to make comments like this over time without even knowing it or really having anyway to back it up. They just begin to KNOW that JOCO is better than the rest of the city, even though they have never even been to most of the MO side.

That comment is total BS. I think this could be said if you compared the entire states, but not in the KC region. There are areas exactly the same on both sides of the city. The people are the same too. There is no northern or southern feel that is broad enough to apply to one side of the state line. No way. You have areas that are simply white collar midwestern suburbs on both sides of the city and you have blue collar areas on both sides of the city. You can't make fun of Independence and act like Wyandotte County is not there. You can't say all the rich people live in southern OP and Leawood when there are just as many, if not more areas on the MO side suburbs and KCMO's urban core. Olathe is a bigger version of Blue Springs. Shawnee is similar to Lee's Summit. Etc. The JoCo burbs are better planned communities. This is mostly due to the topography of the county. The trade off is a more monotanous suburb than say Lee's Summit, Liberty or Platte County where roads are not six lanes wide everywhere and all the strip malls don't look the same, but you have more hills, more open space, more diversity in general.

I grew up in URBAN KCMO. Having people from KANSAS tell me that I live in a redneck state has always dumfounded me. Thirty years of kansas people telling me how ghetto and redneck the MO side can do some damage, especially when the MO side is truly the heart, sole and most interesting part of KC, by a LONGGGGGG shot. Maybe it's comments like that that set off KS side residents

Can we move this thread to the KC forum and merge the two?

[Samantha S]

Originally Posted by kcmo

I don't think the rivalry has anything to do with the civil war.

I know you don't. Many people don't. But I still claim that it does, even if people don't realize it.

Lots of people think that the sports rivalry is the cause of the animosity, when the History of the area points to the exact contrary. The sports rivalry is a by-product of the age-old animosity.

You don't even have to have long-standing roots in the community to pick up on the generations-old vibe that has been handed down on both sides. Then it becomes a self-fulfilling kind of thing. Many people move into MO and hear negative things about KS. Then they go to KS expecting a negative experience, and something negative happens. Then they carry that home, "Wow! You were so right! KS sucks!" Same thing happens in reverse.

It's been happening for over 150 years now.

I think the rivalry today is mostly based on how the Kansas side interacts with the MO side.

Yes, we all know. You think KS is to blame ... blah blah blah ....

That is total BS. I think this could be said if you compared the entire states, but not in the KC region. There are areas exactly the same on both sides of the city. The people are the same too. There is no northern or southern feel that is broad enough to apply to one side of the state line. No way. You have areas that are simply white collar midwestern suburbs on both sides of the city and you have blue collar areas on both sides of the city. You can't make fun of Independence and act like Wyandotte County is not there. You can't say all the rich people live in southern OP and Leawood when there are just as many, if not more areas on the MO side suburbs and KCMO's urban core. Olathe is a bigger version of Blue Springs. Shawnee is similar to Lee's Summit. Etc.

And I completely disagree. Maybe I am just more intuitive than you.

Did you ever see the movie or play "My Fair Lady"?

Henry Higgins impresses his friend Pickering by listening to people talk and then telling them exactly where they live and/or where they grew up.

I can just about walk into any centrally located office building and within a few minutes of casual conversation tell where a person lives in KC. The differences are that apparent.

The white collar areas are different in MO vs KS, the Blue collar areas are different in MO vs KS and the redneck areas have their differences too.

Now I'm not saying that either is "better" on one side vs the other. They have things in common and there is no point in ranking groups of people. But there are differences and part of it is a Northen/Southern vibe. Again, that's not to say one is better, that's all subjective. Everyone has their preferences.

[Samantha S]

Originally Posted by kcmo

Then there are the little snide comments that people in JoCo don't even know they do that really do the most damage. Like this one....

Case in point: There was nothing at all "snide" about that comment. Had I been a person from the South, that comment could just as easily have been interpreted as a reason to move to MO! There are many charming things about Southern culture.

But because I live in KS and have said I prefer KS, the comment was taken as "snide" and "damaging".

This is exactly what I was talking about.