Is Kansas City a good place to live? (Springfield, Memphis: crime, home)

[TonyBlaz83]

Is Kansas City a good place to live? The reason is because I have a offer from BNSF about transferring to the Argentine Yard. I currently live in Southaven, MS and work at the Tennessee Yard in Memphis, TN been there since I was 18, 12 years I've been there. I have to talk to BNSF about a few things. How is it living in Kansas City? Crime wise, nightlife, things to do, etc. I am single too!

[xenokc]

You might check the "what do you hate/like about KC" threads.

KC has quite a bit for its size nightlife wise and there's constantly something new to check out. The City of KC, KS (BNSF yard) is one of the lower income cities of the metro. The city of KC, MO is the center of the metro but does have crime problems on the E Side and city core has its share like any city core yet is attracting a lot of young people lately with downtown improvements. KC typically doesn't do well on best singles cities lists yet often hits top lists for attracting young people.

[northbound74]

I like Memphis a lot. Spent most of my life somewhere near there.
That being said, Kansas City would be a big improvement in all likelihood. While not perfect, It's decidedly on the up and up these days.
KC is double the size of Memphis and with that comes many more things to do, as well as a bigger and wider variety of housing options.
It has crime, but seems a bit more isolated than what you might see in the Memphis area.
If it's where I think it is, then no, you probably won't be living next door to work, but it's close to some safe suburban neighborhoods in northern Johnson Co. Kansas, as well as cool areas of Kansas City, MO like Westport, Plaza, Crossroads, etc. Westport's sorta-kinda Kansas City's Midtown equivalent. Best comparison I can come up with.
KC's nightlife, I'm not as certain about, but I'm pretty sure it's not as drunken-stooper rowdy as Memphis occasionally is, or at least, was...
All in all, I'd say go for it. Kansas City is not a hard transition for someone from the south to make.

[TabulaRasa]

Love KC. I moved there at 30.

[Garethe]

KC was my home for 2 years and is trying its darndest to pull me back despite my living in one of the most desireable cities in the country (seattle).

You'll like it.

I have buds that work at bnsf, I was a machinist myself for another rail yard in the argentine area, from kansas ave, the main arterial serving the kck yards, you'll have little contact with kck proper unless you live there too.

[TonyBlaz83]

Thanks guys! I'm deciding where I want to go because I just learned I have multiple opportunities in other cities and in Memphis. I learned I won't lose my seniority wherever I go due to this being a HQ offer. My offers are KC, Chandler, AZ, Barstow, CA(not going), Seattle, WA, Springfield, MO, Houston, TX and Fort Worth, TX(corporate) or stay in Memphis. I am a engineer, if guys are wondering.

They are giving me a one paid week vacation and I am going to each city to talk to the yards. BNSF is paying for everything while I am visiting.

[kcmo]

Of those cities, I would probably choose Seattle, but KC would be second. KC is much better than Memphis. I like Memphis, but KC is sort of in a different league. Sort of how Seattle is also in a different league.

Having said that, I think for your career, KC is probably going to offer you more options in your career field than Seattle. Do you mean train engineer or civil engineer? Either one will probably be very much in demand in KC.

As far as your original question, I think KC is a great place to live. I find it a bit too slow paced and conservative (not religiously conservative, just stuck in their ways conservative) and not very physically active compared to most large cities. It's sort of missing that urban vibe that I prefer. But for those that prefer a very laid back city with lots of big city amenities yet can't deal with or don't want to deal with crowds, traffic etc, then KC is your place. You just drive to everything is the only real difference. There is plenty to do there. A lot more than Memphis and it's not as isolated as Seattle, although the immediate area of MO/KS vs WA/OR/BC? Well, You will have to decide what you want to be around .

KCMO itself is a great city though. It's one of the better cities between the coasts and offers a lot for its size.

[MoNative34]

If you like nightlife, things to do and are single and didn't grow up there, I would quickly cross KC off that list.

[SPonteKC]

Originally Posted by MoNative34

If you like nightlife, things to do and are single and didn't grow up there, I would quickly cross KC off that list.

...that'd be weird, since there are quite literally hundreds of thousands people in KC who fit those criteria and love it here.

[Weaubleau]

Kansas City to me is the best metro area of it's size when you comare it to the other metros of its size around the country. It's a real city with real history, unlike say Charlotte, Indianapolis or Columbus that were just big towns prior to the 1970's. It has culture and amenities comparable to other cities larger than it. The downsides are it is spread out and tends to have weather extremes, that being said, the weather here from about 2000-2009 was pretty good with mostly mild winters and not too hot summers. Since about 2009 things have gone nuts with the weather though, with crazy hot summers and stormy, snowy winters.