I've been shopping for cities, how would you describe Kansas City? (live in, restaurant)

[YoungTraveler2011]

I've lived in the midwest, been to Chicago multiple times, lived in Virginia, NYC and currently live in LA. i've also spent some time in FL & NC.

been trying to move out to Maui, Hawaii but if that doesn't work out, im gonna head in a different direction.

i've never been to any of the larger cities in the middle of the country and was trying to understand what kinda vibe they have.

would you say Kansas City is a smaller version of Chicago?

[TabulaRasa]

No, having lived in both Chicago and KC. Different overall atmosphere and vibe.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by YoungTraveler2011

I've lived in the midwest, been to Chicago multiple times, lived in Virginia, NYC and currently live in LA. i've also spent some time in FL & NC.

been trying to move out to Maui, Hawaii but if that doesn't work out, im gonna head in a different direction.

i've never been to any of the larger cities in the middle of the country and was trying to understand what kinda vibe they have.

would you say Kansas City is a smaller version of Chicago?

Absolutely not.

KC is more laid back than Chicago.

I'd say the people are friendlier in KC too, but I'm a native Kansas Citian and therefore biased.

The pace is just a tad less hectic in KC to boot.

And everyone drives everywhere. Including downtown, where they then take the streetcar where they're going.

[James Bond 007]

If you were to find yourself about as average and typical a mid-sized city as you could, KC would be that city. It's sort of like the Goldilocks city: Not too big, not too small, not too exciting, not too boring, not too old, not too new. Just about right.

[WiseOwlSaysHoot]

Obviously, there is a large gulf between KC and Chicago, with the Chicago metro being almost 5 times the size of KC. However, I have heard some Chicago natives say that in some ways, KC can reminds them of a small Chicago. If you are just talking about the alpha cities in America - NY, LA, Chicago - KC is definitely much more similar to Chicago than the other two.

There are a pretty wide range of vibes in the KC metro area. The urban parts of the city can be pretty liberal/artsy/funky/gritty. The suburbs can range from upper-middle class country club republicans, to blue collar, to ethnoburbs, to rural/country and everything in between.

If I had to describe overall vibe, I would agree with laid back/easy going (I think the negative side of that would be slow/resistant to change at times). I think there is a strong independent streak - maybe somewhat due to relative isolation. Overall, people have a lot of pride and love for KC (and it's sports teams) but at the same time can be deprecating and insecure.

Originally Posted by James Bond 007

It's sort of like the Goldilocks city: Not too big, not too small

I agree with this. I think KC is big enough to have just about all of the amenities you would want out of a major city, but small enough to be affordable, easy to get around, friendly, etc.

[TabulaRasa]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

Absolutely not.

KC is more laid back than Chicago.

I'd say the people are friendlier in KC too, but I'm a native Kansas Citian and therefore biased.

The pace is just a tad less hectic in KC to boot.

I would say it is exponentially more relaxed in KC.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by WiseOwlSaysHoot

Overall, people have a lot of pride and love for KC (and it's sports teams) but at the same time can be deprecating and insecure.

I don't know where you live now, but one thing I've discovered in more than 40 years' residence in the Northeastern US is that Kansas Citians take a piece of the place with them wherever they land. The presence of so many expats discussing KC affairs on this forum should tip you off to that.

(And there are plenty of expats. I used to joke that "after corn and wheat, the Midwest's largest export is Midwesterners.")

The apotheosis of this category is probably Calvin Trillin, the author who put Bryant's on the map beyond the region when he called it "the single best restaurant in the world"* in one of his Life magazine columns back in the early 1970s. He's been a New Yorker for decades (and his work appears in The New Yorker to boot), but he makes his Kansas Citianness clear every opportunity he gets to do so.

I enjoy mapping my forever hometown onto my adopted one of Philadelphia in part because they both share world-class municipal inferiority complexes. It seemed to me that Kansas City had worked its way out of its on my most recent visits (I can't imagine anyone around here producing a T-shirt that reads, "I lived in Philadelphia before it was cool."), but we're still getting used to being an interesting, lively place here in Philly.

*As for KC's reputation for outstanding barbecue, there was this riposte to Trilliin in a guide to barbecue joints across the country I have in my library, written in the late 1980s: "What other city has a barbecue place that's been called 'the single best restaurant in the world' - and it's not even the best in town?"

[kc_beast]

KC's vibe can't be verbalized, only felt.