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I have never even lived in Kansas and I get the Kansas stereotypes when I say I'm from Kansas City. Not always, but often. Over the years, I have sort of figured out a way around it.
I say I'm from "Missouri" and then quickly follow that with "Kansas City" as if I’m narrowing it down myself before they get a chance to ask what part of Missouri. I don't know why, but it makes a difference. If you just say Kansas City, often people only hear "Kansas". It's weird. I grew up in urban kcmo and didn’t see a farm till I was 17 years old and could drive out of the city. I grew up in the middle of a major metro area. So when somebody from Knoxville or Charleston ask me about my farm living back in Kansas, I find it rather annoying .
For some reason when I say Missouri….Kansas City….At the very least, it has eliminated the lame wizard of oz come backs and it seems eliminate the weird stereotypes about Kansas. Otherwise people go into brain dead mode and act as if KCMO didn’t exist and I’m from Kansas.
I notice that you say you are from Overland Park. Most people on forums like this don't drill down to a suburb. They say what metro they are from. I mention this because if you say you are from Overland Park, very few people will have any idea where that's at. It may be a large suburb but most wouldn't know that. So if you say you are from Overland Park or Kansas, I would imagine most people will assume you are from a farming community in Kansas. It’s even worse for places like “Prairie Village”. Think about that. I’m from a village on a prairie in Kansas. The image that would create would be nothing like what Prairie Village is like. Olathe and Shawnee sound like small Indian towns or something.
When I'm out of state I normally just tell people I'm from Kansas, without mentioning a city unless people ask. Then I say Kansas City since, like you said, most people don't know where Overland Park is. If I do mention OP, I have to follow up with "it's right next to KCMO," which doesn't help lessen the amount of Oz jokes and stereotyping.
The only time I narrow it down to OP is when I'm in talking to other people from Kansas and Missouri, because I feel like they'd have a better idea of the area I'm talking about. I think that's why I felt comfortable mentioning I live in OP in these forums. I don't have to worry about people asking where that is or what kind of farm I live on unless I'm chatting in threads for other states. Well, that and I've been applying to so many jobs in the last few months that I've gotten used to filling out my address on things. I partly wrote "Overland Park" out of habit and just didn't feel like changing it back.
Last edited by Nikki0417; 03-12-2012 at 05:46 PM..
Sco...I try to stay out of the Phoenix "conglomerate" as much as possible! When I absolutely have to go to a big-city area I drive-up to the Las Vegas/Henderson "basin." It's a "zoo" up there too but it's not a "maze" of side-by-side suburbs like Phoenix is...I can only take "congestion" and crowds and wall-to-wall "commerce" and traffic in small doses. How about you?...I don't want to make it all "normal" again! The years I spent in So CA were enough for me! I "escaped" and I'm glad!
I can understand wanting people to have a sense of "who we are" and where we live...All through my life I've run into people who automatically "think Hollywood" and "movie stars" when I've mentioned that I grew-up in So CA...When I tell people that I live in AZ today they automatically "think Phoenix."...Or people "think Las Vegas" when someone mentions that they live in Nevada...I guess it's human nature to jump to conclusions and maybe this will never change..I just take it all with a "grain of salt" and don't let it bother me. If I lived in JoCo and I ran into people who seemed to make fun of me and my state I'd "consider the source" and say "adios!" And spend my time with people who have more manners and "class."
I can understand wanting people to have a sense of "who we are" and where we live...All through my life I've run into people who automatically "think Hollywood" and "movie stars" when I've mentioned that I grew-up in So CA...When I tell people that I live in AZ today they automatically "think Phoenix."...Or people "think Las Vegas" when someone mentions that they live in Nevada...I guess it's human nature to jump to conclusions and maybe this will never change..I just take it all with a "grain of salt" and don't let it bother me. If I lived in JoCo and I ran into people who seemed to make fun of me and my state I'd "consider the source" and say "adios!" And spend my time with people who have more manners and "class."
Yea, I don't have anything against people that live in small town Kansas. But that's not me and that's not what I identify with. I grew up in the central city of a major metropolitan area. I know nothing about weat or tractors and have never seen a tornado. However, I do know what it's like to take a city bus to elementary school. At the same time, I have never been a victim of a crime in the city. My car has been broken into three times, all of them while parked in the suburbs of KC.
It's the same way in reverse though. People back in KC think we live some ultra dense and congested area that has zero quality of life when in reality, it's not that different than metro KC. I tell people to imagine KC and StL right next to each other with pockets of areas that are more dense and you basically have the DC/Balt area. Missouri looks similar to Maryland/Virginia. There is just so much more to do and see, especially in the region (ocean, mountains, other big cities, state parks, historic sites etc). While KC is surrounded by farms and places like Topeka and St Joe.
Anyway, everybody out here thinks you are from either a small town or a city about the size of Toledo or something when you say you are from "Kansas" City and most people are shocked when I tell them that KC is comparable in size to Baltimore or Pittsburgh or Cleveland and much larger than Buffalo or Richmond. Like I said, they hear Kansas and go directly into stupid mode.
I work with a guy from New York.....Upstate NY. He typically gets the opposite. Everybody thinks he is from Manhattan, when he's actually from a farming community that is like 50 miles from a decent sized small city. He likes to be associated with rural upstate NY, not the city.
Kansas has a high birth rate but has a higher out-migration rate than in-migration rate excluding JOCO. The numbers would be closer to 0-3% per decade if you did subtract out JOCO. That is why the percentages line up that way.
kcmo...Thanks for your post. I'm not out and about among people all that much anymore. So I don't have to "explain myself" very often to try to "prove" something to others etc...You know what you love and value and appreciate about your town and area and this is great! And you're lucky that you're happy where you live. (This isn't the case for everyone unfortunately.)...I guess I've never been on a mission to get others to understand where I live and what life is like where I live. (Because it can be a "lost cause" and waste of time and energy at least to me anyway!)...Of course it's different if I am around genuinely open-minded friends who ask questions and want to learn more about my area through me...But it's different with closed-minded people who want to cling to their assumptions and stereotypes. I try to avoid these type of people when I can! No sense wasting my time and getting into silly debates with them!...Anyway just remember that you are one of the "lucky ones" because you love where you live! Maybe some people are just jealous of you and bitter and "burnt-out" on life in general. Don't let them bring you "down." Okay?
Sco...I try to stay out of the Phoenix "conglomerate" as much as possible! When I absolutely have to go to a big-city area I drive-up to the Las Vegas/Henderson "basin." It's a "zoo" up there too but it's not a "maze" of side-by-side suburbs like Phoenix is...I can only take "congestion" and crowds and wall-to-wall "commerce" and traffic in small doses. How about you?...I don't want to make it all "normal" again! The years I spent in So CA were enough for me! I "escaped" and I'm glad!
I had to make a choice not too long ago about moving to KC, staying in Phoenix or returning to Wichita where I have some family. I chose to stay in Phoenix and am happy with that decision. Due to my work, I still spend about 40% of my time in either KC or Wichita, just decided that I didn't want to live there. I actually don't have a problem dealing with the congestion, crowds and traffic. For me, Wichita was just too small and provincial, it seemed so much bigger and exciting when I was a kid growing up. In Wichita, the "city" is the size of a suburb and the suburbs are the size of a housing subdivision. Kansas City and its suburbs were not substantially different enough to make me give up the better weather and overall vibe of the desert southwest. Like I said, Johnson County is almost identical to what you find in the suburbs that surround Phoenix or Henderson NV. I know that many people think it is special, but it is literally just like the sprawl that surrounds every major city in the US.
I am looking to retire in a few years and move to Prescott AZ. Have also thought about Jerome or Bisbee.
kcmo...Thanks for your post. I'm not out and about among people all that much anymore. So I don't have to "explain myself" very often to try to "prove" something to others etc...You know what you love and value and appreciate about your town and area and this is great! And you're lucky that you're happy where you live. (This isn't the case for everyone unfortunately.)...I guess I've never been on a mission to get others to understand where I live and what life is like where I live. (Because it can be a "lost cause" and waste of time and energy at least to me anyway!)...Of course it's different if I am around genuinely open-minded friends who ask questions and want to learn more about my area through me...But it's different with closed-minded people who want to cling to their assumptions and stereotypes. I try to avoid these type of people when I can! No sense wasting my time and getting into silly debates with them!...Anyway just remember that you are one of the "lucky ones" because you love where you live! Maybe some people are just jealous of you and bitter and "burnt-out" on life in general. Don't let them bring you "down." Okay?
Well, I have nothing to "prove" and it's not like I go up to people on the subway and make sure they know where I'm from and that KC is not some small town haha.
I do travel a lot and cab drivers, hotel workers etc will ask where I'm from and the KS/MO thing will come into the conversation.
But it's mostly as you meet people in the normal ways through work, neighbors etc, I will then give more info about where I'm from because they generally want to know, just as I am curios about them.
About the only place I divulge about my hometown to people I don't know are when we attend ball games around the country and are generally wearing Royals jerseys etc. People will strike up conversations with you or say things to you about KC or the Royals etc. Either people know the city and have been there or they are completely clueless. Generally though MLB fans tend to be a bit more knowledgeable about KC than the average person on the street. Maybe it's because they have seen the stadium on TV, or have looked into going to a game there etc.
But they will still often ask about Kansas and then I will say I'm from Missouri and then people often will ask more about KC because the two KC's thing seems to interest people.
It's a great conversation piece. I always just simplify it and say, Well, KCMO is the core of the city, and was a city before Kansas was a state. So the "city" is in MO, but the metro area spread across the state line with many suburbs in both MO and KS including KCK which is an industrial/blue collar suburb as well.
Then we go on and talk about how much downtown Pittsburgh has changed etc. .
I don't walk around DC in random sports apparel, at least not during the week, so people wouldn't know where I'm from other than that.
BTW, I LOVE this area (entire mid-atlantic area), but I'm still "from" Missouri and Kansas City, my kids and wife are the same way. So when we travel away from the DC/Balt area, we are from KC, not DC. It can get confusing. .
"Where are you from?"
We are from Maryland
"What part?"
Annapolis
but I work in DC, she works in Baltimore
but we moved here from Kansas City, that is our hometown.
"Oh Kansas?? I bet you are in culture shock living in Washington DC!"
See, the impulse stereotypes begin...we are from some baron flat land in KS and now live in some rowhouse in northwest DC with a view of the washington monument from our rooftop patio. (I actually wish)
Well, KC is mostly in Missouri and it's really no different. Actually, Annapolis is quite small, smaller than many suburbs of KC and metro KC is about like metro Baltimore... yada yada yada...
Sco...Thanks for writing back. What is Prescott like today? It was growing by leaps and bounds the last time I went down there. (With Prescott Valley on the side etc.) Used to go to Jerome quite a bit and went to Bisbee one time. (What a cute city!) What are these towns like today?...Back to Kansas! This is a thread about Kansas!...As I mentioned in any earlier post my relatives in Western Kansas are humble and modest people and I love this about them! They don't boast or brag and try to insist that their area is "all that" and perfect for everybody. They're happy in Western Kansas and their happiness "shows through." And it's even contagious!...But they don't try to "sell others" on their lifestyle and towns. Or crave "outside validation." I like this about them!...Down the road I hope to join my relatives in Western Kansas if all goes well.
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