Parsons kansas what a joke (Wichita, Manhattan: 2014, crime, home)

[MOKAN]

Originally Posted by soanchorless

This is kind of random and maybe should be in it's own thread (?), but I was reading an old thread on here about a parent with a household income of $150-200K discussing how she felt her kids were pressured by the rich kids in Johnson County to buy $150 prom dresses and $50 express shirts. This kind of surprised me, because where I grew up in SE Kansas, NO ONE had a household income anywhere close to even $150K, yet it was socially unacceptable to not wear expensive designer clothes or spend hundreds of dollars on a prom dress. It strikes me that maybe our culture was way more materialistic than I thought if someone who actually is wealthy ($150K is three times the medium household income in the US!) thinks those things are expensive and unnecessary.

When I think of it though, when I first moved to SE Kansas from SE Arizona in 4th grade, I was really taken aback when people pointed out that something must be wrong with me because I was wearing clothes from Walmart. That was not even a topic of discussion amongst the elementary kids I went to school with in Arizona....and many of my peers in AZ were legitimately wealthy.

Are you sure you don't mean $1500 prom dresses? I think you forgot a 0.

Anyway, I think there are indeed people in SE Kansas towns with high incomes. I went to HS in Independence, KS, and there was a large country club set in that town. A sizeable portion - 1/3rd to 1/2 - of the kids at my high school were the same variety in the Blue Valley school district (which is basically the definition of Johnson County, KS) and were definitely the definition of Abercrombie kids. The rest were either very middle of the road or poor/working-class 'townies' (I guess is the right word), most of which didn't wear clothes from Woodland Hills Mall (the poor kids didn't go to Woodland Hills Mall and were lucky to go to the mall in Bartlesville or Joplin). But then Independence, KS has the Cessna plant with engineers, management, etc., an automotive technology plant with the same, and nearby Cobalt Boats plant with the same, a few wealthy business-owning familes, and it's the county seat. So I think when it comes to kids who were mall/designer clothing vs those who don't, it might be more about the dynamics of social class which varies from town to town than strictly geography. Then again, I'm not at all familiar with Arizona. One thing I can say is it sounds like you moved to KS right around puberty and children change drastically at that point and become much more socially aware, etc.

[soanchorless]

The poster from Johnson County was talking about how $150 prom dresses were too expensive (she bought her kids dresses that cost under $50). That is why I'm really thrown off because even $150 for a prom dress seems on the low side even for my po' self. Maybe her view is not the norm, though, for people in her income bracket.

I was exaggerating when I said no one makes close to $150K a year (thanks for pointing that out!! I get out of control...lol). But those people who make that income are so low in the town I lived in (like maybe 15 families if you look at the statistics) that they shouldn't have such an impact on the culture. A big chunk of the kids I grew up with who wore clothes that would be considered expensive by this JOCO poster were parents of teachers, teaching assistants (they be poor, I know from experience! lol), general laborers, secretaries, bank tellers, preachers, and farmers. I know farmers can make a lot of money, but from the income statistics I've seen, it can't be very many since like I stated, only about 15 families could be making over $150K a year. Less than 1% of the population in that town makes that much compared to Praire Village, KS, where 12% of the population has a household income over $150K. Indendence has less than 2% of the population with a household income of over $150K. So although they have little more wealth, they don't compare to Johnson County in wealth.

And the few kids who didn't dress to these standards were almost all the kids who were poor enough to qualify for some form of government assistance.

Basically, what I'm saying is that us poor folks in SE Kansas are trying to dress like wealthy people when we're not, for some reason. Except, I always thought dressing in these clothes was normal for everyone except the poorest of the poor...so maybe I (and the SE culture I was influenced by) am more materialistic than I thought.

Your point about moving right before puberty is probably right on.

[MOKAN]

Originally Posted by soanchorless

The poster from Johnson County was talking about how $150 prom dresses were too expensive (she bought her kids dresses that cost under $50). That is why I'm really thrown off because even $150 for a prom dress seems on the low side even for my po' self. Maybe her view is not the norm, though, for people in her income bracket.

I was exaggerating when I said no one makes close to $150K a year (thanks for pointing that out!! I get out of control...lol). But those people who make that income are so low in the town I lived in (like maybe 15 families if you look at the statistics) that they shouldn't have such an impact on the culture. A big chunk of the kids I grew up with who wore clothes that would be considered expensive by this JOCO poster were parents of teachers, teaching assistants (they be poor, I know from experience! lol), general laborers, secretaries, bank tellers, preachers, and farmers. I know farmers can make a lot of money, but from the income statistics I've seen, it can't be very many since like I stated, only about 15 families could be making over $150K a year. Less than 1% of the population in that town makes that much compared to Praire Village, KS, where 12% of the population has a household income over $150K. Indendence has less than 2% of the population with a household income of over $150K. So although they have little more wealth, they don't compare to Johnson County in wealth.

And the few kids who didn't dress to these standards were almost all the kids who were poor enough to qualify for some form of government assistance.

Basically, what I'm saying is that us poor folks in SE Kansas are trying to dress like wealthy people when we're not, for some reason. Except, I always thought dressing in these clothes was normal for everyone except the poorest of the poor...so maybe I (and the SE culture I was influenced by) am more materialistic than I thought.

Your point about moving right before puberty is probably right on.

Independence, KS, obviously doesn't compare to Johnson County in wealth overall. I'm just saying the one public high school there - at least within my graduating class and those near - had a sizeable chunk of upper-middle to wealthy kids.

Maybe wherever you were in SE Kansas was like what you say in regard to everybody wearing designer/expensive clothes, but overall I don't recall it being like that, not for the poor or middle of the road, or even on the Pitt State campus. But a town like where I lived, Independence, had a lot of kids while I was in HS who did dress expensive. Maybe wherever you were or whatever you're noticing was a rift of some sort - people feeling a need to separate themselves from people they think they're different from. (IE: not appearing blue collar, country, ghetto, or whatever). In some places and some circles, a grocery store cashier 'making' the customer service desk can change their social status and then perhaps they feel the need to dress differently.

[duh-1-N-ze-only-lowly pup]

...Okay, so let us put this in perspective...Am I to take, from the majority of the negative comments, that one not need waste their time and, expense to relocate to this area??- That explains why residents are leaving and,why beautiful older homes in Parsons, KS., are relatively 'cheap', comparatively. These are houses that would easily sell for two, or even three times their asking price if they were in other 'small town U.S.A'! What a shame!- Is it just crime and, street drugs, and/or paupers that 'you' are saying that are bringing about this decline-or is it also a systemic problem of corrupt politicians and/or,dirty-dangerous public safety officials??-So, there's a whole creeped-out factor to overcome, should one dare live in what seemingly, sounds like a village of the damned?? Suggestion: Why don't we have some of the public leaders come forward, on the record and, give us their insight?? Good luck, ya' all!...

[AnywhereElse]

SE KS is sort of a "dive". A few of the 10 worst are in SE KS to include Parsons: 10 Most Dangerous Cities in Kansas | Home Security Shield News Report | Page 2 There are problems that are causing this but I can't detail it here, think more politics and the state government playing an important role.

Also, if you are only looking at older houses online, they don't look like that when you get there. Also, a nicer house can be sitting in a city surrounded by really rundown houses. Low income areas often have a down side because people can't afford to keep up their houses. Shopping older houses is a whole other subject too that you really need to go into before considering purchasing one any where.

[pioneer88]

AnywhereElse:

What about this? List: The 10 safest communities in Kansas | Local News - KMBC Home Which also included Parsons but instead as a top 10 safest community?

Southeast Kansas does have poverty but it also has a lot of good things in my opinion as well. It just depends on what you want.

[pioneer88]

Also Home Security Shield sounds like a home alarm system company to me. Coincidence?

[AnywhereElse]

//www.city-data.com/city/Parsons-Kansas.html per C-D anModerator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed and another C-D thread with Parsons info: //www.city-data.com/forum/kansa...sons-ks-3.html and for Labette County: Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

I could not find the criteria that the real estate website used to decide that Parsons, KS was among the safest, if you look at the link provided below the photos is a tiny reference to where the info came from.

And, if KBI statistics aren't good enough.................: http://www.accesskansas.org/kbi/stat...dex%202013.pdf You go down to Labette County and it will list Parsons and the number of each crime.

Meth is a big problem as is crack throughout the area.

[pioneer88]

I just found it interesting that within a very short time of each other we have a list of worst and best and one town makes both lists. As I said before, there are problems in Southeast Kansas particularly due to poverty. There are also a ton of great people of higher income as well as those that are in poverty in the community. Parsons has arts and community programs that rival towns much larger in size. That comes from someone who has a lot of personal experience in the area.

Anyway, Just offering a different perspective. In the end, we're both biased. You had a bad experience with Southeast Kansas. I had a great experience. It's good to have more than one opinion.

[AnywhereElse]

Originally Posted by pioneer88

I just found it interesting that within a very short time of each other we have a list of worst and best and one town makes both lists. As I said before, there are problems in Southeast Kansas particularly due to poverty. There are also a ton of great people of higher income as well as those that are in poverty in the community. Parsons has arts and community programs that rival towns much larger in size. That comes from someone who has a lot of personal experience in the area.

Anyway, Just offering a different perspective. In the end, we're both biased. You had a bad experience with Southeast Kansas. I had a great experience. It's good to have more than one opinion.

When did you have your great experience. We just left the extreme SE two years ago and I have still have friends in the area. Towns change very quickly. I am sure this didn't help: Parsons ammunition plant to cease operations - Joplin Globe: News Fort Scott lost 400 jobs due to an insurance company leaving and several others places closing. Pittsburg lost at least 2 major employers. I am not sure what jobs pay that much in Parsons but I know the state hospital plays an important role and since I have an adult son with developmental disabilities, I can see the squeeze that will continue with services: More than $8 million could be saved at four state hospitals, consultant concludes – Kansas Health Institute I support people with developmental disabilities becoming a part of society.

I see they lost about 700 people from 2010 to 2013: Labette County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau
and that is a significant fact for someone looking to move there.