Some general questions about Kansas (Wichita, Kansas City: low crime, houses, high school)

[RomaniGypsy]

It's been 4 years since I've last been anywhere in Kansas, and it was just a cruise through one small corner just to say I'd been to Kansas. My wife and I are looking for a new place to call home, and Kansas has some areas that score pretty high on my list of criteria.

1) Kansas has no professional sports teams, and there are very few in nearby states. Are Kansans generally sports fans or not?

2) Is all of Kansas really as "boring and flat" as people say it is?

3) Does Kansas require vehicle inspections?

4) When I think of Kansas, I think of tornadoes. What I've seen of the weather reports in the past couple of years shows that Kansas tends to get really hot summers but the winters can get quite chilly. How true is all of this?

5) For people who've lived there a while: State the one thing you like the most about Kansas and the one thing you hate the most.

[RadioSilence]

1. Kansans are sports fans, yes, whether it is college (KU, KSU) or pro (KC Royals/Chiefs). Kansas City, Kansas is home to Sporting Kansas City, the professional soccer team, so we technically have a professional sports franchise on the Kansas side of the state line.

2. Northeastern Kansas is hilly, thanks to river bluffs and ancient glacial influence. There is also a hilly section of central Kansas called the Flint Hills. Western Kansas, which is semi-arid high plains and sparsely populated, is where you will find most of the flat-as-a-pancake terrain.

3. If titled in another state, yes, you will need a vehicle inspection.

4. Kansas has most every kind of weather not requiring an immediate mountain range or coast line. It's a big state, so there are variations by location. Western Kansas is 3,000-4,000 feet above sea level, whereas Kansas City is about 800 feet above sea level.

December/January/February: winter. 20" of snow is normal, though we had just a trace in northeastern Kansas this past winter. The average January high is in the upper 20s. Deep freezes, below zero, are rare and short-lived.

March: transition month: it could be winter, or it could be spring.

April/May: spring. This is the rainy season. May is probably the most tornado-prone month.

June/July/August/early September: summer. Temperatures can be anywhere from 85-105. Central/south-central/western Kansas will be on the hot end. Tornadic storms generally disappear by the end of June.

Mid-September/October: autumn. Hay fever allergy.

November: transition month. My birthday is in the last half of November. It has snowed on my birthday, but I have also seen temperatures in the 70s.

5. I like the cost-of-living, proximity to my family, easy-going lifestyle, and the space, but I hate the bizarre politics that permeate the state, and the national jokes that go along with being an anonymous flyover state known mostly for the Wizard of Oz.

[soanchorless]

RadioSilence answered all your questions well, so I'll just answer 5.

Like the most: the small towns with low crime rates and a sense of community.

Hate the most: lack of progress, whether politically or economically. Rural areas that could be really nice places to live are steadily losing jobs and population, and have been for decades. In places that are thriving like the KC area, it's all one big horrible sprawling mess of big box stores and prefab looking houses. Yes, there are a few nice areas/shops/parks,etc, but you'd likely have to drive through lots of traffic to get there...I'd rather not.

[RomaniGypsy]

Originally Posted by soanchorless

RadioSilence answered all your questions well, so I'll just answer 5.

Like the most: the small towns with low crime rates and a sense of community.

Hate the most: lack of progress, whether politically or economically. Rural areas that could be really nice places to live are steadily losing jobs and population, and have been for decades. In places that are thriving like the KC area, it's all one big horrible sprawling mess of big box stores and prefab looking houses. Yes, there are a few nice areas/shops/parks,etc, but you'd likely have to drive through lots of traffic to get there...I'd rather not.

What do you define as "progress"? There are lots of people, myself included, who don't agree with most people's idea of progress. Progress, in my opinion, is not a march toward increased wealth or a march toward acceptance / legalization of acts long decried as immoral. Progress is standing up for what you believe in (which would really make a splash in today's world)... and if we want to talk about a slow march forward, I'd like to see a slow march forward in people's happiness with life. More money and more things can't get you that.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by RomaniGypsy

What do you define as "progress"? There are lots of people, myself included, who don't agree with most people's idea of progress. Progress, in my opinion, is not a march toward increased wealth or a march toward acceptance / legalization of acts long decried as immoral. Progress is standing up for what you believe in (which would really make a splash in today's world)... and if we want to talk about a slow march forward, I'd like to see a slow march forward in people's happiness with life. More money and more things can't get you that.

How has Kansas progressed overall outside of the Kansas City metro area and a few select areas? It hasn't. In fact, it is the worst performing state overall in the Great Plains region.

[bkern1989]

What I like about Kansas is that we've got pretty much all the weather, as stated above. We usually get our good snow storms and we also get our severe storms. We have both cold and hot weather. I could live without the hot weather, but I guess it's better than those cites that are always hot.

What I hate...it's not close to many mountains. We've got a few in Arkansas, but nothing compared to Colorado and Tennessee. Also, being a NASCAR fan...I don't like how there aren't many tracks within driving distance. We have the Kansas speedway, but that's it.

[thriftylefty]

I think you will find many small town people in Kansas are crazy about sports teams. You will see Chiefs and Royals sports memorabilia every where. College teams in Kansas do very well with many kids from small Kansas towns playing on nationally ranked teams. If you look at the stadiums and gymnasiums in small towns you will notice how big they are. It is not uncommon for practically the whole town to go out to local home games. It is the only form of entertainment in some Kansas towns.

Flat and boring are relative. It will be hard to convince someone who has lived in Kansas their whole life that Kansas is flat and boring.

I don't have a lot of dislikes, I'm a realist when it comes to being in Kansas. I know there are places that offer more and they also have issues. People like the small town atmosphere in Kansas but fail to understand there are small towns all over the USA. Once you get west of highway 75 in Kansas the course of life is dominated by agriculture and unless you are part of that you can feel a little out of the loop.

[soanchorless]

Originally Posted by RomaniGypsy

What do you define as "progress"?

Not so much poverty is a start. I don't think people need wealth like in the more urban areas or more "things" but I enjoy having the opportunity to have a decent livelihood, clean/attractive towns with some types of recreation, decent housing, good educational facilities...etc...

Acceptance of diversity is also something I value. Kansas doesn't need to be San Francisco, but it could be more tolerant and open minded.

[ohazco]

I don't live in Kansas... but pretty much. I will answer more in a western KS/Eastern CO perspective.

1) Kansas has no professional sports teams, and there are very few in nearby states. Are Kansans generally sports fans or not?
In western Kansas there are a lot of Denver fans and Nebraska football fans. High school sports are huge.. much like small towns anywhere.

2) Is all of Kansas really as "boring and flat" as people say it is?
This really depends if you find flat to be boring. To people that automatically equate the two, then its true in western Kansas. I don't equate the two at all... I get claustrophobic in mountains. As others have said... Kansas has alot of topographic diversity.. plains, rugged western landscape, eastern style forested hills, etc.

4) When I think of Kansas, I think of tornadoes. What I've seen of the weather reports in the past couple of years shows that Kansas tends to get really hot summers but the winters can get quite chilly. How true is all of this? I think central KS has more than Western KS... they happen but its not that much of an issue around Goodland. Much of Indiana & Mississippi are worse off for tornadoes than much of Kansas.
File:Tornado Alley.gif - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

5) For people who've lived there a while: State the one thing you like the most about Kansas and the one thing you hate the most.
Western KS - I like the wide open spaces and the people, I wish it snowed a little more and the leaves were prettier in the fall, and obviously wish we got a lot more rain.

[eddie gein]

As someone who lives in a neighboring state, Kansas has some of the best people you will ever find. Very salt of the earth and generally well educated. Kansas is one of the most literate states in the nation.

The Flint Hills and parts of eastern Kansas are very pretty while the western half of Kansas is the more the stereotypical flat country.

Johnson County is considered among the nicest of the KC suburbs, Lawrence and Manhattan are wonderful college towns, Topeka is a nice mid sized community while Wichita is a top notch small city.

Probably more than anything, the smaller towns in Kansas are better than a lot of smaller towns in a lot of states. Even though they are suffering economically to a degree they tend to be wholesome in nature and have good schools. (This is generally true of the great plains and upper midwest).

When I compare Kansas to my home state of Oklahoma I would say that Kansas has a lot of the good qualities that we have in Oklahoma and lacks some of the troublesome issues we have here.

Finally, while Kansas doesn't have a lot of spectacular scenery it is not far to the Rockies and to points in Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma that provide some nice changes.