Warm, friendly and liberal Kansas (Overland Park, Kansas City: 2013, insurance, crime)

[CrownVic95]

Originally Posted by NewHomeOregon

Thanks, everyone! Luzianne, that was very helpful information!! I hope to check out Johnson County soon and some of the surrounding communities. Anywhere else, I am retired. I won't be looking for work. Thrifty, thanks for that bit of insight. Like I mentioned before, I don't want a place that's too insular where it might be hard to break in socially. It has to be a place accepting of outsiders. In addition, I'm from California, and I notice when I travel that some people have difficulty accepting Californians; they seem to have a lot of preconceived ideas about us.

Do you have friends/family in Kansas? If not, I'm a bit puzzled as to why you're considering relocating there, given what you've told us so far.

Just so you know a little about where I'm coming from, I'm a conservative trapped in California for a few more years 'til I retire. Having lived in Kansas for 11 years, I know that probably the nicest thing about it is that socially/culturally it is not California. If you're looking for California/Oregon flavor liberalism, I wouldn't stray far from the coast.

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by NewHomeOregon

Some other questions: This probably varies from area to area, but I like to walk and ride bikes. The Summer would probably be too hot for this except in the late afternoon. Are there many bugs in the air? Is it comfortable to be outdoors that time of day?
Also, How are your Winters?

Late afternoon would be the hottest time of day. People do ride bikes and walk then, but I don't see how they do it in the hottest, most humid part of the year. In the summer I'd say after 7:00 p.m. would be best for walking/biking. 6:00 p.m. is still very hot. Of course, we are talking summer, July and August. A few weeks into September the humidity disappears and we have the most wonderful Indian summers many years that last sometimes through the end of October and sometimes November, where the humidity is gone but it is warm and windy. It's wonderful! It stays light till 9:00 in June and 8:30 in July, so still plenty of daylight for evening biking/walking. Or if you are a morning person, morning is good too. There are also a lot of walking/biking trails in Johnson County.

There aren't a lot of bugs in the air until around sundown in the summer. Other times of year not really an issue.

Winters can be mild or they can be very cold with a lot of snow. You just never know. I have seen Thanksgiving Day in the 70s. I have seen Christmas Day where a T-shirt was comfortable. And then I have also seen Christmas Days when we were snowed in and had to cancel family Christmas dinner because it wasn't safe for anyone to drive.

Generally even if the winter is going to be cold, there are mild days through October and even November. By mid-December it gets cold and it can be bitterly cold mid December through January sometimes. February too can be cold, but temperatures begin to moderate, and usually by March we have milder temperatures and even some 70 degree days. But again, you just never know.

Being from California - probably not a problem. I think Johnson County people would be very accepting of someone from California. A lot of them probably even impressed.

There is a Trader Joe's at 119th and Roe and a Costco at 123rd and Metcalf. Those are in the same general area and I think you would be very impressed with that area and find everything you are looking for. Like I said, you won't run into Bible thumpers on the street. People aren't like that here. There is a large Jewish presence in southern Overland Park, and from my experience they tend to be liberal. There are also a lot of Christian churches, but again, no one is going to pushing anything on you.

You need to know that some of the people posting here hate Johnson County. Why? Because it is an affluent suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. Most of them don't even live in Kansas; they live on the Missouri side of the state line. Johnson County is more affluent and has very low crime. There is a constant battle between the Kansas and Missouri side. I lived in Kansas City, Missouri, got out, and am never going back. So take negative comments you see about Johnson County/Kansas with a grain of salt and come and see for yourself. I think you will love it.

Also, I don't know what your housing budget is or whether you are looking to buy or rent, but I know you will find that you can buy so much more than you would get in California for a much lower price. Go to www.reeceandnichols.com and search houses in Overland Park, Leawood, Prairie Village, Stilwell, Lenexa, Olathe. The area around Costco and Trader Joe's is southern Overland Park and Leawood.

[Sco]

Lawrence, the rest of Kansas runs from moderately to radical "bible thumping".

[Mathguy]

Originally Posted by Sco

Lawrence, the rest of Kansas runs from moderately to radical "bible thumping".

I've not run across this in my living in JOCO.

I have a ton of liberal, non-bible thumping friends and neighbors in JOCO.

I'm personally quite socially liberal so unless the poster is so far left that they want to start a Fidel Castro fan club I think they will do fine here.

[thriftylefty]

Something you have to get used to in Kansas are politically conservative church going folk who are socially liberal. I can't say from experience if this perculiar only to Kansas, but I can say it is indeed common in Kansas.

[CrownVic95]

Originally Posted by thriftylefty

Something you have to get used to in Kansas are politically conservative church going folk who are socially liberal. I can't say from experience if this perculiar only to Kansas, but I can say it is indeed common in Kansas.

I don't think it is peculiar to Kansas, nor do I think it is very common there based on my experience. I didn't know anyone I'd put in that category....but that was over 20 years ago. Perhaps things have changed (deteriorated) there to a degree whereas much of the rest of America has lost its collective mind culturally.

What I enjoyed most about Kansas living was being surrounded by the traditional values (and I don't mean religious values) of heartland America. By and large, people are normal there. And that is why it is a great place to raise a family.

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by thriftylefty

Something you have to get used to in Kansas are politically conservative church going folk who are socially liberal. I can't say from experience if this perculiar only to Kansas, but I can say it is indeed common in Kansas.

Not my experience and I have lived in Kansas for most of my 56 years. "Church going folk?" Where? I hardly know anyone who even goes to church anymore. Politically conservative/socially liberal? I haven't seen that, either. I've seen people that are politically conservative/socially conservative and politically liberal/socially liberal, in almost equal numbers. But no one bothers you and tries to push their agenda on you here - well, unless you count the Jehovah's Witnesses who come to the door occasionally - and that's the way it should be. Definitely no Bible thumping. Southern Missouri - yes, you will see Bible thumping there. But not in the Kansas City area.

[thriftylefty]

Originally Posted by luzianne

Not my experience and I have lived in Kansas for most of my 56 years. "Church going folk?" Where? I hardly know anyone who even goes to church anymore. Politically conservative/socially liberal? I haven't seen that, either. I've seen people that are politically conservative/socially conservative and politically liberal/socially liberal, in almost equal numbers. But no one bothers you and tries to push their agenda on you here - well, unless you count the Jehovah's Witnesses who come to the door occasionally - and that's the way it should be. Definitely no Bible thumping. Southern Missouri - yes, you will see Bible thumping there. But not in the Kansas City area.

Someone once said that Sunday morning was the most segregated time in America; you will also find that people are also divided by class and professions during this time.

People who own small businesses in moderate to small towns find that going to church and being socially liberal or tolerant will increase their bottom line. Being a member of a church and being religious is not necessarily the same thing. Some of the scariest places in the state are places where organized Religion “didn’t take “or religious adherents are below the national average.(Wyandotte County would be exhibit A)

Kansas is not like; New York, Pennsylvania, or California where you are going to find small quaint villages where people for the most part are liberal and not church affiliated. My work over the last ten or more years has taken me to easily thousands of towns and cities across the US, and in middle America I would much rather take my chances in either a college town or around church folk when its midnight and I need a motel room.

[TinaMcG]

Originally Posted by luzianne

I call BS on the other posts. While Johnson County is largely conservative, there are a LOT of liberal Johnson County residents and you are not likely to run into Bible thumpers unless you go looking for them. And you have Costco and Trader Joe's and health food stores too. The OP would find everything he wants - not radically liberal, not Bible thumping, with Trader Joe's, health food stores and Costco, in Overland Park. And of course, Leawood, Stilwell, Prairie Village, Lenexa, Shawnee, and Olathe are in close proximity so any of those would work too.

Lawrence is a great place to live, but it's a college town and it's 45 minutes away from Costco and Trader Joe's.

Anyone who is trying to tell you that Johnson County is Bible thumping is lying. Southern Missouri I would say that could be true. But Johnson County - no. OP, come and visit for yourself. You'll be pleasantly surprised and you will fit in just fine.

I have lived in Johnson County for many years. Even when I was kid it wasn't a Bible thumping place. There are conservatives, for sure. There are also a lot of liberals. It's not like some people here are trying to portray it, and when you come and visit you will see that for yourself.

I AGREE!!! Overland Park has all of that, including a TJs and a Costco. And there are far more liberals than I ever would have bet on when we moved to south Johnson County. Some of the most liberal people I've ever met live in Leawood. And whether people are liberal or conservative, I have found all the people in Kansas very warm and welcoming.

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by thriftylefty

Someone once said that Sunday morning was the most segregated time in America; you will also find that people are also divided by class and professions during this time.

People who own small businesses in moderate to small towns find that going to church and being socially liberal or tolerant will increase their bottom line. Being a member of a church and being religious is not necessarily the same thing. Some of the scariest places in the state are places where organized Religion “didn’t take “or religious adherents are below the national average.(Wyandotte County would be exhibit A)

Kansas is not like; New York, Pennsylvania, or California where you are going to find small quaint villages where people for the most part are liberal and not church affiliated. My work over the last ten or more years has taken me to easily thousands of towns and cities across the US, and in middle America I would much rather take my chances in either a college town or around church folk when its midnight and I need a motel room.

I think when the OP visits Overland Park/Leawood, he will see the truth of what the area is like. It's not some conservative, church-lady place like some want to make it out to be. Johnson County is a very pleasant place to live. The only way for the OP to know is to see it himself and I think he'll be pleasantly surprised.