Tell Me: What Does the State of Kansas Look Like? (Wichita: houses, college)

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by lilred0005

I've always been a geography nut, in fact it's one of the things I love about America, there's so much variety. Now, I always thought Kansas was flat with miles of corn and wheat until I saw a pic of Gove Co. and the Monument Rocks. I was very surprised to see land that resembled Colorado or Utah. So, please tell me about Kansas' geography. Is there a stark difference between Western and Eastern KS or Northern or Southern KS. Are there hills, ect? Any thick forests in KS? Thank you very much as I am curious and am also looking across the US for a place to relocate, my family is from the Midwest and we are looking closely at those states as we really miss the people.

Trust me, those western parts of KS have hardly anything in common with the Midwest. The climate is unbelievably harsh with unrelenting winds and storms.
The eastern areas of KS are more Midwestern overall, from the Manhattan region on east.

The people are generally more friendly and welcoming in the Great Lakes and eastern parts of the Midwest based on my personal experiences. In Kansas, the populace tends to be more guarded and cautious, and not as open to outsiders. In JOCO you have a lot of snobby fakes with new money that generally aren't very friendly either. (Those are the ones that think they hit gold because they moved from So Cal and can afford a 300-400K McMansion in KS! HA HA) The friendliest Kansans I have run across have generally been more in the college towns.

[j_k_k]

Originally Posted by kansas sky

For the OP: I'm completely biased but I love the Flint Hills. If you happen to be in the area I recommend checking them out!

I hear that.

In my experience, you have to take some time with Kansas to feel and enjoy what makes it beautiful, earthy and appealing from a scenic standpoint. It's as much a feeling as a sight, at least for me. But it is time well spent. Kansas, which I believe is last in the nation per capita in tourism (I brag about this), doesn't really announce most of what makes it special. It's just there waiting for one to look at it the right way.

[popcorn247]

Originally Posted by j_k_k

I hear that.

In my experience, you have to take some time with Kansas to feel and enjoy what makes it beautiful, earthy and appealing from a scenic standpoint. It's as much a feeling as a sight, at least for me. But it is time well spent. Kansas, which I believe is last in the nation per capita in tourism (I brag about this), doesn't really announce most of what makes it special. It's just there waiting for one to look at it the right way.

I just received a copy of the official Kansas Travel Guide 2009-2010 which I ordered several days ago. Kansas sounds great to me! Earlier, this winter, I read the book 'Prairy Erth (A Deep Map)' by Wm Least Heat Moon. It is about Chase County and the Flint Hills. Here I am in south Florida (born & raised in Indiana) and I am considering a visit to Kansas, esp. the Flint Hills region. I would love to see some real prairie and be around midwestern people. I feel rather out of place in the glamor and glitz, and crime...... down here.

[j_k_k]

Originally Posted by plantlover

I just received a copy of the official Kansas Travel Guide 2009-2010 which I ordered several days ago. Kansas sounds great to me! Earlier, this winter, I read the book 'Prairy Erth (A Deep Map)' by Wm Least Heat Moon. It is about Chase County and the Flint Hills. Here I am in south Florida (born & raised in Indiana) and I am considering a visit to Kansas, esp. the Flint Hills region. I would love to see some real prairie and be around midwestern people. I feel rather out of place in the glamor and glitz, and crime...... down here.

My family are from Chase County. One of my cousins got his start in life teaching school in Matfield Green, and my aunt and uncle manage a ranch north and east of Strong City. Long ago, my old man was a quarterback for the Bulldogs. So you could say I'm kind of familiar with the area, though I myself haven't actually lived there.

I would strongly encourage a visit to the Flint Hills. They have that comforting, subtle Midwestern natural beauty you seem to be looking for. In mine and my family's experience, they kind of have a light side and a dark side from a people standpoint. On the light side, in general people are friendly, and if you are at ease with them and polite, you get the same back in return. On the dark side, there have in the past been very contentious and angry divides regarding the prairie park out at the old Z-Bar, which happens to be just west of where my people are. One side is afraid of governmental anything getting its hooks into Chase County in any way; the other sees a town and a way of life slowly dying, with much of the pastureland owned by absentee landlords who only care about it to varying degrees. The prairie park side one, but some longtime friendships were shattered, some businesses snubbed and gone under--and the very last thing Chase County can afford is to have everyone automatically go buy everything in Emporia, which already happens to a degree.

Finding inexpensive housing shouldn't be hard. Finding renumerative work...that might be another story.

[popcorn247]

Thank you for the information, J_k_k!

[Ketabcha]

I think that Kansas has a beauty all its own. I spent the 6th through the 10th grades outside of Wichita and we did a lot of traveling throughout the state. I'm partial to the rolling wheat fields but I also love the Flint Hills.

There are parts of Kansas that have a very special feel to them. It's hard to describe but in the western part of the state I always expected to see wagon trains coming across the prairies. It's down-home and if you are polite to people they will react in kind. The rivers are nice and the bluffs are glorious. It's a great place to raise a family.

Kansas is also basketball country. My love of basketball springs from my years in Kansas. When we were transferred to Texas it was a whole 'nother thing because football is king in Texas. I'm not putting down Texas. I'm a native Texan, born but and bred. I love Texas but I am also extremely fond of Kansas. I think it is a great state and I am so thankful for the years I spent there. I still have friends in Kansas from my school days. We keep in touch and it has been over 40 years since I lived there.

The history of Kansas is also very interesting. I was fortunate to be there when Kansas history was taught in the public schools. I don't know if it still is.

The following pretty well says it all about whether people are friendly to new folks: (this is true everywhere in the US)

A man owned a gas station outside of a town just off a major highway. One day a car pulling a trailer pulled up and the driver said "We are moving to this town. How are the people here?"

The owner said "Well, what were folks like where you came from?

Driver: They were unfriendly and hard to know....not very nice people.

Owner: I think you will find the same kind of people here.

The next week another car pulling a trailer pulled into the station.

The driver said: We're moving to this town. What are people like here?

Owner: Well, what were folks like where you came from?

Driver: Oh, they were wonderful. We made a lot of friends there. Folks were friendly and welcoming.

Owner: I think you can count on finding the same kind of people here.

[popcorn247]

I am friendly, orig. from Indiana, and still say hi to strangers.... even here in south Florida. I hope to visit someday - trying to convince a friend to go with me on the trip. I am a country, not city type person and, to tell you the truth, would much rather visit Kansas or Nebraska than NYC. I really miss the down home, unpretentious people of the Midwest.

[itsMeFred]

Originally Posted by lilred0005

I've always been a geography nut, in fact it's one of the things I love about America, there's so much variety. Now, I always thought Kansas was flat with miles of corn and wheat until I saw a pic of Gove Co. and the Monument Rocks. I was very surprised to see land that resembled Colorado or Utah. So, please tell me about Kansas' geography. Is there a stark difference between Western and Eastern KS or Northern or Southern KS. Are there hills, ect? Any thick forests in KS? Thank you very much as I am curious and am also looking across the US for a place to relocate, my family is from the Midwest and we are looking closely at those states as we really miss the people.

Well since I replied to your thread on the Nebraska board, I'll reply here, too.
Though I'll confess, the "thick forests" question puzzles me as both Nebraska and Kansas are prairie states. Which is rather contra-indicative of forests....

This is a shot of my corner of Cheyenne Co, KS, just north of our house.


That's pretty much what western Kansas looks like (though the gigantic hills aren't everywhere! Most of the hills in this area are more gentle than shown here. And further south is awfully flat...) But the sparse grass, soapweed, sagebrush, big sky... I don't know about eastern KS as I've spent almost no time there, but this is western KS to me.

[tornadoally]

Originally Posted by itsMeFred

Well since I replied to your thread on the Nebraska board, I'll reply here, too.
Though I'll confess, the "thick forests" question puzzles me as both Nebraska and Kansas are prairie states. Which is rather contra-indicative of forests....

This is a shot of my corner of Cheyenne Co, KS, just north of our house.


That's pretty much what western Kansas looks like (though the gigantic hills aren't everywhere! Most of the hills in this area are more gentle than shown here. And further south is awfully flat...) But the sparse grass, soapweed, sagebrush, big sky... I don't know about eastern KS as I've spent almost no time there, but this is western KS to me.

Looks like even the trees pulled up roots and walked out on this land.

[itsMeFred]

Why would there be lots of trees on the prairie?
You do know what a "prairie" is, right?