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Old 06-23-2011, 10:53 AM
 
Location: Murfreesboro, Tennessee
16 posts, read 23,308 times
Reputation: 25

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I started wanting to live in Kentucky from just seeing a picture of a horse farm near Lexington in the 1963 edition of the World Book Encyclopedia and ended up moving there in 1988, after visiting it on a weekend (this after comparing it to and visiting Huntsville, AL, Birmingham, AL, Memphis, TN, Atlanta, GA, Knoxville, TN, Nashville, TN, and Lousiville, KY.) I lived in Los Angeles 26 years (born and raised), New Haven, Connecticut 4 years, Chicago, Berkeley, CA, and Lexington, KY up to a year, Nashville two years, and Murfreesboro, Tennessee 20+ years. The "friendliest" people I've ever met are in Nashville, Kentuckians are more guarded, Angelenos used to be nice when I was growing up, New Englanders reserved but down to earth, (these are all generalizations, of course,)and Kansans, like their central location in the country, perhaps combine some of all the human qualities we share?
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Old 06-24-2011, 08:31 AM
 
Location: Western Nebraskansas
2,707 posts, read 6,209,624 times
Reputation: 2454
Quote:
That idyllic view is just not reality as most small towns on the Plains are quickly vanishing. KS has all its economic eggs in the JOCO basket with decline and stagnation being the norm everywhere else.
It'll take a while before Goodland vanishes. At least I hope so. I'm headed there this morning! lol

As with most towns on the Great Plains, towns over about 5,000 people are holding their own or even growing. Truly small towns are indeed dying, but again, that's the trend of the Great Plains in general.
And I'm fairly confident neither Nebraska or the Dakotas, as an example, have "all of their eggs in the JOCO basket." lol
Eastern Colorado is losing population, too. That isn't to say that Colorado has "all their eggs" in the Front Range basket, though...

You're obsrving a trend and assigning it an unrelated causation.
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Old 06-24-2011, 08:44 AM
 
Location: Western Nebraskansas
2,707 posts, read 6,209,624 times
Reputation: 2454
Quote:
That idyllic view is just not reality as most small towns on the Plains are quickly vanishing. KS has all its economic eggs in the JOCO basket with decline and stagnation being the norm everywhere else.
It'll take a while before Goodland vanishes. At least I hope so. I'm headed there this morning! lol

As with most towns on the Great Plains, towns over about 5,000 people are holding their own or even growing. Truly small towns are indeed dying, but again, that's the trend of the Great Plains in general.
And I'm fairly confident neither Nebraska or the Dakotas, as an example, have "all of their eggs in the JOCO basket." lol
Eastern Colorado is losing population, too. That isn't to say that Colorado has "all their eggs" in the Front Range basket, though...

You're obsrving a trend and assigning it an unrelated causation.
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Old 06-24-2011, 10:42 AM
 
Location: Tippecanoe County, Indiana
26,375 posts, read 46,238,636 times
Reputation: 19455
Quote:
Originally Posted by itsMeFred View Post
It'll take a while before Goodland vanishes. At least I hope so. I'm headed there this morning! lol

As with most towns on the Great Plains, towns over about 5,000 people are holding their own or even growing. Truly small towns are indeed dying, but again, that's the trend of the Great Plains in general.
And I'm fairly confident neither Nebraska or the Dakotas, as an example, have "all of their eggs in the JOCO basket." lol
Eastern Colorado is losing population, too. That isn't to say that Colorado has "all their eggs" in the Front Range basket, though...

You're obsrving a trend and assigning it an unrelated causation.
Correlation does equal causation when over 50% of all GDP is through Johnson County, KS. Nearly all other counties in the state outside of a few energy patch counties have seen real wages stagnate or fall with the percentage of the population below poverty increasing.
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Old 06-24-2011, 05:03 PM
 
Location: Western Nebraskansas
2,707 posts, read 6,209,624 times
Reputation: 2454
That doesn't mean they're deliberately "putting all their eggs in one basket."
It just means that's where the population is.

Again, this is a general trend in all of the Great Plains states. And no one else cares one whit about Johnson County, KS...
It's not causation.

PS: I'm happy to report Goodland was still alive, well and doing a brisk bit of business.

Last edited by itsMeFred; 06-24-2011 at 05:54 PM..
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Old 06-25-2011, 09:23 AM
 
Location: Southern Illinois
10,364 posts, read 20,721,344 times
Reputation: 15642
Quote:
Originally Posted by itsMeFred View Post
That doesn't mean they're deliberately "putting all their eggs in one basket."
It just means that's where the population is.

Again, this is a general trend in all of the Great Plains states. And no one else cares one whit about Johnson County, KS...
It's not causation.

PS: I'm happy to report Goodland was still alive, well and doing a brisk bit of business.
We drove all the way thru KS twice last week and I think it's beautiful. Stayed in Goodland and it does seem to be a going concern and that downtown cafe has wonderful food. I've gotta tease you guys though--the jackelope? WTH is with that?
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Old 07-16-2011, 06:24 PM
 
Location: Bettendorf, IA
449 posts, read 1,387,585 times
Reputation: 211
Quote:
Originally Posted by lilred0005 View Post
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.
Kansas looks like an ugly Nebraska.
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Old 07-16-2011, 07:07 PM
 
Location: Tippecanoe County, Indiana
26,375 posts, read 46,238,636 times
Reputation: 19455
Quote:
Originally Posted by lilred0005 View Post
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.
The only area of KS that is truly Midwest is the northeast corner. Look at properties and land in Doniphan county. That area has some very nice topography, soils, farmland, and forests.
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Old 08-04-2011, 06:08 AM
 
Location: Table Rock Lake - MO/AR Ozarks
223 posts, read 332,646 times
Reputation: 177
It's funny that people complain or make fun of Kansas being flat. That's true of Western Kansas, but I lived out there for quite awhile and I'll tell you what, once you stay there, there's nothing like it. Give me flat any day! It is so beautiful and the feeling there is unlike anywhere else. I could spend the rest of my life there and almost did. Maybe I will someday.

Funny enough, the OP brought up Gove County and Monument Rocks, there's also red rocks in Kansas down by Oklahoma in Barber and Comanche Counties. Blew my mind when I went down there. Looks like the Four Corners area without huge mountains nearby.

I like what Hueffenhardt, pioneer88 and so many others here said.

I like it when j_k_k said, "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 . . . It's just there waiting for one to look at it the right way."

And when Ketabcha said, "I think that Kansas has a beauty all its own."

The photo that itsMeFred posted is beautiful, but keep in mind that it is indicative of that region being so close to Wyoming. You'll find Western Kansas in the central part, for instance, Ellis or Rush County, to not have the desert-y aspects in the photo. But that photo he showed does get pretty close to being true just north of Hays (Ellis County), so that Wyoming feel does come down a ways into the state. Very nice photo. From Hays and around there to the south, the west and east to the Flint Hills, the desert part is gone and it's the green or yellow fields I was talking about, except for those red rocks I mentioned. And yes, Eastern KS is forested and hilly.

Honestly, I've traveled the lower 48 states and lived in about a dozen of them, including both coasts, and my experience living in Rush and Ellis Counties topped my experience living anywhere else. Just amazing and freeing and beautiful.

The Flint Hills are really popular with a lot of people, and don't get me wrong, I love every inch of Kansas, but I'd take Western Kansas over the Flint Hills any day. Could be because I grew up in NE Kansas and so I love how different Western Kansas is. I just know I thrived on the vast yellow of the earth and the vast blue of the sky. It was like heaven. I also am partial to the north around Hwy 36 below Nebraska. I've never lived up there, but there's just something about it up there that I really like. But then I could tell you something good about anywhere in Kansas.

When SmalltownKSgirl mentioned the Cheyenne Bottoms, I always think of Ellinwood. I just love that town. Oh, and Lyons too. Such a lovely town square. I also like Great Bend. I'd say one of my favorite drives is from Hays to Wichita, going on the back roads that way.

darrylvk has it right about eastern KS getting humid, that's for sure.

I like how Tennessee Jed said "storybook towns" because that is exactly how I think of small Kansas towns, but I just never had the perfect words before. Thank you, Tennessee Jed.

stepka, Nice to hear someone visited KS and said something nice instead of something negative, the typical response.

On the other side of the coin, leaving rural Kansas and going to KCK, I lived in Argentine. I had the nicest, sweetest and friendliest neighbors I've ever had in a city. I had lived in the Waldo area of KCMO many years before and maybe it was just me at the time, but I never met any one of my neighbors and it felt so dark, depressing and lonely there. I love KCMO, but I'd personally rather live in KCK.

I love Kansas. It has a sweet simplicity to it that I just thrive on.

I really enjoyed reading everyone's comments. What a beautiful tribute to Kansas.
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Old 08-05-2011, 09:13 AM
 
Location: Western Nebraskansas
2,707 posts, read 6,209,624 times
Reputation: 2454
Quote:
The photo that itsMeFred posted is beautiful, but keep in mind that it is indicative of that region being so close to Wyoming. You'll find Western Kansas in the central part, for instance, Ellis or Rush County, to not have the desert-y aspects in the photo. But that photo he showed does get pretty close to being true just north of Hays (Ellis County), so that Wyoming feel does come down a ways into the state.
Well thanks. (I'm a "she" btw)
But I have to say, Wyoming has nothing to do with the geologic formation of this part of Kansas. Wyoming is pretty much a direct result of the uplift of the Rockies.
The Arikaree Breaks, on the other hand, were created by erosion.

The top layer is loess. I can't remember if it was blown in, or dragged in during the last Ice Age, but for the most part, that's what makes the "dirt" in this area. But the bottom layer is shale from the sediment of the inland sea during the Cretacious period. The erosion of the light loess from the top of the shale is what makes the dramatic canyons.

PS: The sagebrush and soapweed (the "desert-y feel") in that photo are found commonly in western Kansas. Again, it has nothing, really, to do with Wyoming. It's rainfall, pure and simple. There's a reason most of western Kansas looks a lot like eastern Colorado... Both are part of the short-grass prairie of the High Plains. Flat and covered in sage and soapweed...

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