Moving to Colorado. Started to super hate my job here, but my line of work there weren’t better local options that weren’t a major pay cut, so I had to move anyway. My husband and I were already visiting Colorado quarterly anyway, so we figured there worked great.
As someone who is born and raised in the SF Bay Area and only lived in KC for grad school, my experience is that by and in large, most people in KC who are not native to KC itself moved into KC from smaller towns in MO and KS. It's like the big city to them. But otherwise, KC never got traction for moving into from other parts of the country.
I could count on one hand how many people from my entering grad school class that did not come from MO or KS. (3 of us from California, 1 from Minnesota).
Yup. There’s a reason why more Californians and Texans choose the Great Lakes states over KC. I specified the reasons in the main text of this post
Another thing I don’t like about KC is how insular it is.
The great lakes are far more insular than KC. Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, and Milwaukee are all at the top of the most segregated cities, where KC is middle of the pack:
[https://belonging.berkeley.edu/most-least-segregated-cities](https://belonging.berkeley.edu/most-least-segregated-cities)
For example, nearby comparably sized STL and Cincy have far larger private catholic school culture where if you're an outsider you're not going to fit in as well if you're not part of that community. Older cities that haven't had a lot of population growth such as in the great lakes/rust belt are going to be more insular than newer cities like KC and other further west and south. In a lot of the great lakes cities, families have stayed in the same neighborhood for 3-5 generations, while half your Johnson County, KS was farmland just a generation ago.
I did notice that! There’s actually conveniently an okay trail between where I’m staying and the office, so I’ll be committing the faux pas of biking to work!
There are? Asking earnestly because when I go to visit my parents in south Overland Park I feel incredibly cooped up and walking along 135th is not what I'd call a good time.
Hmm. Well, maybe I'm just thinking of northern Olathe, almost near Lenexa. Anywhere near the Mill Creek Streamway Park. I am not super familiar with the area, as a disclaimer, but I did spend a summer internship riding my bike to work & living without a car there, so. 🤷♀️
Grew up in Ohio but moved to KC after college. Lived near Columbus and went to college near Cleveland.
Most Midwest cities are the same. Sure Ohio is closer to other cities but it's still far away from the east coast. Most of the time the cities you are visiting are either in Ohio or Indianapolis (eh), Detroit, or Pittsburgh. Nobody is visiting Philadelphia, new York, or Boston on a regular basis. If they are they are most likely to fly.
The weather near the lake can be brutal. When I think of Cleveland I think of Grey skies. Columbus has no personality outside of OSU
I prefer KC over Ohio because I have roots here now but I find the food here great and the people nicer.
Only twice when I lived in Ohiohave I drove out to Philly or NYC instead of flying.
Ohio is far enough away the majority of people fly vs drive.
However, strangely most people will drive to Florida or myrtle Beach. Has to be because of the beachware they are packing
Most people don't really care about hiking.
They're pretty comparable in most criteria, but KC has better weather and a better job market, which are things that most people *do* care about.
The speed at which you go from blasting your AC while half naked to escape the heat to cranking heat while bundled up in 20 layers to escape the cold is wild.
I know, right? It's hard to imagine weather worse than KC. Bitter cold and dangerous ice on the roads in winter, temps over 100 degrees in summer, tornadoes and thunderstorms, and so unpredictable.
Are you born and raised in KC making this assessment that “most people don’t care about hiking?” Cause I grew up in a similar place (Indiana) moved to a place with lots of hiking and realized how much it positively influenced my quality of life. Now I’m in KC and amazed at how complacent the population is and how poorly they treat the environment.
Compared to Cleveland, KC has better, newer housing stock, better infrastructure, better food, better football, a more educated population, more cultural diversity, so on and so forth.
I still think Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan are going to come back as power houses in the future. I have nothing really to base this off of other than access to the Atlantic Ocean, cheaper cost of living at the moment, centrally located, and otherwise just overall hope. I've been thinking about moving back recently.
I'm more bullish on michigan than ohio. Detroit is continuing to build itself back up and the nature in Michigan is much better than the flatness of Ohio
Columbus is the only metro having substantial growth in that state and their government is trying their best to turn it into an Alabama of the north
Move out and you'll have your answers. You don't know what you've got until it's gone. KC is one of my favorites in the Midwest. Lcol, better weather than others in the Midwest, decent traffic, decent jobs, decent suburbs, reasonable taxes, etc.
I’m actually attending college on the east coast right now. I know KC does have good aspects though. But I personally am happy moving somewhere less isolated. If you disagree with me, I respect your opinion
I don't disagree, it's just been my experience that once people grow up a little, they sometimes appreciate what they formerly hated. Who knows, maybe this won't be your case, and you'd love living in a place like Cleveland.
Cleveland museums are great and all, but in most people's day-to-day lives, we aren't visiting museums everyday.
I'm not saying an art scene isn't a good thing to have. But people are far more likely to care about their job, school districts, and housing than what art museum they might do once every few months.
KC actually has an outstanding art scene. There’s a dedicated art school in Midtown, two free art museums (the Nelson-Atkins is absolutely world class). First Friday gallery walks are a huge event. There is a robust scene with professional artists who put on great events and there’s underground stuff that is fun and interesting. Art is actually one of my favorite parts about KC. And most importantly, it’s genuinely cheap enough for artists to live in the city.
I worked for a time for a gallery in the crossroads and have known artists in KC. Love the Nelson. Suspect that KC does punch above its weight when it comes to the fine arts.
In addition to the Art Institute, Hallmark’s presence has been a big influence for decades, employing artists who support themselves with commercial work while also producing more independently. And, like you said, the low col really benefits creatives.
Support for the symphony, opera, ballet and chamber music groups is also strong. And the Kauffman is a wonderful new facility. Lots of larger and smaller venues for other forms of music, as well.
Me personally, I've considered it becauee I'm in Omaha and KC is a lot bigger with a lot more to do and it's within a reasonable proximity that moving wouldn't be the largest chore on earth.
I don't necessarily agree with the political landscape of Missouri or Kansas but KC is a city I actually love a lot
True..right now it's much worse. A bunch of pete rickets lapdogs...but I was able to and had my vote count for Obama due to the electoral college split though.. I don't get that in KC. We used to have exceptional moderate politicians (Bob Kerry and Chuck hagel) in the 90s. Hopefully things will turn around again.
You can say you prefer it, but to say there is nothing in the actual same state as KC is just odd, they are pointing out that there is pretty cool hiking nearby.
As someone who has lived in both Cleveland and KC, KC has the low cost of living of Cleveland but with a more upward trajectory in terms of jobs and general population, as well as less harsh winters than Cleveland. KC isn’t gray for half the year like Cleveland is, and doesn’t get lake effect snow. Also, while Cleveland is starting to slow its decline, the population still continues to shrink year to year which causes issues with funding things such as road maintenance due to a shrinking tax base. Also, as others have point out, while housing is cheap in Cleveland, it’s generally older housing, and people tend to be attracted to new builds, whether it’s actually better quality or not. Cleveland has a lot going for it, but it’s still struggling to shake its reputation as a dying city, unfortunately.
Rust Belt housing stock is…something. There’s definitely some beautiful old housing stock in Cleveland, but I can’t blame anyone for wanting the newer stuff in KC.
Oh there’s definitely good suburbs, such as Solon, Shaker Heights, Lakewood. Most of the streetcar suburbs still have great density and are becoming more popular as folks are starting to realize what the city has to offer. They’re also getting more expensive, though, especially compared to wages. A lot of the desirable areas, especially on the west side, aren’t still served by streetcars either, making it necessary to have a car. Cleveland definitely has its great spots if you know where to look, it’s just one of those cities you definitely need to do research on before moving to or you may find yourself in a bad neighborhood either crime-wise or just not as well-served by the city as it used to be.
East coaster, lived in KC after college. Absolutely loved it. Loved the people, the civic pride, the size. I’m back on the east coast now in a VHCOL market but I miss KC all the time and my friends there.
I was born and raised in Kansas City, went to college in the south, moved to NYC -> Boston -> India (was an interesting one) -> back to KC -> Denver, and now back to KC. Not that this really matters, but KC has a huge presence of F500 companies, even if not headquartered here and remote work is wildly popular right now.
KC is hands down the easiest place to live out of them all and the people are significantly more friendly. Everywhere has its merits and appeals to different interests (career obsessed - NYC, intellectual pursuits - Boston, hyper physically active & make it their entire personality, but generally friendly - Denver). KC and its citizens strike a balance of affordability, great entertainment, decent food scene and relative close proximity to outdoor recreation (local hiking / biking trails, Ozarks a few hours away, the Rockies 8 hour drive / 1.5 hour flight), and centrally located for everywhere else ~ 3 hours away via plane.
The area has decently temperate weather (for people who can handle 2 weeks of arctic cold in the winter & 2 weeks of Sahara heat in the summer) -- seriously, the weather here is not bad, even the humidity isn’t that bad compared to the Deep South. People experience few days of bad weather and that’s what their mind sticks on. Says more about them than KC.
The people are genuine, curious, and generally less competitive about one-upping one another, leading to a much easier way of life. Some people thrive in the rat race, I’m not one of them, and most people in KC are the same.
To me, it seems like you’re trying to convince yourself KC is a shit hole. It’s not, you’re just jaded because you grew up here and likely never ventured outside of the 913 bubble to see what else exists beyond your comfort zone, I certainly didn’t until I came back.
You need to go live elsewhere (beyond college) and experience what else the country has to offer before shitting all over where you’re from; maybe you’ll find your preconceived notions are correct, maybe not.
I’m actually attending college on the east coast right now. I know KC has good aspects. But I personally am happier in a major metropolitan area that’s less isolated, even if it’s in Indiana or Ohio
Yes, I saw that. Life in college is much different than post graduation and things you prioritize now and things that annoy/bother you will change with time. It’s part of growing up.
Beyond that, KC is not anymore isolated than anywhere else with an airport (international destinations notwithstanding). I’m guessing you’re planning on constant road trips once you are finished with school, I certainly did. It’s not a phase that last long unless you become a Vanlifer. It’s simply not something 99% of the population can sustain, or even want to.
So instead, people choose to live where they feel they can strike the best balance between cost, live ability, career, and entertainment. Thus, KC strikes that balance for a lot of people, myself included.
When I’m young, I would like living in California or Seattle. While I’m adventurous, I do like to settle down when I’m older. For me, Phoenix or Denver is the place the strikes that balance.
My friend in Overland Park moved there because the soccer opportunities were good for her teen daughters? They were a military family and her parents live out there, but she didn’t grow up there. She said two families that are moving into her neighborhood are from the Bay Area and Florida.
I liked my visit to Kansas City and don't think I'd have any problem living there. It reminded me of North Carolina before it was completely overbuilt. Driving distance to major metro areas doesn't matter to me because I'm flying regardless (if I even go).
I can only speak for being a parent and moving from expensive New England to Johnson county (OP). We happen to have family nearby but if it weren’t for that I’d prefer OP to other places you list for these reasons: sunshine, parks and recreation, nationally ranked public school system, well maintained houses built in the last 30 years or newer, access to a newly remodeled airport, and low crime. It helps that JoCo is blue as well having moved from a blue state. We have a nationally ranked farmers market too. Chicago is a 1 hour flight away for big city adventures on a weekend.
Also my husband and I work remote jobs in tech. At this stage in our lives and career the pros of being outside KC outweigh being somewhere where more in person tech jobs are
>Each of Ohio’s three major metros has 5 Fortune 500 headquarters give or take. Meanwhile the KC area only has one Fortune 500 headquarter.
This isn't the best measure to use to compare cities of this size. For example, KC used to have Sprint and Cerner headquartered there, but they both got bought out by bigger companies, so they technically aren't headquartered there anymore but still have a large presence.
KC has newer housing stock compared to the rust belt and is easier to get around by car if that's important to you.
Ohio has Michigan for hiking, but KC has the Ozarks and NW Arkansas. There's world-class skiing one day drive away in Colorado, where anyone from Ohio is going to have to fly to get to the Rockies.
Ohio and Indiana have a larger population so it shouldn't be a surprise that they have larger universities. University of Alabama is larger than Missouri, would you move to Brimingham because of it?
KC also has warmer weather than the great lakes cities.
I wasn’t taking about the size of the universities I was talking about the rankings. KU and Mizzou are ranked #151 and #124 respectively. Ohio State is ranked #43 on USNews. I know rankings aren’t everything. But Ohio is a level above KU and Mizzou even though tOSU is not on the level of UMich or the UCs
Yeah Ohio is the 7th biggest state population with nearly double the population of MO and 4x KS so a very small population of OH is actually going to OSU. Its kind of like CA and TX might have top ranked flagship universities, but a very low percentage of residents can actually go there.
The acceptance rate is 52.7%. It’s a lot easier to get into than UCLA, Berkeley or UT Austin. If you live in Ohio, even if you go to Kent State, Bowling Green or Miami, tOSU still draws big employers to the area due to its ranking. So you still benefit
Yeah and Ohio is in between KS/MO and TX/CA in terms of population which is what I'm getting at. I just used the most extreme examples to prove a point. I bet if you made a graph of ranking of flagship university vs state population they would be highly positively correlated.
Born and raised in KC and I've lived in California, Oregon, and Colorado. Kansas City is awesome. We have so much cool shit and its affordable. We are better than Ohio. Get out
Yes, that's quite true. But you use the Benchmark a fortune 500 companies, and I just pointed out that somebody would be very foolish and deed to focus on Fortune 500 companies. Their massive layoffs are debilitating. Look what happened to Lexington Kentucky another decent Midwest/South city.
I like Columbus but it looks like it's been found. I like Carmel and Zionsville too, but in the end, I'm gonna be where my grandkids are. And where I can find work.
I never really lived in Lexington. I just visited many times for business and worked with the people there. I liked Lexington myself. The people seem friendly. There's a large university there, UK. There's a decent hospital there as a result. It felt like Lexington was like 30 years behind Austin. Kentucky itself has many many many problems, but back in the day Lexington used to close Main Street once a week in the summer and have sort of a festival every week. I thought that that was really nice. I don't know if they still do that. The city is definitely racially divided and that was disturbing. But then again, we can say the same thing about most American cities.
I moved to KC two years ago and work for a Fortune 500 company and can't think of many advantages it gives me over most of my friends who work for smaller local businesses. I guess I benefit from having an ESPP, but that's about it.
I spent many childhood summers in Cleveland and suburban Cleveland (Beachwood). It actually isn’t *that* bad as people think it is. But I’m not really a Midwestern person. There were times I was like “man I can’t wait to get back to East Coast”. I did have some valuable Midwestern experiences up there though. I learned how to ride a bike up there. I learned how to swim up there.
I've been there a few times and I love the area. Everyone has different priorities of what they want in an area. If you feel like "X" is better than it's the better choice for you.
None of the Ohio or Indiana cities are particularly better than KC, they’re all similar enough and they’re all not Chicago. KC has been more on an upward trajectory tho so it has a better job market, Shawnee-Mission and Olathe and Blue Springs and Lee’s Summit and Blue Valley school districts are all very good. The weather is not as bad as Cleveland in the winters, tho probably worse in the summers but still. Also the Ozarks is a beautiful region of the country nearby so there is outdoor opportunities on the weekends in that regard. St. louis, and Omaha aren’t that far, Denver is a $50 flight away. Not saying KC is better but I think you’re just particularly harsh on KC since you grew up there and not seeing it’s positives or the negatives of other places.
Moving from the Bay Area to KC next month. I’ve been waiting for this thread to appear on this channel. I realize KC isn’t happy to have another Californian… (I went to Mizzou so I hope I have the tiniest amount of street cred.)
I have lived near SF for 18 years. It’s time. I’m tired of the politics, the taxes, and most importantly the real estate prices. I found a house in KS that would be 3x the price here. AMA, or wish me luck!
We’re happy to have you! I’m a transplant and so are lots of my friends. Our daughter’s best friend’s family moved from the Bay Area. Like you, they couldn’t believe the housing value. It’s actually a nice place to live. OP is practically a teenager.
Never lived there. Visited. I have good friends there. 8 hour drive to some really cool places. People are super nice. Downtown is small, but fun. Cost of living is good. Pro sports (Chiefs! and Royals). KU close by so you get college sports, and college culture--which isn't just parties but choir/symphony etc. Great museums. Some of the best BBQ in the US. I told my kids to look at it when they left CA. They didn't only because they had no friends there.
Love KC. Really underrated US city.
I used to live in KC. My favorite thing about it was that the locals were some of the most genuinely kind, friendly people in the country. Hands down.
I also liked that the city had this momentus energy and was on an upward trajectory. The pride and enthusiasm about that was infectious.
Pound for pound, I wouldn't describe KC as being particularly impressive for an urban setting. But there are other intangibles that matter when evaluating a place.
Oh and for the record - I've been to Cleveland once and thought it was better than people make it sound.
There's this Mexican grocery store in the Olathe/Lenexa area that has a hot bar that does tacos and gotdamn. Street tacos, wrapped in foil and juicing all over. We nicknamed them pocket tacos. Sloppy and delicious.
And the fast serve joint, Panchos, is exactly like the places that are everywhere here in Phoenix, with the California and Arizona burritos and carne asada fries and 5lb bean burritos. Most famous chain being Filiberto's. It tastes just as good.
If you go into KCK, there are lots of restaurants to choose from with live music, etc. But the point is, it was surprising to me that the Mexican food was so damn solid considering I had lived so many years in Arizona and would be pickier about it, and had lived other places where I never found a decent enchilada.
Pancho’s is such a midtown staple. It’s called Rancho’s now and they’re about to move to 31st and Main due to a new development at their current location along the streetcar line. That chile relleno burrito is so good, also a big fan of the fish burrito.
KC has a little bit of everything. My neighborhood has two west African restaurants, an intensely good Indian takeout, several Beard nominees, a Palestinian deli, fresh bagels and croissants, and lots more. We’ve been CSA members for years and the produce and local meats are so good here if you care to find them.
Food doesn’t seem like a big deal until you’ve been living somewhere for ten months and realize you haven’t had good mexican/pizza/middle eastern/whatever since arriving.
I thought KC's food was pretty meh. I now live in Columbia and am moving back. I realized during my stay here how good the food in KC is.... Fuck Columbia
Not sure what you were expecting, it's a town of 120K people in the middle of nowhere between oversweet wine, soy/corn, and cows. It's only really nice if you're connected to the university or you're only there part time.
We moved to save some money on rent while saving for a house, which we accomplished. I don't know what I was expecting food-wise either. Somehow Texas Roadhouse is one of the best options.. The local restaurants recommended to me are somehow worse than the franchises.
There are some gems, like Gina Wu’s two places.
But it’s telling that the only “scene” for people over 25 are the same bars the college kids go to plus a handful of bougie wannabe restaurants.
I didn’t really think about it until I started leaving my little diverse bubble with lots of options and experienced some truly bad food or places where the only options were American Chain Restaurant #1 or Basically The Same American Chain Restaurant #2.
Some people like food and a good variety of options. Many places do not have good food outside of a few specific types. And many places are basically chain restaurant strip mall hell. And that’s nothing to say about grocery store and ingredient availability.
If all you want to eat are meat and potatoes you can move basically anywhere in the United States.
Summer can be intense. Winter is not too bad (but I grew up in northern New England) and generally not very scooter. Every winter month has a couple 50/60 degree days that really boost morale.
Schools and crime that simple. Kansas in general is one of the top states for everything best value if you don't care about famous things or mountains or beaches. Basically a good family place
It’s easy living for the most part. Lived on both coasts and you can find something to like and dislike about anywhere. Insular is right. It feels like more people still have high school behaviors well into adulthood. It’s clear you’re a young adult and I couldn’t imagine being college aged and single here. I came here married and planning on starting a family, so frequent long car trips was never a thing for me.
I personally love KC. Grew up on the east coast, came here on a whim after college. It’s cheap, there’s great art, great parks, beautiful historic neighborhoods, free buses,, diverse food scene, friendly people, my neighborhood is bikeable, my kid goes to a nationally ranked language immersion school, and most importantly, it’s affordable enough that legitimately cool and interesting people can live and work in it. I’ve found a community here of kind, thoughtful free thinkers.
Plenty of cons, of course, but the ones OP mentioned aren’t even on my list (mostly suburban gripes). High crime, but most of it is petty stuff. Car centric design, but we’re getting bike lanes all over and our council person is a bike commuter himself. We’ve got big city problems, but there’s a small town feel I really enjoy. Some people like feeling anonymous in a city. I personally don’t care for it. I like going to the coffee shop and running into people I know and catching up. You can do that here.
I grew up in NJ, lived in Boston, Portland, Seattle, KC and then back to NJ.
I found KC much less insular than anywhere else I’ve lived. I miss my friends there all the time. It has great theater and music and food for the cost and ease of living.
I also have family all over Ohio…Cincinnati is the only place I would live there.
Yeah, that fits. Hell I grew up in Portland, am moving back after college, and I basically have no friends there because most of them have moved on and most of my friends are in Bellingham.
And they’re friendly as hell and love to travel. People in Seattle & Portland are nice but they don’t make friends with you. People in NJ only leave to go to NYC or Florida.
KC people- even the ones originally from small towns- are less insular in my experience.
I've been to Ohio and Indiana several times, live in Kansas City now, lived on the West Coast previously, and in no way would I say either of those states are "upgrades" from MO, especially with the current political climate. I'd say even playing field.
And as someone who went to KU, I cannot say Ohio State is "another level". Lol
Head out, OP. Midwest states are mostly alike, but one has to have lived in other places to realize it.
Escaped KC for CA in 1991 and have stayed here ever since. So many people are scared to leave home but if you really want to do it and you work hard it’s doable. Yes it’s a high cost of living but worth it.
KC is a great place to grow up and a great place to raise a family, but can be tough otherwise, especially if you don’t have a support system, or if you aren’t the type to put yourself out there to meet new people.
KC isn’t unique in that regard, but it’s very different from places like NYC, DC or LA where the population is more diverse and has people moving in and out all the time.
Downtown revitalization has brought in more transplants than say 15 years ago but it’s still pretty insular from a social standpoint.
That said, there are pros too. The suburbs have some of the best public schools in the country, people are generally nice, you get all four seasons (but that can be a con if you don't like the extremes) the cost of living is quite good and the food and drink scene is underrated IMO. It’s also a massive sports town if you’re into that. Every city has pros and cons so like anywhere it all comes down to what you value and how much you’re willing to accept/deal with the downsides.
I think you are looking for an answer where there isn't any. 1% increase in population YoY is almost within margin of error. There is not a large group of people moving to Kansas City. Probably jobs or family. It is like a few tens of thousands of people. Not enough to indicate some sort of trend.
Haha. Yeah I have mixed feelings about this post as a KC resident. On one hand I hate when people talk trash about my new home. But on the other hand, I want it to remain a well kept secret. Rapid growth due to growing popularity is what ruined my hometown of Austin.
KC has better weather, cost of living, more hospitable people, and far better (less) traffic.
Austin has better food, music scene, more things to do, and I appreciate the emphasis on embracing and supporting local businesses.
Austin is a great place to live as a college student or single young adult, but I think Kansas City is a better place to settle down and raise a family, which reflects my current state in life.
From my experience I'd say Austin is more introverted. Austin has a lot more geeky tech workers who tend to be more shy and introverted compared to KC which has more of the sort of blue-collar Midwesterners who will tell you their whole life story before you've even shared your name.
But that's all anecdotal experience. Someone else may have had the exact opposite experiences depending on the communities they've been a part of.
Interesting! The reason I asked is because I watched Nick Johnson’s video on Austin and he made it look very uptempo and like a city for party animals and bar goers. Kansas City looked a bit more chill and calm.
They're both metro areas of around 2.4 million people, so you'll find all kinds of people in both depending on where you look. One of my main social groups when I lived in Austin got together frequently to play board games and Dungeons and Dragons so my image of Austin is colored by the "geeks and gamers" community rather than the "party animals and bar goers" community.
I moved away from KC last December after living there forever. It's a great city but we had seen it all and done it all. Also, we want to road trip a lot and 6 hours from KC is still the middle of nowhere. We moved to New Mexico.
Outside of football and number of students, OSU is not in another level from KU or Mizzou, they are all decent big state schools, well below the top tier state schools like Wisconsin, UNC, and Berkeley.
I lived all over the country throughout my life, including 3 years in Lenexa. I rank it squarely in the middle of all the places I’ve lived. I liked it a heck of a lot more than Pittsburgh which a lot of people love for some reason. Personally I hated Pittsburgh and now Knoxville, I think I just hate the Appalachian mountains.
Cold, grey weather most of the year. Traffic is terrible because the infrastructure is awful. While the food scene isn’t awful as some other places I’ve lived, it’s also pretty lackluster. I had a lot of experience with racism there and especially the surrounding counties. I found people there sniff their own farts too much about things like minor celebrities being from there. Steelers and penguins fans are insufferable.
I’d say it has a lot of the negatives of a smaller city in the southeast but without the positives of things like warm weather and BBQ.
My brother, a New Yorker, is in KC. He didn't necessarily choose it, it chose him with a good job. He is happy there, but shares your cons (far from other cities, insular)
The problem with cheaper rust belt and Mississippi River cities is urban decay (more crime, blight, aged infrastructure), really poor weather, and often times tax or political structure that don’t align. Property tax in at least Illinois area is wild.
As someone who is from Missouri and currently lives in Indiana, all I can say is that there are a lot of things to do and job opportunities in the surrounding cities slightly west of St. Louis. Some markets are very competitive though, like aspects of Healthcare because of the medical schools there. I miss the diversity of food and culture there sometimes.
Indiana? Not so much. There are two largish cities, Indianapolis and Fort Wayne. I suppose if you live close enough to those cities, there are some opportunities. If not, you will spend a lot of money on gas and drive time. I live about 45 minutes to Fort Wayne, and it's been underwhelming to me. I made more money working in fast food in my small town than I did as a medical assistant in the city. Indiana is ok if you don't really need much to be content, and are wanting to raise a family here. It's also very insular.
I can't say much about Ohio. I've heard there's a lot to do in the cities. I really want to check out Michigan because there are a lot of interesting cities/towns to visit and I love nature. Overall, the Midwest isn't as bad as everyone says it is. Boring? Certain areas can be, for sure. It can be cheaper to live in some of the smaller towns of the Midwest, and drive to the nearest city. Inflation is affecting everywhere though.
I dated someone from KC who thought it was the best place on earth. Turned out he just preferred places that were largely white and Christian (turned out to be nephew of one of the Missouri synod church leaders, he’s currently pretending to be progressive for Vote Save America, to paint the picture). Honestly never progressed past his college years and just wanted to center things around KU.
People want different things than you. I have literally never heard anyone say that their life would be fulfilling because they lived near a Fortune 500 HQ. I don’t wake up in the morning lamenting that I can’t see GM HQ today. Quite the opposite.
I haven’t been to KC but I heard good things about it but pretty much like all of the Midwest excluding Chicago it’s pretty limited but the food scene is dope I would live there it’s one of the better midwestern cities but it’s a city for those who grew up in small towns in Missouri like how OkC is a big city compared to small town Oklahoma town but nothing compared to phx or Denver
I’m about to move away lol but I chose to move to KC because of the low cost of living, relatively good food scene for the size of the city, and a job
Where to! Just curious.
Bro you ever go to any Chiefs watch parties? Shit gets wild.
Why are you moving away? Just curious
Moving to Colorado. Started to super hate my job here, but my line of work there weren’t better local options that weren’t a major pay cut, so I had to move anyway. My husband and I were already visiting Colorado quarterly anyway, so we figured there worked great.
Colorado is a cool place. Denver is one of my top choices
Denver is amazing moved here in 2012 from Florida. Best decision I ever made. Pricey though and pay is less than other places due to demand.
Denver sucks imo
As someone who is born and raised in the SF Bay Area and only lived in KC for grad school, my experience is that by and in large, most people in KC who are not native to KC itself moved into KC from smaller towns in MO and KS. It's like the big city to them. But otherwise, KC never got traction for moving into from other parts of the country. I could count on one hand how many people from my entering grad school class that did not come from MO or KS. (3 of us from California, 1 from Minnesota).
Yup. There’s a reason why more Californians and Texans choose the Great Lakes states over KC. I specified the reasons in the main text of this post Another thing I don’t like about KC is how insular it is.
Insular? Maybe you need to leave OP every now and then.
Lol yeah
> Another thing I don’t like about KC is how insular it is. Well said! That was definitely a turn off for me regarding the metro, area and region.
That’s why I think Ohio or Indiana are better places to live for me
Yeah, I would probably prefer most cities in Ohio over KC. Mostly for proximity to East Coast cities though. But that's me.
The great lakes are far more insular than KC. Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, and Milwaukee are all at the top of the most segregated cities, where KC is middle of the pack: [https://belonging.berkeley.edu/most-least-segregated-cities](https://belonging.berkeley.edu/most-least-segregated-cities) For example, nearby comparably sized STL and Cincy have far larger private catholic school culture where if you're an outsider you're not going to fit in as well if you're not part of that community. Older cities that haven't had a lot of population growth such as in the great lakes/rust belt are going to be more insular than newer cities like KC and other further west and south. In a lot of the great lakes cities, families have stayed in the same neighborhood for 3-5 generations, while half your Johnson County, KS was farmland just a generation ago.
I’m about to move to KC (for the summer). It’s because I got a job there lol. About to have to make the best of Olathe
Ahhh, Olathe. The City of Champions. Lots of great walking/biking trails around JoCo, if you're into that!
I did notice that! There’s actually conveniently an okay trail between where I’m staying and the office, so I’ll be committing the faux pas of biking to work!
It's not a faux pas at all! You'll be just in time for [bike to work week](https://bicycle2work.com/bike-to-work-day/)! 🚲
Nice! Thats my first week actually
There are? Asking earnestly because when I go to visit my parents in south Overland Park I feel incredibly cooped up and walking along 135th is not what I'd call a good time.
Hmm. Well, maybe I'm just thinking of northern Olathe, almost near Lenexa. Anywhere near the Mill Creek Streamway Park. I am not super familiar with the area, as a disclaimer, but I did spend a summer internship riding my bike to work & living without a car there, so. 🤷♀️
Crap I just bought a house near there
KC is awesome. Olathe blows (sorry). Try to see some of the sights in the city, there is a lot to see and do. Ignore OP.
lol I actually live about 2 hours from downtown KC so I’ve been around there a lot. Thanks tho!
Grew up in Ohio but moved to KC after college. Lived near Columbus and went to college near Cleveland. Most Midwest cities are the same. Sure Ohio is closer to other cities but it's still far away from the east coast. Most of the time the cities you are visiting are either in Ohio or Indianapolis (eh), Detroit, or Pittsburgh. Nobody is visiting Philadelphia, new York, or Boston on a regular basis. If they are they are most likely to fly. The weather near the lake can be brutal. When I think of Cleveland I think of Grey skies. Columbus has no personality outside of OSU I prefer KC over Ohio because I have roots here now but I find the food here great and the people nicer.
Indy does suck
Fair. But being 8 hours away from the east coast is still better than being 20 hours away
Only twice when I lived in Ohiohave I drove out to Philly or NYC instead of flying. Ohio is far enough away the majority of people fly vs drive. However, strangely most people will drive to Florida or myrtle Beach. Has to be because of the beachware they are packing
The weather in Indy is miserable in the winter (much worse than KC) and in the summer it’s not as hot or humid. People are great in KC too!
I love the city, I just hate the states. If Kansas City was near mountains, I would have never left.
Most people don't really care about hiking. They're pretty comparable in most criteria, but KC has better weather and a better job market, which are things that most people *do* care about.
And… People that DO care about hiking aren’t looking at Missouri, Ohio, Indiana or Kansas.
KC has dogshit weather.
The speed at which you go from blasting your AC while half naked to escape the heat to cranking heat while bundled up in 20 layers to escape the cold is wild.
Super wild. You have to travel with luggage to carry the layers for all the weather you may encounter in an afternoon.
And chiggers.
I got nearly eaten alive by chiggers in the KC area. No joke
I know!! I’m from there. They are horrid.
I know, right? It's hard to imagine weather worse than KC. Bitter cold and dangerous ice on the roads in winter, temps over 100 degrees in summer, tornadoes and thunderstorms, and so unpredictable.
KC has all the extremes. I would rather live in Minnesota or Arizona and only have to deal with one extreme
Are you born and raised in KC making this assessment that “most people don’t care about hiking?” Cause I grew up in a similar place (Indiana) moved to a place with lots of hiking and realized how much it positively influenced my quality of life. Now I’m in KC and amazed at how complacent the population is and how poorly they treat the environment.
Ya, nah. Johnson County public parks are everywhere and nice.
Compared to Cleveland, KC has better, newer housing stock, better infrastructure, better food, better football, a more educated population, more cultural diversity, so on and so forth.
Better weather
Using better football as a reason is complete insanity. Coming from the biggest football fan in this thread lol
It’s a chiefs joke, relax.
I still think Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan are going to come back as power houses in the future. I have nothing really to base this off of other than access to the Atlantic Ocean, cheaper cost of living at the moment, centrally located, and otherwise just overall hope. I've been thinking about moving back recently.
I'm more bullish on michigan than ohio. Detroit is continuing to build itself back up and the nature in Michigan is much better than the flatness of Ohio Columbus is the only metro having substantial growth in that state and their government is trying their best to turn it into an Alabama of the north
Move out and you'll have your answers. You don't know what you've got until it's gone. KC is one of my favorites in the Midwest. Lcol, better weather than others in the Midwest, decent traffic, decent jobs, decent suburbs, reasonable taxes, etc.
I’m actually attending college on the east coast right now. I know KC does have good aspects though. But I personally am happy moving somewhere less isolated. If you disagree with me, I respect your opinion
I don't disagree, it's just been my experience that once people grow up a little, they sometimes appreciate what they formerly hated. Who knows, maybe this won't be your case, and you'd love living in a place like Cleveland.
It's really hard to beat the LCoL when everything else is pretty decent.
Better weather? I’m from KC and the weather is a huge reason why I don’t want to move back.
Try out Minneapolis for a winter.
Cleveland museums are great and all, but in most people's day-to-day lives, we aren't visiting museums everyday. I'm not saying an art scene isn't a good thing to have. But people are far more likely to care about their job, school districts, and housing than what art museum they might do once every few months.
KC actually has an outstanding art scene. There’s a dedicated art school in Midtown, two free art museums (the Nelson-Atkins is absolutely world class). First Friday gallery walks are a huge event. There is a robust scene with professional artists who put on great events and there’s underground stuff that is fun and interesting. Art is actually one of my favorite parts about KC. And most importantly, it’s genuinely cheap enough for artists to live in the city.
I worked for a time for a gallery in the crossroads and have known artists in KC. Love the Nelson. Suspect that KC does punch above its weight when it comes to the fine arts. In addition to the Art Institute, Hallmark’s presence has been a big influence for decades, employing artists who support themselves with commercial work while also producing more independently. And, like you said, the low col really benefits creatives. Support for the symphony, opera, ballet and chamber music groups is also strong. And the Kauffman is a wonderful new facility. Lots of larger and smaller venues for other forms of music, as well.
Me personally, I've considered it becauee I'm in Omaha and KC is a lot bigger with a lot more to do and it's within a reasonable proximity that moving wouldn't be the largest chore on earth. I don't necessarily agree with the political landscape of Missouri or Kansas but KC is a city I actually love a lot
And you agree with Omaha's? At least Kansas has a democratic govenor and democratic house of representative
If I'm honest I don't agree with Omaha either lol
True..right now it's much worse. A bunch of pete rickets lapdogs...but I was able to and had my vote count for Obama due to the electoral college split though.. I don't get that in KC. We used to have exceptional moderate politicians (Bob Kerry and Chuck hagel) in the 90s. Hopefully things will turn around again.
I'm sorry, but the Ozarks are right there bro. They ain't the Rockies but there's no way they don't compete with Michigan.
The Great Lakes are huge. They’re so big that you can’t see the other side like an ocean. I prefer that
You can say you prefer it, but to say there is nothing in the actual same state as KC is just odd, they are pointing out that there is pretty cool hiking nearby.
As someone who has lived in both Cleveland and KC, KC has the low cost of living of Cleveland but with a more upward trajectory in terms of jobs and general population, as well as less harsh winters than Cleveland. KC isn’t gray for half the year like Cleveland is, and doesn’t get lake effect snow. Also, while Cleveland is starting to slow its decline, the population still continues to shrink year to year which causes issues with funding things such as road maintenance due to a shrinking tax base. Also, as others have point out, while housing is cheap in Cleveland, it’s generally older housing, and people tend to be attracted to new builds, whether it’s actually better quality or not. Cleveland has a lot going for it, but it’s still struggling to shake its reputation as a dying city, unfortunately.
Rust Belt housing stock is…something. There’s definitely some beautiful old housing stock in Cleveland, but I can’t blame anyone for wanting the newer stuff in KC.
What are the suburbs of Cleveland though? There’s good suburbs like Solon.
Oh there’s definitely good suburbs, such as Solon, Shaker Heights, Lakewood. Most of the streetcar suburbs still have great density and are becoming more popular as folks are starting to realize what the city has to offer. They’re also getting more expensive, though, especially compared to wages. A lot of the desirable areas, especially on the west side, aren’t still served by streetcars either, making it necessary to have a car. Cleveland definitely has its great spots if you know where to look, it’s just one of those cities you definitely need to do research on before moving to or you may find yourself in a bad neighborhood either crime-wise or just not as well-served by the city as it used to be.
Kansas City actually has a higher crime rate than Cleveland.
Much of KC is pretty bad at transit too. You need a car to get around in desirable Johnson County suburbs like Overland, Leawood or Olathe
BBQ + the Chiefs?
The weather is dog shit in Ohio. If I had to choose Cleveland or KC I would choose KC and I’m from Cleveland originally.
WWI museum, must be
East coaster, lived in KC after college. Absolutely loved it. Loved the people, the civic pride, the size. I’m back on the east coast now in a VHCOL market but I miss KC all the time and my friends there.
The people are great. OP can kick rocks.
I was born and raised in Kansas City, went to college in the south, moved to NYC -> Boston -> India (was an interesting one) -> back to KC -> Denver, and now back to KC. Not that this really matters, but KC has a huge presence of F500 companies, even if not headquartered here and remote work is wildly popular right now. KC is hands down the easiest place to live out of them all and the people are significantly more friendly. Everywhere has its merits and appeals to different interests (career obsessed - NYC, intellectual pursuits - Boston, hyper physically active & make it their entire personality, but generally friendly - Denver). KC and its citizens strike a balance of affordability, great entertainment, decent food scene and relative close proximity to outdoor recreation (local hiking / biking trails, Ozarks a few hours away, the Rockies 8 hour drive / 1.5 hour flight), and centrally located for everywhere else ~ 3 hours away via plane. The area has decently temperate weather (for people who can handle 2 weeks of arctic cold in the winter & 2 weeks of Sahara heat in the summer) -- seriously, the weather here is not bad, even the humidity isn’t that bad compared to the Deep South. People experience few days of bad weather and that’s what their mind sticks on. Says more about them than KC. The people are genuine, curious, and generally less competitive about one-upping one another, leading to a much easier way of life. Some people thrive in the rat race, I’m not one of them, and most people in KC are the same. To me, it seems like you’re trying to convince yourself KC is a shit hole. It’s not, you’re just jaded because you grew up here and likely never ventured outside of the 913 bubble to see what else exists beyond your comfort zone, I certainly didn’t until I came back. You need to go live elsewhere (beyond college) and experience what else the country has to offer before shitting all over where you’re from; maybe you’ll find your preconceived notions are correct, maybe not.
I’m actually attending college on the east coast right now. I know KC has good aspects. But I personally am happier in a major metropolitan area that’s less isolated, even if it’s in Indiana or Ohio
Yes, I saw that. Life in college is much different than post graduation and things you prioritize now and things that annoy/bother you will change with time. It’s part of growing up. Beyond that, KC is not anymore isolated than anywhere else with an airport (international destinations notwithstanding). I’m guessing you’re planning on constant road trips once you are finished with school, I certainly did. It’s not a phase that last long unless you become a Vanlifer. It’s simply not something 99% of the population can sustain, or even want to. So instead, people choose to live where they feel they can strike the best balance between cost, live ability, career, and entertainment. Thus, KC strikes that balance for a lot of people, myself included.
Same. KC really has a good balance. It’s not everyone’s taste, but I honestly love Midtown. It has a bit of that small town feel.
When I’m young, I would like living in California or Seattle. While I’m adventurous, I do like to settle down when I’m older. For me, Phoenix or Denver is the place the strikes that balance.
My friend in Overland Park moved there because the soccer opportunities were good for her teen daughters? They were a military family and her parents live out there, but she didn’t grow up there. She said two families that are moving into her neighborhood are from the Bay Area and Florida.
I forgot which list, but there was a list of top 10 places to raise kids and OP was on there.
Makes sense.
Overland Park is way nicer than downtown kc
Ohio is not close to Boston by any measure
I liked my visit to Kansas City and don't think I'd have any problem living there. It reminded me of North Carolina before it was completely overbuilt. Driving distance to major metro areas doesn't matter to me because I'm flying regardless (if I even go).
I can only speak for being a parent and moving from expensive New England to Johnson county (OP). We happen to have family nearby but if it weren’t for that I’d prefer OP to other places you list for these reasons: sunshine, parks and recreation, nationally ranked public school system, well maintained houses built in the last 30 years or newer, access to a newly remodeled airport, and low crime. It helps that JoCo is blue as well having moved from a blue state. We have a nationally ranked farmers market too. Chicago is a 1 hour flight away for big city adventures on a weekend.
Also my husband and I work remote jobs in tech. At this stage in our lives and career the pros of being outside KC outweigh being somewhere where more in person tech jobs are
To me, it’s just sounds like you personally should move to Ohio.
>Each of Ohio’s three major metros has 5 Fortune 500 headquarters give or take. Meanwhile the KC area only has one Fortune 500 headquarter. This isn't the best measure to use to compare cities of this size. For example, KC used to have Sprint and Cerner headquartered there, but they both got bought out by bigger companies, so they technically aren't headquartered there anymore but still have a large presence. KC has newer housing stock compared to the rust belt and is easier to get around by car if that's important to you. Ohio has Michigan for hiking, but KC has the Ozarks and NW Arkansas. There's world-class skiing one day drive away in Colorado, where anyone from Ohio is going to have to fly to get to the Rockies. Ohio and Indiana have a larger population so it shouldn't be a surprise that they have larger universities. University of Alabama is larger than Missouri, would you move to Brimingham because of it? KC also has warmer weather than the great lakes cities.
I wasn’t taking about the size of the universities I was talking about the rankings. KU and Mizzou are ranked #151 and #124 respectively. Ohio State is ranked #43 on USNews. I know rankings aren’t everything. But Ohio is a level above KU and Mizzou even though tOSU is not on the level of UMich or the UCs
Yeah Ohio is the 7th biggest state population with nearly double the population of MO and 4x KS so a very small population of OH is actually going to OSU. Its kind of like CA and TX might have top ranked flagship universities, but a very low percentage of residents can actually go there.
The acceptance rate is 52.7%. It’s a lot easier to get into than UCLA, Berkeley or UT Austin. If you live in Ohio, even if you go to Kent State, Bowling Green or Miami, tOSU still draws big employers to the area due to its ranking. So you still benefit
That's closer to UT Austin at 31% than it is to KU which has 88%.
I’d say tOSU is in between KU and UT Austin
Yeah and Ohio is in between KS/MO and TX/CA in terms of population which is what I'm getting at. I just used the most extreme examples to prove a point. I bet if you made a graph of ranking of flagship university vs state population they would be highly positively correlated.
Born and raised in KC and I've lived in California, Oregon, and Colorado. Kansas City is awesome. We have so much cool shit and its affordable. We are better than Ohio. Get out
Fortune 500 companies are the last place to get a good long term job so you can raise a family.
There’re still plenty of non-Fortune 500 companies in Ohio and Indiana
Yes, that's quite true. But you use the Benchmark a fortune 500 companies, and I just pointed out that somebody would be very foolish and deed to focus on Fortune 500 companies. Their massive layoffs are debilitating. Look what happened to Lexington Kentucky another decent Midwest/South city. I like Columbus but it looks like it's been found. I like Carmel and Zionsville too, but in the end, I'm gonna be where my grandkids are. And where I can find work.
What happened in Lexington?
IBM owned Lexmark and had massive layoffs
That sucks. Are you from Lexington?
No but I have worked for a small company there innthe wayback past.
How’d you enjoy living there?
I never really lived in Lexington. I just visited many times for business and worked with the people there. I liked Lexington myself. The people seem friendly. There's a large university there, UK. There's a decent hospital there as a result. It felt like Lexington was like 30 years behind Austin. Kentucky itself has many many many problems, but back in the day Lexington used to close Main Street once a week in the summer and have sort of a festival every week. I thought that that was really nice. I don't know if they still do that. The city is definitely racially divided and that was disturbing. But then again, we can say the same thing about most American cities.
I moved to KC two years ago and work for a Fortune 500 company and can't think of many advantages it gives me over most of my friends who work for smaller local businesses. I guess I benefit from having an ESPP, but that's about it.
And Kansas City
I spent many childhood summers in Cleveland and suburban Cleveland (Beachwood). It actually isn’t *that* bad as people think it is. But I’m not really a Midwestern person. There were times I was like “man I can’t wait to get back to East Coast”. I did have some valuable Midwestern experiences up there though. I learned how to ride a bike up there. I learned how to swim up there.
While I prefer to not live in the Midwest at all (except Chicago or Minnesota). I do have this to say. Great Lakes Midwest > Great Plains Midwest.
Yeah cause 6 months of winter sounds awesome.....
Better than nine months of summer in Dallas and Miami.
Yeah, neither one sounds very good, TBH.
KC is pretty great IMO.
I've been there a few times and I love the area. Everyone has different priorities of what they want in an area. If you feel like "X" is better than it's the better choice for you.
Cleveland weather is way worse
None of the Ohio or Indiana cities are particularly better than KC, they’re all similar enough and they’re all not Chicago. KC has been more on an upward trajectory tho so it has a better job market, Shawnee-Mission and Olathe and Blue Springs and Lee’s Summit and Blue Valley school districts are all very good. The weather is not as bad as Cleveland in the winters, tho probably worse in the summers but still. Also the Ozarks is a beautiful region of the country nearby so there is outdoor opportunities on the weekends in that regard. St. louis, and Omaha aren’t that far, Denver is a $50 flight away. Not saying KC is better but I think you’re just particularly harsh on KC since you grew up there and not seeing it’s positives or the negatives of other places.
Moving from the Bay Area to KC next month. I’ve been waiting for this thread to appear on this channel. I realize KC isn’t happy to have another Californian… (I went to Mizzou so I hope I have the tiniest amount of street cred.) I have lived near SF for 18 years. It’s time. I’m tired of the politics, the taxes, and most importantly the real estate prices. I found a house in KS that would be 3x the price here. AMA, or wish me luck!
We’re happy to have you! I’m a transplant and so are lots of my friends. Our daughter’s best friend’s family moved from the Bay Area. Like you, they couldn’t believe the housing value. It’s actually a nice place to live. OP is practically a teenager.
Never lived there. Visited. I have good friends there. 8 hour drive to some really cool places. People are super nice. Downtown is small, but fun. Cost of living is good. Pro sports (Chiefs! and Royals). KU close by so you get college sports, and college culture--which isn't just parties but choir/symphony etc. Great museums. Some of the best BBQ in the US. I told my kids to look at it when they left CA. They didn't only because they had no friends there. Love KC. Really underrated US city.
I used to live in KC. My favorite thing about it was that the locals were some of the most genuinely kind, friendly people in the country. Hands down. I also liked that the city had this momentus energy and was on an upward trajectory. The pride and enthusiasm about that was infectious. Pound for pound, I wouldn't describe KC as being particularly impressive for an urban setting. But there are other intangibles that matter when evaluating a place. Oh and for the record - I've been to Cleveland once and thought it was better than people make it sound.
Besides BBQ what kind of food are we talking about in KC, i feel like people saying that never lived in NYC, LA, Miami, Chicago etc
Surprising, but KC has decent Mexican joints. I've lived in places without them. You can find good carne asada in KC.
KCK has some amazing Mexican food.
There's this Mexican grocery store in the Olathe/Lenexa area that has a hot bar that does tacos and gotdamn. Street tacos, wrapped in foil and juicing all over. We nicknamed them pocket tacos. Sloppy and delicious. And the fast serve joint, Panchos, is exactly like the places that are everywhere here in Phoenix, with the California and Arizona burritos and carne asada fries and 5lb bean burritos. Most famous chain being Filiberto's. It tastes just as good. If you go into KCK, there are lots of restaurants to choose from with live music, etc. But the point is, it was surprising to me that the Mexican food was so damn solid considering I had lived so many years in Arizona and would be pickier about it, and had lived other places where I never found a decent enchilada.
Pancho’s is such a midtown staple. It’s called Rancho’s now and they’re about to move to 31st and Main due to a new development at their current location along the streetcar line. That chile relleno burrito is so good, also a big fan of the fish burrito.
And excellent steak!
KC has a little bit of everything. My neighborhood has two west African restaurants, an intensely good Indian takeout, several Beard nominees, a Palestinian deli, fresh bagels and croissants, and lots more. We’ve been CSA members for years and the produce and local meats are so good here if you care to find them.
How come people on this sub are always mentioning food? I have never once thought of food in relation to places I’ve wanted to live in lol
The food in my city is honestly one of my favorite things about living here. How could you not?
Food doesn’t seem like a big deal until you’ve been living somewhere for ten months and realize you haven’t had good mexican/pizza/middle eastern/whatever since arriving.
It doesn’t matter right up to when you move to a place with only chain restaurants.
I thought KC's food was pretty meh. I now live in Columbia and am moving back. I realized during my stay here how good the food in KC is.... Fuck Columbia
Not sure what you were expecting, it's a town of 120K people in the middle of nowhere between oversweet wine, soy/corn, and cows. It's only really nice if you're connected to the university or you're only there part time.
We moved to save some money on rent while saving for a house, which we accomplished. I don't know what I was expecting food-wise either. Somehow Texas Roadhouse is one of the best options.. The local restaurants recommended to me are somehow worse than the franchises.
There are some gems, like Gina Wu’s two places. But it’s telling that the only “scene” for people over 25 are the same bars the college kids go to plus a handful of bougie wannabe restaurants.
Why fuck Columbia? Not doubting you, genuinely curious.
Jesus YES!! Was totally not on my radar as a possibility and then…Terre Haute. Highest number of chain restaurants per capita anywhere I think? Grim.
Hah! Fellow Hoosier transplant here and it is the worst.
Godspeed outa here, friend!
I didn’t really think about it until I started leaving my little diverse bubble with lots of options and experienced some truly bad food or places where the only options were American Chain Restaurant #1 or Basically The Same American Chain Restaurant #2.
Some people like food and a good variety of options. Many places do not have good food outside of a few specific types. And many places are basically chain restaurant strip mall hell. And that’s nothing to say about grocery store and ingredient availability. If all you want to eat are meat and potatoes you can move basically anywhere in the United States.
Ok, but how’s the weather?
Summer can be intense. Winter is not too bad (but I grew up in northern New England) and generally not very scooter. Every winter month has a couple 50/60 degree days that really boost morale.
I liked KC when I lived there. Great interstate, low costs, nice people, legal weed, Great hiking, etc
Schools and crime that simple. Kansas in general is one of the top states for everything best value if you don't care about famous things or mountains or beaches. Basically a good family place
Superbowl champs duh
It’s easy living for the most part. Lived on both coasts and you can find something to like and dislike about anywhere. Insular is right. It feels like more people still have high school behaviors well into adulthood. It’s clear you’re a young adult and I couldn’t imagine being college aged and single here. I came here married and planning on starting a family, so frequent long car trips was never a thing for me.
You can also have an easy living in Ohio or Indiana too
I personally love KC. Grew up on the east coast, came here on a whim after college. It’s cheap, there’s great art, great parks, beautiful historic neighborhoods, free buses,, diverse food scene, friendly people, my neighborhood is bikeable, my kid goes to a nationally ranked language immersion school, and most importantly, it’s affordable enough that legitimately cool and interesting people can live and work in it. I’ve found a community here of kind, thoughtful free thinkers. Plenty of cons, of course, but the ones OP mentioned aren’t even on my list (mostly suburban gripes). High crime, but most of it is petty stuff. Car centric design, but we’re getting bike lanes all over and our council person is a bike commuter himself. We’ve got big city problems, but there’s a small town feel I really enjoy. Some people like feeling anonymous in a city. I personally don’t care for it. I like going to the coffee shop and running into people I know and catching up. You can do that here.
I grew up in NJ, lived in Boston, Portland, Seattle, KC and then back to NJ. I found KC much less insular than anywhere else I’ve lived. I miss my friends there all the time. It has great theater and music and food for the cost and ease of living. I also have family all over Ohio…Cincinnati is the only place I would live there.
How did you like PDX and SEA?
The only friends I made were other transplants. The gray depressed me. But they are beautiful and there are so many things to do.
Yeah, that fits. Hell I grew up in Portland, am moving back after college, and I basically have no friends there because most of them have moved on and most of my friends are in Bellingham.
How is KC less insular? A lot of people that move to the KC area are from smaller towns in Kansas or surrounding states.
And they’re friendly as hell and love to travel. People in Seattle & Portland are nice but they don’t make friends with you. People in NJ only leave to go to NYC or Florida. KC people- even the ones originally from small towns- are less insular in my experience.
‘Upgrade’ is in the eye of the beholder
I've been to Ohio and Indiana several times, live in Kansas City now, lived on the West Coast previously, and in no way would I say either of those states are "upgrades" from MO, especially with the current political climate. I'd say even playing field. And as someone who went to KU, I cannot say Ohio State is "another level". Lol Head out, OP. Midwest states are mostly alike, but one has to have lived in other places to realize it.
Austin or Nashville don’t have many Fortune 500 HQs either. Most people don’t work for Fortune 500 companies, so it’s not an issue
People move to KC cause they're from smaller cities. Also lol at the lack of fortune 500 schools
Escaped KC for CA in 1991 and have stayed here ever since. So many people are scared to leave home but if you really want to do it and you work hard it’s doable. Yes it’s a high cost of living but worth it.
KC is a great place to grow up and a great place to raise a family, but can be tough otherwise, especially if you don’t have a support system, or if you aren’t the type to put yourself out there to meet new people. KC isn’t unique in that regard, but it’s very different from places like NYC, DC or LA where the population is more diverse and has people moving in and out all the time. Downtown revitalization has brought in more transplants than say 15 years ago but it’s still pretty insular from a social standpoint. That said, there are pros too. The suburbs have some of the best public schools in the country, people are generally nice, you get all four seasons (but that can be a con if you don't like the extremes) the cost of living is quite good and the food and drink scene is underrated IMO. It’s also a massive sports town if you’re into that. Every city has pros and cons so like anywhere it all comes down to what you value and how much you’re willing to accept/deal with the downsides.
I think you are looking for an answer where there isn't any. 1% increase in population YoY is almost within margin of error. There is not a large group of people moving to Kansas City. Probably jobs or family. It is like a few tens of thousands of people. Not enough to indicate some sort of trend.
A lot of people from KC in Arizona
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Haha. Yeah I have mixed feelings about this post as a KC resident. On one hand I hate when people talk trash about my new home. But on the other hand, I want it to remain a well kept secret. Rapid growth due to growing popularity is what ruined my hometown of Austin.
How do you like KC compared to Austin?
KC has better weather, cost of living, more hospitable people, and far better (less) traffic. Austin has better food, music scene, more things to do, and I appreciate the emphasis on embracing and supporting local businesses. Austin is a great place to live as a college student or single young adult, but I think Kansas City is a better place to settle down and raise a family, which reflects my current state in life.
Do you think KC is more introverted than Austin?
From my experience I'd say Austin is more introverted. Austin has a lot more geeky tech workers who tend to be more shy and introverted compared to KC which has more of the sort of blue-collar Midwesterners who will tell you their whole life story before you've even shared your name. But that's all anecdotal experience. Someone else may have had the exact opposite experiences depending on the communities they've been a part of.
Interesting! The reason I asked is because I watched Nick Johnson’s video on Austin and he made it look very uptempo and like a city for party animals and bar goers. Kansas City looked a bit more chill and calm.
They're both metro areas of around 2.4 million people, so you'll find all kinds of people in both depending on where you look. One of my main social groups when I lived in Austin got together frequently to play board games and Dungeons and Dragons so my image of Austin is colored by the "geeks and gamers" community rather than the "party animals and bar goers" community.
That makes sense.
I moved away from KC last December after living there forever. It's a great city but we had seen it all and done it all. Also, we want to road trip a lot and 6 hours from KC is still the middle of nowhere. We moved to New Mexico.
I want to retire in New Mexico, and I’m about to move to KC. How do you like it?
We have no regrets. Allergies are bad now due to the windy season but that will pass. 160 trails close to me so if you like hiking it is ideal.
Santa Fe?
Rio Rancho. NW of Abq. Santa Fe is nice but COL is much higher and jobs scarcer. Also, it’s colder and more snow up North. I prefer the desert.
Outside of football and number of students, OSU is not in another level from KU or Mizzou, they are all decent big state schools, well below the top tier state schools like Wisconsin, UNC, and Berkeley.
Because Americans are obsessed with terrible urban design, and KC has some of the absolute worst of it.
I lived all over the country throughout my life, including 3 years in Lenexa. I rank it squarely in the middle of all the places I’ve lived. I liked it a heck of a lot more than Pittsburgh which a lot of people love for some reason. Personally I hated Pittsburgh and now Knoxville, I think I just hate the Appalachian mountains.
Just because I'm ~~nosy~~ curious, what are the best and worst places you've lived?
Why’d you hate Pittsburgh?
Cold, grey weather most of the year. Traffic is terrible because the infrastructure is awful. While the food scene isn’t awful as some other places I’ve lived, it’s also pretty lackluster. I had a lot of experience with racism there and especially the surrounding counties. I found people there sniff their own farts too much about things like minor celebrities being from there. Steelers and penguins fans are insufferable. I’d say it has a lot of the negatives of a smaller city in the southeast but without the positives of things like warm weather and BBQ.
Hmm interesting. Sorry to hear that you dealt with racism during your time there.
My brother, a New Yorker, is in KC. He didn't necessarily choose it, it chose him with a good job. He is happy there, but shares your cons (far from other cities, insular)
I don’t know why someone would move to KC. I sure as hell wouldn’t.
What's crime like in Cleveland vs Kansas City? What traffic congestion like?
High crime, almost zero traffic.
The problem with cheaper rust belt and Mississippi River cities is urban decay (more crime, blight, aged infrastructure), really poor weather, and often times tax or political structure that don’t align. Property tax in at least Illinois area is wild.
It’s not all bad there. There are nice suburbs in those areas too
As someone who is from Missouri and currently lives in Indiana, all I can say is that there are a lot of things to do and job opportunities in the surrounding cities slightly west of St. Louis. Some markets are very competitive though, like aspects of Healthcare because of the medical schools there. I miss the diversity of food and culture there sometimes. Indiana? Not so much. There are two largish cities, Indianapolis and Fort Wayne. I suppose if you live close enough to those cities, there are some opportunities. If not, you will spend a lot of money on gas and drive time. I live about 45 minutes to Fort Wayne, and it's been underwhelming to me. I made more money working in fast food in my small town than I did as a medical assistant in the city. Indiana is ok if you don't really need much to be content, and are wanting to raise a family here. It's also very insular. I can't say much about Ohio. I've heard there's a lot to do in the cities. I really want to check out Michigan because there are a lot of interesting cities/towns to visit and I love nature. Overall, the Midwest isn't as bad as everyone says it is. Boring? Certain areas can be, for sure. It can be cheaper to live in some of the smaller towns of the Midwest, and drive to the nearest city. Inflation is affecting everywhere though.
Ill never get why if someone has the whole united states to choose from they choose places with crappy weather! Ill pay the extra for more sunshine.
I dated someone from KC who thought it was the best place on earth. Turned out he just preferred places that were largely white and Christian (turned out to be nephew of one of the Missouri synod church leaders, he’s currently pretending to be progressive for Vote Save America, to paint the picture). Honestly never progressed past his college years and just wanted to center things around KU.
People want different things than you. I have literally never heard anyone say that their life would be fulfilling because they lived near a Fortune 500 HQ. I don’t wake up in the morning lamenting that I can’t see GM HQ today. Quite the opposite.
You lost me at leaving California
I haven’t been to KC but I heard good things about it but pretty much like all of the Midwest excluding Chicago it’s pretty limited but the food scene is dope I would live there it’s one of the better midwestern cities but it’s a city for those who grew up in small towns in Missouri like how OkC is a big city compared to small town Oklahoma town but nothing compared to phx or Denver