I do feel like, among those under 30 I talk to, there is a much different attitude than say the Boomer generation when talking about KC. Younger people seem much more optimistic about KC. The first thing older Kansas Citians will talk about, when talking about the city, is the crime, or the potholes, or the parking. Younger people seem to talk about the restaurants or the Farmer's Market or First Fridays.
And in some very encouraging ways, both statistically and in the mysterious world of “buzz,” the Kansas City area is holding its own when it comes to appealing to the hot demographic called millennials. A study recently ranked us among the top 20 big U.S. metros when it came to adding young adults.
It’s not just about being hip. Attracting those people born roughly between 1982 and 2004 is considered vital to the metro’s economic future....
The Kansas City metro had an annual net gain of about 2,200 people in the 25 to 34 age group during the three-year period from 2009 to 2012. Though far below red-hot places such as Denver, which added almost 12,000 young adults each year, it ranked ahead of Atlanta, New York, Boston and Los Angeles.
KCMax wrote:I do feel like, among those under 30 I talk to, there is a much different attitude than say the Boomer generation when talking about KC. Younger people seem much more optimistic about KC. The first thing older Kansas Citians will talk about, when talking about the city, is the crime, or the potholes, or the parking. Younger people seem to talk about the restaurants or the Farmer's Market or First Fridays.
And in some very encouraging ways, both statistically and in the mysterious world of “buzz,” the Kansas City area is holding its own when it comes to appealing to the hot demographic called millennials. A study recently ranked us among the top 20 big U.S. metros when it came to adding young adults.
It’s not just about being hip. Attracting those people born roughly between 1982 and 2004 is considered vital to the metro’s economic future....
The Kansas City metro had an annual net gain of about 2,200 people in the 25 to 34 age group during the three-year period from 2009 to 2012. Though far below red-hot places such as Denver, which added almost 12,000 young adults each year, it ranked ahead of Atlanta, New York, Boston and Los Angeles.
Agreed. As a younger(?) person I see infinite opportunity for progress in KC. It is a city where if you have have an idea and want to get involved in city life, you can. Organizations are welcoming, people are friendly, and everyone is just trying to make the city the best place it can be in the shortest amount of time.
One of the things I find most appealing is that the city is still small enough for individuals to make a huge impact. I'm certainly not one of those individuals, but people like davekcmo has had a large part in shaping our city. And he's just a guy in the crossroads that is very passionate about streetcars!
WinchesterMysteryHouse wrote:Oh yeah.
Who else is buying hundreds of those goofy 'KC' hats from Baldwin?
Hey, I've got one and I'm not a millenial. Also have a pair of Baldwin Denim jeans....love them. I like his clean style versus the d'bags that wear the jeans with big back pockets and stencil (i.e. True Religion).
KCMax wrote:I do feel like, among those under 30 I talk to, there is a much different attitude than say the Boomer generation when talking about KC. Younger people seem much more optimistic about KC. The first thing older Kansas Citians will talk about, when talking about the city, is the crime, or the potholes, or the parking. Younger people seem to talk about the restaurants or the Farmer's Market or First Fridays.
And in some very encouraging ways, both statistically and in the mysterious world of “buzz,” the Kansas City area is holding its own when it comes to appealing to the hot demographic called millennials. A study recently ranked us among the top 20 big U.S. metros when it came to adding young adults.
It’s not just about being hip. Attracting those people born roughly between 1982 and 2004 is considered vital to the metro’s economic future....
The Kansas City metro had an annual net gain of about 2,200 people in the 25 to 34 age group during the three-year period from 2009 to 2012. Though far below red-hot places such as Denver, which added almost 12,000 young adults each year, it ranked ahead of Atlanta, New York, Boston and Los Angeles.
Agreed. As a younger(?) person I see infinite opportunity for progress in KC. It is a city where if you have have an idea and want to get involved in city life, you can. Organizations are welcoming, people are friendly, and everyone is just trying to make the city the best place it can be in the shortest amount of time.
I agree as well and I am an older(?) person (for the love of God, when did that happen?!?)
KCMax wrote:I do feel like, among those under 30 I talk to, there is a much different attitude than say the Boomer generation when talking about KC. Younger people seem much more optimistic about KC. The first thing older Kansas Citians will talk about, when talking about the city, is the crime, or the potholes, or the parking. Younger people seem to talk about the restaurants or the Farmer's Market or First Fridays.
I think younger people are more optimistic about KC is because we DON'T WATCH THE LOCAL NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My mom and dad are scared of Milwaukee and never want go into Milwaukee because of the daily crap they see on the local news but when I visit and take them to someplace new or cool in Milwaukee they are a lot more optimistic
It baffles me that people complain about parking here, this has to be the easiest large city to park in. Also the potholes really are not that bad at all.
WinchesterMysteryHouse wrote:Oh yeah.
Who else is buying hundreds of those goofy 'KC' hats from Baldwin?
Hey, I've got one and I'm not a millenial. Also have a pair of Baldwin Denim jeans....love them. I like his clean style versus the d'bags that wear the jeans with big back pockets and stencil (i.e. True Religion).
God, i absolutely hate those jeans, those jeans seem to be super popular in Eastern Jackson County, pretty much everyone in Blue Springs has those stenciled ugly ass jeans
KCMax wrote:I do feel like, among those under 30 I talk to, there is a much different attitude than say the Boomer generation when talking about KC. Younger people seem much more optimistic about KC. The first thing older Kansas Citians will talk about, when talking about the city, is the crime, or the potholes, or the parking. Younger people seem to talk about the restaurants or the Farmer's Market or First Fridays.
I think younger people are more optimistic about KC is because we DON'T WATCH THE LOCAL NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My mom and dad are scared of Milwaukee and never want go into Milwaukee because of the daily crap they see on the local news but when I visit and take them to someplace new or cool in Milwaukee they are a lot more optimistic
It baffles me that people complain about parking here, this has to be the easiest large city to park in. Also the potholes really are not that bad at all.
KCMax wrote:I do feel like, among those under 30 I talk to, there is a much different attitude than say the Boomer generation when talking about KC. Younger people seem much more optimistic about KC. The first thing older Kansas Citians will talk about, when talking about the city, is the crime, or the potholes, or the parking. Younger people seem to talk about the restaurants or the Farmer's Market or First Fridays.
I think younger people are more optimistic about KC is because we DON'T WATCH THE LOCAL NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My mom and dad are scared of Milwaukee and never want go into Milwaukee because of the daily crap they see on the local news but when I visit and take them to someplace new or cool in Milwaukee they are a lot more optimistic
It baffles me that people complain about parking here, this has to be the easiest large city to park in. Also the potholes really are not that bad at all.
When I first rented a loft in River Market, my wife/then-girlfriend's parents expressed concern over safety because their image of the area was still based on the River Quay Bad Old Days.
I think this is very dramatically true. Anecdotally, my younger brother recently graduated from Mizzou, landed a great job at Honeywell/NSAA and moved right into Wallstreet Tower (rental) with his photojournalist girlfriend. There wasn't even a question of where he wanted to be, and this is not a hardened urbanite in the kcrag sense. Far from it, in fact. The couple is nonetheless excited daily re: new happenings in and around downtown, specifically the streetcar and One Light (tower), despite the fact that One Light will entirely block his southern view. They love the vibrance in the area, love going out/walking, and want to see continued progress towards an urban future.
To take this example even further, it should be noted that two female neighbors from the block I grew up on, aged 27 and 31, have purchased condos at Freighthouse Flats (after moving back from NYC) and Western Auto Lofts (after moving from BKS and Plaza) respectively. Crazy that the old block is reassembling, at least for a time, in the heart of the city.
I think part of this is that just enough of the heavy lifting has occurred to make it clear that things truly have changed, and are continuing to change. P&L, including Cosentino's and theaters, was a major part of this, but other parts of downtown have been on the upswing for years now, and there are finally high-quality apartments and enough of a scene to make downtown living mainstream.
Downtown KC is also blessed to be very compact, attractive and relatively safe feeling. Small additions to this city go a long way, and large additions are utterly transformative.
Clearly I've focused on downtown because the rising tide of millenials is perhaps most dramatic there, but these changes are occurring across the city, albeit more slowly. I've lived off the plaza for many years, and while it's always been a hot spot for young professionals etc., it's taken a surprisingly long time to see continued n/c high-end apartment construction. And finally, just look at BKS and Waldo - the old neighborhood is quite simply blowing up with young(ish) couples, families etc. It's marvelous.
The city needs to keep pumping the "quality of life" type amenities, get streetcar phase II done yesterday, and by far most importantly, find another Cerner type story to pull college graduates into the area from across the greater region.
Pulling in young educated into KC is nothing new as KC has hit top lists for maybe 15 years. What's different is pulling in young single educated who want a city vibe as KC now does a better job offering that. But with the increase of Boomers retiring at a faster rate and leaving for warmer winter cities, hopefully KC can pull in more younger than them to offset the loses.
Minneapolis had problems with out-migration 3-8 years ago partly attributed to retiree losses but has managed to bring in some new blood since then and has net positive migration again... http://recenter.tamu.edu/data/pop/popm/cbsa33460.asp
STL continues to lose at a big pace, likely more than just boomer retirees. Employment levels are as low as about 10 years ago. And there isn't enough international in-migration to offset domestic out-migration... http://recenter.tamu.edu/data/pop/popm/cbsa41180.asp
pstokely wrote:they'll probably move to the burbs when schools become an issue, but younger people will take their place
Some of them will. But there a lot of Millennial families in Waldo/BKS/Midtown who are either going the charter route, creating charters, or navigating the KCSD. It's encouraging that they seem to be committed to living in the city.
pstokely wrote:they'll probably move to the burbs when schools become an issue, but younger people will take their place
Some of them will. But there a lot of Millennial families in Waldo/BKS/Midtown who are either going the charter route, creating charters, or navigating the KCSD. It's encouraging that they seem to be committed to living in the city.
We don't plan to have children for quite a while, but when (if) we do we plan to stay in the city. It isn't that difficult (as has been discussed on this forum ad nauseum) it just requires a bit of planning ahead.
pstokely wrote:they'll probably move to the burbs when schools become an issue, but younger people will take their place
Some of them will. But there a lot of Millennial families in Waldo/BKS/Midtown who are either going the charter route, creating charters, or navigating the KCSD. It's encouraging that they seem to be committed to living in the city.
We don't plan to have children for quite a while, but when (if) we do we plan to stay in the city. It isn't that difficult (as has been discussed on this forum ad nauseum) it just requires a bit of planning ahead.
My fiancé and I are planning on doing the same. I'm hoping by the time our future kids are school aged that the schooling options are a little clearer.
Are there any good resources out there for how to navigate the public/charter/etc schools in the area?
mykn wrote:
My fiancé and I are planning on doing the same. I'm hoping by the time our future kids are school aged that the schooling options are a little clearer.
Are there any good resources out there for how to navigate the public/charter/etc schools in the area?
Not that I know of. I think it would be great if there were a website that laid out all the options in a simple manner so people could easily understand their choices and why it is not necessary to move to Kansas "for the schools".
chaglang wrote:
Some of them will. But there a lot of Millennial families in Waldo/BKS/Midtown who are either going the charter route, creating charters, or navigating the KCSD. It's encouraging that they seem to be committed to living in the city.
We don't plan to have children for quite a while, but when (if) we do we plan to stay in the city. It isn't that difficult (as has been discussed on this forum ad nauseum) it just requires a bit of planning ahead.
My fiancé and I are planning on doing the same. I'm hoping by the time our future kids are school aged that the schooling options are a little clearer.
Are there any good resources out there for how to navigate the public/charter/etc schools in the area?
There are some discussions on this board (tho I wish you luck finding them with the search function). Or PM me and I'll tell you what we have learned. We have one in the KCSD and many, many friends doing that or one of the other options.
