chrizow wrote:
it's not a price point issue for me, it's where i am at in my life. right now i wouldn't live in a non-urban setting for any salary i am qualified to make, but i would gladly live in an urban setting making less than half what i am making now. however, in 20 years, maybe i'll want to live out in the woods and you wouldn't be able to pay me enough to live in the city, who knows? probably not the case since "urban" KCMO isn't all that urban, but still.
i would never, ever live full-time more than an hour from a major city and more than 20 minutes from the heart of this city. i would rather live on a small compound in rural weston than live in an equidistant beige subdivision in olathe.
My thoughts on your perspective and the perspectives of others:
It is really very interesting and also fascinating to see what others think and say about Kansas City and other cities and make value comparisons. I can handle the uncharitable comments possibly because of my home town (KCK) has for all of my life been considered by most folks in the metro as the armpit of KC. So be it. Kansas City to many people in this country is considered to be an armpit. Could a blue-blood from Boston ever understand that Kansas City is a major urban metropolis, or could the politically class conscious DC'rs ever think KC is worthy of consideration for anything. The big question for me is what makes any one city so special when you compare city elements side by side?
I've been to Cherry Creek; it is nice, but not light years ahead of our CC Plaza. I've visited and stayed in Sioux Falls a few times and that town has a real nice character, similar to Lawrence, and more upscale than Leavenworth, great architecture; but I can't talk about its cultural attributes. The Falls however are a real special geological asset that outshines Golden, Colorados' river.
Culture seems to be a defining characteristic when comparing great cities, e.g. San Francisco has a cultural edge on Denver and Minneapolis, which both have a cultural edge on Kansas City, which has a definite cultural edge on Omaha and Oklahoma City and Tulsa (am I right, or on the right track here?). It all seems relative.
Kansas City has it's immense inferiority complex which I think is playing into this discussion. And then there are the attitudes and prejudices that exist within the metro area.
Since Olathe, was mentioned in this post I felt the impulse to comment. It's interesting to have started off in KCK during the working class 1950's, and then live hip but meager right near UMKC (not sure if it was really cool or not), and then live in an even poorer neighborhood, and then to Red Bridge suburbs near Kathy Jolly, and finally ending up in a classic beige Olathe subdivision with something of a snouthouse. The house is comfortable, clean, new, has the perfect lawn, a vegetable and flower garden and a great view. For the first time in my life I can see a lot of stars at night and I don't take really offense at comments about Olathe (honest), because I never apologize for decisions that I make free and clear. Olathe has little culture, and the Price Chopper I shop at is nothing special.
I also read with great amusement some 20 years ago Richard Rhode's essay in
Harpers "Cupcake Land: Requiem for the Midwest in the Key of Vanilla." For those who have read this or know of it, you'll know what I mean. But I chose freely to become a "cupcake" but with one difference. I don't put down KCMO for it's schools, nor take potshits at KU or MU, Lawrence or Columbia, Denver, Okies or Yorkers or Californians. The only city I have a real problem with is Washington, DC because it harbors a culture of entitlement and "I'm important and this place is the most important."
So I think we as a city, and this forum community really need to get off the examination of KC isn't as good as....., but it IS better than..... and this part of the city sucks, but this particular neighborhood is special. You should probably realize that you're the only one who really feels exactly like you do.
This post isn't targeted uniquely at you Chrizow, I just used the quote feature because your post has centered on the discussion and there were some convenient references in it to Olathe, Sioux falls, etc.