Random quotes from the internet...

[GRID]

I was wondering what first time visitors say about KC, here are some random findings: Just type in Kansas City. I know, I'm very bored. Not trying to start anything here, these are just some quick things I found on the net:

This is the kind of stuff that comes up.

Kansas City? What's in Kansas City other than dust? Isn't it dusty out there? Don't answer that, I don't really care.

We stop in Topeka to buy a gift for Lauren and Dan. There is nothing
between Topeka and Manhattan -- an hour apart. Topeka has a nice mall
right on the west side of town so the rest of Kansas has good access.
Topeka was kind of nice.

It had a really big grain elevator. And I mean BIG!!!

Onwards towards KC. We cross into Missouri. Two
things to know about Missouri. Everything that you think is in Kansas is
in Missouri except for Li and Bob Dole. Second of all Missouri has almost
all the people in the KC area. This is most likely because you really can
tell when you cross into the "Show Me State" (Show me What?) It is
greener and has more rolling terrain.

Well Denver was cool. After there I headed out across lovely Kansas. If
you've ever been across the Hay plain to Adelaide you'll have some idea of
how flat and boring the landscape is. I headed to Kansas City. The weird
thing is, KC is in Missouri not Kansas. And while we're on the subject why
is Kansas prenounced KAN-SASS and Arkansas is pronounced AR-CAN-SAW??? Why
isn't is KANSAW and ARKANSASS? Fuckin Americans. Ohh. Suck my Dick Tracey
(no no, not you, it's a joke ; ) I'm from my daddys penis. Sorry, I'm back.
Anyhoo, by the tone of this email you can probably tell that being on the
road so much is taking it's toll on my sanity - it has improved out of
sight! Kansas City was cool. I went out with some goths. We went to a bar
where they have $1 drinks!!! Now, I know what you were thinking, no way can
anywhere beat the ambience and sophisticatility (made up another word) of
Shooters and their $2 drinks but believe me, this place rocked.

Mom decided the rudest drivers live in Missouri. As we drove through Kansas City and St. Louis, people wouldn't let us change lanes, they were dodging around us and honking at us when we slowed down. Now come on. Here we are in a BIG yellow truck with a car behind us. These people couldn't give us a break? All I can say is I'm glad I don't live in either of those cities.

If you get lost in Kansas City, you might cross the state border - either Kansas or Missouri. Well, like this one; actually, we tried to find an address in the city to have our supper, but what can we say ... we lost and then cross the border. Now you're in Kansas ... now you're not. He he he ... piece a cake to cross the border


My name is Molly and I agree, Kansas sucks. I say I'm from Kansas City and people are like, "Kansas?! What the fuck is in KANSAS?!" And I respond: "Nothing."

BUT!

Kansas City is awesome. The part I live in, at least....the Missouri part! =)

Ed: Neither of us had ventured beyond I-70 in Kansas City. Half of Kansas City is in Missouri, including the bulk of where we explored. We drove through the downtown past Crown Center, a nice example of City Council sponsored, mixed-use development. At American University in Washington, DC, I received my self-designed masters in Urban Social Affairs, and studied the effect that Hallmark Cards corporation had on the development of this complex, and the effects it had on the inner city. It was nice to see the actual site. Next, we drove to an old section with an active outdoor market, City Market.

Lulu: Yeah, its called Riverwalk, or something like that, and it's really not that close to the river, and the outdoor market had only two produce sellers. It was boring. We walked over some railroad tracts, determined to see the river. We saw it from a distance and couldn't easily get down to it. If you're not on the river, don't call the neighborhood River anything. Fortunately, I found Riverwalk Brewery and dragged Ed in for a sample. It was good.

Ed: I felt there was enormous development potential along the riverfront. There are beautiful locations to overlook the existing Riverfront Park and the Missouri River.

We left and saw in the downtown where they have a green square above an underground parking garage, similar to one in Boston. It is a good example of beautification of an otherwise drab rooftop.

Lulu: Usually we try to eat at mom and pop restaurants instead of chains. Unfortunately, many little quaint places are greasy spoons with few insights into customer service. One wonders how they survive.

Ed: The place we ate at, Jake Edwards Bar B-Q wasn't bad, but not exceptional. It shows what happens when your expectations are high. I mean, Kansas City Bar B-Q is famous nationwide. We skipped the well advertised chains to try something on the back streets, and it was, well, O.K.

Lulu: Not worth driving across Kansas for.

Ed: So we drove southwest back into Kansas towards the suburbs looking for a safe, cheap motel. Way out yonder in the homogeneous burbs we stopped into three look-alike chains. Not a mom and pop in site. We settle for the cheapest, a Days Inn for $53. More exciting, we found a place that specializes in custards. I got vanilla.

[GRID]

I know this looks anit KS, but I looked for some anti MO stuff, but couldn't find much to balance this thread. So anybody is welcome to post what they might find.

I find it interesting what people think when they see KC for the first time or when they respond to a kansas citian in general.

OK, here is one that says missouri is boring:

The ride to KC was extremely boring because there is NOTHING on Highway 70. Once we arrived in Kansas City, there was a huge traffic jam for the FOOTBALL GAME (go figure), but we managed to find the Starlight Theatre, and we even got there with time to spare. I had never been to Kansas City before, so obviously it was my first time to the Starlight. It is a beautiful venue. It's completely outdoors, and on either side of the stage there are 2 towers that were really neat. It was nice weather outside, a little humid, but nice. It was so neat to listen to the concert and look up and see the stars. It was incredible. But anyway...

[KCDevin]

well, some of these people need to be smacked in the face, then given a proper tour of the city. I don't mind about anti KS/MO stuff But that is another issue (fits more in KU/MU threads)

[DanCa]

With all the travelling I've done, I've heard it all. The negative, that is. But I noticed that people who've actually been to KC rarely have anything negative to say about it. Especially if they've been to the Plaza. A friend of mine out here recently went to KC on business and said he was shocked by all the trees, rolling hills, how green it was and he thought the Plaza looked much nicer than the Rodeo Dr. area of Beverly Hills. He was also impressed by the Nelson and all the fountains. I think KC really needs to market itself nationwide to change the negative coastal opinions.

[Boognish]

I agree with DanCa, and being a west coaster now myself, I have another opinion to offer in this regard:

For our own sanity, we really need to take everything we hear with a grain of salt. Every insult that we take personally might have a tendency to make us look like what they want us to be: small-minded, territorial and uneducated. Let Kansas be Kansas, let Missouri be Missouri. Every negative response that is answered with a sort of bemused look with little response will make THEM look like the small-minded ones (which, of course, is true). Not very many people have a definite idea of what this whole country is really like - as I mentioned in a previous post, geography knowledge is not an American strength. (What's interesting, I might add, is that I travel frequently to Canada, and on the occasions that I've mentioned my home town as KC, I get a lot more familiarity with the area. It's kind of sad that Canadians on a whole know more about American geography than we do).

In many cases, you're lucky if the person you're talking to has even HEARD of Kansas City - when I asked the same question to Canadians, they look kind of bewildered - sort of shocked that I would think they didn't.

Nevertheless, our people and citizens are our key to breaking stereotypes, and if we don't aggressively defend ourselves, it will make it more seem as if KC really doesn't need defending. Which, of course, it doesn't.

(Which doesn't mean we shouldn't put our best feet forward.)

[dangerboy]

As usual, Europeans know more about American geography than we do. Most of the people I have met in Europe not only know where Kansas City is, but surprisingly many also ask "Missouri or Kansas."

In my experience most Americans have a positive view of Kansas City for the most part. Usually it is only the people born and raised on one of the coasts that is ignorant. But they tend to be ingnorant of the entire interior of the country, not just KC.

[bahua]

I had only passed through Kansas City before I lived here. On that passthrough, we stopped at Arrowhead and Crown Center. That night, we stayed at 435 and Metcalf. As a result of this trip, I hated Kansas City, and for a long time, didn't return the calls of prospective employers there, as the idea of actually living in Kansas City repulsed me.

Well, the times were tough, and I bit the bullet. I moved to Kansas City, and saw things that I had never seen: The Plaza, City Market, Valentine, Midtown, Hyde Park, Westport, Brookside, Waldo, UMKC, and west 39th. I fell in love with the town in only a few months, and softened my resolution to stay for only 2 or 3 years. Now, I don't know if I'll be leaving, and if I do, it'll be with a very heavy heart.

People base their opinions of Kansas City(and any city that they only drive through) on traffic, gas prices, the smell, and bad things they hear, magnified 10 times the good things. The best way to get people to like Kansas City is to bring them here to actually see it.

[GRID]

I had only passed through Kansas City before I lived here. On that passthrough, we stopped at Arrowhead and Crown Center. That night, we stayed at 435 and Metcalf. As a result of this trip, I hated Kansas City, and for a long time, didn't return the calls of prospective employers there, as the idea of actually living in Kansas City repulsed me.

What about his trip made you hate KC? Even with as little as you saw, I would think you could stomach the city.

[bahua]

I got out of the bus to see a stadium, which, while neat, doesn't make a place a nice one to live in, or visit. I got out of the bus at Crown Center, and had an hour to wander around the mall. I hate malls, especially ones full of antique and collectible stores. Beyond that, all I saw was what I could see from I-70 and I-35: urban blight(briefly interrupted by a sterile-looking downtown) and suburban sprawl(worse than urban blight).

Now that I'm here, I'm glad that there aren't major highways stinking up the nice neighborhoods with exhaust and noise.

[dangerboy]

I had only passed through Kansas City before I lived here. On that passthrough, we stopped at Arrowhead and Crown Center. That night, we stayed at 435 and Metcalf. As a result of this trip, I hated Kansas City, and for a long time, didn't return the calls of prospective employers there, as the idea of actually living in Kansas City repulsed me.

Most cities have the urban blight and surburban sprawl that repulsed you. Just as most cities also have urban neighborhoods similar to the ones in KC that you fell in love with. If people choose not to research and explore a city, then they are likely to get false impressions, no matter what the city. And that is nobody's fault but their own. (Don't take that as a slam, it's not)

[bahua]

No, no. I don't take offense.

What bothered me is that we came to this wonderful city, and did two of the most boring things, and stayed in the most boring place. We(my college choir) had a free day, and we chose to spend it driving around Kansas City, and novelty shopping.

No Plaza, no Westport, no fun. Not a good first impression of such a great city.

[eliphar17]

Even people who live here haven't seen it all. Like myself.

I was shadowing at City Hall today, and when the day was over, I decided not to hop on I-35 for the trip back home to Lenexa. The other way that I might have gone, on another day, is Main Street to the Plaza to Shawnee Mission Parkway, but today I felt more adventurous than that. So I turned out of the garage across from City Hall and headed due south on Oak, all the way to Cleaver Boulevard, where I headed west to the Plaza. It was awesome. I'm not sure what that area is called around 39th, but it was beautiful. Is that green space part of the boulevard/park system? And the Nelson, while surrounded by construction, was still impressive. I don't think the shuttlecocks were there...surely I am not remembering correctly? Surely those haven't been removed?

(Let me make it clear that I lived in Brookside until I was 6, so I have plenty of experience of life in the city...but I had never really been anywhere east of Main.)

[GRID]

Hyde Park, Great area.

[KCN]

These comments were kind of interesting. I especially appreciate the deep insight of the comment written in gold. But I can't think of many cities I have favorable impressions of after just driving through them. Take Texas cities for example. If you just drive through Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and Houston you're going to HATE them. They're sprawl central, and hideous traffic in all four. But I've explored them all a little in depth and they're all pretty cool. Still wouldn't want to live in any of them but at least I don't hate them anymore.

[bahua]

eliphar, Oak Street, when you get south of the winding part, near Crown Center and the Hospital, turns into Gillham Road. The Bellerive, where I used to live, is about 200 feet west of Gillham, on Armour(35th St between Broadway & Paseo), marginally in what is referred to as Hyde Park. But man, you need to wander around the neighborhood between 39th and Armour, and between Gillham and Troost, especially Janssen Place, where they ignore the city's addressing scheme. I love that neighborhood, and if I ever owned a house in Kansas City, it'd be there.

If you head south on Gillham from 39th, Rockhill splays off on the right, at the first light. Follow it up the hill for a much better view of The Nelson. Take Rockhill across Cleaver into UMKC, and take in Rockhill on the fifty-something streets. Take a right on 63rd, and go directly through Brookside. This way is scenic, and you don't have to deal with the traffic of the Plaza, either.

[eliphar17]

That's the way I went, at least to Cleaver, where I turned west toward the Plaza.

So that's Hyde Park. Very nice area. Is it like that further east? What are house prices in that area?

[QueSi2Opie]

Here's some random things I found on the internet...

A long time ago, I spent many weekends in Kansas City, when an exciting landing at the old airport preceded a 10-minute cab ride to downtown, and to meals at the Savoy Grill, the Golden Ox, Wolfermann's or Pete Carter's, where over the bar hung a sign that quoted Don Quijote as saying, "He who drinks water makes little speed."

Things are different in Kansas City these days, though downtown looks as fashionably empty as its St. Louis counterpart most of the time and the 18th-and-Vine jazz and baseball project is like too many that were promoted in St. Louis by the mayor (any mayor) and the newspaper and fell flat as a tortilla.  But the Country Club Plaza continues to highlight new theater, new restaurant styles and fancy shops.  A dozen or so Mexican restaurants perch in storefronts along Southwest Boulevard.  The neighborhood near Union Station and Crown Center is its own busy dining and drinking scene. People tell me there's a lot doing in Kansas, but I have a problem. The earth starts to flatten when I drive in that direction and I if smell smoke, or see a flame or two, or catch a glimpse of a graceful head as a dragon peers over the edge, I turn around fearfully.

Wed., July 9th, 2003—Up at 5 AM with a ten minute coughing fit. It subsides and I’m ready to go to the airport! Big Hamm and I have a stopover in Tulsa. The Men’s airport restroom doubles as a tornado shelter, good knowledge to have. And a good place to have it, washrooms often have plenty of water. Our connecting flight to Kansas City is horrid, the plane is full of screaming babies, haven’t they heard of birth control in Kansas City? I guess this is where they breed. In our shuttle bus to the hotel, a "soft jazz" station plays a sax-led instrumental version of “Broken Wings.â€

[bahua]

With 6 or 7 obviously local exceptions, I have seen all of those points used to describe a half dozen cities, all in email forwards.