KCgridlock wrote:StL_Dan,
Is is true that JoCo people are clueless about what exists in the MO burbs. I really do think that most JoCo people think that there are no comparable areas to JoCo in MO. That is just plain ignorance as you probably know. The eastern and southern MO burbs have over 400,000 people and the northland has 300,000 people, yet it's like they don't exist in JoCo.
I cannot speak for most JoCo people regarding what they do or don't know about Mo burbs.
However, I happen to know quite a bit about the Mo burbs and am always trying to expose myself to more experiences and knowledge in and about counties to the north and east of JoCo on the MO side of the state line.
One community that I especially enjoy is the Liberty MO area.
One State. One Spirit. One Mizzou. 05.22.2011 RIP Rusty, Harli and Hayze
ShowME wrote:"I'll just say that there's a lot of Missouri license plates in the parking lot of the City of Olathe Planning Department, and leave it at that."
That's funny because I sure do see ALOT of newly moved Johnson County plates in Lee's Summit driveways. And of course there's plenty at the Truman Sports complex and on the Plaza. I'm just curious if you were moving from Missouri to Kansas why in the world would you choose Olathe?
I can only relate my own reasons:
1. to get a higher education at MNU
2. great small town feel with big town amenities
3. good schools for the kiddies
4. progressive city council
5. excellent home church
6. many friendships/networks formed at MNU are still in the Olathe/JoCo area
Perhaps other Missourians turned Olatheans have other reasons.
One State. One Spirit. One Mizzou. 05.22.2011 RIP Rusty, Harli and Hayze
everybody should and does live where they want.....I think those of us more urban want the suburbanites to take more of an interest in what's happening in the core like you see in other metros like Denver.
We are expanding the urban core and will start to realize everything we can do with it. We need all 1.8M of us on board....we're too small of a metro to start this petty fighting.....we are a growing metro and that is an awesome thing, we need to keep that going.
I think we need to quit worrying so much about the "downtown loop" per say....if you drive around, there really isn't much room for expansion within the loop. South Loop area where the arena will probably go is the last area, but other than that, we're pretty full up with office buildings and lofts, this is why I think we should at least expand our downtown to crown Center....if 670 was placed south of Crown Center, what then would everybody call downtown? Should a highway start dictating what we call downtown?
In KC, the "urban core" is much more important that "downtown" because we have such a vast and spread out but yet very urban "core".....where else can you find something like the Plaza 50 blocks away from "downtown"? Hell, very few places have anything like the Plaza ANYWHERE in their metro, much less so far away from downtown yet so urban.
Sorry, I've gotten off track......it is interesting living in the Plaza and seeing so many JoCo plates parked overnight.....(hence sleeping here) I will keep my eye out at Quality Hill and see if I see the same type of thing.
Thats a very good point about the urban core. If downtown were everything between the riverand the Plaza, it would be about five miles long! I went back down to the Plaza over break, and after six months in the desert, I was amazed at how urban the area is- how many highrises have sprung up around the area over the decades. I don't know about other metros, but there is absolutely nothing like it in Phoenix. And people who don't know Kansas City often don't know about it because its off the highways. It would be great for the skyline to grow toward Crown Center. Imagine the sight driving up I-35 from Johnson County!
Whether we like it or not, every major metropolitan city has, or needs, a JOCO. It's the balance in beliefs and lifestyles which makes a city so interesting. Now the main obstacle is for the local governments to earn trust in area residents and stop using politics (liberalism/conservatism) as a reason not to help the HEART of the metropolitan region. Both sides need to take the blinders off...I get smiles and waves from east and west of State Line...as well as rude looks from people who make decisions about my character before they even get to know me.
The Pendergast Poltergeist Project!
I finally divorced beer and proposed to whiskey, but I occassionally cheat with fine wine.
QueSi2Opie wrote:Whether we like it or not, every major metropolitan city has, or needs, a JOCO. It's the balance in beliefs and lifestyles which makes a city so interesting. Now the main obstacle is for the local governments to earn trust in area residents and stop using politics (liberalism/conservatism) as a reason not to help the HEART of the metropolitan region. Both sides need to take the blinders off...I get smiles and waves from east and west of State Line...as well as rude looks from people who make decisions about my character before they even get to know me.
True, but, do you honestly think if JoCo didn't grow that it wouldn't have happened in other parts of the metro? All I have ever said is that KC would have been better off if that growth had occured on the Missouri side for many reasons I have listed in previous posts. It is happening now.
KCgridlock wrote:True, but, do you honestly think if JoCo didn't grow that it wouldn't have happened in other parts of the metro? All I have ever said is that KC would have been better off if that growth had occured on the Missouri side for many reasons I have listed in previous posts. It is happening now.
Possibly...but would it make a big difference for KCMO if they all moved to Liberty, Lee's Summit, Platte City, Blue Springs, etc? I understand that the city being spread across borders is a huge obstacle...but many of these people in JOCO moved here from other States because the school district was rated the best in North America, the wealth of the county, the companies headquartered here and so on.
The Pendergast Poltergeist Project!
I finally divorced beer and proposed to whiskey, but I occassionally cheat with fine wine.
KC0KEK wrote:We've lived in metro KC for only five years, and every day I'm more convinced that most people here -- particularly in JoCo -- never venture outside of their town. (I'm not criticizing, just stating an observation. I live in NE JoCo, by the way.) We actually know people who have lived here their whole lives and have never been to Metro North mall or Parkville -- or even know where they are.?
Much of the reason for this is that 20 years ago (or less) places like Liberty, Platte City, and Olathe were not really suburbs, they were just small towns outside of the metro. As the metro area has sprawled out at such a fast rate many places that natives are not familiar with are now becoming suburbs as development fills in between them and the city.
Liberty and Olathe are an hour drive away from each other in opposite corners of the metro, it shouldn't be surprising that someone in Liberty has never been to Olathe or any of the towns even further out when they have the exact same chains in their own suburb.
QueSi2Opie wrote:Whether we like it or not, every major metropolitan city has, or needs, a JOCO.
Yes, every modern metro area needs a balance of urban and suburban areas to accomodate everyone's various lifestyles. The problem is when the suburban growth is disproportionately focused in one single area - especially when the suburban employment and retail is focused in one area.
A healthier metro would have a strong downtown with multiple suburban employment/housing/retail areas distributed evenly around the central city. Denver is a good example with a thriving downtown balanced with multiple thriving suburban areas (Denver Tech Center in the southeast, US 36 in the northwest, etc)
KC0KEK wrote:We've lived in metro KC for only five years, and every day I'm more convinced that most people here -- particularly in JoCo -- never venture outside of their town. (I'm not criticizing, just stating an observation. I live in NE JoCo, by the way.) We actually know people who have lived here their whole lives and have never been to Metro North mall or Parkville -- or even know where they are.?
Well if it makes you feel better, this happens most anywhere. I too was shocked to find out how scared to death Olatheans were to cross the state line. But after spending time in NYC, I was shocked to find many people in Brooklyn and Queens who rarely leave their 6-block circle neighborhood. And going from one borough to another is a major trip to them, if ever done. Some have been in Manhattan only once in their lives.
All they have to do is hop on a subway and explore. But sadly, most people are not very adventerous no matter where they live. Same goes for exploring food. Some people go to great lengths not to try something new or different.
