Top 10 small Cities (Overland Park #6)

[ThaMexican]

Read and article online and it says Overoland Park, KS is #6 in Top 10 Small Cities.

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag ... index.html

[bbqboy]

...but no mention by you of Olathe at 13.
What's a small city?
100-250,000?

[Tosspot]

Americans are flocking to places that offer big-city opportunities and amenities -- with a lot more green space and a lot less stress. See the top 10 Great American Towns.

Another bullshit list compiled by clueless dullards. And these things usually seem to come out of financial magazines -- interesting.

Can someone explain to me where Overland Park has more greenspace than its neighbors and how it has less stress than its neighbors? (I'm sure they were alluding-digging at KCMO on this one, but let's just entertain the notion).

[midtown guy]

It's all about having good schools, high average income, and low crime rates.  If you have these, you score well in these sorts of polls.

There is a great line in the OP article though about being designed by the same person who designed cubicals...

[lock+load]

Can someone explain to me where Overland Park has more greenspace than its neigbors and how it has less stress than its neighbors? (I'm sure they were alluding-digging at KCMO on this one, but let's just entertain the notion).

All the green medians of the six lane arterial streets

They did recognize that living in OP is like living in a cubicle.  Apparently they like that

[AllThingsKC]

Lee's Summit is #44?  Columbia is #76?

And on the "Top 10 Best Big Cities"...

Omaha is #7, Wichita is #9, while New York is #10?

What's a small city?
100-250,000?

I guess 50,000 - 250,000.  I didn't see a city under 50,000 on the list.

[kard]

My astute brother pointed out this figure to me:

Bars  (within 15 miles) 44 (OP) 204 (Best Places Average)

That's first strike right there.

[warwickland]

if this were actually based on a quality of life index, theres no way OP would be on here. where is the comprehensive citywide network of quality bike trails? where is the massive greenbelt? where is the public transit? where is the large walkable downtown fitting to a city the size of OP? [where is the walkability in general?) i would see ft. collins possibly on a top ten (it was number one on this).

this was a bizarre list, but what do you expect for a list that confuses quality places with affluent places.

1. Fort Collins, CO
2. Naperville, IL
3. Sugar Land, TX
4. Columbia/Ellicott City, MD 
5. Cary, NC
6. Overland Park, KS
7. Scottsdale, AZ
8. Boise, ID
9. Fairfield, CT
10. Eden Prairie, MN


it listed O'Fallon, MO as a quality place, and it is one of the most stressful traffic snarled places in the state. 

[Highlander]

My astute brother pointed out this figure to me:

Bars  (within 15 miles) 44 (OP) 204 (Best Places Average)

That's first strike right there.

One of the problems with this board in general is that everyone seems to assume the entire population is similar to themselves.  If you are young and single, the number of bars within 15 miles may be a big plus.  People desire different things at different periods of their lives.  To most people who are raising a family or aspiring to raise one (can be between ages 24-55), OP looks like a very good place to live for the obvious reasons; its relatively safe with excellent schools and you get a lot of value for your money (particularly in resale home value).  If you are a single, young, and an urbanist, you're going to think its a hellhole.  

[warwickland]

One of the problems with this board in general is that everyone seems to assume the entire population is similar to themselves.  If you are young and single, the number of bars within 15 miles may be a big plus.  People desire different things at different periods of their lives.  To most people who are raising a family or aspiring to raise one (can be between ages 24-55), OP looks like a very good place to live for the obvious reasons; its relatively safe with excellent schools and you get a lot of value for your money (particularly in resale home value).  If you are a single, young, and an urbanist, you're going to think its a hellhole.  

i don't think it is that simple, there are a lot of us now who understand some of the downsides of sprawl, and are now asking more of our places - regardless of our place in life. overland park leaves a lot to be desired for somebody who wants to live outside of the automobile, and wants to live outside of the big box mall walmart lifestyle, and wants to instill sustainable values into their children.

[kard]

One of the problems with this board in general is that everyone seems to assume the entire population is similar to themselves.  If you are young and single, the number of bars within 15 miles may be a big plus.  People desire different things at different periods of their lives.  To most people who are raising a family or aspiring to raise one (can be between ages 24-55), OP looks like a very good place to live for the obvious reasons; its relatively safe with excellent schools and you get a lot of value for your money (particularly in resale home value).  If you are a single, young, and an urbanist, you're going to think its a hellhole. 

Highlander, here's Ft. Collins, which has the No. 1 ranking:

Bars (within 15 miles) 375 (Ft.) 204 (Best Places Avg)


You, of anyone, since you're living in England, know what a neighborhood asset the local pub can be.  That doesn't exist in OP at all.  You don't even see folks conversing around their 48oz. Blizzard at the local Dairy Queen.

[Highlander]

Highlander, here's Ft. Collins, which has the No. 1 ranking:

Bars (within 15 miles) 375 (Ft.) 204 (Best Places Avg)


You, of anyone, since you're living in England, know what a neighborhood asset the local pub can be.  That doesn't exist in OP at all.  You don't even see folks conversing around their 48oz. Blizzard at the local Dairy Queen.

Well, in the UK, that number would be 600!!  All I am saying is that most American families do not rank this as an item of high interest, it's more of a singles thing anymore.  In the UK, everyone, married and single alike, still has their local.  Schools and the "attributes" of suburban life are still the primary driving force in location decisions which is why cities like OP and Sugarland TX rank high.  Somebody on this forum a while back suggested a book called "bowling alone" (which I am yet to read) which documents the decline of social life in the US.  I suspect the neighborhood bar has been on the decline for some time.

[Tosspot]

A better, more fitting term for this report should be "Top Ten Suburban Shitholes." It would make eminently more sense that way.

[warwickland]

A better, more fitting term for this report should be "Top Ten Suburban Shitholes." It would make eminently more sense that way.

Ft. Collins is actually decent, has a nice downtown, although the area is threatened with hordes of newcomers. People actually ride their bikes to the big box [even though big boxes are questionable, it was the only place i could find in short time that sold 2 lbs of trailmix], and didnt have enough space on the dual rows of bike racks for all the bikes. I think fort collins actually has an operating, though really a novelty in its current configuration, streetcar...

The rest of those cities i would heavily question or i don't know anything about.

[ignatius]

My astute brother pointed out this figure to me:

Bars  (within 15 miles) 44 (OP) 204 (Best Places Average)

That's first strike right there.

44 is obviously a misprint.

According to local.yahoo.com, there are over 1200 bars w/in 15 miles of OP.
http://local.yahoo.com/results;_ylt=AjH ... park%2C+ks

Compared to 1300+ w/in 15 miles from Westport.
http://local.yahoo.com/results;_ylt=AjH ... +64111&fr=