Who wants to live in KC?

[kcmetro]

Nearly half of all Americans want to live elsewhere, study finds

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/01/29/liveab ... index.html

Most popular:

Denver
San Diego
Seattle
Orlando
San Francisco
Tampa

Least popular:
Detroit
Cleveland
Cincinnati
Kansas City
MPLS
Pittsburgh

[KCPowercat]

Kc definately isn't top of mind if you are asking people the dream city they would rather move to.

[chrizow]

the fact that both tampa and orlando are in the top five is incredible to me.  what shitholes.  i would live in any of the bottom five for ten years before i would live in tampa for one month.

[Downtowner]

I remember a friend of mine from here who always wanted to live in Denver---the proximity of the mountains and the fact he'd always enjoyed visiting there. So he left his really nice joco home here and made the move. He discovered he could only afford a "patio home" (the kind of place where your primary entrance is a sliding glass door) there in a far suburb. He sat forever in traffic and rarely went to the mountains. He quickly fell out of love with Denver and regretted ever leaving KC.

[kcmetro]

I remember a friend of mine from here who always wanted to live in Denver---the proximity of the mountains and the fact he'd always enjoyed visiting there. So he left his really nice joco home here and made the move. He discovered he could only afford a "patio home" (the kind of place where your primary entrance is a sliding glass door) there in a far suburb. He sat forever in traffic and rarely went to the mountains. He quickly fell out of love with Denver and regretted ever leaving KC.

I bet that happens a lot.  People have such delusional ideas about the life they can expect to live in other cities.  But day-to-day life is going to be the same in most places.  If someone isn't happy in KC, they probably won't be happy anywhere.

[Tosspot]

LOL at any n00bz who think they can just shift around the midwestern united states and miraculously feel a dramatic lifestyle change to resurrect their waning days of vitality.

[PumpkinStalker]

"Resurrect their waning days of vitality"

Instant classic!

[ignatius]

Yeah, Tampa and Orlando on the list exemplifies how ridiculous it is.  Total shitholes.

This is why KC is called a best kept secret.  Few know.  But those who do seem to have positive views.  Many think we have dirt roads, outhouses and cowboys/indians.

[LenexatoKCMO]

Yeah, Tampa and Orlando on the list exemplifies how ridiculous it is.  Total shitholes.

I think there are a lot of old folks that dream of retiring in Orlando/Tampa these days.  They are the new Lauderdale/Miami - miles and miles of retirement developments built around golf courses.  It would be cool to see an age demographic breakdown on that top 5. 

[KCMax]

The list is very easy to figure out. The popular places are warm weather cities, the unpopular cities are cold weather cities.

What Kansas City needs to compete is a gigantic retractable roof dome to put over the entire CBD.

[NDTeve]

Yeah, Tampa and Orlando on the list exemplifies how ridiculous it is.  Total shitholes.

This is why KC is called a best kept secret.  Few know.  But those who do seem to have positive views.  Many think we have dirt roads, outhouses and cowboys/indians.

Lets keep it that way!!

[chrizow]

The list is very easy to figure out. The popular places are warm weather cities,

like denver and seattle. 

[kcjak]

I don't take too much out of this - a majority of the population lives near a coast or mountains...who would opt to move away from that into the center of the country?  Plus, the survey wasn't 'Where would you live IF you could afford it?'  San Diego and San Francisco are two of the most expensive places in the country, but also beautiful.  I love KC, but I'd pack up in a second if I could afford the same lifestyle in either of those places that I could here.  On the contrary, the number of people outside of KC that have never been here, probably think it's just a barren little cowtown in the middle of nowhere.

[chrizow]

^ agreed.  i love kc too, and know it pretty well, and there are probably 10 cities i would move to in a second if i had a job opportunity there, even if it meant a serious downgrade in buying power. 

[staubio]

I love all of the least popular cities and would live in any of them.

[blackbird]

Having spent time in a majority of cities on both lists, I have to echo the sentiment of most of the posters already - the "least popular" list is much more appealing than the "most popular" list overall.

I do have to wonder, though, how MSP ended up on the least popular list.  It is one of the most educated cities in the country and usually does pretty well on livability surveys.  I'm surprised to see it on there.

[KCPowercat]

Same reason kc is...mpls is a great city but if you ask america one city they desire to move to, neither have that sexiness factor.

[LenexatoKCMO]

I do have to wonder, though, how MSP ended up on the least popular list.  It is one of the most educated cities in the country and usually does pretty well on livability surveys.  I'm surprised to see it on there.

No matter how "liveable" mpls may become or how much they improve their DT - for many of us it will always conjour images of -30 degree windchills and snow storms durring baseball season. 

[staubio]

There is a charming authenticity to the cities on the least favored list. People are entrenched there -- not because it is trendy but because it is home. There is a real sense of place.

Every time I visit a popular city, I love the bustle of it but it feels like everybody just got off a plane. There is no real living history or defiant pride.

To hell with 'em. Kansas City is my home.

[theflytyr]

the fact that both tampa and orlando are in the top five is incredible to me.  what shitholes.  i would live in any of the bottom five for ten years before i would live in tampa for one month.

You've got to be joking. As with all cities, they both have their good and bad areas, but both are quite up and coming metropolitan regions with a mixture of fine restaurants, higher end shopping, growing downtown CBD's, a plethora of outdoor activities, and in the case of Orlando some pretty solid upper tier hotels along with the anticipated startup of commuter rail in 2011. Don't forget they both also have some pretty good year round weather. Kansas City is a great town with a wonderful history, great food if you know where to go, an awesome skyline and just plain nice people, but to say these other cities are "shitholes" shows your ignorance.