[psmith2.0]

Hey, was just wondering if any of you are from there or live there, and what you can tell me about it. From a "real life" perspective.

My dearest friend is being sent there later this year (she'll be living there for a good while...at least 4-5 years) and she and I realized it's one of those cities - unlike Chicago, New Orleans, L.A. or New York - that we've just never really thought about or hear much about.

We'll get hard, serious data from various sources, of course, so I'm not asking for dry population numbers and job market analysis. That's stuff she'll be doing in the coming months.

But just a general overview of the city and its vibe, from a "been there/live there" point of view: places to go, things to do and see, the nicer parts, any well-known hipster districts or hopping sections, recreation, etc.

Any particularly nice or cool restaurants, bars or parks? Or shopping areas? Theme parks? Lakes?

The weather: a distinct four seasons, or more like SoCal: green for six months, brown for the other six?



Humid in the summer, or bearable? Snow in the winter, or merely bitter cold?

Help a brother out with some inside perspective and info!

[Windswept]

I think sunrain lives there.

[709]

I was going to mention that as well.

I've never been (well, I've been through), but I've seen the Sin City Disciples plenty of times. They rock.

[SKMDC]

mmm

Arthur Bryants

[psmith2.0]

That looks good (and I don't really even like BBQ much). I only eat it about twice a year.

Was looking at their official site (KC's), as well as a Wikipedia entry and just some other online stuff.

The entry for Chattanooga at Wiki is about 2-3x longer, packed full and involved than the KC one, so I don't know if that's a good sign or not.



"You mean there's a major city that's even more sedate and flat-lined than Chattanooga?!?"

[World Leader Pretend]

I live about 2.5 hours west of KC, but I go there often.

The main place as far as shopping would be The Plaza, which is a big shopping district that has some cool places to eat and things to do (and an Apple store!)

Gates BBQ is my personal favorite for eating carnivorously, it is really good!

The seasons are fairly cut and dry, but recently our winters have been feeling more like fall, ie: not very cold. It can get very nasty on occasion, and there tend to be lots of thunderstorms and winds around the area.

The main theme park in KC is Worlds of Fun, which has some nice coasters and the like, and is boarded by Oceans of Fun, which is a neat waterpark.

KC is currently building a next-gen basketball stadium called the Sprint Center, which will be wrapped in glass.

The newspaper there is the Kansas City Star, which I get daily. They are currently upgrading to full color presses and have built a new production facility close to the Sprint Center.

The sports teams there are the Kansas City Chiefs (NFL) KC Royals (MLB, and not doing so hot) KC Brigade (Arena League Football) along with a tennis team, hockey team, and some other college teams like UMKC. Most of the smaller events and also concerts take place in Kemper Arena.


Overall it is a nice city that has a lower crime rate, and lots of recreation oppertunities. I think that your friend will like it there!

I hope this helps, scates' !

[Windswept]

Hey, skates, my mom was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, so I feel a definite connection with the place.

If DMBand reads this, my Irish grandfather and my uncle were firefighters in Kansas City. Cool, huh, Sammy?

My cousin married a firefighter there, who became a captain. He was blown to smithereens, with two huge fire engines and their crews, from an explosion at a construction site about 15 years ago. I think there was criminal mischief involved - attempted theft of construction explosives from a shed, or something like that.

My other uncle died at the age of 3. When the family went to visit his grave one Sunday, they discovered that his coffin had been dug up and his body stolen.

That's all I know about Kansas City, Paul. Lots of useful information, huh?

[Robo]

Weird. I'm going to an arts competition in Kansas City next week.

I'm entering a short film. It's called "Teamwork." Edited in iMovie.

EDIT: OMG! One of my friends has this amazing "World of Fun" shirt. It's black with these bright neon letters on it - straight out of the eighties. It's from that theme park. We should stop by.

[DMBand0026]

Originally Posted by Windswept Hey, skates, my mom was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, so I feel a definite connection with the place. If DMBand reads this, my Irish grandfather and my uncle were firefighters in Kansas City. Cool, huh, Sammy?

That's cool. The irish have their own subculture in firefighting, although I don't know much about it being that I'm only about 2% irish.

Originally Posted by Windswept My cousin married a firefighter there, who became a captain. He was blown to smithereens, with two huge fire engines and their crews, from an explosion at a construction site about 15 years ago. I think there was criminal mischief involved - attempted theft of construction explosives from a shed, or something like that. My other uncle died at the age of 3. When the family went to visit his grave one Sunday, they discovered that his coffin had been dug up and his body stolen. That's all I know about Kansas City, Paul. Lots of useful information, huh?

That's not cool. Who would steal a body? It's always sad when someone dies, especially a fire fighter.

[sunrain]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 But just a general overview of the city and its vibe, from a "been there/live there" point of view: places to go, things to do and see, the nicer parts, any well-known hipster districts or hopping sections, recreation, etc.

I'll tell you what I can. I refer to the place as Kansas City, Missery only slightly kidding. I've lived here for almost two years and I'm looking forward to move on when I can. I'm here to finish my doctorate and that's it. It's not that this is a bad town, but it's just not my cup of tea. It's a town that has the stink of desperation; desperate to shake off the bad and become something better. Development is moving about as quickly as it can. Some parts of town are doing a better job than others. There's a lot to clean up.

I'm from the Northwest (Oregon) originally and the mentality is just plain different out here. It's the kind of city where most people that live here grew up here and look at you funny when you ask where something is. Unless you're out in the suburbs (Overland Park, Lee's Summit, Independence, etc.) the neighborhoods are quite provincial and can change pretty quickly within a few blocks. Some of the nicest places in town are mere blocks from some of the worst. You kinda have to pay attention or you can quickly find yourself somewhere you'd rather not be. The safe (i.e., middle class) choice is to live on the Kansas side of the border down near Overland Park. Safe neighborhoods, good schools.

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 Any particularly nice or cool restaurants, bars or parks? Or shopping areas? Theme parks? Lakes?

Outside of a wide selection of BBQ, I wouldn't consider KC to be a very gourmet town. There are a few good places in town, depending on what you like. I have yet to find any good seafood (or sushi). For micro-brew beer, I like 75th Street Brewery best. They always have something on cask and the food is quite good. All of the suburbs have your basic malls. Go in any direction and every suburb has all the same stores. The plaza area probably has the most distinctive shopping. It's quite nice and has some good restaurants. There's a theme park and water park north of the metro. Never been, but it's supposed to be nice. Six Flags is opening a Schlitterbahn water park in the area, so that'll probably be cool. Lake of the Ozarks is your best bet for lakeside fun.

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 The weather: a distinct four seasons, or more like SoCal: green for six months, brown for the other six? Humid in the summer, or bearable? Snow in the winter, or merely bitter cold?

Definitely four seasons. Summers can be quite humid, but not throughout. Nice thunderstorms to watch. We do get snow every winter, but bitter cold and ice storms are pretty common as well. The weather patterns are such that with the cold air from Canada and the warm air from the Gulf coast make for changeable conditions. After all, Kansas City is on the edge of tornado alley.

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 Help a brother out with some inside perspective and info!

Hope that helps. A start anyway.

[psmith2.0]

That's very much appreciated, and the kind of stuff I was looking for. Thanks!

[sunrain]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 That's very much appreciated, and the kind of stuff I was looking for. Thanks!

NP. I can answer in more detail if you/she have specific questions.

[psmith2.0]

Thanks. I definitely may take you up on that, as the months progress. Maybe the occasional PM, if that's cool.

[sunrain]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 Thanks. I definitely may take you up on that, as the months progress. Maybe the occasional PM, if that's cool.

Please do.

[dviant]

I wouldn't give KC as bleak a review as Sunrain, but then I live in Overland Park. I actually like KC, though there are definitely some areas I'd rather not go to or live in, as with any bigger city. It's pretty friendly, big but not TOO big. World Leader Pretend gave a pretty good summary which I'll expand on. In case you hadn't looked at a map, KC is in both Missouri and Kansas. With the older more "historic" districts being on the Missouri side. In general it's thought that the Kansas side, particularly Johnson county has more money, thus better roads, schools etc. KC is supposed to be known for BBQ and Jazz/Blues.

I'll start with the Downtown area and move up from there...summary of the various areas of interest:

River City Market. This is essentially part of downtown, and hosts a weekend farmer's market. Some shopping and dining here as well. Been to a few Fourth of July celebrations down there for fireworks, bbq and live music. Don't get down there as much since I quit working downtown. I hear Succotash is a good restaurant down there.

Downtown KC. Though they have been trying to revitalize it's night life, it's still really a business-only area. Pretty much dead t night with not much to do with only a few bars and restaurants. Quite a few condo and cool loft spaces for living though, and I'd imagine people living there head over the River Market for fun. Don't go too far east or you start hitting some bad neighborhoods. Living in Overland Park and travelling downtown, I-35 gets a bit congested at rush hour. The Savoy Grill is a good restaurant to try.

Crossroads Art District. Further South of Downtown, you'll find some more restaurants (kind of a little mexico near there) and lots of art galleries. The main draw though is something called First Fridays where every first friday of the month all the galleries in the area open their doors to the public, some offering free food/drink. Tons of people wandering around the streets, definitely a good time. Fun and inexpensive way to get some culture. My favorite BBQ place is here, Fiorellas Jack Stack. It's located inside an old freight house and the interior is way cool. California Taqueria is great for lunch, Manny's is good too, and I also liked La Bodega (tapas).

Westport. Bars, restaurants, shops. Used to be a cooler destination, but at one point was getting overrun by young gang-type kids. They've since put a stop to that by blocking the area off to traffic at night, charging a dollar, and looking at your license before letting you in. Haven't been down there in a while, but remember there being a halfway decent brewery there. Californo's has some good contemporary cuisine.

39th Street. Area in midwtown that has some good eats. The Blue Koi, Hannah's Bistro and Genghis Khan recommended. Genghis Khan is one of those mongolian grill places where you self-serve create your dish and their cooks fry it up for you on a giant grill, but it's cool, not some cheesy chain.

The Plaza. The "premiere" shopping, eating and drinking destination in KC. Something for everyone there, but decidedly more upscale. Designed in 1922 and is billed as America's first suburban shopping district. Lots of Spanish and European influenced architecture and sculpture. They have a few events during the year that draw large crowds including the Art Fair, and the Plaza Lighting Festival. Lots of people live in condos, and apartments near there to be "on the Plaza". Ohhh fancy. This is also where the Apple Store is located. A couple favorite bars are O'Douds (popular irish pub), and the Reverse (martini bar). Lots and lots of good restaurants here (quite a few upscale chains). McCormick and Schmicks always gets good reviews, and although it's a chain I can't get enough of PF Changs kung-pao anything.

Nelson Atkins Museum of Art is just a hop skip and a jump from the Plaza. They have some good collections there. The Kansas City Art Institute is close as well. Arguably the best restaurant in KC (4 stars and all) is The American, located in the Crown Center. A few martini-type bars scattered around midtown we used to like to go to (probably too popular now) are the Velvet Dog, Empire Room, and Lava Room.

All the above stuff on the Missouri side. The Kansas side is more typically suburban. Essentially it's a lot of little towns that got engulfed by KC. Most of them still have their own Farmers Markets on weekends. Kind of places where you buy a house and raise a family. Merriam, Mission, Prarie Village, Overland Park, and Lenexa all retain some of their "quaint" nature but things get newer as you go further south. Brookside, MO is kind of similar. Some nearby bedroom communities are worthwhile would be Parkville, MO (10 min N of downtown), and Lawrence, KS (coolie-ville, KU campus 30-40 min W of KC).

Other local events include the Annual KC Blues and Jazz festival and a big variety of sports events (Chiefs, Royals and others). We get lots of cool bands between here and Lawrence, KS, Some really cool venues like the Madrid near Downtown and Liberty Hall in Lawrence. Check The Pitch (free local paper) for upcoming events and more nightlife. Not sure why Sunrain doesn't think there's good food in KC, I think he just needs to get out more. In addition to the ones already mentioned I'll plug the The Thai Place on 87th in OP (mmm pad thai), Yia Yia's Euro Bistro on 119th St. (omg the polenta) Lenexa, and Pot Pie near Westport.

We get all four seasons, but not much snow in past few years. Can get quite cold and quite hot. Have plenty of nice parks in the city, lots of cement and dirt trails. Big hike/bike path systems winds through Overland Park area, and then there's also Shawnee Mission park. Lawrence KS has some great bike trails on the river, as well as Clinton Lake trails. Further out is Smithville Lake which a lot of people go boating on.

Here's a few general KC-oriented articles I found while searching for some links above:
http://thecommonspace.org/2003/03/elsewhere.php
http://www.experiencekc.com/main.html
http://www.ingramsonline.com/august_...ingdining.html
http://askapothead.blogspot.com/2005...-do-in-kc.html

The KC Chamber of Commerce probably owes me some money for such a lengthy post. Don't say I never did 'nothin for ya.

[sunrain]

Originally Posted by dviant I wouldn't give KC as bleak a review as Sunrain, but then I live in Overland Park. I actually like KC, though there are definitely some areas I'd rather not go to or live in, as with any bigger city.

Fair enough. I live in one of the nicer parts of Hyde Park (near the Nelson-Atkins) in mid-town and we get our fair share of crime. Very nice summary of the rest though.

[dviant]

I prefer the Kansas side for living, the Missouri side for fun. Was just talking to someone about the Hyde Park area. It's one of those places that you take block to block, but it apparently getting better. My friend was saying that it's really becoming a hot area, and a good real estate investment. Good location all around. Of course the closer you get to Troost, the more crime you have right now.....

Oh and I can't believe I forgot a big KC event in my list. The annual St. Patty's day parade! They used to let you have open containers, but not sure if thats the case anymore, people were getting rowdy.

[patrickatm08]

To the guy who talked about the accident involving the firefighters, we lived about 30 miles outside of KC (in Buckner) and my mom still swears our whole house rumbled at the time of that explosion.