Kansas City, KS

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ac_claire

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Hi, you may remember I posted about Lawrence, Kansas a couple months ago. Thanks for all the responses…Now I wanted to ask about Kansas City, KS.

We’ve been thinking about moving there instead. Can anyone tell me anything about Kansas City? I guess specifically I’m wondering about the general quality of life, the Catholic parishes/community, jobs, public transportation, etc. Also, how is Kansas City as a destination opposed to say, Lawrence? (The whole college town thing worries me about Lawrence since we won’t have any connection to the school.)

Just anything, really, as I have no idea and have never been there. I appreciate any advice or comments. 🙂
 
ac_claire said:
Hi, you may remember I posted about Lawrence, Kansas a couple months ago. Thanks for all the responses…Now I wanted to ask about Kansas City, KS.

We’ve been thinking about moving there instead. Can anyone tell me anything about Kansas City? I guess specifically I’m wondering about the general quality of life, the Catholic parishes/community, jobs, public transportation, etc.
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I’m a life-long resident of KC, although I’m strictly from the Missouri side. In terms of the overall quality of life, it is a great place to raise a family. The Overland Park/Lenexa/Olathe areas on the Kansas side have award-winning schools, lots of parks, etc. On my side of the state line there are also good schools, but you have to be a bit choosy. Here in Blue Springs (east side of the city) they are excellent as is Liberty (north-east of the city). To be blunt, there is really NO public transportation to speak of. You want to go somewhere? Gotta drive. Job market is down right now - our major employers (Sprint being one) have all had layoffs. There are jobs, but if you’re looking you’ll have to tap some job clubs and do some networking right now.
ac_claire said:
Also, how is Kansas City as a destination opposed to say, Lawrence? (The whole college town thing worries me about Lawrence since we won’t have any connection to the school.)
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Lawrence is San Fransisco East. I think it has a reputation as one of the most liberal areas in the country. Kansas City, as a whole, is more conservative - all the suburbs usually go ‘red’ in general elections. In terms of Catholic life, the KCK Archdiocese is on par with other conservative Catholic dioceses you may think of (Lincoln, NE, Wichita, KS, etc.). The Kansas City/St. Joseph diocese (Missouri side) has had a liberal tradition but our new bishop has really been turning things around. I will say that the demographic is majority Protestant, but the Catholic community does seem to be active and vibrant. As a destination, there is a lot to do - shopping area called the Plaza, our downtown is going through a major revitalization, professional sports (Royals and Chiefs), racing (Kansas Speedway), good music, arts and, most important, BARBEQUE!!
ac_claire said:
Just anything, really, as I have no idea and have never been there. I appreciate any advice or comments. 🙂
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KC is really two communities rolled into one. There’s the Kansas side and the Missouri side - complete with a Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri. There are lots of good places to live on both sides of the state line and I think the whole metro has a lot going for it. It says a lot that many professional sports players who end up here but get traded away come back here after their careers are over to raise their families. My only complaints are the sprawl (see my public transportation comment earlier), crime in the inner city (especially meth production/distribution) and my wish for a stronger Catholic presence here.

Hope that helps.
 
I agree with a lot of what Eric said. I consider Kansas City my home now, though I’ve only been a resident since 1997. My husband is a 'Dotte (grew up in KCK in Wyandotte County) and an alum of Catholic schools there.

Much like lots of dioceses, you have your more liberal and more conservative parishes. DH and I were actually married at the Cathedral parish in KCK, which is the parish where he grew up. Archbishop Naumann is a strong prescence and is not afraid to speak up and out about issues.

On the Missouri side, Eric is right about the traditionally liberal leaning, however Bishop Finn and Archbishop Naumann work together a lot in diseminating pastoral guidance in the Metro area. Catholic schools are a big part of Bishop Finn’s agenda, too. I have heard that he has moved on having teachers in Catholic schools sign statements to the effect they will be in union with Church teaching on things. I have heard rumors that he plans to institute the same sort of signatory statements for parents of children in Catholic schools, too (kind of like what the diocese in Wichita has in place for parents).

Public transportation IS definitely NOT one of the finer points of living in this area. I hope some day they get something, but Eric’s right…you wanna go somewhere, you gotta drive.

Good luck!
 
3GirlsRUs said:
My husband is a 'Dotte (grew up in KCK in Wyandotte County) and an alum of Catholic schools there.
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A Dotte? Haven’t heard that for awhile. He probably had povitica for the holidays. But Strawberry Hill moved from KCK to Lenexa–the povitica store, not the actual hill!

As to the OP, if you want to move east of Lawrence, you might want to look at Olathe or Lenexa, only about a 30 minute drive from Lawrence.
 
JimG said:
A Dotte? Haven’t heard that for awhile. He probably had povitica for the holidays. But Strawberry Hill moved from KCK to Lenexa–the povitica store, not the actual hill!

As to the OP, if you want to move east of Lawrence, you might want to look at Olathe or Lenexa, only about a 30 minute drive from Lawrence.
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Yup, povitica is common at his house at Christmas! Our kids love it!!!
 
I’ve never lived in KCK. As far as the Missori side goes, about the only association I had there was the VA hospital. I lived in Olathe for awhile. I must warn you, Johnson county (where Olathe is) is a high income type area. It was hard to deal with on a small income. No buses, possible long drives to work, all that sort of stuff. At least, it was for me. Now, I live in Topeka, which I do NOT recommend. Not unless you can tolerate being from the same town as Fred Phelps. He’s definately a wart around here.
 
Christy_Beth said:
I’ve never lived in KCK. As far as the Missori side goes, about the only association I had there was the VA hospital. I lived in Olathe for awhile. I must warn you, Johnson county (where Olathe is) is a high income type area. It was hard to deal with on a small income. No buses, possible long drives to work, all that sort of stuff. At least, it was for me. Now, I live in Topeka, which I do NOT recommend. Not unless you can tolerate being from the same town as Fred Phelps. He’s definately a wart around here.
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Not only that, Topeka seems to have a weird quadrant style division of the city like Washington DC. But, if know all the downtown streets, you will know the presidents, and in the correct order, if I recall correctly, which I don’t.
 
Thank you all for the replys!

As far as public transportation this is worrying because I know for a fact we won’t have a car when we move. It’ll probably be months before we get one. I found via google that Kansas City on the Missouri side has a bus system but can’t find anything for the Kansas side. Hmm.
 
Thanks especially for the parish info. I’m saving it all. Now does anyone know anything about the availability of a TLM in Kansas City? (Might be best to ask the L&S group about this, but I already have this thread going, so…lol)
 
From all your threads on this topic, I’ve noticed that being able to live car-free has been a high priority for you.

If you’ve lived in Austin (and other cities with transit) for your entire life, you will be amazed at how impractical it is to live without a car in most midwestern cities. Perhaps you should be looking at cities like New York, or if you want to be in the midwest, cities like Chicago or Cleveland.

If you really want/need to move to Kansas, I suggest getting a car as soon as possible.
ac_claire said:
Thank you all for the replys!

As far as public transportation this is worrying because I know for a fact we won’t have a car when we move. It’ll probably be months before we get one. I found via google that Kansas City on the Missouri side has a bus system but can’t find anything for the Kansas side. Hmm.
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I can’t remember the name of the parish that has TLM all the time. There is a parish in mid-town that has a very traditional liturgy and does the Gloria, Kyrie and Sanctus all in latin…Our Lady of Good Counsel. It’s a wonderful parish and most of the families that attend are homeschooling families.
 
ack said:
From all your threads on this topic, I’ve noticed that being able to live car-free has been a high priority for you.

If you’ve lived in Austin (and other cities with transit) for your entire life, you will be amazed at how impractical it is to live without a car in most midwestern cities. Perhaps you should be looking at cities like New York, or if you want to be in the midwest, cities like Chicago or Cleveland.

If you really want/need to move to Kansas, I suggest getting a car as soon as possible.
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We don’t have a choice, to pick another city. It has to be Kansas. Long story lol. Anyhow, we will be getting a car, but it won’t be for several months. We can’t afford to get one sooner.

Despite some of the posts here…I’ve found online that both state sides of Kansas City and Lawrence do have bus systems. So, that’s something. But if anyone has a used car or truck they might be selling this fall, drop me a PM. 😉
 
While they DO have bus systems, they just don’t go everywhere you need to go and I have found it to be a pain in the arse to use the public transit system here. But maybe it’s because I haven’t ever used it and I should just “get over it” and work around it. But I tried using the public transit system for several months a few years ago and just found it extremely cumbersome! That was at the heart of my post regarding public transit…not that the city didn’t have one at all.

Yes, there is a bus system…but no, it’s not like other city’s bus systems from what I’ve heard. There is MAJOR SPRAWL in kansas city! I think that is at the root of the problem (among some other things perhaps).
 
I’ll echo the comments on midwestern bus systems and Kansas City’s in particular. Just because you hear that Kansas City has a bus system doesn’t mean it’s adequate. Bradenton, Florida has a bus system, too, but don’t depend on it to get to and from work. Kansas City’s service isn’t horrible, but some suburban areas are. Such bus schedules look like this (and you fellow midwesterners and Floridians can back me up on this):

Monday - Friday:
inbound routes - 6:45 a.m… 8:15 a.m., 8:36 a.m., 10:15 a.m.
oubound routes - 3:35 p.m. 4:10 p.m., 4:50 p.m. 5:45 p.m.

Saturday:
circuit routes: 9:45 a.m. 10:30 a.m., 1:16 p.m., 3:45 p.m. 5:35 p.m.

Sunday and holidays:
no service

If you live on a route and work downtown at a bank you’ll probably be OK, but otherwise you’ll find yourself getting rides with co-workers, walking a lot, and taking the day off rather than leaving work for midday doctors’ appointments.
 
Thanks for the bus schedule info…Yeah, you’re right those do look a bit flaky. As someone who’s lived without a car for the past 3 years, I can say even with a schedule like that, it’s still doable. But yeah, we’re definitely planning on getting a car (preferably a truck) ASAP. Just for a few months it’ll be rough though, unless we’re living right there in the city. I wish I had more info about exactly where we’ll be but I won’t know that until right before we move.
 
Topeak also has a bus system. Eveninngs, Sundays and holidays aren’t included. So, if you have to go somewhere on, say, Thanksgiving, you’ll either need to walk, or have another source of transportation.

Why not Wichita? I believe they also have a good bus system, and it’s the biggest city in Kansas. Or, at least that’s what I came across a time or two.
 
I am posting here as a last resort, desperate for some advice/help!! We were sold a used van in Missouri from a dishonest dealer. He lied about EVERYTHING on the van. We bought it 3 days ago, and the day after we bought it, the heat went out and then it stalled on me with my 4 kids (ages 4,3,2,1) in the van, leaving me stranded at a busy intersection. Luckily, I was able to get it re-started long enough to get home. Myself, my husband, and even the previous owners of this van have approached the seller, a mechanic in KCMO, begging him to take back the van and give us back our money $1500 (cash), since he KNEW he was selling us an unsafe van for my family. He refused and even told me I was “too stupid to buy it without checking it out first.” We are a strong traditional Catholic family in Merriam, KS, and I guess our honesty made us naive and ultimately a victim to this heartless seller. We are without a safe/functioning van, and lost our money! We have NO money to fix the van or buy a new one. ANY IDEAS? HELP? KEEP US IN YOUR PRAYERS!! GOD BLESS!!
 
I’m so sorry that that happened to you and your family! Wish I could offer some more concrete help or references or something, but I haven’t moved to Kansas yet. 😦
 
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