Does it feel like one cohesive city divided into two states? Or two very different cities in separate states?

18 comments

  1. Ev’rythin’s up to date in Kansas City

    They’ve gone about as fur as they c’n go!

    They went and built a skyscraper seven stories high,

    About as high as a buildin’ orta grow.

  3. One is very large and has been rather on the upswing in the past two decades.

    The other is only about a 5th the size, and is economically almost dead.

    They don’t feel like the same city at all. The bigger one is also much more physically attractive.

  4. The differences are pretty negligible. The Missouri side has more downtown touristy stuff going on. The Kansas side appears a bit older and has more suburbs. I’m in the mood for BBQ now.

  5. There’s not a significant difference between sides of the city. For the cultural clashes, you need to move outward and compare the Kansas and Missouri suburbs of KC. Jackson County, MO is a very different place from Johnson County, KS.

    I earnestly prefer both. Different areas of the metro are best for different things. The majority of the fun stuff is in Missouri.

  6. As someone who has family in both sides. MO’s side is more expensive while the KS side is a bit more rundown, but much better BBQ than the MO side. all in all when you’re in the KC area you won’t notice the difference on the ground unless you actively look or have a sort of civic pride for your half.

  7. One can speak only truths, while the other can only lie.

    Now! Which door will you enter?

  9. So this is really a tricky question. I live and grew up in the KC area (KS side), and it has a lot to do with history and such. For example, if you know the history of red lining, then you know KC is still REALLY impacted by the old red line laws that were enacted in the 1930s/40s. If you look at poverty lines, property values, and race, their are very distinct lines on the map of Kansas City area.

    This was not done on the state line, so this isn’t really a MO or KS thing.

    That being said, there are efforts to change this, but it is taking time.

    Edit to add: if you want to look it up Google “Troost line” and look for videos and articles about crime rates and poverty

  10. As a general rule, the numbered streets run east and west in KCMO (and Johnson County Kansas). In KCK, as a general rule, the numbered streets run north-south, except in Rosedale, but not all of Rosedale, just most of Rosedale.

    KCK has better Mexican food than KCMO.

    KCMO has better potholes than the Kansas side. In the last couple of weeks have have seen cars massively destroyed due to running into potholes on Ward Parkway (a KCMO street).

    The green signs with street names on them are different in KCMO than on the KS side.

    As for the question in the text of your post, it is a fairly cohesive city with some rivalry between the state lines and between counties and the different suburbs.

    Clarification: KCK is only one of the cities on the KS side of state line. It is located in Wyandotte County. Johnson County is also on the KS side. It is not KCK. A majority of the people that live on the KS side of the metro live in Johnson County, rather than Wyandotte County.

  11. The cities themselves are quite distinct from each other, but the MO side is much more diverse that it’s not really fair to compare the two. Once you get out of the city and into the suburbs, things can get wacky identity wise.

  15. They are literally two different cities in two different states. They border each other and share the same name. They are not that different. Kansas roads are better taken care of. Kansas City MO is larger and has more nightlife, shopping, things to do.

  16. As an outsider:

    Kansas City, MO, felt like a regular midwest city.

    Kansas City, KS, felt like a big suburb.

    I only spent a couple days there and this was in 2009, so take my observations with a grain of salt.

  17. I went over to the dark side. I moved from Overland Park, KS (Johnson County) to Kansas City, MO (Platte County. They feel exactly the same. These are suburbs of Kansas City. KCMO has 4 counties, Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte. Most of KCMO is in Jackson.

    There are some big differences between say Johnson county on the KS side and Jackson county on the MO side mostly due to socioeconomics.

    The Missouri side has most of the “fun” stuff. The Chiefs, Royals, and downtown. It is older, bigger, and still growing.

    State Line road divides the two. When driving down you notice different types of businesses on each side. This is mainly due to different taxes and other state laws. One interesting one is Hy-vee, a grocery store. The grocery side is on the KS side while the beer/wine/spirits is on the MO side in a separate building.

    Since they are so close there is lots of reciprocity between business, education, and licensing/permits.

    The BBQ is good on both sides.

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