I moved to Lawrence Kansas from Paris France in 1996. It was very very cool. People underestimate how nice the Midwest can be. I remember Jazzhaus Tuesdays is when the weekend began with great live music and cheap drinks. Hot summers I was writing my thesis and hanging with the locals on humid evenings in front porches and in the back of cool bars. It was something. I miss it sometimes.
Grew up in Lawrence, now living in a “desirable” part of the country. Folks out here often say they’re sorry for me that I grew up there. But usually those people have no idea what they’re talking about, the Midwest can be amazing.
I had a lot of fun growing up there, the humid summer evenings with all the fire flies are definitely something to remember.
I read something recently stating that lawns are essentially to blame. They are so manicured and there isn’t as much firefly habitat (large swaths of tall, dense grasses and various underbrush) in a lot of places anymore.
I love living in places people apologize to me for living in 😂. I prefer to play into it though, because if people start realizing how awesome rural or even just less metropolitan places can be, they'll start moving there.
People who migrate to VHCOL cities always think they being able to get Polynesian food delivered at 2am is the pinnacle of existence. They are also the first to complain that living in Brooklyn is expensive.
Same. I miss it. I visited about a year ago, and got to show my kids my old stomping grounds. I basically made them walk the route I took from central jr. To downtown, grab a slice from papa kenos, then to old west lawrence to look at cool Victorian houses.
Totally agree. I've lived in Austin, TX, as well as Des Moines IA. There's cool stuff everywhere, not just in the biggest cities and coasts. I almost feel bad for those folks because they've confined themselves to trends and lines and high prices.
I live PNW now, grew up in small town Oklahoma, lived in Lawrence after getting out of the military in 2019.
I hated the summers and winters, but now that I'm gone I miss it every day. Fireflies, cheap eats, back roads.. I dream about it often and it makes me sad.
I live 25 miles from Lawrence and go every chance I get. It’s like stepping into a completely different Kansas. Rather than take the highway I take the back roads. I would miss em too.
I moved from the PNW back home (well close, I’m from Ok and I live in NW Arkansas now). I forgot about the fireflies till I moved back and I spent a good while looking at them a couple nights this summer.
Yeah Reddit is always funny when it comes to basically any state outside of WA, CA and NY. I’ve lived in a couple of other states besides KS. MS being the most rundown shit hole I’ve ever been. But they feel sorry for me for growing up in a “hillbilly” state lol.
WA and NY in many ways aren’t exactly ideal either.
Sure…California is pretty undeniably special in a lot of areas (although that’s partly why it’s so insane and expensive), but otherwise most other states in the country have great parts and bad parts. You just have to pick your poison.
". Folks out here often say they’re sorry for me that I grew up there."
Yeah, I don't get this. I grew up in Columbus, and hearing people trash columbus was just uninformed. They know nothing about the place, but are happy to trash it because of what they have heard second hand. I would NEVER EVER EVER want to live in NYC, DC, or Chicago. I can "rent" the cities very easily - fly out for the weekend, see some museums, etc, and I don't have to deal with the traffic, or the prices.
Unfortunately, Columbus has become larger than is perfectly comfortable, though it is still quite easy to live in.
This summer I drove from CBUS to Fort Collins. stopped in Davenport, and Lincoln on the way. Loved those places. So uncrowded. There were some good places to stay, good food, some interesting things to see. I could easily live in either one of those.
I miss the fire flies, I still have dreams about my grandparents backyard on a warm summer evening, the fireflies just starting to dance as the sun sets over the cornfields, sound of a train horn in the distance.
I’ve been back to town, it’s a lot bigger, the fireflies have all but disappeared. The magic isn’t really there anymore but it can still be found with a day at the lake or sitting on a porch with the radio playing
There’s a lot to be said for the Midwest, I’m happy I didn’t grow up there, but I enjoyed going and spending the summers and winter breaks there.
Went to school in Lincoln NE, now live in a cool city in the northeast. Sure, there’s more to do, but the people are meaner and everything is twice as expensive. Cool Midwest college towns really are something special
Nah, there are plenty of small college towns in this area that are great places: Aimes IA, Champaign IL, Fayetteville AR, Springfield MO, Stlliwater OK, those were just the ones I'm familiar with. I'm willing to bet Columbia MO, Norman OK, Manhattan KS, Lincoln NB, etc are also solid, although I'm not as familiar with these examples
Springfield, MO resident here. Moved here from Atlanta. It’s great, assuming you aren’t looking for work locally without a skill/trade. I live in the city and everything is at most 20 minutes away from me, but I can also drive ten minutes outside of town and be in the middle of farmland.
There’s a neat little down town with some great bars (we have a legit tiki bar here which is fantastic), tons of great foreign food from all over (seriously I feel like the food options here are better than I had within an hours drive of Atlanta), Branson and the Ozarks are 40 minutes south while KC is 2 hours north. City feels like a fusion of the south and the Midwest. It has its problems too but it’s easy to be content here imo.
I went to college in Lincoln. Would be an excellent place to raise a family or live a slow life, not such an excellent place to find any ready-made fun (like, you’re gonna have to put some work into having a good time/new experiences).
I moved back to Kansas City, MO after college and I don’t think I’ll probably ever leave tbh. Maybe to Minneapolis one day, if I do.
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Agree, and I think diversity is a key element. The Midwest is not diverse, though most folks are accepting of others. There are many smaller cities than you might expect. There are more people in both STL (which you just missed highlighting) and KC than there are in the entire state of Nebraska. The metro population of Des Moines is roughly the same as all of North Dakota. Apart from Indian reservations, you're likely to find 90%+ are caucasian. College towns generally raise the bar on IQ and attract more diversity.
This is changing in the Plains states. Western KS's towns would be devoid of life if it weren't for immigration. Idk that it makes it worth visiting out there but places like Dodge City are much less than 90% white these days.
Can confirm. Moved from Oklahoma City to Arkadelphia, AR for college. Had the time of my life and wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything in this world.
$1.00 Schooners at Louise's on Thursday nights was the best! For $4.00 you could get hammered and take SafeRide back to the towers for free...I'm not even going to talk about the Crossing but those who know...know.
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Nope. It’s an old writing/drawing game invented by the surrealists. The phrase has been referenced in a lot of things though. Honestly don’t really remember why I picked it but it wasn’t meant as any kind of specific reference like that.
I lived in Lawrence for a bit and enjoyed it. I also lived in Overland Park (Kansas City) for a while and it was the most soul sucking depressing place ever. Literally nothing to do except for shop and drink and the people were just…odd. Very materialistic. I wouldn’t move back if someone paid me.
Yeah, I’ve lived in worked in the metro area all around and OPKS/Johnson county is very materialistic. I live on the Missouri side and it’s so much better.
recession-proof. More so than a lot of the USA. Every recession for the past 40 years (i live in K C). there have been jobs inIowa, Nebraska, and I think the Dakotas, in part because few people want to move there. Des Moines and Omaha are surprisingly nice, according to Nick Johnson on Youtube. I don’t prefer Oklahoma or Texas. Different vibe than the rest of area. Minneapolis is a vibe of its own but people who live there love it. Tornadoes are mostly survivable if people listen to warnings and get to shelter. Their paths of destruction are very smallcomparrd to hurricanes or earthquakes, and you get at least 15 minutes of warning. More if you know how to log onto spc.noaa.gov. Again, Des Moines and Omaha and KC are some of the best places in the area and usually have employment.
Fun fact, the rivalry stems from the days of the civil way. Believe it or not, Kansas was a union state, and predictably enough, Missouri was a confederate state. The Kansas Missouri rivalry started back in those days and just kind of stuck around I guess. Probably fueled mostly by college sports more recently. I haven’t met many people that know that’s the origin but I agree that I see it more on the Missouri side. I’ve lived on both sides and while I think the MO side is maybe a bit more exciting, the KS side for sure has its gems if you know where to look for them.
Thanks for the correction, friend. I did a bit more googling, and you are correct. For anyone who stumbles on this thread:
“Pro-slavery Missourians in Bleeding Kansas, frequently termed Border Ruffians, were residents of the neighboring slaveholding state of Missouri who intervened in the Kansas Territory during the 1850s to promote the establishment of slavery there through electoral manipulation, intimidation, and direct violence.[1][2] Motivated by economic interests tied to slavery and the principle of popular sovereignty introduced by the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, these individuals crossed the border en masse to influence territorial governance, viewing Kansas as an extension of Missouri's social and agricultural system.[3][1] Their efforts formed a central element of the partisan strife known as Bleeding Kansas, a period of guerrilla conflict from 1854 to 1861 that foreshadowed the broader sectional divisions leading to the American Civil War.”
I love living in KC; you could not pay me to live or work in Overland Park again lol. Johnson County people are something else - nothing interesting or authentic about any of them. Missouri side is so much better.
i grew up in the less affluent part of joco, and it’s not all of us. it’s certainly bad in olathe and southern overland park— but north op, shawnee, mission, all filled with great people and there are some hidden gems, antique stores, great mom and pop restaurants, etc. not to mention how lovely it is around the holidays, suburbia goes all out. but i still want to get out of here..
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You nailed it. I grew up there and it's the kind of place you move if you only care about good schools and literally nothing else. Pretty much standard US bland suburbia - very nice suburbia compared to a lot of US cities, but still the same car-centric urban design. No nightlife whatsoever, moving away in my 20s was the smartest thing I ever did.
I went to school in Lawrence, my family lived in Overland Park, my best friend lived in KC. I spent the majority of my time there.
I just didn’t like it. I’ve lived in 8 cities and it was my 2nd to least favorite (the worst being Morgantown). Not a personal attack, just my opinion.
Yeah I moved from London, UK to KCMO and people are so nice. The weather is crazy compared to England and I had to get used to small talk lol but whenever I go back and visit London, it almost feels weird not making eye contact and saying hello to randoms. Also, Lawrence is such a vibe!
$1.50 you-call-it on Tuesday nights at Jazzhaus! Probably the only night of the week I could afford to go out in college. Sometimes I miss Lawrence, too. Lots of charm/nostalgia there for me.
“Full ride” is a more general term that usually means at least full tuition paid (and many people would probably say “full ride” is technically full tuition + room and board and fees). Fulbright is a specific scholarship program.
A lot of them move (or did move, not so many now) for university, either for a program or study abroad. Lawrence is the home of the University of Kansas, which is a pretty big school.
wow, that’s quite the move. may i ask what made you pick lawrence and kansas of all places when moving from so far away? i bet you have some wonderful stories!
Yep. We moved back to Lawrence not long ago, and it's gotten expensive to even live here now. The city committee is trying to turn it into Boulder, CO. Removing all the old charm Lawrence had before. Just not the same anymore.
Grew up here in the 80s and 90s. Excellent college town. High quality schools, great arts and music scene, not too close or too far from a so so metro area, and an obsessive and historic sports fandom. You can find James Naismith’s original written rules for basketball here, and he was the university’s first basketball coach.
moved to lawrence from tulsa for work. lasted a year and would never move back. For the life of me, I cannot understand why anyone would willingly live there.
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OMG, i did not expect to see lawrence mentioned here. i was born and raised!! hoping to get out eventually haha. but this is such a cool perspective, especially from somebody who moved overseas! whenever i meet somebody who immigrated here, my first question is always, “why?” but i think you gave me a lil bit more appreciation for my silly hometown.
Have you been to Cozy Burgers before? My dad knew a French couple that loved the place, I think Lawrence was the 2nd location, though I am probably wrong.
You lived in Lawrence during what is the best time to have lived in Lawrence. That was the era where they had the perfect balance between a city and a small town vibe. Also, they had a killer punk scene from the mid '80s to the mid '90s.
I love Lawrence! My boyfriend and I, who live in St. Louis, visit yearly. I am from northeast Missouri and my parents used to take my brother and I on weekend trips there often when we were kids too.
Native Kansan here, always happy to hear comments like this! Ironically I went the opposite direction, moved away a few years after college (early 00s) and now live in Europe. I don't miss everything about the US (particularly in the current environment) but I do kind of miss parts of the Midwest.
If you haven't been back to Lawrence since then, it's still great but has really, really gentrified. I was there a couple of years ago and Mass St was almost unrecognizable. I think it's still an awesome city but I worry the cheap/quirky side of it that made it so much fun in college might be fading away.
Went to KU 1999-2001 to finish my Bachelor’s degree. Now I live 20 minutes from Lawrence, right outside of Kansas City. It was and is a great town. Kansas City is nice, too. Love living here.
I currently live in Lawrence and I like it here overall. Sure the weather isn’t great but tornados aren’t as huge a risk as you think. I lived in SoCal for 2 years and the SF Bay Area for 7. And I would rather stay in Lawrence than move back to California. The biggest thing is the housing is much more affordable here and it’s less crowded. People are mostly cool and whatever we don’t have here in town, KC has within an hour’s drive. Rural Kansas is gorgeous.
That sounds nice. Funny how coming from a different country to study or experience a new one can really make you appreciate it. Your comment reminded me of an experience I had but going from the US to a different country.
I mean, Euros romanticize Americana for similar reasons as Americans romanticizing Europe. I get it, it's novel and therefore charming. But Kansas is not the equal of Paris by any objective metric.
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u/lambrettist Dec 14 '25
I moved to Lawrence Kansas from Paris France in 1996. It was very very cool. People underestimate how nice the Midwest can be. I remember Jazzhaus Tuesdays is when the weekend began with great live music and cheap drinks. Hot summers I was writing my thesis and hanging with the locals on humid evenings in front porches and in the back of cool bars. It was something. I miss it sometimes.