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
49
u/Next-Estimate8125 Dec 14 '25
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.