Price Range $7000 to $5,300,000
It's the City of Fountains, the City of Surprises, the City of Boulevards, "Paris on the Plains," the Heart of America. It is a city with its feet in frontier mud and its eyes on the future. It's a city with a wall of bulls, a lawn of shuttlecocks and a blossoming biomedical research center. It is a place of people who build and restore, dream and dare, hope, help and cheer.
Some have defined this city in the language of rhythms; the pulse of a city on the move, the beat of a town renowed for its role in the evolution of jazz. Others describe it through other senses: the savory scent of barbecue, the sweet smell of dogwood, the contrasting color of changing seasons, the tastes of stadium hot dogs and steakhouse beef, the breath-stealing moment 250,000 holiday lights come on all over the Country Club Plaza every Thanksgiving night.
Garrison Keillor, host of the "Prairie Home Companion" radio show has called it "one of the most graceful cities in America."
Many brought here by necessity or choice have named it among America's best kept secrets.
The top ten things you should know about KC:
1. Big in Miles - Sprawled over two states, 11 counties, 4000 square miles with over 1.8 million people
2. Once called Possum Trot in the mid-19th century. The Town Company, which purchased the original 271 acres in 1838, finally settled on the "Town of Kansas" named after the Kansa Indians who long inhabited the area
3. We are pretty! The Missouri and Kansas rivers meet just north of downtown KC and their tributaries have carved valleys and bluffs over the landscape. There are as many boulevards as Paris and with more than 160 fountains, second only to Rome
4. Trade and transportation has always been important. Francois Chouteau, a French trader, established a trading post. John McCoy set up a store on the Santa Fe trail. KC is second to Chicago as a rail center. KCI is known as the best user-friendly airport in the world
5 Cowtown and Art Center. The stockyards made KC the world's major cattle market in the late 19th century. Still celebrated by the American Royal livestock show. As well, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art just expanded in the world class designed and acclaimed addition. The new Performing Art Center will change the skyline forever. Arts thrive thoughout the entire metro
6.Diversity lives! Many ethic group's roots go deep. The Hispanic community traces back to the Santa Fe Trail. The meat-packing days of the 1800's brought Croatians, Serbs, Russians, Slovakians and Greeks. Over 2000 congregations represent over 20 faiths. Latest census had 51.5% female, 48.5% male, 42% have at least 2 cars
7. Good workers. We miss fewer days of work and drive shorter commutes. Workers contribute 50% more value per hour than the national average
8. Good work environment. The metro unemployment rate and the cost-of-living rank below national averages. With a diverse ecomonic base, major companies include Hallmark Cards, Yellow Corp, Farmland Industries, Sprint, American Century, H & R Block, Russell Stover. We rank in the top for supporting small business and Fortune ranks KC in the top 20 for international business
9. Big Fans. We paint the town blue for the Royals and red for the Chiefs. Loyal, loud and tailgaiting are normal. Stadiums are being refurbished, new ones built and excitement rules from the NASCAR track to the soccer fields for kids
10. Weather. Wait an hour and it will change. We average 38.1 inches of precipitation, 51 days of thunderstorms, 39 days above 90 degrees and 22 below 10 degrees and the average is 69.5 degrees.
