Topeka:: a pro/con list

As my first post on this blog, along with the rest of the Transform Topeka group, is my individualized pro/con list. I was taught to start and end with a positive pros, ideally going back and forth… so here it goes.

I moved to Topeka to marry my sweetheart in 1996. I always lived in Kansas small towns so Topeka offers a great deal to someone who lived about an hour from the closest mall (and as much as 3 hours in another town!) So, I love that there are lots of options for shopping and quality restaurants right here. I know that that seems a bit rudimentary. But there really are a number of fantastic options. My favorite local restaurant, for example, is the Brick Oven on Wanamaker.

Something that I miss from my small town living is the sense of community. Everyone did everything… (now that has its own set of pros and cons) and it never really seemed to be an ‘us and them’ mentality. When I lived in Marion, Friday was high school sports night and the whole town was there to support the teams. In Hesston, everyone showed up for the annual Another Bloomin’ Festival in the spring or Homecoming in the fall. While in that town, I lived the closest to larger cities with shopping and restaurants than ever before, but more often than not, the local businesses were really supported by the citizens. Sharon Springs was without doubt the smallest (we’re talking less than a thousand folks) little town that I lived in. But its strength is in the commitment of the families in that area to stay there and keep the town.

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  • denise
  • June 2nd, 2008
  • 1 Comment    
  • Improvements, Vision
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The Good & the Bad of Topeka

I mooved to Topeka five years ago after graduating college. Topeka was not my first choice of places to live, but I had a good job opportunity here and my then boyfriend, now husband was working in Topeka for the family businees. It just made sense both personally & professionally that this was where i ws to start my career. I don’t know if I had intended to stay in Topeka as long as we have & potentially will, but I have been reflecting on what keeps me here.

Professionally, there are not as many choices of places to work, which can be frustrating and I am sure is a deterent for getting some young professionals here. Within my firm, being in a smaller market than say Kansas City, has given me the opportunity to advance quickly and have an important role in the business. I have also been able to meet a lot of professionals in Topeka. It is still small enough that most people are linked somehow and for only being here five years and starting at the bottom as a lowly intern, the network of people I know through my job is, at least to me, quite impressive. I don’t think I would have had the same opportunities to meet the caliber of people I have in a larger city.

Personally I have made Topeka my home. I love my house and neighborhood. Read the rest of this entry »

The best and worst of Topeka

I am the second generation of my family to be born and raised in Topeka, KS. I remember many trips to Gage Park and the Zoo. I was here when White Lakes Mall was still the place to shop, and we used to enjoy visiting Taco Casa for dinner while at White Lakes. When West Ridge Mall opened in the late 80’s, the Wanamaker corridor exploded and has kept growing ever since. This growth came at a cost though, you can see the price paid when you drive in downtown or down Topeka Blvd. I had a good childhood, filled with tons of activity: dance, bowling, baseball, basketball, and swimming. When I was a teenager, my friends and I always found things to do, and we were able to stay out of trouble. We bowled, played pool, hung out in the Sonic parking lot, played at the sports center, hung out at Lake Shawnee. I graduated high school, tried Washburn University, but ended up in the work force. I made decent money, but wanted more for my life. When I was 21, I moved away to Kansas City. My reasons for leaving were many, but mostly the number of opportunities that the bigger city provided to me. My husband and I lived in KC for 7 years, but returned to Topeka in November 2007. Read the rest of this entry »

Changing My Message About Topeka

Recently I started to think about how I present Topeka to other people both in the community & outside of the community & realized most of the things I said about Topeka were negative. I was also feeding off of the negative comments other people said about Topeka. I asked myself "What is so bad about Topeka?" and "Why do people perceive Topeka to be so bad?" Topeka does need a lot of improvement, but by just sitting back & saying negative things about the city & adding to other peoples negative perception of the city really help anything? It actually makes the situation worse.

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