What's so great about Wichita?

Wichita has something of an image problem—and the problem is, in my opinion, it really has no 'image' nationally to speak of. I travel a fair amount and when people ask me, "Where you from?" and I tell them, I usually get a blank stare followed by an awkward pause in response that lets me know 1) the person before me has likely never been to Wichita, or to Kansas for that matter, and 2) they don't know what to think because their only frame of reference for Kansas is the opening scenes of "The Wizard of Oz."

Now I will be the first to admit when I moved here 15 years ago, I thought I would be LONG gone by this time. (I was planning on 5 years, tops). But in my opinion, Wichita has a lot to offer.

For example, I'm presently enjoying coffee at a local bookstore/cafe (Watermark Books) about 3 blocks from my house. It's a small, independent store and I love the fact that 1) they have free wi-fi 2) I live so close. A couple doors down is "Jeanne's Cafe," a small diner that serves great breakfasts on the cheap. Across the street is a great little wood oven pizza place, "Il Vicino." And my daughter attends a public school with a long and proud history two blocks north of here.

These kinds of neighborhoods are fast disappearing across the US, but I love that Wichita still has them.