Taylor Swift celebrates a landing throughout the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers recreation at Arrowhead Stadium on Oct. 22 in Kansas Metropolis, Mo.

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Taylor Swift celebrates a landing throughout the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers recreation at Arrowhead Stadium on Oct. 22 in Kansas Metropolis, Mo.

David Eulitt/Getty Pictures

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Taylor Swift — worldwide celebrity, the most-streamed artist of 2023, and onetime New York Metropolis tourism ambassador — is outwardly now a Kansas Metropolis resident.

No less than quickly. Throughout a scheduled break in her Eras Tour, Swift reportedly moved into the mansion of her boyfriend, Kansas Metropolis Chiefs tight finish Travis Kelce.

And we all know what you have to be pondering: Of course she’s residing in Kansas Metropolis now. That place is the best metropolis on Earth, she’s going to like it there.

However I do know there’s many individuals on the market, not simply Swifties, who hadn’t thought a lot about KC earlier than Traylor entered the image — or suppose that Kansas Metropolis is a metropolis in Kansas (you are solely half proper!).

Even when you do not know burnt ends from a brief finish, this is a (temporary!) introduction for Taylor Swift and the remainder of the world to understanding Kansas Metropolis and what makes it so enchanting.

What do we have to find out about Kansas Metropolis?

Whether or not or not this relationship narrative seems to be a PR stunt, or this whirlwind romance finally ends up extra “Unhappy Lovely Tragic” than “Paper Rings,” it is definitely put Kansas Metropolis “on the heart of the universe” greater than even our most up-to-date Tremendous Bowl win may.

Here is one factor to know proper off the bat. We are literally three completely different Kansas Cities unfold throughout two states. You would possibly find out about Kansas Metropolis in Missouri (KCMO) and Kansas Metropolis in Kansas (KCK).

The Missouri one is the thirty seventh most populous metropolis within the U.S., with about 510,000 residents based on the U.S. Census Bureau.

KCMO is the place the Chiefs at present play, subsequent door to their currently-much-less-successful Main League Baseball equal, the Royals. And as soon as it is accomplished subsequent yr, KCMO may even have the world’s first stadium constructed particularly for girls’s soccer.

That is nice timing as a result of in 2026, much more of the world will get to expertise Kansas Metropolis when it hosts matches for the FIFA World Cup. KC is the smallest U.S. host metropolis to participate within the worldwide occasion, and it is scrambling to prepare — our new airport simply opened earlier this yr, and the KC Streetcar is in the midst of an extended enlargement undertaking.

(In contrast to Taylor Swift’s earlier residences in NYC and London, Kansas Metropolis has no subway system, and our lack of expansive public transit stays an issue as extra massive occasions come to city. So she’ll should maintain counting on Kelce’s getaway automotive to get round.)

Oh, and we will not neglect to say that Kansas Metropolis can be the “Metropolis of Fountains,” with greater than 200 dotting the metro — a bigger quantity than anyplace else on the planet aside from Rome.

Simply throughout the Kansas River is Kansas Metropolis in Kansas, which consolidated with Wyandotte County in 1997 to develop into the Unified Authorities. It is solely the third largest metropolis in Kansas, with about 150,000 residents. Almost a 3rd of KCK residents are Hispanic, and the town has an actual declare to being the “true taco capital of the USA.”

Hen, carne asada, and beef tacos with a facet of rice from the kitchen of Las Palmas Restaurante in Kansas Metropolis, Kansas.

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Carlos Moreno/KCUR 89.3

Hen, carne asada, and beef tacos with a facet of rice from the kitchen of Las Palmas Restaurante in Kansas Metropolis, Kansas.

Carlos Moreno/KCUR 89.3

So as to add some confusion, there’s additionally North Kansas Metropolis in Missouri (NKC) which is — you guessed it — north of KCMO, and far smaller than the opposite two. However that is the place you may discover Swift Road, which was quickly renamed in June to “Swift Road (Taylor’s Model)” and geared up with a “Cornelia Road” register honor of the singer’s Eras Tour stops.

The Kansas Metropolis metro stretches throughout the ancestral lands of the Osage, Kaw/Kansa, and Otoe-Missouria individuals. Simply driving across the space, you may discover areas that replicate the traditions and influences of the Shawnee, Wyandot and different Native American nations, who had been forcefully relocated away from the area by white settlers.

(Now is an efficient time to remind people who, though the Chiefs are the reigning Tremendous Bowl champions and arguably now one of many world’s most well-known sports activities franchise, they’re nonetheless broadly criticized for his or her identify and appropriation of Native American imagery and traditions. Many individuals surprise if the Swift Impact may assist change that.)

Whereas crossing the border between the 2 states is usually as simple as crossing the road, the divisions between Missouri and Kansas run deep. As you would possibly keep in mind from the “Bleeding Kansas” portion of your U.S. historical past class, Missouri joined the Union in 1820 as a slave state — one of many few locations within the Louisiana Buy territory the place the apply was authorized — however abolitionists fought to take care of Kansas as a free state.

You’ll find remnants of these Civil Battle-era tensions throughout a lot of Kansas Metropolis’s geography and politics: for instance, Kansas Metropolis in Missouri is the one main metropolis within the nation that doesn’t management its personal police division, regardless of a long time of protests and lawsuits from residents.

And that is not even stepping into the opposite methods by which Missouri and Kansas — each of that are run by deeply Republican legislatures, though the Kansas governor is a Democrat — are politically at odds with these deep-blue cities and purple suburbs.

So the place technically is Taylor Swift residing proper now? That may be the suburb of Leawood, Kansas, the place Travis Kelce just lately bought a mansion for about $6 million.

Kansas Metropolis Chiefs gamers throughout the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs Tremendous Bowl LVII victory parade earlier this yr.

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Kansas Metropolis Chiefs gamers throughout the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs Tremendous Bowl LVII victory parade earlier this yr.

Jay Biggerstaff/Getty Pictures

That places Traylor squarely in Johnson County, the place greater than half of the metro’s residents stay (about 620,000). And so they’re in good firm: Whereas Kansas Metropolis’s city core has been shrinking in inhabitants, these Kansas-side suburbs are rising rapidly.

So what’s there really to do in Kansas Metropolis?

There are definitely rather a lot worse locations to spend the winter! Kansas Metropolis has a fairly delicate and dry chilly season, particularly in comparison with different Midwest cities, however it has an entire lot of vacation cheer.

And that is not even taking into account how wired the town will get when the Chiefs are on a Tremendous Bowl-contending run, which could occur once more this yr. (The group has held 5 straight AFC Championship video games at residence, an NFL document, they usually’re doing fairly effectively once more this yr too — a minimum of when Taylor is in attendance.)

However sufficient about soccer. Let’s discuss barbecue.

As a brand new Kansas Citian, you may have to develop a style for smoked meats if you do not have one already, or a minimum of faux your manner via it. Do not take heed to Texas, or anyplace else for that matter: That is the residence of burnt ends, and the very best BBQ within the nation.

Kansas Metropolis, Missouri.

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Carlos Moreno/KCUR 89.3

Two of the juggernauts on the town are Arthur Bryant’s and Gates, and Ted Lasso (aka Kansas Metropolis native Jason Sudeikis) and SNL solid member Heidi Gardner (maybe you met throughout your current shock look?) each suggest Joe’s Kansas Metropolis (which is over on the Kansas facet of the state line).

Whereas they’re all classics, many people at KCUR would level you to LC’s Bar-B-Q over close to the stadiums (run by one of many metropolis’s few feminine pitmasters) or Slap’s in KCK — those that know, know.

For a major on KC barbecue, you may wish to take heed to this James Beard-nominated podcast episode from A Individuals’s Historical past of Kansas Metropolis.

One other nice Kansas Metropolis establishment is City Matter, a 24-hour burger stand with an onion-covered patty that was named one in all America’s important hamburgers. You already know it is nice as a result of that is the place Cardi B went for a chunk after the Renaissance Tour in October.

If that wasn’t sufficient of a advice, the Palestinian deli Baba’s Pantry — positioned on Troost Avenue — was named one of many greatest new eating places within the U.S. by Bon Appétit Journal.

How a couple of drink after dinner? The nationwide publication Punch simply named Wild Youngster — a low- and no-alcohol bar within the Johnson County suburb of Shawnee — as one of many 5 greatest new bars within the nation. Subsequent door is its sister bar, the James Beard Award finalist Drastic Measures.

Regardless of makes an attempt by Missouri lawmakers to limit drag exhibits, Kansas Metropolis has an extended and celebrated historical past with the artwork kind, and throughout the week you can discover drag performances or different occasions on the metropolis’s LGBTQ+ bars like Missie B’s and Hamburger Mary’s.

Kansas Metropolis is likely one of the nice jazz cities in America. Charlie Parker and Julia Lee are from right here, Rely Basie made his profession right here, and the American Jazz Museum and the realm’s many jazz golf equipment keep it up that legacy at present. You possibly can hear stay jazz each single night time of the yr at The Inexperienced Girl Lounge, which can actually make you are feeling such as you’ve transported again to the flapper days.

For the literary-inclined, Afterword Tavern & Cabinets is a mix bookstore-bar in Kansas Metropolis’s Crossroads neighborhood the place you’ll be able to choose up a brand new novel whereas sipping on a cocktail. Talking of bookstores, not too distant is the Kansas school city of Lawrence, the place you may discover The Raven, which was named the nation’s greatest bookstore simply final yr.

After all, Taylor Swift is greater than acquainted with the College of Kansas — she dropped right into a journalism class in 2009 that her greatest good friend was attending on the time. Possibly she’ll cease by once more for the ultimate exams of “The Sociology of Taylor Swift,” an honest-to-goodness class taught at KU this fall by Prof. Brian Donovan.

Two nice locations to flee the winter doldrums are the neighboring Nelson-Atkins Museum of Artwork and the Kemper Museum of Modern Artwork, that are each free to attend. Within the historic 18th and Vine district, do not miss out on the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum or the American Jazz Museum,

On the fringe of downtown is the Nationwide WWI Museum, which additionally boasts an unimaginable view of the skyline. For one more romantic view, Kansas Metropolis additionally has a brand-new downtown Ferris wheel that’s set to open quickly and run even via the winter.

On the southeast finish of the town, the Kansas Metropolis Zoo simply opened a large new aquarium that includes Tortellini, a inexperienced sea turtle who suffers from some “buoyance issues” however is an absolute champ about it.

Contemplating that the Eras Tour is selecting up once more in February, with Taylor Swift headed to Japan and Australia, we will not probably count on her to test off each merchandise on this to-do listing — which solely scratches the floor of KCUR’s suggestions.

However two months is definitely greater than sufficient time to begin exploring what Kansas Metropolis has to supply, even past “the man on the Chiefs.” Plus, you by no means know: This metropolis has a manner of convincing guests to stay round some time.

Welcome to Kansas Metropolis, Taylor. It has been ready for you.

P.S. Taylor, for those who actually wish to get to know Kansas Metropolis, you may completely love KCUR’s Journey e-newsletter. We carry you new methods to discover KC each single week.