Considering Lawrence

95,256

Population

Sunny Days: 211

95100 Affordability

90100 Schools

60100 Diversity

85100 Safety

See all the facts!

LookyLOO Review of Lawrence

Lawrence is an artsy, well-educated, moderately left-leaning city/town with a pretty strong (for Kansas) international flavor almost all due to the University of Kansas. If any of those things aren’t your bag, then steer clear of Lawrence. It truly is an arts-centric city with a thriving community of writers, a good cultural events scene, and more bands than you can shake a drumstick at. The student population, energy of an internationally renowned education institution, and pretty vibrant downtown (check out Mass St.) make this a diamond in the rough of Kansas.

While the University hires a lot of folks, the overall job scene is not strong relative to other college cities that incubate and grow businesses that hire graduates and transplants. Better paying jobs tend to require commutes to Kansas City (about 40 miles), and while remote work is growing as a driver of the population, you’d hate to move here for that remote job and then get trapped without a local business scene.

Lifestyle

Lawrence is an interesting mix of extreme quiet, particularly during the summer months when students are gone and the rest of the year when the basketball games and Mass St. bars and restaurants are JUMPING! If you want it quiet and family-focused, you’ll get it here. If you want it busy, Lawrence has some energy due to all the commercial development on Mass St. and the University buzz that is supported by plenty of pubs and play.

Check out the Lawrence calendar of events if you want to see what locals get up to.

We highly recommend visiting Lawrence and staying in the community in a VRBO rather than a hotel to get a feel for living among the locals. You can also receive discounted travel fares via our partnership with Expedia.

Why You Should Move Here Now?

College Spirit

If you’re craving a less expensive, but kind of active college town in the middle of the midwest with a blue-ish political vibe Lawrence fits the bill. It could do more to pump up the local business community but the school protects the housing prices and social scene so fear not if that's what you crave.

Reviews of Lawrence from Locals

huskersax
2y ago
🦉🦉🦉

Pros

Topeka/Lawrence/Johnson County is kind of like one big community for folks in Lawrence. It takes roughly as long to go from Fallbrook to 84th and Hwy 2 as it does to go from east Lawrence to Olathe. KC has much better entertainment options than the Lincoln/Omaha area.

Food is good, Lawrence still has a Runza if you're missing Nebraska. A little bit scandalous, but imo the non-top end take-out BBQ is about equivalent since the Lincoln folks are all from KC or run in the same circles. There's nothing quite like the experience of Gates, though. It's like a waffle house for burnt ends.

Being close to KC allows for all kinds of niche interests to support themselves where they wouldn't otherwise sustain themselves in a town as big as Lawrence (it's about the size of Tri-Cities). The hobby groups and social clubs are closer in participation and prevalence to Lincoln than they have any right to be.

Weather is ~3-5 degrees warmer most of the year and the frost/winter definitely feels shorter. Incredibly active backyard gardening community, especially in east Lawrence.

For more reviews of what living in Lawrence is like from locals, check out The Reviews.