Grand Rapids
One of the additional positives of our move to the beach is having Grand Rapids nearby. The Grand Rapids metropolitan area population is just over 1 million. Adding in the beach communities from Muskegon to Holland brings the total over 1.3 million. By comparison, the Kansas City metro area population is 2.2 million.
No Royals, no Chiefs, but a growing metro area with tons of things to do. The benefits of a small town beach community combined with a decent sized city.