I have lived in Western Kansas and Eastern Kansas. In my personal opinion-I would move back to western Kansas in a heartbeat if there were any jobs. Now, before I continue I want to say that there are exceptions everywhere and I know I am generalizing.
The people out in Western Kansas treat each other as neighbors, they are among the nicest people and are the hardest working people I know(you try to farm 365 days for 12 hours every day or deliver a calf at 3:00 in the morning then go to school). You have to be nice to each other when it is a 30 minute trip to the grocery store and all you need is a couple of eggs. Or your car brakes down and you are on a dirt country road where the next house is 2 miles away. Growing up on a farm in a very small town-I knew that if I ever needed help, I could go to any of the houses in town and they would take care of me (most of them were relatives anyway). There wasn't that much to do so we would get "creative" (CB tag, racing down the highway, mudding, and of course keg parties in pastures).
Kids in Eastern Kansas have shopping malls, fast-food joints, concerts, ect to keep them entertained. Out in Eastern Kansas, people are more open to new people in the neighborhood and are still helpful and really nice, but there is a difference in style. Here, people complain if they have to drive over 30 miles to go somewhere or if it takes over 40 minutes to do something. There, that is a way of life. Here, sports is something some people do but not the majority. There, sports is not just a game-its the only entertainment for the town that week so everyone goes. The community supports the town and the school because they are usually the same. Almost the whole school body will go out for at least one sport because there is nothing else really to do. (I really liked what Salyer had to say-so true) There is a completely different mentality in when it comes to sports. If the school team wins State in a sport-the whole town feels like winners. They want to keep that feeling and so will work hard to maintain it because that is the only thing they may have. We can loose a lot of jobs, be in a drought and see a shrinking town population but if the high school wins state wrestling-we still feel like winners.

It is still Kansas but spend a couple of years in Western Kansas and then come back to Eastern Kansas and you will know what I mean. Personally, my heart will always be back west.

P.S. TMP is a private school that is also a boarding school. There are many students who attend TMP that are not from Western Kansas. My sister taught there and it is just like any other school: there are the nice and respectful students and then there are the rude and spoiled ones.