Moving to KS(I hope!) (Wichita, Overland Park: crime, homes, find a job)

[sschweitzer01]

My husband and I are looking to move our family "westerly". I am thinking Kansas. One problem is I really know limited info on Kansas as a whole. Where is a good place to live(un-urban)? What is the weather like through-out the seasons? What is Kansas like economically and politically? How are Kansas school? What about Violence and jobs? PLEASE HELP!!!

[chele123]

Well - what do you do for a living? City life or country life? Be prepared for the tax shock though, as taxes are probably higher than you are used too! But, houseing costs and overall cost of living is probably much less, so it all evens out in the long run.
Where is a good place to live(un-urban)?
How un-urban do you want to go?
What is the weather like through-out the seasons?
Depends on where you move! The eastern half seems to have totally different landscape and climate than the western half. Here in western KS it is generally windy. Sometimes it's windy and hot, sometimes it's windy and cold! We do have 4 seasons, although spring and fall are sometimes kind of rushed through.

What is Kansas like economically and politically?
I think you can check City-data stats for that, I'm not really sure? I think overall wages are lower, but quality of life is higher. I think the state runs the gamet politically, although politics doesn't seem to be a big part of daily conversation, at least not here in SW KS.

How are Kansas school? In my little town they are top notch I am told. I don't know about the rest of the state.

What about Violence and jobs? I think that really depends on where you live. There is no violence and plenty of jobs in my town. If you are a teacher or a nurse you can find a job just about anywhere.

[KevK]

Kansas is a place where people move FROM and not TO. In some towns they will give you free land just to move there! But if you really want to live in Kansas AND earn a living at something besides farming or toiling in an airplane factory, my suggestions would be:
1. Olathe
2. Lawrence
3. Kansas City KS
4. Salina

[Bulldog Dan]

In addition to what Chele said, you can choose to live near many people or near almost no one and be within 30 minutes to anything you need in many parts of the state.

Politically, the state is republican, but there isn't really much difference between republicans and democrats. I can tell you that the culture in Kansas seems to be that you are more free to do what you choose. I am not sure how to say it. I compare that to Missouri where the state government seems to be more in control of the choices of the state residents. That just one man's opinion.

Economically, agriculture is very important. Cattle and oil are important. And around Wichita, aircraft manufacturing is still the big dog in town. Fort Riley is big around Manhattan and Junction City. Junction City is growing fast since there are more soldiers moving to the area. There are not an over-abundance of jobs in small-town kansas. Wichita is fairly resilient, but needs to diversfy is aircraft-focus. Topeka is the state capital and regional commerce center. So there are jobs supporting that.

As for schools, many are top-rated. There are many that aren't that great but you should have no trouble finding good ones. That was a lot of the reason we moved to the town we live in. We are near Wichita. It is still rural, but I am not sure how long it will remain. The secret is getting out and more are moving in.

Overall the quality of life for families is about as good as you can get. And the cost of living is excellent. Taxes are cheaper than some and more expensive than others.

As for weather, you do like wind, right? It gets really hot sometimes. Overall, the humidity isn't bad compared to most places. It doesn't tend to get too cold in the winter. If it does, it tends to be short-lived.

Of the places we have lived, it is probably the best of all. Good luck.

I'm sorry but I MUST intrude. This is directed toward you KevK. All cities you mentioned I agreed with except for One. Why would you choose Salina OVER Wichita or Topeka? Pardon my ignorance if I am missing something here and I don't mean to say that in sarcasm. I really apologize if I'm not seeing what you're seeing but isn't Topeka and Wichita (especially Wichita) more metropolitan and urban than Salina ever will be??? Please reply to my post. I want to understand your choice.

[KsHmLok8r]

Greater Kansas City (specifically Johnson County) is a great place, although I will not deny that at some point in my life I thought I had to get out of here. It must have been during my college days when you question EVERYTHING- I have found, after visiting many other cities, that KS has everything I would want in a 'great place to live'. The people are great, the schools are great, the weather has TRUE seasons, the traffic is not really traffic compared to most big cities, the air is clean, there is plenty to do and most definitely plenty of great places to eat! Johnson County encompasses quite a few great cities, including Olathe, Overland Park, Gardner, Mission, Lenexa. In fact Johnson County was recognized by Money Magazine, I believe last year, as an undiscovered Great Place to Live and Raise a Family.
I don't know your family, although I can tell you that anyone I have helped move here from another city has fell in love with Kansas City. My job as a Realtor has given me the opportunity to work quite a bit with relocating individuals and families and I love it. Let me know what I can do to help. Good luck with your decision.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by KsHmLok8r

Greater Kansas City (specifically Johnson County) is a great place, although I will not deny that at some point in my life I thought I had to get out of here. It must have been during my college days when you question EVERYTHING- I have found, after visiting many other cities, that KS has everything I would want in a 'great place to live'. The people are great, the schools are great, the weather has TRUE seasons, the traffic is not really traffic compared to most big cities, the air is clean, there is plenty to do and most definitely plenty of great places to eat! Johnson County encompasses quite a few great cities, including Olathe, Overland Park, Gardner, Mission, Lenexa. In fact Johnson County was recognized by Money Magazine, I believe last year, as an undiscovered Great Place to Live and Raise a Family.
I don't know your family, although I can tell you that anyone I have helped move here from another city has fell in love with Kansas City. My job as a Realtor has given me the opportunity to work quite a bit with relocating individuals and families and I love it. Let me know what I can do to help. Good luck with your decision.

I would agree with what you are saying for the most part. However, their are vast differences in terms of the older more established suburbs compared with the newer cookie cutter suburbs. The older parts of Leawood compared with Olathe have almost nothing in common in terms of architectural styles of homes, trees, and overall flavor. Also, the air is not as clean as you think in the KC metro. Their are many coal power plants everywhere and also lots of other industries in the KC area. Overland Park seems to want to "urbanize" all of the established suburban areas with higher population densities. They also want to annex any rural land they can find. Many people are very angry that Overland Park wants to annex them when they tried to move to a more rural area in Johnson County to get away from the influences of Overland Park.

[straw hat]

Originally Posted by KsHmLok8r

Greater Kansas City (specifically Johnson County) is a great place, although I will not deny that at some point in my life I thought I had to get out of here. It must have been during my college days when you question EVERYTHING- I have found, after visiting many other cities, that KS has everything I would want in a 'great place to live'. The people are great, the schools are great, the weather has TRUE seasons, the traffic is not really traffic compared to most big cities, the air is clean, there is plenty to do and most definitely plenty of great places to eat! Johnson County encompasses quite a few great cities, including Olathe, Overland Park, Gardner, Mission, Lenexa. In fact Johnson County was recognized by Money Magazine, I believe last year, as an undiscovered Great Place to Live and Raise a Family.
I don't know your family, although I can tell you that anyone I have helped move here from another city has fell in love with Kansas City. My job as a Realtor has given me the opportunity to work quite a bit with relocating individuals and families and I love it. Let me know what I can do to help. Good luck with your decision.

You can tell that you have gone from one city to another by reading the road signs. Most of the time my family refers to the Kansas City area as one Huge town.

[fishbowl]

I think you should check out the Flint Hills area. Just gorgeous. The Winters are not overly harsh, the Spring and Fall are glorious. There are small towns. Emporia may have jobs, depending on what you do, and you could live out in a small town away from Emporia.

Crime in the small towns is infrequent. Jobs are almost non-existant in the small towns, but there are bigger towns to work in and smaller towns to live in, then you commute.

It's a good state and I don't regret moving here from California at all.

[chele123]

Actually, small towns may have more jobs than you think. One of the perks of small town living is it is usually fairly cheap to live here. Because it is cheap, we have a farily large percentage of welfare people here. With the population increase though, did not come workers, so in my small town and the neighboring town we have to IMPORT workers! In Protection,KS a restraunt closed because she could not find help. At our small Critical Access Hospital we are always short handed. And I'm not sure, but I think we are still looking for teachers. So, don't discount a small town until after you have checked out the employment opportunities! I consider my small town life idyllic.