Relocating to Hays, KS (Wichita, Salina: environment, rv parks, jobs)

[Biz2Me]

My husband and I will be moving to Hays, KS in mid-October. We are looking for a nice area to park our Montana RV while working on a new construction project. We expect to be in Hays till about mid-May 2008. I'd like to get a more personal view from those that know the area.

I have seen a lot of friendly and informative posts on this site and look forward to seeing your responses.

Have a great day!

"Enjoy life's journey, you'll get to your destination soon enough."

[Biz2Me]

"I have seen a lot of friendly and informative posts on this site and look forward to seeing your responses."

So much for the friendly and informative. Thanks, Kansas.

[GraniteStater]

Hays is the BEST town in western Kansas by far compared with the "other" towns out there. Hays is home to Fort Hays State University which makes it more of a college town. Overall, it has a lot of ammenities because it is a regional center. It has a super WalMart, Home Depot, many restaurants, along with a nice old main street with brick roads. The northern part of town is newer, and also fairly close to I-70. The south part of town is the older section that contains the old downtown. The University is also located in the south part of town near 6th street. Vine Street is the major street that covers the entire length of town from north to south. Housing should be fairly affordable depending on what you are looking for.

[Biz2Me]

Plains10,

Thanks so much for your response. I was beginning to think I was wrong on my view of "friendly and informative" responses. I appreciate your views on Hays and look forward to moving and working there. My husband and I are both from small towns, although we work in an industry that is usually based on larger city environments. I like the amenities of the larger towns, but prefer the small town atmosphere to live in. Our job is hard enough being on the road most of the time, so its nice to be able to go to a town we can enjoy the people and history of the area. I am also in school, so having access to a University is great. We will need to be looking for a place to park our Montana RV through Apr-May and hopefully we can find a good area in Hays. Again, I thank you for the helpful information and hope you have a great day!

[angelface052006]

My husband and I recently moved to Wichita from Cincinnati. It has been great but we are struggling a bit with all the spiders. Are there as many spiders in Hays as there are in Wichita. What are you experiences with spiders.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by angelface052006

My husband and I recently moved to Wichita from Cincinnati. It has been great but we are struggling a bit with all the spiders. Are there as many spiders in Hays as there are in Wichita. What are you experiences with spiders.

I am sure you already realize that the plains and midwest are two different regions. Hays, is a regional center in NW Kansas and is the BEST town BY FAR in western Kansas. Most of the other towns in western Kansas like Dodge City, Garden City, and Liberal have been COMPLETELY taken over by illegal immigrants because of the meatpacking jobs in those towns. Hays is a University town and has a decent amount of jobs and big box stores because it is a regional center. However, the climate is semi-arid with very little precipitation, and a lot fewer trees compared with Wichita.

[Visi]

I lived in Hays for around 8 years, so if you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them. There are several positives & negatives about the town; really, it just depends on what you are looking for. If you really like small towns, then Hays might be a good fit for you.

There are a couple of places that you could hook up your motor home, but I can't really speak much about how nice they are. At 6th & Vine (near Domino's pizza), there is a small place. There's also another park at Hwy. 40 & Canterbury. I know that some of these places are sort of trashy, but some spots may be better than others. You'd just have to go and see them for yourself.

As for spiders, I never had big issues with them in Hays. Last fall, my husband discovered some black widows (normally extremely rare in that part of KS) in our storage shed, but a can of spider spray took care of them. I never had more than the occasional spider in the house.

Other things you might like to know about Hays include that it's very ethnocentric & everyone knows everyone else. The Volga Germans dominate Hays, and most of them are Catholic. You'll get the chance to eat lots of German food and go to the Octoberfest festivities. On the down side, the town doesn't have a lot of diversity. The majority of people share the same beliefs, politics, etc.

Hays doesn't have many places to shop, so if you're a shopper, you'll have to go out of town. For groceries, your choices are Wal-Mart & Dillons. There isn't a Target, K-Mart, or Sam's any closer than Salina (about 90 miles east). There are a few stores in the mall, but there's not much variety.

There are some local restaurants that the Haysites are quite fond of. They love Vernie's Hamburger House (on Vine St. across from Sonic), JD's Chicken on 8th St., Gella's on 11th & Main, Lomato's Pizza on Main St., and Gutch's on 6th St. Also check out Neighbars (where 6th St. dead ends into FHSU) and The Golden Q on 8th St. for burgers & fries.

Hays has a popular message board that many locals post on. You can check it out at 67601.com. Beware though, it's often controversial.

Good luck on your move.

[Biz2Me]

Visi,

I appreciate your response. I guess we will just do some exploring in Hays to see if there are any nice areas to park a large RV through the winter months. I've seen a lot of German history related to Hays and look forward to exploring that also.

We enjoy meeting new people and discovering new areas. Fortunately, that goes along with our work. I wasn't concerned about spiders, but I think another poster was. Thanks for your info on that.

It's always a bit difficult, at first, going to a new town. Each area has it's own social climate and structure. We have had mostly good experiences with the areas we have been transferred to. Hopefully, Hays will be another one.

Have a great week!

[MajorHart]

Originally Posted by Plains10

I am sure you already realize that the plains and midwest are two different regions. Hays, is a regional center in NW Kansas and is the BEST town BY FAR in western Kansas. Most of the other towns in western Kansas like Dodge City, Garden City, and Liberal have been COMPLETELY taken over by illegal immigrants because of the meatpacking jobs in those towns. Hays is a University town and has a decent amount of jobs and big box stores because it is a regional center. However, the climate is semi-arid with very little precipitation, and a lot fewer trees compared with Wichita.

I think the semi-arid would be a plus - if it allows people to use swamp coolers. Are there mobile home and rv parks there?

Thanks MajorHart

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by MajorHart

I think the semi-arid would be a plus - if it allows people to use swamp coolers. Are there mobile home and rv parks there?

Thanks MajorHart

In all honesty most people do indeed use air conditioners even in this area of KS. You could possibly get by with a swamp cooler in portions of CO. KS summers can occasionally be humid with extremely high temperatures for weeks at a time. 100F+ temperatures are common in the summer. However, the humidity is quite a bit more tolerable compared with eastern KS. In terms of various parks I think Hays has a few areas of town that have those.