Questions About Emporia (Wichita, Kansas City, Topeka: low income, sales, rental)

[tuesdayallweek]

I've recently decided to move to Emporia, as the rent is much cheaper than Manhattan or Junction City and my girlfriend is going to be stationed at Fort Riley soon. There are a few things that are hard to dig up about the city though. How much does a carton of Marlboro 72's run out there? What's the alcohol situation - I've read that Lyon County only allows alcohol sales in restaurants, but are there bars? How far do you have to go to buy liquor? What do most people do for fun? Do many young people live in Emporia? What is the general perception of homosexuals? I just need some help getting a feel of the city and an idea of how much smokes are going to run me. Thanks for all your help in advance - it really seems like a charming little town =].

[tuesdayallweek]

Also, what's the public transit situation? Is it a city you could comfortably travel by bike in?

[greenways]

I haven't been to Emporia in several years, but I'll try to answer your questions.

How much does a carton of Marlboro 72's run out there? I have no idea about Emporia, but in most Kansas towns I've been to, it's around $50 for a carton of Marlboro 100's.

What's the alcohol situation - I've read that Lyon County only allows alcohol sales in restaurants, but are there bars? I think what you read refers to Sunday sales only. The rest of the week you can buy alcohol at liquor stores and gas stations in Emporia. Gas stations only sell 3.2 beer and no liquor. There are bars in Emporia as well.

What do most people do for fun? Do many young people live in Emporia? I haven't lived there, but I've lived in several Kansas towns of similar size. People usually drink alcohol for fun or watch movies or watch college sports games. Or drive to larger towns. I doubt there is an abundance of recreation in Emporia. There is a little zoo. And there is a small University there, so that may provide some things like theater productions or art-related events. It also means there are a lot of young people in their 20s.

What is the general perception of homosexuals? I'm not sure about this either. It's in the middle of rural Kansas though...which is by far very conservative. There will be a minority of people who embrace it with open arms, but the majority will probably not approve or be comfortable with it. Most people will keep their opinions to themselves and still be polite. I see from your profile that you live in western KY. I would think that the perception of homosexuals in Emporia is comparable to that of Owensboro.

For fun, you might want to drive an hour to Lawrence sometimes. It's probably the most accepting city for homosexuals in Kansas and has a decent sized gay population (along with a good bar and music scene). Also, Eureka Springs, AR is a 5 or so hour drive away and it has been dubbed "gay mecca" for whatever that is worth.

Also, what's the public transit situation? Is it a city you could comfortably travel by bike in? I don't think Emporia has public transit. I mean, they probably have an on-call "public transportation" van or something that is intended to be used for elderly people who need to go to doctor's appointments mostly. But when I was considering moving to Emporia about ten years ago, the main reason was because I thought that I could bike almost anywhere in the city with no problems. There's no bike lanes or anything, but the traffic isn't bad and the city is relatively small.

Another thing to consider that you may not be aware of is that Emporia has a meat processing plant. And it doesn't smell really great. And it also means there are a lot of Latino immigrants who have moved there just to work at the plant. I have no issues with Latinos, for the record!, but just letting you know.

[greenways]

Also, for cigarettes, you might try a brand called Pyramids. I smoked Marlboros when I lived in Kentucky, but they cost a lot more in Kansas. Pyramids aren't bad imo and you can probably find them for $3 a pack.

[hc130radio]

This is an interesting thread. When I move to a new place, I'm more worried about the average cost of rent instead of cigarettes, but diff'rnt strokes I guess!

[tuesdayallweek]

I've perused the Emporia Gazette classified to get an idea of rent costs - it's actually what was the deciding factor in my choosing Emporia.

And thanks so much for your reply, greenways! I don't have a sense of smell, so the meat processing plant won't be an issue. Thanks for the heads up though!

I assumed Kansas wouldn't be much different from Kentucky. Being gay doesn't really cause too many problems here. You get the occasional harassment, but I've never really had much of an issue with it. I just didn't want to go in and find out there's a lot of assaults on gays or anything along the lines.

The alcohol sales are a welcome change though! So much of Kentucky is dry - I have to drive an hour to get to a liquor store. It bites. I'll have to check out Lawrence though, for sure!

[bkern1989]

I have lived here for about a year, so I'll try to answer the best I can.

Where I work, I'm pretty sure that we charge around $38-$42 for the 72's as I'm pretty sure they are cheaper than regular Marlboro's.

As the other person said, I think your alcohol situation was dealing with Sundays as there isn't any alcohol sales on Sunday. On all other days, you can buy it pretty much anywhere. There are also several bars in town, but I couldn't answer any questions you may have about those bars.

For fun, I'm not too sure since I'm usually either at work or at home. Since it's a college town, I would assume that there are lots of parties. As for things to do outside of parties, we've got some bars of course, a bowling alley, a movie theater and a small zoo. Cottonwood Falls is only 18 miles aways and actually has quite a bit to offer for it's size. They've got a prairie preserve alone with the Chase County state lake, which is one of my favorite lakes I've been to. Aside from that, there isn't much to do since it's a fairly small city. However, Topeka is only 45 minutes away so you could always go there for fun....Kansas City is also only an hour and a half...as is Wichita. Emporia is really in a good location when it comes to distance to big cities.

Again, with Emporia being a college town...it does have its fair share of younger adults and also has a good amount of children.

About being homosexual, I really ain't sure about that. I think people worry too much about that subject though. Some people will tease you about it, but of course, most people will just mind their own business.

All in all...Emporia is a decent town and I have enjoyed my time here so far. The people, for the most part seem decent. However, I work in retail and most people bring their worst attitudes with them when shopping.

[AnywhereElse]

When looking at the cost of rent, I suggest looking at the highest and the lowest amounts and seeing what an average is because in all the cities we have lived in, the lower rents mean a rundown area so you would want to look at mid-level costs. You realize that it does get very cold and we can have ice and snow on the ground and that the distance to Junction City/Manhattan is a rather long drive especially in severe weather. My older son attended college in Emporia and we spent a couple of months there. Make sure you can line up a job because we had no luck with that. I think you would like Manhattan better than Emporia if you could swing the rental costs. Manhattan has more wealth and nicer facilities and a lot of things for younger people because of the college. In short, I thought Emporia was "trashy". We lived in Junction City for years and would like to go back but the cost of housing is prohibitive unless you can land good jobs on-post.

[empires228]

Emporia gets an unfair reputation because of the low income jobs that bring migrant workers to the area (people assume after the packing plant layed off thousands of people they all left). The unemployment rate is quite high in the county because many people chose to stay in the community rather then take the job transfer options. It is true that Emporia is pretty run down (even compared to the likes of the packing plant towns in Western Kansas), but they have a nice downtown, a nice small zoo, a walmart, good highway access to Topeka, Lawrence, and Kansas City as well as Wichita and some friendly people.

So all in all it gets a bad rep for looking run down and having its largest employer next to close, but it isn't as bad as people assume it is.

[AnywhereElse]

We did love that little zoo as it was so pleasant there, clean and well-kept. I would have to say that we found the people friendly to outsiders also and always anxious to help which was a definite positive.