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Old 11-20-2012, 04:06 PM
 
Location: Kansas City, MO
3,565 posts, read 7,981,321 times
Reputation: 2605

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Quote:
Originally Posted by thriftylefty View Post
Personally I don't care for Lawrence, My kids all went to school or lived there and they said its only a cool place for small town Kansas kids. (I concur) They couldn't (or can't) wait to leave. They would rather live in LA, New York or Chicago and be around some real diversity and liberals. I won't put your self through any more commuting aggravation than its worth. I would find a nice neighborhood and school in Topeka and you can visit Lawrence or Kansas city on your free time or every day if you please.
schooldigger.com is a website I would use to look for the best schools in the city, then look at the neighborhoods around those schools.
Topeka does have its share of crime but Lawrence is known for being the place were riff raff from KC and Topeka meet up.
Brilliant. (And Oh, So simple!) Besides, if so many Topeka employees weren't choosing to live in surrounding communities, Topeka would be a much better place. Personally, I love the older, inner westside neighborhoods like Westboro or College Hill. That's where I would want to live in Topeka (if not a downtown loft). The Flemming Place neighborhood shopping center, just north of Westboro on Gage BLVD, would be a great go-to place for groceries, Walgreen's and restaurants. Besides, Topeka has an amazing park and zoo with Gage Park and amazing recreational trails between the Shunga trail and Kansas Rail Trails.

Welcome to the Kanza Rail Trails Conservancy
Shawnee County Parks and Rec - Official Website
Along the Shunga Trail, Topeka
Westboro Real Estate - Homes for Sale in Westboro, Topeka, KS - REALTOR.com®
College Hill - Topeka
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Old 11-21-2012, 02:42 PM
Status: "119 N/A" (set 25 days ago)
 
12,963 posts, read 13,679,366 times
Reputation: 9695
Oskaloosa Houses For Sale KS Valley Falls Homes
Here's a house that might be typical of places out side of town in Topeka
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Old 01-07-2013, 09:50 AM
 
Location: Elgin, SC
240 posts, read 344,629 times
Reputation: 74
OK all now I ask this. Since I am a California native who grew up in LA would I more like KC or Topeka in your opinion. I like being not in the city but close to it where it's not a hassle to go in to. I have done a lot of research on KC but not as much on Topeka. Will I find more to do in Topeka or KC when it comes to recreation and family fun? I want this to be our family's last move so I want to make the right choice. Thank you for all of your input.
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Old 01-09-2013, 09:14 AM
 
Location: Elgin, SC
240 posts, read 344,629 times
Reputation: 74
Red face Need more

Ok after looking at schools in Lawrence none seem to have high scores via good schools.net. This is a big deal for us. My husband is pretty sure he will take the job in Topeka because of a bonus. I need good schools as well as great recreation for our family. My oldest will be in 5th grade so I am looking at all three levels. Please suggest some other areas that has great schools. We are willing to raise his commute time if necessary.
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Old 01-13-2013, 08:05 PM
 
1 posts, read 2,390 times
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I moved from Pittsburgh, PA to Topeka, kansas for 16 months and left....I cant even describe HOW much I hated it. If you are from California, its going to be a major adjustment. I struggled so much. It is a dirty, ugly town. The people are of a very small town mentality. There is NOTHING to do. Most people have their kids involved in way too many sports teams and think the ultimate goal in life is to get their kid on the High school sports team. It is a very depressing place to live. There is so much crime also. I could not do it. I am so happy to be back in the North East. The pubic schools there are not good either. People there think that there are "great" schools, but they have no idea if they have never been outside of Kansas. I would NOT move to Topeka, KS. If you have to move to Kansas, move to a suburb of Kansas City. It has much more to offer than Topeka. Topeka feels like you are in the 1980's!
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Old 01-13-2013, 08:39 PM
 
Location: Kansas City, MO
3,565 posts, read 7,981,321 times
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Uh, Lawrence?
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Old 01-21-2013, 11:26 AM
 
Location: NW Arkansas
1,201 posts, read 1,925,188 times
Reputation: 989
Quote:
Originally Posted by ccoutofsc View Post
Ok after looking at schools in Lawrence none seem to have high scores via good schools.net. This is a big deal for us. My husband is pretty sure he will take the job in Topeka because of a bonus. I need good schools as well as great recreation for our family. My oldest will be in 5th grade so I am looking at all three levels. Please suggest some other areas that has great schools. We are willing to raise his commute time if necessary.

Maybe check out the Shawnee Mission / Johnson County schools. Shawnee Mission East is a highly sought after high school. There are pretty wealthy people (like some of the wealthiest people in the country) in the area who choose to send their kids to that high school over private school. Several other high schools in the Shawnee Mission school district make it on lists of top schools in the country too.

Also look into Prairie Village and the area around there. If you can afford the real estate (and high real estate taxes by Midwest standards), it's a pretty nice area with a low crime rate, plenty of shopping (oh man, they have a Trader Joe's nearby!), parks, recreation, etc but super close to downtown Kansas City where there will be plenty of other things to do. You would be about 10 minutes from the turnpike that goes straight to Topeka, but you'd still have about an hour commute each way.

Last edited by soanchorless; 01-21-2013 at 12:10 PM..
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Old 01-21-2013, 11:54 AM
 
Location: NW Arkansas
1,201 posts, read 1,925,188 times
Reputation: 989
According to this list, Shawnee Mission East didn't even make the top 9 schools in Kansas (or the KC area), so what I know (and just posted) about the area schools is probably outdated and incorret: Top Kansas High Schools | Best High Schools | US News

Either way, you're going to find most of the best schools in Kansas (by measurable standards, at least), in Johnson County.

Last edited by soanchorless; 01-21-2013 at 12:11 PM..
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Old 01-24-2013, 01:40 PM
 
78,417 posts, read 60,613,724 times
Reputation: 49725
Quote:
Originally Posted by ccoutofsc View Post
Ok after looking at schools in Lawrence none seem to have high scores via good schools.net. This is a big deal for us. My husband is pretty sure he will take the job in Topeka because of a bonus. I need good schools as well as great recreation for our family. My oldest will be in 5th grade so I am looking at all three levels. Please suggest some other areas that has great schools. We are willing to raise his commute time if necessary.
Be REALLY careful with some of those school ratings.

My kids gradeschool was excellent but they get dinged for "lower scores" and a few other criteria because they have a lot of ESL kids in there that are generally not up to grade pace to start with and also have the whole language barrier.

Some other schools in the area with a smaller population of immigrants rate higher but are no better.

These schools are out of your commute range but I thought it worth mentioning as a warning to dig deeper and about rankings.
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Old 01-24-2013, 01:44 PM
 
78,417 posts, read 60,613,724 times
Reputation: 49725
Quote:
Originally Posted by soanchorless View Post
According to this list, Shawnee Mission East didn't even make the top 9 schools in Kansas (or the KC area), so what I know (and just posted) about the area schools is probably outdated and incorret: Top Kansas High Schools | Best High Schools | US News

Either way, you're going to find most of the best schools in Kansas (by measurable standards, at least), in Johnson County.
Rankings vary but I have kids going through the shawnee mission school system and they are dang good....and I have high expectations.
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