I want to live in rural Kansas (Wichita, Topeka: tornadoes, travel)

[dhamblin2]

Im moving to Kanses too from Indiana and I want country livin'! I'm a student as well but I am an older student...Im a nurse and am cont. my education...so your not alone! I'm lost too!

[silverhaired51]

First I would like to say the some of the nicest people that I have ever met live out in Hays and in some of the smaller towns out there. We have been out to Wilson Lake and Cedar Bluff, and when we want a change for a few hours we will to one of the smaller towns around or even go over to Hays.

So for all of you that live out in western Kansas, you have made that a great place to visit and want to move to.

dhamlin2--if you want to finish your education out here, you have a few great places to choose from and also you can live in some of the smaller towns that are not to far away. KU med has a great nursing program, Topeka, just get online and look, if you like the country life you will like Kansas.

[W350]

Hays is a beautiful city, a trade center for western Kansas. The history is rich there. Every experience I had in Hays was a pleasant one.

I would recommend looking at Minneapolis, just 25 miles from Salina and Interstate highway access. Other great communities in the Salina area are Ellsworth, Abilene, Assaria and Lindsborg.

Salina has been home for me for about 45 years. I have traveled the state thoroughly and there are a lot of nice communities. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the Salina area. We have moderate growth and are situated at the intersection of two Interstate highways. Housing is fairly high here, but the satellite communities have plenty to offer.

Previously posted was Cottonwood Falls. It is beautiful there, one of my favorite parts of the state to visit. The court house was mentioned, in addition to that many fine stone houses can be found in the area. It is mostly grasslands and has great water.

North of Cottonwood Falls is the historic little city of Council Grove, another beautiful and historic place to visit.

I would not consider the Topeka and Lawrence areas rural. They do have a lot to offer though.

Manhattan is a college town, but a clean and thriving community.

A lot of small Kansas communities are offering free land to build on as others have mentioned. The small towns and remote counties are dying, but still a nice and friendly place to retire to.

Garden City, Liberal and Dodge City all have colorful history. They also all have beef packing plants and the associated problems that seem to come with that type industry.

All states have their own set of problems, for Kansas, water is probably our biggest concern. A lot of our western cities are experiencing moderate to severe water problems.

Bird City is definitely rural... Glen

[Selena Thayer]

I am very familiar with all the places about which you inquire. None of them are free of tornados. You have to have a basement or hole in the ground and hope for the best. Most native Kansans run outside to look at tornados if there are any around before they head to underground shelter. I am 60 years old, a Kansas native, and have never seen a tornado. Perhaps one time one was near but it was raining so hard it was impossible to see anything. You can get a decent engineering education at K-State in Manhattan. It is very scenic in the Manhattan area. The downside of small towns in Kansas is the social structure. They're loving and caring if you are "local family", originally from there. If you're not, they want you to go back where you came from because your education, intelligence or talent will make them feel inferior. The main activity for young people is to drink prodigious amounts of beer, raise hell, try everything and have no particular direction in life. If you're capable of functioning socially independently and you don't crave universal acceptance from your peers, you'll be fine. A newcomer, a/k/a "Outsider" has to be very independent to survive. Given that, the slower pace, dewy mornings, fabulous skies, fascinating passage of the seasons is the upside of living in rural Kansas.

[Plains10]

If you want to live in rural Kansas avoid the isolated rural counties that are losing population very fast. What you most likely want is a regional center with a sizeable population and employment base. Hays and Salina would be regional centers. If you are looking at being closer to a larger city, but want to live in a rural area you might want to look into Jefferson County and Jackson County in Kansas. These two counties are rural but are in fairly close proximity to Topeka and Lawrence with fairly affordable housing.

[citified25]

Hello. I'm from rural Kansas. Pratt, KS is a wonderful area. It's West of Wichita and has a population of 6K. The town is definately growing! The Miss Kansas Pageant is held there. I also have family that lives South about 30 miles in Medicine Lodge. This city is only about 2-3K. If these sound interesting you may contact me as I can tell you pretty much whatever you would like to know about them.

[citified25]

Also, I have been to Bird City. My family is originally from Atwood. I have an aunt that lived in Bird City.

[Plains10]

Atwood and Bird City are located in Rawlins County. This is in the very rural northwest corner of the state. The county is losing younger residents at a very fast rate, and has lost about 10-11% of its population in the last 6 years alone according to the Census Bureau.

[Torn2pieces]

Jetmore Kansas is a small town, Isolated.....Its located in SW KS....

[kay67010]

I think you need to look at Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas if you are wanting to continue your education in Engineering. We have one of the best engineering programs available. That, as well as our business school, is internationally acclaimed. Our student base is about 15,000 - 20, 000. There are a lot of small towns around Wichita within driving distance. I would look at Augusta or Rose Hill. I personally wouldn't take my son out of Wichita schools. I have nothing but good to say for them. Even when we moved to Augusta he went to Wichita schools. We have since moved back to Wichita just because everything we do is here. Wichita is a city but it has more of a large town atmosphere. It is what you make of it.