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Old 02-01-2014, 02:21 PM
 
Location: Pikes Peak Region
481 posts, read 1,293,060 times
Reputation: 826

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Hi folks!

I currently live in the sprawling madness that is Colorado's Front Range. Originally being a small town mountain boy, I feel the frequent need to escape the suburban nightmare that is my current home and run back to my rural roots. Granted, the mountains are closer for me but occasionally I crave the wide open spaces and big sky of the Great Plains. I have a huge soft spot in my heart for northwestern Kansas. I love exploring the back roads and small towns of the region and am always made to feel at home out there by the incredible friendliness of the people. It's an amazing area!

I went out for a drive around Greeley, Wallace, Logan, Gove, Scott and Wichita counties a couple of weeks ago and something struck me. These are struggling counties with sizeable population declines and shrinking business climates. I'm very aware of the depopulation problems in this area but what I noticed was how many help wanted signs I saw. Even in towns like Sharon Springs and Tribune I noticed businesses were hiring.

In researching a bit more I noticed the older populations of these places. I'm taking it the young leave for better opportunities. Is this causing a labor shortage for the remaining businesses? One restaurant owner I talked to said he can't find decent help because it's a lot of settled of retired people left around.

I realize that many of the jobs available are low wage but with the low cost of living it makes those wages liveable. I'm just amazed that these "dying" communities have so many job opportunities available. To be honest, I'd be willing to work in a gas station or restaurant for the quality of life northwest Kansas offers. Am I missing something here? It seems like a great opportunity for young people to move to these towns to get a good, solid start in life. Why doesn't it seem to be the case?

Last edited by Littlekw; 02-01-2014 at 02:23 PM.. Reason: Misspelled word
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Old 02-01-2014, 05:14 PM
 
Location: Western Nebraskansas
2,707 posts, read 6,206,988 times
Reputation: 2454
Quote:
To be honest, I'd be willing to work in a gas station or restaurant for the quality of life northwest Kansas offers. Am I missing something here?
I just walked past the deli counter in a gas station in St. Francis. They're hiring and paying $9.50 an hour (which is pretty high for non-skilled labor around here). No benefits.

Full time (40hrs week, 50 weeks a year) translates to $19,000 year. If both parents are working similar jobs, that means $38K year!, or about $2700 a month, after taxes. But, for both parents to work and make such good money, their kids are going to be have to be in daycare. That takes out a pretty big chunk of change.
On the bright side, Obamacare means they probably qualify for a pretty hefty subsidy on their health insurance, which means they're no longer priced out of that particular market anymore...
Take out house payments/rent, vehicle payments, auto and homeowner's insurance, groceries, doctor bills, cable/phone/etc., and pretty soon you're getting close to the line.

Now, don't get me wrong. I live in rural northwest Kansas because my husband I decided this was a good place to raise kids. We did OK on that $38K year (usually less, of course, based on year) for a long time.
But I can tell you from experience, not only is it hard to send kids to college on that, it's hard to build a retirement...
We're doing FAR better with him working for a fracking service company based in ND.

Last edited by itsMeFred; 02-01-2014 at 05:22 PM..
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Old 02-01-2014, 11:59 PM
 
Location: Burlington, Colorado
350 posts, read 843,878 times
Reputation: 504
Some towns are dying, yes, but some are doing very well and growing. If you do move to NW Kansas you can get student loan repayment and tax waivers.
Kansas Department of Commerce - Official Website - Rural Opportunity Zones
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Old 02-02-2014, 08:39 PM
 
Location: SW Kansas
1,787 posts, read 3,835,720 times
Reputation: 1433
I live in SW KS in a very small town. For a while we were having a problem with welfare people moving in. They had no desire to work even though we had jobs available. A business in a nearby town closed because they couldn't find employees! Our kids are coming home now and taking jobs here, which is awesome!
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Old 02-04-2014, 02:43 AM
 
Location: Pikes Peak Region
481 posts, read 1,293,060 times
Reputation: 826
Thanks for the perspectives. It was simply surprising to me to see so many job opportunities in these rural towns when I passed through and talked to business owners.

itsMeFred: I can see how it would be hard to support a family on wages like that. I'm single so that point of view escaped me. You make an excellent point on the difficulties of saving for retirement, though. Being young enough that aspect still eludes me, I hadn't thought of that angle. $9.50 an hour for convenience store deli work sounds like a good wage for St. Francis considering the same job in Colorado Springs would pay state minimum wage at $8.00 an hour. Again, for the quality of life and rural nostalgia I harbor, it's fairly tempting. :-) It just surprises me that wages and jobs exist like that in the area, considering all I hear about is the plight of rural Kansas. This is enlightening.

ohazco: I realize some of the towns are prospering in the region but it seems that those lie along the I-70 corridor. Just out of curiosity, are there examples of towns doing well off this artery? I understand from some people I talked to that Tribune and Greeley County are seeing an influx of newcomers but it's too small of a difference to recognize as a trend, yet. I looked into the ROZ benefits. It's enticing to a single guy with an open agenda in life, for sure.

chele123: I haven't really explored enough of SWKS to get a feel for it. I thought Ulysses was a nice looking town when I passed through, couldn't really get a feel for Dodge City and me some incredibly nice people that helped when I blew a tire just outside Garden City a couple of years back. Stayed the night in Liberal once, but that's the extent of it. It's a region I want to explore more. :-)

I honestly don't know why I have this fascination with NWKS other than it's a homey feel for me. It reminds me of a flatter version of rural western Colorado that I grew up in. Will I move there? Maybe, but not before I know what to expect better. In the mean time, thanks for the info and I'll keep exploring the area!
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Old 02-04-2014, 10:43 PM
 
Location: Burlington, Colorado
350 posts, read 843,878 times
Reputation: 504
Quote:
Originally Posted by Littlekw View Post
ohazco: I realize some of the towns are prospering in the region but it seems that those lie along the I-70 corridor. Just out of curiosity, are there examples of towns doing well off this artery? I understand from some people I talked to that Tribune and Greeley County are seeing an influx of newcomers but it's too small of a difference to recognize as a trend, yet. I looked into the ROZ benefits. It's enticing to a single guy with an open agenda in life, for sure.
You are correct, though I envy the off-I70 towns as many of them have more vibrant downtowns and more mom & pop businesses as they don't have the interstate development and chain restaurants. We often drive to St. Francis just for some non-dairy queen or McDonalds ice cream in the summer. It somewhat depends on your definition of "prosper" and "dying". If your idea of a prospering town is new commercial development, then stick to I-70. Off I-70, Towns like Atwood, Hoxie, and Quinter all have housing shortages right now. Oberlin is doing fairly well too, and has one of my favorite downtowns in the region, though its becoming a commuter town to McCook. Even Herndon is experiencing an influx and housing shortage. Keep in mind that a housing shortage and lots of abandonded properties are not mutually exclusive. This is kind of a phenomenon in NW KS right now. Population was lost and houses are owned by out of town heirs who don't want to sell, but let them rot.

Burlington, Wray and Yuma CO are also doing well economically, though not in NW KS obviously. Also, just because a town is losing population at a slow rate doesn't mean it is an unpleasant place to live. St. Francis, Hill City, Tribune, Scott City, are all nice towns with great folks.

There are some geographical differences too, towns in the river bed have a lot more trees and a little different feel to them.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Littlekw View Post
I honestly don't know why I have this fascination with NWKS other than it's a homey feel for me. It reminds me of a flatter version of rural western Colorado that I grew up in. Will I move there? Maybe, but not before I know what to expect better. In the mean time, thanks for the info and I'll keep exploring the area!
You don't have to explain yourself to us, everyone who replied so far actually live in this region, and for a reason. (though I can't believe a certain NW KS basher hasn't arrived yet!). Folks are always welcoming of new comers in the area, especially in the towns that are struggling a bit more.

Watch jobs in the Country Advocate and other local papers.
nwkansas.com homepage

Last edited by ohazco; 02-04-2014 at 10:53 PM..
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Old 02-05-2014, 11:54 AM
 
Location: Western Nebraskansas
2,707 posts, read 6,206,988 times
Reputation: 2454
Quote:
Burlington, Wray and Yuma CO are also doing well economically,
They're doing better, actually, than NW KS. But they have a more developed petroleum economy (as well as King Corn), that we don't really have on this side of the line.
Yet...

Quote:
Oberlin is doing fairly well too, and has one of my favorite downtowns in the region, though its becoming a commuter town to McCook.
Actually, that isn't necessarily a bad thing.
I've seen a lot of small towns in eastern Nebraska become bedroom communities and it can be argued it was good for them. Downtown stays fairly healthy because there's still a population in town AND those people have a steady income from the jobs provided by the larger town to KEEP downtown vital. So long as Downtown remembers they can't really compete with the big town, so they need to focus on staples, and specialties.

Quote:
Also, just because a town is losing population at a slow rate doesn't mean it is an unpleasant place to live. St. Francis, Hill City, Tribune, Scott City, are all nice towns with great folks.
I agree. I don't know how many times my husband and I have driven through St. Francis, for example, and commented on what a neat, tidy town it is. Houses are in good repair, lawns are mowed, abandoned properties are still maintained for the most part...
People still care.
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Old 02-05-2014, 03:11 PM
 
1,380 posts, read 2,380,947 times
Reputation: 2403

This is what the population of Greeley County looks like. Pretty typical for a remote place. Young people aren't excited by the prospect of making $9.50/hour at a gas station in the middle of nowhere. Seniors would rather retire some place sunny. I mean no disrespect to anybody, but can you blame them? Rural counties in my part of the country have the same problem. On the bright side, it also means they're raising ambitious kids who are willing to work hard to move somewhere else. It can't be easy to leave a small town and start life in a new place.

Last edited by eastmemphisguy; 02-05-2014 at 03:37 PM..
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Old 02-06-2014, 12:56 AM
 
Location: Pikes Peak Region
481 posts, read 1,293,060 times
Reputation: 826
Quote:
Originally Posted by ohazco View Post
You are correct, though I envy the off-I70 towns as many of them have more vibrant downtowns and more mom & pop businesses as they don't have the interstate development and chain restaurants. We often drive to St. Francis just for some non-dairy queen or McDonalds ice cream in the summer. It somewhat depends on your definition of "prosper" and "dying". If your idea of a prospering town is new commercial development, then stick to I-70. Off I-70, Towns like Atwood, Hoxie, and Quinter all have housing shortages right now. Oberlin is doing fairly well too, and has one of my favorite downtowns in the region, though its becoming a commuter town to McCook. Even Herndon is experiencing an influx and housing shortage. Keep in mind that a housing shortage and lots of abandonded properties are not mutually exclusive. This is kind of a phenomenon in NW KS right now. Population was lost and houses are owned by out of town heirs who don't want to sell, but let them rot.

Burlington, Wray and Yuma CO are also doing well economically, though not in NW KS obviously. Also, just because a town is losing population at a slow rate doesn't mean it is an unpleasant place to live. St. Francis, Hill City, Tribune, Scott City, are all nice towns with great folks.

There are some geographical differences too, towns in the river bed have a lot more trees and a little different feel to them.



You don't have to explain yourself to us, everyone who replied so far actually live in this region, and for a reason. (though I can't believe a certain NW KS basher hasn't arrived yet!). Folks are always welcoming of new comers in the area, especially in the towns that are struggling a bit more.

Watch jobs in the Country Advocate and other local papers.
nwkansas.com homepage
I've had a pretty narrow interpretation of dying and prospering. To me it was based on population but in visiting some of the "dying" towns in NWKS I've started realizing that just because people are leaving at a faster rate than moving in doesn't necessarily mean they're less vibrant places. Looking solely at population statistics, Sharon Springs, for example, should be blowing away in the wind soon, but it has a sense of community and survival that I admire. And it's a dang cute little town!

You mention some towns I haven't been to, yet. Now I really want to. I foresee more road trips to the area and some more exploration. I really like St. Francis, too. It's been my base point in past travels to the area because of how aesthetically appealing and friendly it is. I also need to check out NE Colorado more. The area between I-70 and I-76 is a black hole to me. It's the only part of the state I haven't ventured to, except the interstates.

It's encouraging to hear the area is welcoming to newcomers. I've gotten that vibe there. I learned a while ago that I'm very adaptable. It's a matter of molding into the community, not the other way around.

Funny anecdote: Last trip I made to that part of Kansas was a couple of weeks ago. When I got back to work and was asked what I did on my days off I told them I went to Kansas. Three people looked at me at once and asked "Why?!" All I could answer was "To admire the scenery and enjoy the atmosphere." They don't get it, but I do. :-) The more I research and think about this, the more I like the idea of persuing a move to NWKS. I need to do more investigating but it seems like a good fit for me.
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Old 02-06-2014, 05:49 PM
 
Location: Wooster, Ohio
4,011 posts, read 2,934,281 times
Reputation: 6969
When I visited Hays in 2012, the people in Hays were surprised I chose to vacation there. As far as my coworkers, they were surprised that I traveled at all.

I want to go back to Hays this spring, but that depends on the availability of connecting flights. I am waiting to see what happens with the Hays regional airport. There are 3 different proposals for airline service.
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