Info on Wichita neighborhoods (Kansas City, Derby: fit in, crimes, house)

[Kansasfornow]

Originally Posted by missmanors

sco sounds like maybe you are the raciest, You seem like you want to pick a fight. Yes the subs are mostly white and very safe places to live. the high densitys of black and hispanic are also the highest crime rates.
This is not an opinion or a slur, it is a fact. does one have something to do with the other, I dont know.
But I would not live in wichita. I value my home dollar to much to waste it on wichita homes. Not to say that there is not some very nice homes in wichita there are. but at the same time, when I was looking at homes there even in the good areas, you can be only 100 yards away from the bad area, and the goolies and ghosties can walk through your area and break in just as easy and do.
If this is your bag buy buy buy I am sure you will make some white flight person happy.

I live in Wichita and have only seen the goolies and ghosties on Halloween. Is that what you are referring to??

[KevK]

Originally Posted by leighland

I just moved from San Diego to Philly- I have had more racist comments said to me here in Philly than in 5 years in SD. It happened once in SD. Its been more than 6 comments, both against other races and religions, in 7 months of Philly. I don't want my son to be raised with that attitude either so we'll be moving back west as soon as possible.

Wichita has its share of faults but racism is not one of them and I do not ever want to hear anybody say otherwise. I want to say that Wichita is one of the most progressive cities on race that I have ever lived in or seen. I cannot speak to race relations in Philly because I have never lived there. But I can say this for Wichita and that is that Wichita was one of the FIRST cities to implement voluntary desegregation of its schools. It did not have to dragged into court nor did it require the Kansas National Guard to make it happen. Sure a few people were upset about it but most people embraced it and welcomed the Negro students to the school. Black people in Wichita have long been able to take for granted the right to live and work where they wish without fear and without intimidation. Not only does Wichita now have a black Mayor and a black police chief despite the fact it is at least 80% white, it was one of the first city of any size to have a black mayor (A Price Woodard) in 1970. So say what you want about the faults of Wichita- and it has some (lousy weather, lack of good jobs, sometimes boring) that I would agree with you on. I have often said I did not wish to leave Wichita but had to in order to move my professional life forward because Wichita lacked the opportunites I was looking for. But as I have moved about the country I have never seen a place that is more racially tolerant. And that is the truth coming from a man who is married to somebody of another race.

[t39g2t]

There is raceisim in every city.
To think other wise is very ignorant at best, I know of several groups in Wichita that are very anti black. True most of the people in the surrounding areas like Andover and the like are people who do not want to live next to blacks or Hispanic people. But there are plenty of people who do not like other races in Wichita I can tell you first hand. How many blacks do you see at the local rodeo bar? I have not seen to many.
I even know of a small group of skin heads.
The short answer is yes there is raceisim in Wichita!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[KevK]

Originally Posted by t39g2t

There is raceisim in every city.
To think other wise is very ignorant at best, I know of several groups in Wichita that are very anti black. True most of the people in the surrounding areas like Andover and the like are people who do not want to live next to blacks or Hispanic people. But there are plenty of people who do not like other races in Wichita I can tell you first hand. How many blacks do you see at the local rodeo bar? I have not seen to many.
I even know of a small group of skin heads.
The short answer is yes there is raceisim in Wichita!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maybe perhaps most blacks in Wichita do not wish to go to the rodeo bar. Maybe they do not care that much for country and western music. However my wife- who on first glance appears to be a regular black woman- and myself are big country and rock fans and we went into a country club in Wichita when we were last there and we were treated well by everybody- in fact one of the "cowboys" ask me to dance with her and they did. While I agree there is going to be a certain number of trashy no good for nothing people in any population that like to cause trouble, I would also say that the vast majority of people in Wichita would denounce such people in a second. I lived in Wichita in the 70s when the Ku Klux Klan came to town and tried to open up shop and they were shown the door very quickly. In fact when they had a "rally" in which about 12 people showed up, they pretty much knew they were in the wrong place. I would compare Wichita's race record with that of any city.

[Kansasfornow]

Originally Posted by t39g2t

There is raceisim in every city.
To think other wise is very ignorant at best, I know of several groups in Wichita that are very anti black. True most of the people in the surrounding areas like Andover and the like are people who do not want to live next to blacks or Hispanic people. But there are plenty of people who do not like other races in Wichita I can tell you first hand. How many blacks do you see at the local rodeo bar? I have not seen to many.
I even know of a small group of skin heads.
The short answer is yes there is raceisim in Wichita!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I do not agree. Wichita is no more racist than anywhere else, maybe even less than alot of places. I work at Wichita State University where there are students of color from all over the world and everyone gets along. The past two mayors have been people of color, if Wichita is so racist than why are these people elected? Other government officials in Wichita are also people of color. I find it amusing that one would judge whether or not a city is racist based on who frequents a rodeo bar.

[jejones]

It may not be any more raciest but is surely is not less than many places I have been.
I have heard many people mutter in discust when an interacial couple walk buy.
I have known severl people one a minister of a church that just plain does not like black people and does not try to hide it.
I was told by many when looking to buy a home not to buy near a dollar store or a check cashing business or any where that blacks hang out.
There are many who do not talk about it but the thinking if there big time. Most of you here just dont like to admit it.

[krupp]

I think that wichita is not over run with violent crime but on the same token it does have a lot of minor crime, theft is rampent. If you leave your car out in or near several parts of the city it will get damaged or loose its radio.
Homes getting broken into for theft is bad. Any one who says it is not is lying.

[mileslong]

I agree, wichita is not as bad as Detroit but it still is not a great place to buy. Unless you want to be around people of "color" many do not want to be. so you have andover and goddard. very few of other races there. and the home sales stay higher. andover is more looked for than wichita. I was told if I buy in wichita that I would have to wait to sell in wichita. but andover sells fast.

[Kansasfornow]

Originally Posted by mileslong

I agree, wichita is not as bad as Detroit but it still is not a great place to buy. Unless you want to be around people of "color" many do not want to be. so you have andover and goddard. very few of other races there. and the home sales stay higher. andover is more looked for than wichita. I was told if I buy in wichita that I would have to wait to sell in wichita. but andover sells fast.

Below are the FACTS about the Wichita housing market. It is a strong market despite real estate problems in other parts of the country. There is overbuilding in Andover. Im not saying it is a good place to live - as is Wichita - but there are dozens of cookie cutter subdivisions all over the place and alot of foreclosures. Wichita remains a great place to buy - see below whichi is the 2008 real estate forecast by researchers at Wichita State University.

Wichita Housing Market Forecast - Center for Real Estate at WSU (broken link)

[Hfly1]

I agree with the OP's comments about the posters to the Wichita Eagle articles. They are often offensive and bigoted. It must be a small subset of the community that writes. Fortunately, after living here for eight years, I have found that they do not reflect the rest of the community. I think the people that you would want to spend time with are not the ones spreading nastiness online.
Prior to moving to Wichita I lived for significant time in MT, MI, CA, UT, WA, and have visited most states. I find Wichita to be a wonderfully diverse mix with the benefits and problems that brings. I love the arts scene, the parks and greenspace, and the intelligent and religious people of all creeds. I love my ten minute commute. I live north of 21st st between Rock and Woodlawn in a quiet neighborhood. My neighbor on the right is Asian and on the left is African American. My kids go to Wichita schools and I have been pleased with thier education so far. They don't see color, which I think is a blessing. (Meaning their friends and associates are of all races and they don't differentiate.) Like any school system, if the parents spend time teaching and reinforcing at home the kids will progress much faster.
I don't like the lack of bike paths on the major streets. There are some major bike paths that cross the city which are very nice, but they don't all connect and don't get me from home to work. But the city is working on improving them, as well as adding and improving the greenspace. I love the two large lakes within an hour and the camping. The vistas are not the same as Colorado or California, because the land is relatively flat, but there are many beautiful places in Wichita and the surrounding areas.
This is not Utopia, but it is a very livable and enjoyable city.