Anyone familiar with Independence KS? (Manhattan, Pittsburg: for sale, rent, to buy)

[Rivertowntalk]

For determining where to live, it is good to look at the services available locally. Is there a grocery store, school, and local healthcare (a hospital)? In addition, are there restaurants? Many small towns cannot keep a restaurant going and it is also very difficult to keep a local grocery store. Most will say they want and will support locally, but if the small town is in proximity of a larger town with a Walmart and other restaurants, the locals will go there on weekends. They will travel 50 miles or more to shop. In western KS, they may go to Denver on weekends. As the rural Kansas population continues to decline, the local services dry up as well. The real estate is very reasonable because there is no demand. Other items to check: Internet service and television. If you are not within range of a larger city, you won't pick up much on t.v. unless you are willing to purchase a dish, or go through an on-line option.

[Nibbidy]

thanks for replies everyone. Im from a town of 10,000 people in rural New Mexico so Im use to small town life with minimal restaurants and things to do but I sure do miss that quiet simple way of life with less people and no traffic.

Is there a town in SE Kansas that has a bad reputation for crime or just a bad rep? Which towns are considered the better towns? looking at Caney,Coffeyville, Independence and Parsons and which ever other town yall think I should know about.

What do most people do for a living in these towns?

[thriftylefty]

Originally Posted by Nibbidy

thanks for replies everyone. Im from a town of 10,000 people in rural New Mexico so Im use to small town life with minimal restaurants and things to do but I sure do miss that quiet simple way of life with less people and no traffic.

Is there a town in SE Kansas that has a bad reputation for crime or just a bad rep? Which towns are considered the better towns? looking at Caney,Coffeyville, Independence and Parsons and which ever other town yall think I should know about.

What do most people do for a living in these towns?

Every town seems to be hanging on to at least one fairly large industrial employer that pays well for the area. Other than that its the basic; schools ,hospitals, city, county and state jobs. From my experience driving around in rural New Mexico the big difference you will have in that part of Kansas is you will be close to bigger cities like; Tulsa, Bartlesvile, Topeka and Wichita are also only two hours away and people take these trips weekly .Most kids get cars(trucks) as soon as they can drive. If I got a good paying job in; Caney ,Coffeyville , or Indy I would do like many and drive in from Bartlesville especially if I was going to buy a house to sell later.

[GraniteStater]

Bartlesville or Pittsburg, the only two areas with slight gains in jobs and population in the small city/town/rural areas of SE Kansas and NE Oklahoma.

[shorman]

Originally Posted by Nibbidy

Does Independence have a bad reputation in SE Kansas? what about other towns like Coffeyville, Caney, Parsons and others? For some reason small town kansas seems appealing. That sucks about the decline in population in Coffeyville.

How are tornados in the area?

All of SE KS has a bad reputation. It is like living in Appalachia.

[Oklazona Bound]

Originally Posted by Nibbidy

Does Independence have a bad reputation in SE Kansas? what about other towns like Coffeyville, Caney, Parsons and others? For some reason small town kansas seems appealing. That sucks about the decline in population in Coffeyville.

How are tornados in the area?

I went through there last summer and will again this summer. I thought Independence was nice. Quiet town. Coffeyville is bigger and seemed to have some bad areas. I went throughout Kansas last summer for the first time and most small towns I encountered were very clean and nice.

As far as tornadoes go. When you ask locals if tornadoes concern them they say no. The chances of having a tornado personally effect you is quite small. But it is tornado alley. So anything is possible.

The housing prices are amazingly low throughout that region. If you can make a living without having to rely on the local economy it can be a great place to live.

[Nibbidy]

Thanks again everyone. I hear alot about crime but looking at the crime rates on city data ,the SE KS cities dont look that bad, but I guess when comparing them to the average small town they are in bad shape. It is a concern though.

My other big concern is the job opportunities. I would be looking for a job in the area so Im looking into what is there. Caney seems like a good town but this is a hard decision. I might go in a few weeks to get a view for myself.

[Nibbidy]

Oh and what about utilities, car insurance, home insurance and property taxes? Can anyone please give me an idea on what i can expect to pay?

[Unicorn hunter]

This town just came up on my radar as a possible retirement location. You can look on Realtor.com for house prices/RE tax/insurance estimates. Seems like nice small town with really good housing prices, a downtown with some businesses.....a decent coffee place, a nice park/zoo with a water park and pool, a hospital, a Walmart (for those who need it!)...etc. I am afraid of tornadoes, but will have to deal with that! Nice older houses with character, which is something I look for. Seems like it has added population lately? That would seem to be a good sign. Maybe others are in similar situations as I am and moving there. I obviously don't live there, so locals have a better idea of the situation on the ground than I and I look forward to seeing more comments.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by Unicorn hunter

This town just came up on my radar as a possible retirement location. You can look on Realtor.com for house prices/RE tax/insurance estimates. Seems like nice small town with really good housing prices, a downtown with some businesses.....a decent coffee place, a nice park/zoo with a water park and pool, a hospital, a Walmart (for those who need it!)...etc. I am afraid of tornadoes, but will have to deal with that! Nice older houses with character, which is something I look for. Seems like it has added population lately? That would seem to be a good sign. Maybe others are in similar situations as I am and moving there. I obviously don't live there, so locals have a better idea of the situation on the ground than I and I look forward to seeing more comments.

It is shrinking fast in population with a low median household income, that is why the median home values are what you are seeing presently, although it isn't at the level of Coffeyville. A large flood caused many problems there a few years ago.

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fa...s,US/PST045217

The only growing area within this large region would be further east in Springfield, MO region. Home values aren't that much higher, but far more amenities with plenty of smaller towns within easy driving distance.