Moving TO KS ... Help Deciding Where (Wichita, Overland Park: sales, real estate, low crime)

[jillstrading]

We want to move to KS, but can't decide where. We are an older couple, with a boy age 8, and a girl age 5. I am a sahm, but would like to find something, I can do at home. My dh is working for a manufacturer of small engines as a machine operator. He is expecting to loose his job, along with many others, and was told that they will not be called back to work (company moving overseas). He just turned 50, and is looking to find a job with a company (manufacturing) until he is ready to retire. This is some of the areas we a interested in.


Leavenworth
LEAWOOD
LENEXA
Mission
Prairie Village
Shawnee

My main concern is that we find a safe, and kid friendy area. Any information is greatly appreciated.

[debct]

Originally Posted by jillstrading

We want to move to KS, but can't decide where. We are an older couple, with a boy age 8, and a girl age 5. I am a sahm, but would like to find something, I can do at home. My dh is working for a manufacturer of small engines as a machine operator. He is expecting to loose his job, along with many others, and was told that they will not be called back to work (company moving overseas). He just turned 50, and is looking to find a job with a company (manufacturing) until he is ready to retire. This is some of the areas we a interested in.


Leavenworth
LEAWOOD
LENEXA
Mission
Prairie Village
Shawnee

My main concern is that we find a safe, and kid friendy area. Any information is greatly appreciated.

I have been doing some research myself on those areas. Look at great schools.net That gives city stats like crime ect and school info. I have also looked at Moderator cut: linking to competitors sites is not allowed for crime info. Google teh town names to get linked to the town websites. The towns are in Johnson COunty I googled Johnson county website and got some good info.

Iam sorry about you husbands job. Where are you coming from? We are thinking about coming from Ct. THe cost of living here is just getting to high.

[jillstrading]

I was born in CT (New London County), we are moving from MO. We really love it here, but it seems that all the good paying companies are leaving. The only place the is hiring starts at around $7.50 hr. We are also considering moving to Peoria, IL. We are told that there are plenty of blue collar jobs in that area, not to mention that it is the home of CAT.

[debct]

Originally Posted by jillstrading

I was born in CT (New London County), we are moving from MO. We really love it here, but it seems that all the good paying companies are leaving. The only place the is hiring starts at around $7.50 hr. We are also considering moving to Peoria, IL. We are told that there are plenty of blue collar jobs in that area, not to mention that it is the home of CAT.

We do still have some factories/machine shops around here. Some are small, and some a little bigger. There a quite a few in the Bristol area. Still the cost of livng here is high. When do you think you may be making your move?

[deg512]

I don't know too much about Leavenworth, but all the rest of the towns you mentioned are in northeast Johnson County. Driving around, you go from one to anotherr without really realizing you are in a new town.

I grew up in Prairie Village and now live in Shawnee. My sons attended middle school in Lenexa and I work in Overland Park. The older part of Prairie Village has small post-WWII cape cod houses on streets lined with trees. The lots tend to be a bit larger. This area is very popular and the real estate prices are unbelievable high for the size of home. Those little houses cost as much or more ($200k) than bigger houses 20-30 years newer in Shawnee or Lenexa.

All of those areas are part of the Shawnee Mission school district. The high schools with the best test scores are SM East, SM Northwest, and SM South. I would avoid SM North, since they seem to have the worse scores - so you might avoid Merriam, Mission, and other suburbs that feed that school. Many areas are family friendly.

As far as work goes, jobs may be anywhere in the Kansas City metro area. The industrial areas tend to be in one of Kansas City's more than the suburbs, but looking at one of the on-line job posting sites will help you find what he is looking for.

Good luck!

[debct]

Originally Posted by deg512

I don't know too much about Leavenworth, but all the rest of the towns you mentioned are in northeast Johnson County. Driving around, you go from one to anotherr without really realizing you are in a new town.

I grew up in Prairie Village and now live in Shawnee. My sons attended middle school in Lenexa and I work in Overland Park. The older part of Prairie Village has small post-WWII cape cod houses on streets lined with trees. The lots tend to be a bit larger. This area is very popular and the real estate prices are unbelievable high for the size of home. Those little houses cost as much or more ($200k) than bigger houses 20-30 years newer in Shawnee or Lenexa.

All of those areas are part of the Shawnee Mission school district. The high schools with the best test scores are SM East, SM Northwest, and SM South. I would avoid SM North, since they seem to have the worse scores - so you might avoid Merriam, Mission, and other suburbs that feed that school. Many areas are family friendly.

As far as work goes, jobs may be anywhere in the Kansas City metro area. The industrial areas tend to be in one of Kansas City's more than the suburbs, but looking at one of the on-line job posting sites will help you find what he is looking for.

Good luck!

How do the taxes work there? Are thre city taxes and county taxes? Wew are looking into overland park.

[HUSHYS]

Think about Hays, Ks. Great school system K-12, plus a four year university. Great medical facilities. There are several machine shops in the area. In help the Chamber fo Commerce do a job survey last fall the big complaint was they could not find skilled workers. We have low crime rate. Recreation Commission that schedules activites for children and adults. My wife and I raised four children here and I had several opportunities to move, but didn't because it is a great community. If you would like more info e-mail me privately.

[deg512]

Originally Posted by debct

How do the taxes work there? Are thre city taxes and county taxes? Wew are looking into overland park.

The property taxes do include a county, city, and sometimes school district portion. I believe they are generally set up as a mill levy based on the assessed value of your property (home). We pay around $2500/year on a house assessed at $185,000. There is also a presonal property tax on vehicles based on the car's value - it ranges from $40 on our old car to $200 or so on our newer van).

We pay sales tax on virtually everything - the rate varies by city. Seems like most are 6 - 7.5%. The state of Kansas also has an income tax.

On the plus side, I generally feel like I get something for my money. The schools in Johnson County are good, the roads are plowed in the winter and well maintained, and many of the citys are investing in new facilities such as recreation centers and swimming pools.

[debct]

Originally Posted by deg512

The property taxes do include a county, city, and sometimes school district portion. I believe they are generally set up as a mill levy based on the assessed value of your property (home). We pay around $2500/year on a house assessed at $185,000. There is also a presonal property tax on vehicles based on the car's value - it ranges from $40 on our old car to $200 or so on our newer van).

We pay sales tax on virtually everything - the rate varies by city. Seems like most are 6 - 7.5%. The state of Kansas also has an income tax.

On the plus side, I generally feel like I get something for my money. The schools in Johnson County are good, the roads are plowed in the winter and well maintained, and many of the citys are investing in new facilities such as recreation centers and swimming pools.

I was noticing that Johnson COunty has alot of recreation programs and faclities. The schools look realy good too. Both of those thngs are very important to us.

We are also looking at the south too. I am noticed though, that the south does not have many town services. THe taxes are lower, still you pay what you get. I noticed also 185k there gets you alot more house than it does here. Thank you for your post

[iskerbibel]

Originally Posted by HUSHYS

Think about Hays, Ks. Great school system K-12, plus a four year university. Great medical facilities. There are several machine shops in the area. In help the Chamber fo Commerce do a job survey last fall the big complaint was they could not find skilled workers. We have low crime rate. Recreation Commission that schedules activites for children and adults. My wife and I raised four children here and I had several opportunities to move, but didn't because it is a great community. If you would like more info e-mail me privately.

I just moved from Hays to Wichita a few weeks ago. I enjoyed my four years in Hays- it's a nice town, and I agree with all your points. One clarification, though: There's a REASON why employers can't find and/or retain skilled workers in Hays. For blue-collar jobs, $10 an hour is considered fairly good in Hays. That's how much I made when I first moved there four years ago- and the pay didn't go up all that much. I've started out at a company in Wichita, doing the same type of blue-collar work for nearly twice that much.