Moving to Parsons, KS

[KansasKris]

I grew up in Parsons and I think - if you like small town life - you will like it there.

As everyone else has mentioned, it started out as a railroad town, then got the Ammunition Plant during WWII. The "plant" is finally closing, and I'm not sure about any future plans for it. At one time, there were appx 20,000 people living in Parsons. I would think a better estimate for today would be 10,000. There was a lot of coal mining between Parsons and Pittsburg, leaving "strip-pits" that are good fishing holes, and you can google "Big Brutus" and see the world's largest coal shovel that was in operation there. (or see it in person near West Mineral)

If you go to realestate.com or other realestate company sites, you can find what is available in Parsons. You can get a lot of house for your money! There are many old, beautiful Victorian homes in the 4the ward or the SE part of town. Many have fallen into disrepair of late, as the economy in Parsons is slowing down/dwindling. She was known as the "Queen City" many years ago. The local residents have do a lot to get Main Street reopened and have done and excellent job! Urban Renewal had closed it down 40 yrs ago, and that's what started the decline, IMHO. But businesses had started moving back in and things were looking up until the ecomony tanked.

They have 2 golf courses and a Botanical Garden. There are a group of women who "keep things beautiful" in the summer by planting flowers and trees. And, there is a great turnout for Katy Days! (the MKT railroad or Katy, was what made Parsons) If you go to Parsonssun.com, you can read more about Parsons and all that is happening there.

The people there are very friendly and your kids will have a "Happy Days" existence for the most part. Of course, drugs are bad everywhere and especially Meth in farming states. I would think the drug problem would be worse in Pittsburg, however, as it always has been. Frontenac - immediately north of Pittsburg - is known as "Little Italy". (I will let your own imagination fill in the blanks)

The medical center, Labette Health, is good for a 100 bed hospital. (appx 100 beds). They have a new administrator there and he has a lot of good things going on at the hospital. However, if you need a tertiary care facility, you will need to go to Joplin, Tulsa, KC, or Wichita. All are about 2 hrs away, except for Joplin which is closer to being 1 hr away.

As far as the schools go, I have no idea any more. Garfield used to be a good grade school, but I don't know about it anymore. Parsons High School wasn't a bad school, there are a lot of us who managed to graduate from there and make a good living! Altamont or Labette County Community HS is more of a technical/trade school (or used to be)

I forgot to add that there are 2 lakes near Parsons, well, make that 3. Lake Parsons, Big Hill, and Grand Lake is about 1 1/2 hr away in Grove, OK. If you go to the thread asking about Chanute (30 miles from Parsons), someone has posted pictures of Big Hill

If you have never been to KS, I hope you make the trip! The Flint Hills are really beautiful in the spring and summer....

Good luck on your relocation!

[pioneer88]

In regards to the Parsons Schools I can speak from experience. The Parsons area is lucky to have very good schools. Some have mentioned the Labette County School District as a possiblity which is a solid choice. However to say that the Parsons District is terrible is garbage. The Parsons schools not only offer a quality traditional education with high ACT scores they also have regional, state and nationally recognized fine arts programs. Either way you children will get a fine education each offers its strengths.

[pioneer88]

that post was in response to an early poster...

[KansasKris]

They are just finishing major rennovations to the high school and the middle school was updated not long ago!

[grumpyfarmer]

I would be very very cautious of moving to Parsons KS it is a lousy place to raise kids look at there school profile they are even under the averages for the state and on disciplinary action.The city book keeping is a lot to be desired and even wondered how legal it really is. Unethical unpractical non respective city council the town needs to be audited by the state and the actions need to be reviewed by the ethics comity of Kansas along with the league of municipalities there needs to be recalls on commissioners and mangers need to be fired we should have a state investigation into the affairs of the city of Parsons KS along with a grand jury investigation.

This town dose not rate to move to I would strongly suggest to reconsider any effort of moving into the area you will be greatly disappointed. There are a great many places in the state of Kansas with out moving to Parsons Kansas. Good luck and Keep looking.

[pioneer88]

"look at there school profile"

Here's the school website - www.vikingnet.net hope this helps.

[Kansan Flounder]

Originally Posted by prairie guy

dimarc, before you panic from these previous two comments--

Yes, Parsons the town itself is struggling economically, as are many smaller towns in Kansas and the nation in general. Yes, meth is the drug of choice throughout rural Kansas (easy to make at home) and is a problem. But there are many positives.

First off, if you own a house in the Philly area, you can sell that house there and live like a king in southeast Kansas. Even selling a modest-size home in Philly area you can in Parsons boost your family's standard of living far beyond you had ever hoped. You can buy a split level ranch-style country-club like home for 200k. If you can afford to pay 50k or more for a house, you will be able to avoid purchasing a house in a "bad" neighborhood. Heck, for 90-120k, you can buy a house out of town with a big lot around it and not have any neighbors.

Schools--as alluded to above, there is another school district that is popular, and it is just south of Parsons...it is called the Labette County school district. Though the high school for this district is located in Altamont (10 miles away) one of the K-8 schools is just on the south end of Parsons. You'll love having the kids in a small K-8 school, but complete with all the activities of a big suburban district. And unlike many high schools in the region, the Labette district offers more than just sports.

And Parsons has done a great job with redoing its Main Street--yes, there are even a couple fine restaurants. It does have a junior college as well, albeit small. I wouldn't write off Parsons completely, and again, you can live in Parsons and still be in the Labette school district. Yes, when the kids get high school age, you run into the "nothing to do" syndrome but you'll find that in the urban/suburban area too. At least at a small country high school, your kids will more likely be able to participate in activities, unlike at a big city school.

But if you want to look at other towns in the area--yes, Pittsburg to the east (which has a four-year college) would be an option, though a bit far IMO. Independence to the west is a nice community with plenty of civic activities as well. Both are about the same size as Parsons.

I think you'll find people very welcoming to new neighbors...cetainly the vast majority will ... there will be a few curmudgeons who hate people in general and and a few who are suspicious of those whose roots don't go back five generations, but it really won't be a problem.

Politics will be different--much more overtly conservative than in an urban area but again, the vast majority of people are reasonable and aren't going to shun others just because of their politics.

Also--what does your spouse do? If the spouse wants to work in a professional job, that will be the downside of moving to the area, there aren't that many professional jobs. But there will be plenty of regular type jobs, etc. to be had if you want a little extra family income.

I would not let the other comments discourage you from fully investigating your employment and living options in the Parsons area. You have an excellent opportunity--the trouble with moving from an urban area to an area like this is the lack of a job opportunity. You seem to have that chance and with ages 3 and 4, that is to me the perfect ages to bring a family to the area. All the best with your decision.

I don't think you really know what your talking about as far as the school system goes. PHS has a nationaly renowned vocal music and drama program, as well as one of the biggest Forensics/Debate programs in the area. The reason the majority of parents send there kids to Altamont is either they play soccer or the parents don't want there kids in the same school as blacks.