Which side of Wichta...? (Wichita, Derby: how much, big home, neighborhoods)

[bluede78]

I am moving to Wichita, KS within the next few weeks. My husband and I are currently looking for houses. We have 1 child, so schools are one of the top priorities when looking for a house.

When we have visited Wichita, it seems as if "West Side" is more family oriented than the "East Side." The East Side looked as if it had more runned down areas than on the West side.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what area has the better schools. We have heard some good things about Maize and it's school distrct, so we are not opposed to move there.

Any suggestions are welcomed..... Thanks for the help

Dawn

[KevK]

Originally Posted by bluede78

I am moving to Wichita, KS within the next few weeks. My husband and I are currently looking for houses. We have 1 child, so schools are one of the top priorities when looking for a house.

When we have visited Wichita, it seems as if "West Side" is more family oriented than the "East Side." The East Side looked as if it had more runned down areas than on the West side.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what area has the better schools. We have heard some good things about Maize and it's school distrct, so we are not opposed to move there.

Any suggestions are welcomed..... Thanks for the help

Dawn

Depends on where you are on the east side. The east side has very beautiful nighbourhoods along Rock Rd and in College Park. The west side also has its share of crummy areas along 21st and Arkansas. The schools in Wichita are all good and you can select from among many magnet schools that offer everything from arts to traditional English style schools which are strict and require uniforms. The suburbs also have good schools but they do not have the number of selections and programs that the Wichita system offers.

[ahads]

I would consider the extreme east & west sides to be great places. If you live far enough west, you can feed into either Maize or Goddard schools, which are good schools. If you live far enough east, you can feed into Andover schools, which is also a very good school.

Both sides of town are very comparable as far as shopping & restaurants.

[averagejoe76]

The west is much more safer IMO.The east side has a mix of really bad area's
And nice places like College Hill,Eastborough.
Im not on the west side much but i cant think of any rough areas there.

[drjones96]

Originally Posted by bluede78

I am moving to Wichita, KS within the next few weeks. My husband and I are currently looking for houses. We have 1 child, so schools are one of the top priorities when looking for a house.

When we have visited Wichita, it seems as if "West Side" is more family oriented than the "East Side." The East Side looked as if it had more runned down areas than on the West side.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what area has the better schools. We have heard some good things about Maize and it's school distrct, so we are not opposed to move there.

Any suggestions are welcomed..... Thanks for the help

Dawn

If I were you I'd tour Andover, Derby, & Maize.

We finally settled in Derby. We haven't regretted it so far.

[Mrkando]

Originally Posted by bluede78

I am moving to Wichita, KS within the next few weeks. My husband and I are currently looking for houses. We have 1 child, so schools are one of the top priorities when looking for a house.

When we have visited Wichita, it seems as if "West Side" is more family oriented than the "East Side." The East Side looked as if it had more runned down areas than on the West side.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what area has the better schools. We have heard some good things about Maize and it's school distrct, so we are not opposed to move there.

Any suggestions are welcomed..... Thanks for the help

Dawn

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For the most part you are right in what you say about some areas of Wichita. You will find that in any city of course. You are way too general however as there are some very exclusive neighborhoods in east Wichita as well as west.

I will tell you that I am retired and have no direct experience with the Maize schools except through my wife's grandchildren. We were married last June so my experience is that limited. However from all I hear and see the Maize school system is one of the best around. Many very good to excellent neighborhoods to move too.

As for the Wichita schools themselves I am not sure. My children went through them and we found them to be very good but that was back in the 1970's so I can't speak to that now.

While you will find very good family oriented neighborhoods both east and west I think what you are looking for would be found in the northwest...maize district. As you may well know the Maize school district extends well into Wichita.

We live west of Maize road north off 21st in a very nice garden home area. Very nice area with lakes not all that far from the schools and there are school buses. Welcome to Wichita.

[leighland]

Originally Posted by averagejoe76

The west is much more safer IMO.The east side has a mix of really bad area's
And nice places like College Hill,Eastborough.
Im not on the west side much but i cant think of any rough areas there.

Thats weird to me that people think the West side is nicer. My parents live off 13th and Woodlawn, not great but not bad and when I think of Wichita I think of Eastbourough, Tallgrass, and Vickridge (Big Homes/Big Money). I graduated SE High School in 1985 and kids drove Porsches and BMW's to school. It must have changed a lot in 20 years.

[KansasKris]

Our kids are out of school now, but I've always heard that Andover has the best school system. I'm sure there must be a way to check this out. It's supposedly among the top school systems in the country....

[Hueffenhardt]

When I looked into it before when I thought I might be moving to Wichita, I found that Maize looked like the best option. Great school district, affordable housing, close to new stores that are popping up just south of there.

[OTstuckinKS]

How much are you looking to spend on a house? That would determine a lot.