Possible move to Wichita

[sugaries]

Originally Posted by crazyma

I live on the east side, withing walking distance of Bradley Fair. What crimes are you referring to on the EAST side??? Over off GROVE?? Geeze, what apts. are you living in.
Oh , and where are there protected/gated communities? Maybe there are but i don't know of them.

I grew up in Atlanta, still have family there. Moved here about 2 yrs. ago from MIAMI........you want to talk about CRIME now????
While I am not overly crazy about Wichita, it has all that we need....except family.

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I LOVE ON S. ROCK ROAD NEAR PAWNEE - ABOUT A MILE FROM McCONNELL AFB. THERE ARE BREAK-INS, CAR VANDALISM, AND PEOPLE BEING ATTACKED IN THIS AREA, BLATANTLY OPEN DRUG DEALING, AND IT'S PRETTY CONSISTENT ALL OVER THE CITY. MANY PEOPLE I WORK WITH TALK ABOUT THE CRIME HERE AND THEY ALL LIVE IN DIFFERENT AREAS OF WICHITA - IT'S NOT EXCLUSIVE TO ONE OR TWO AREAS OF TOWN.

GOOD FOR YOU THAT YOU DON'T SEE OR HEAR ANY OF THIS GOING ON; I WISH I HAD THE SAME PLEASURE. WHY WOULD I SAY THERE'S CRIME IF THERE ISN'T? I HAVE TO BE HERE BECAUSE I WAS TRANSFERRED ON MY JOB.....I DIDN'T HAVE A CHOICE (UNLESS I WANTED TO LOSE MY EMPLOYMENT), SO SINCE I MUST BE HERE, I WANT TO BE HAPPY AND FEEL SAFE. WHY WOULD I MAKE STUFF UP AND LIVE IN FEAR IF UNNECESSARY?????

I'VE LIVED IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, DALLAS AND OTHER LARGE TOWNS AND I'VE NEVER EXPERIENCED ANYTHING LIKE WICHITA (AND THAT AIN'T GOOD), SO I HAVEN'T LIVED A SECLUDED LIFE IN A VINE-COVERED COTTAGE IN THE WOODS OF XANADU.

ALL OF YOU WHO LOVE WICHITA AND HAVE NO PROBLEMS.....MORE POWER TO YOU AND GOD BLESS. THAT HAS NOT BEEN MY EXPERIENCE. MY PROBLEM IS THAT SHORTLY AFTER I MOVED INTO MY COMPLEX, THEY CHANGED MANAGEMENT AND STARTED ACCEPTING GOVERNMENT HOUSING VOUCHERS, WHICH BROUGHT IN A WHOLE NEW FLOCK OF TENANTS. THAT'S WHEN THE CONSTANT YELLING, FIGHTING, VANDALISM, BREAK-INS, GANGS OF GUYS HANGING OUT IN THE PARKING LOT HARASSING WOMEN, LOUD MUSIC AND OBVIOUS DRUG DEALING BEGAN. SORRY IF THAT IS STEREOTYPING ABOUT GOVERNMENT HOUSING RECIPIENTS, BUT THE TRUTH IS THE TRUTH. LIKE I SAID IN MY ORIGINAL POST, I REALIZE NOT ALL SECTION 8 TENANTS ARE LIKE THAT, BUT THAT'S BEEN MY EXPERIENCE WHERE I AM RIGHT NOW AND ACQUAINTENCES AND CO-WORKERS TELL ME THE SAME THING ABOUT THEIR PARTS OF TOWN.

I CAME FROM SOUTHEAST TEXAS AND I'D MUCH RATHER RUN FROM HURRICANES THAN THUGS WHO WANNA STICK A KNIFE IN MY GUT FOR A COUPLE OF BUCKS (OR JUST FOR GRINS, AS SOMETIMES THE CASE MAY BE). I'LL BE GOING BACK AS SOON AS MY MANDATORY TRANSFER TIME IS UP. SAYONARA!!!

[upandrunning]

I think the subs are a better place to live than apt. complexes. But one thing for sure things have started to slow down in Wichita. My brother works for Sherwin Williams in Andover. He said the Forman came in and choked up in a meeting. He said they had to lay off twenty one workers. He said that the Andover plane was hit less than the Mississippi latex plant that makes house paint. The Andover plant is more of a commercial and military paint plant. He said that they hoped that this was all they would have to lay off to weather the economic slow down. Times are going to get tough for many people. Wichita is not going to some how skip out of this one. Three aircraft plants have laid off 1800 workers in the last month. Home values are starting to soften. Its a world wide thing and I do hope the new administration can pull a rabbit out of the hat. After eight years of the worst administration we have ever seen it will be hard. Even the inept bush said that there would be an 18 month down turn before it started to recover. That is translated in to 5 years in reality terms. Some here try to tell you how great things are in Wichita, its a lot like someone from the back end of the Titanic telling you things are high and dry no worry's mate. On guy here i call BSlinger is the equivalent of a used car salesman and not a good one at that. Keep in mind folks, if it sounds to good to be true it most likely is a salesman BS. I always think of the Bugs Bunny cartoon when I think of these people, Where he is trying to sell the Sheriff of Nottingham a patch of land in the Kings forest, when the sheriff hesitates, he says "There was a couple from Kansas looking at it and they are very interested" He crumbles under the pressure sale and does not come to his senses until he is half way roughed in with his new home. Real estate agents are supposed to have your best interest at heart. What do you think? Or would you think that they are more concerned with the commission that they are going to get? Why do you think they do not tell you about the 1,2,or 4 thousand dollar "bonus" to the buyers agent that they get from the sellers side? As a buyer you will not hear about it. So the seller gives them a bonus what do you care. Ill tell you why you should care. Because the agent will push you to buy the home he gets the biggest "bonus" from. Ever wonder why on some homes they tend to push you a bit harder. This is a great neighborhood, great home, You would love it here or what ever other line they can pull out their butt? Its because they are getting a special bonus for pushing that home. Its a legal tactic that has been around forever, and is used on homes that are not able to sell as readily as other homes. You can not see the bonus on the MLS it will only show up on the MLS that only the agent can view. When you go to an office and they pull up listings on MLS services they are not using the same one that they use. There is a separate MLS page for them as for you. One that omits things like who the listing agent is, and other information that has been sanitized for the benefit of the office. These are a few of the tricks of the trade. They are a big part of why we have a foreclosure rate so high and climbing in this country. I have seen many times agents tell banks and assessors what appraisals need to be at, assessors are supposedly independent, but if they do not appraise at what is needed for the bank loan, they do not get any more work. The system is corrupt folks. You need to know how things work. The government is not going to help you. If you over pay for a home because some RE agent tells you how good of an investment it is do you think he is going to come back in a year and help you out when your home is worth less than what you paid? Not a snow balls chance in hell. Don’t trust people who have a vested interest in making money on what you buy. They would sell you a lot on the moon if you would pay for one.

[jettagirl]

Moved here to Wichita 8 months ago and we are very happy with it. It's no paradise, but a heck of a lot better than a lot of places (Detroit metro area for example). There are not a TON of things to do, but there are ENOUGH.

Things I like about living here:

There are plenty of jobs, some of which are well-paying, some not, but there are plenty of jobs to be had if you are willing to work.

Cost of living is low. For the rent we pay here for a large house, we couuld have gotten an apartment in a complex back where we used to live.

Small-town feel, but large enough to have 2 malls, lots of restaurants, and be able to drive anywhere in 20 minutes.

NO TRAFFIC!

Lots of sun compared to lots of places in the US.

Overall, we feel its' a nice place to raise a family. Sure there are shady areas in Wichita. There is crime. But it's really not that bad. People who are on this board complaining about how dangerous Wichita is and how boring and how horrible it is sound a bit whiny to me. Maybe they have unreal expectations of life or haven't lived anywhere else....I'm not sure. I do know that we have lived elsewhere (small towns and large metro areas) and we are very content with Wichita and have no plans to leave.

[upandrunning]

Detroit metro is a lost cause. Comparing it to any city is like saying its not Berlin may 1945. (that’s devastated for the historically challenged ) I agree not much to do, One comedy club, not a bad club the Looney bin, but for a town that size there should be 3 or 4. Things are slowing down there. I fear it will catch up with the harder hit parts of the country soon enough. As far as crime goes, it is not any worse there than many others cities. I have lived in and driven around it quite a bit. There are a few areas that I would not want to be walking alone on at 3 in the morning. I.E. North of via Christi, And some others. But I have not found any place that I would not feel fine driving through mid day. As for rent, you are spot on, It is very cheap there. But as for home prices, they are a bit high. A 125k home should go for more in the range of 98k. And the Hidden taxes called Specials are a killer. The state has no homestead exemption like many other states. Then the HOAs can be another killer. If the home is built after about 97 you are going to have some Specials. It is a kind of hidden in plain sight type of tax where you pay for the electric, streets, and what not assessments that the builder got an exemption until sale tax. It can add as much as 30,000 to the price of a entry level home. The taxes there are outrageous. Even Florida has many places that are not that high, and they have a homestead exemption. South Carolina has very low taxes on property. Arkansas, Missouri and many more have low property taxes. But all those states have a large tourist base. Kansas........ not so much. Not many people go to Kansas to spend a bit of leisure time. If my family was not there I would be looking at any of the other states previously mentioned.
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]

[crazyma]

sugaries, can you get out of your lease? If so , get north of Kellogg and east of Woodlawn/oliver and you might feel safer, IMO
Sorry you have a sucky apt. complex.

[Modron]

According to the FBI Wichita is experiencing an increase in violent crime while other places in the country are experiencing a decrease. I live in west Wichita, really west, and I'm seeing an increase in crime for the first time in more than ten years. I think wanting to pretend we're a small town, or to have that feel, is costing us in the sophistication it takes to address urban issues. I thought the city had gotten past that a few years ago and had finally started to grow up. Seems I was wrong. I rarely go out at night even in this area.

[upandrunning]

Remember a bit over a year ago, when a woman was shot and killed at a Quicktrip, people walking over her body for hours taking photos before anyone even called the cops? Its high in methlabs, but that is almost everywhere. I think with people loosing their jobs and times that are to come, we will see a rise in crime across this country.

[drjones96]

Damn....I better move. You folks are scaring me.