What Is WRONG With Wichita - City Of? (Emporia, Derby: real estate, high crime)

[KevK]

I see what I consider to be a rather disturbing pattern on here and that is, it seems like that whenever anybody ask about life and real estate in Wichita, there are always a whole bunch of answers that have "Derby", "Mulvane", "Andover" and "Valley Center" in them just to name a few. The thing I cannot figure out is why it is that so many folks on here never recommend any part of Wichita itself to anybody moving there. It is as if living in the suckurbs of the city is somehow "the norm" or expected.
The reason I find this rather odd is that I was raised in the CITY of Wichita. I lived much of my school life right over by Poplar and Kellogg (after the first few years in Oaklawn) - when Kellogg was actually a STREET that had businesses on it like Cero's Candy, Kidwells Hardware, Farha Brothers IGA (later Roller City), Kellogg Diner and The Pancake House and Peter Pan Ice Cream across the street from my grammar school (Sunnyside). Those were the days when you walked across Kellogg to school and there was not walkway over a screaming expressway.
Places like Derby, Mulvane and Andover were as foreign to me as China. I got a good PUBLIC education at Sunnyside, Roosevelt Middle and East High. The fact is that the Wichita Public Schools are on par and as good with any of those in Mulvane or Andover. The same with the Wichita parks (I would put College Hill Park up against any of those in Derby or Valley Center) and, should trouble come your way, the Wichita Police, EMS and Fire are as good as any in the suckurbs.
I still own property in Wichita and, although it has changed, it is still a good safe city with a good school system. If I still lived in Kansas, I would not hesitate for a minute to live within the city limits of Wichita. I don't know why folks feel the need to live anywhere else.

[Modron]

[quote=KevK;7050749]I see what I consider to be a rather disturbing pattern on here and that is, ...

The reason I find this rather odd is that I was raised in the CITY of Wichita. I lived much of my school life right over by Poplar and Kellogg (after the first few years in Oaklawn) - when Kellogg was actually a STREET that had businesses on it like Cero's Candy, Kidwells Hardware, Farha Brothers IGA (later Roller City), Kellogg Diner and The Pancake House and Peter Pan Ice Cream across the street from my grammar school (Sunnyside). Those were the days when you walked across Kellogg to school and there was not walkway over a screaming expressway.

I think you've answered your own question. Wichita has changed. I remember when Nature's Way was on Kellogg and Portabello Road Restaurant. Along with places like Cero's you drove down Kellogg through some of the city's charm. But no longer. New Market Square is a nice shopping center, but it isn't charming.

[athfo]

Originally Posted by Modron

I think you've answered your own question. Wichita has changed. I remember when Nature's Way was on Kellogg and Portabello Road Restaurant. Along with places like Cero's you drove down Kellogg through some of the city's charm. But no longer. New Market Square is a nice shopping center, but it isn't charming.

I think there are still charming areas/neighborhoods in the city, like the Delano district, Commerce Street, Riverside.

[Modron]

Originally Posted by athfo

I think there are still charming areas/neighborhoods in the city, like the Delano district, Commerce Street, Riverside.

Agreed. Those are charming places well worth slowing down and stopping in to enjoy them.

[drjones96]

I'll tell you straight out why my wife and I chose to move to Derby. It had nothing to do with what Wichita is or was. In fact we thought Wichita had some very nice areas to live that may have been within our means. We chose Derby because it reminded us of our home towns where we grew up. We're small town people.

[lawnorder]

High crime. Or at minimum higher than Andover and the other towns you mention. Also High populations of race and ethnic people other than white. Some will say it is not a problem and maybe to them it is not. But many whites will not live on north Emporia st. Behind Via Christi, many Hispanics living there. Homes are not a nice as other places. Go to a sub, in Andover and you will be hard pressed to find a black family. I am not saying none live there, I have seen a few. But comparatively 1% compare that to Wichita. When I was looking for property in Wichita my realtor told me she would not live in Wichita. She suggested all the towns you mentioned and added in Rose city and Augusta. Wichita is a town that people only move to if they have a job waiting for them. Its not a destination place. Take out the aircraft industry and the town for the most part would start to die. Some may disagree, I guess if I were stuck there I would also.

[KevK]

Originally Posted by lawnorder

High crime. Or at minimum higher than Andover and the other towns you mention. Also High populations of race and ethnic people other than white. Some will say it is not a problem and maybe to them it is not. But many whites will not live on north Emporia st. Behind Via Christi, many Hispanics living there. Homes are not a nice as other places. Go to a sub, in Andover and you will be hard pressed to find a black family. I am not saying none live there, I have seen a few. But comparatively 1% compare that to Wichita. When I was looking for property in Wichita my realtor told me she would not live in Wichita. She suggested all the towns you mentioned and added in Rose city and Augusta. Wichita is a town that people only move to if they have a job waiting for them. Its not a destination place. Take out the aircraft industry and the town for the most part would start to die. Some may disagree, I guess if I were stuck there I would also.

Wichita was there long before the airplane industry came along. If it went away, Wichita would be hurt but it would survive. It would maybe go back to making brooms or something.

[averagejoe76]

If i had Children i wouldnt put them in Wichita Schools,thats probably the biggest..
Reason.That and Crime.

[lawnorder]

Originally Posted by KevK

Wichita was there long before the airplane industry came along. If it went away, Wichita would be hurt but it would survive. It would maybe go back to making brooms or something.

I was not implying that it would disappear of the face of the earth. I was saying that Wichita will not be an island of prosperity in a sea of despair. It is and will continue to feel the collapse of the US and world economy, that is a fact that many here do not want to see. When I was living in Michigan they kept telling me "we have a lot of water and people love it here, it will come back and is coming back nicely. Well now you can not give a home away there to a homeless person. The aircraft industry is to Wichita as the Auto industry is to Detroit, you do the math.

[homesellerforkansas]

The point is with any Major City in every state there is going to be crime. As a Realtor, it is always my job to satisfy the buyers needs and I do it well. It is also my job to ask them what specifications they would like with their new home. I never under any circumstances direct them to any areas, that is their decision what area they would like to live in. Who is to say that a buyer feels safe in an area that otherwise someone else does not. Yes, I do agree that outer area schools around Wichita seem to show better results, but I do know parents that have their kids in Wichita Schools that love the progress their kids are making. If it is a concern of my buyers, then I will let them know where to get crime and school statistical information.