Looking to move to small town kansas (Overland Park, Topeka: crime, to buy)

[quesera]

gwander, I was just going to suggest the same thing. Don't forget to check around Salina, too. Kansas is full of small towns. The further west you look, the farther apart they are, though. Also, you'd have a much greater distance to drive to have very many shopping options, if that's a priority.

[Samantha S]

Originally Posted by gwander

Check out some of the small farm communities that surround Manhattan, Lindsborg or Hayes. That would put you close to a town with a college in it, so you would have access to decent sized medical facilities, schools and some culture, without having to be anywhere near a big city.

And look up Pratt Kansas. It's tiny but nice.

I grew up in Hays and return there frequently. Hays is a town of about 16-18k with the university.

I don't know how small of a town you are wanting. But if I had 4 kids I'd be careful about going "too small". Hays has decent schools and will have decent opportunities for jobs in the school district. Hays is also big enough to allow you plenty of opportunities for friends and such without making you stick out as the "new people" for 10 years.

Incidentally, Fort Hays State University got its start as a teacher's college and still has one of the best education programs in the region.

The little farming towns around Hays (and in most of KS) are going to be more clique-ish and less welcoming to you unless you come in with some "connection" to the community. But not everyone is like that - and if you are quick to make friends in a local church or through work or kids, you will fare better. Just tread carefully.

If you do opt for one of the very small communities, I would encourage you to spend some time there getting to know a few folks before showing up and plunking down your stuff. If you spend a little time in a local eatery or shop, chatting with folks, telling them you're thinking of relocating there, asking their opinions about the area, schools and such, then when you get there, many will feel like they already "know" you.

Personally, I'd check out the Desoto area first and stick to a little bit bigger town, but that's just me. There are so many options, I'm sure you will find "home"

There's no place like home, there's no place like home .... sorry - couldn't resist! Welcome to Kansas!!!

[Samantha S]

Originally Posted by quesera

gwander, I was just going to suggest the same thing. Don't forget to check around Salina, too. Kansas is full of small towns. The further west you look, the farther apart they are, though. Also, you'd have a much greater distance to drive to have very many shopping options, if that's a priority.

Agreed. Salina is a town of about 40k, which is probably bigger than what you want. But there are some nice little towns around it, like Ellsworth.

Same advice on any small town though.

[thriftylefty]

I have also found in small town Kansas you make can life long friends by emersing your self in children's extra-curricular activites,YMCA, 4H , boy scouts, story time at the library, Little League, PTA ,it sounds boring at first, but you will soon find your self at many; social events, back yard parties, etc. with people you met through your kids. These things show people right away that you share common Values with them. As always in small towns people separate themselves to some extent through church affiliations. networking at church will be the best way to find the best ;Mechanic, Dr's , Baby sitter, handy man, etc.

[Samantha S]

Originally Posted by thriftylefty

I have also found in small town Kansas you make can life long friends by emersing your self in children's extra-curricular activites,YMCA, 4H , boy scouts, story time at the library, Little League, PTA ,it sounds boring at first, but you will soon find your self at many; social events, back yard parties, etc. with people you met through your kids. These things show people right away that you share common Values with them. As always in small towns people separate themselves to some extent through church affiliations. networking at church will be the best way to find the best ;Mechanic, Dr's , Baby sitter, handy man, etc.

Agreed. That's good advice for relocating to any community. But for a small town, it's crucial.

[somersetfarms]

I am not a native to Kansas, I was born & raised in Minnesota. We lived near Fort Riley for a few years in the early 80's when my husband was in the army, moved to Clay Center (very small farm town) for a few years then went back to Minnesota.

We recently moved back to Kansas, 9 months ago, because we missed the mild winters here. When we were thinking about moving back down to Kansas we started doing some research and decided we wanted to live in a small town, not too far from available jobs and there had to be some lakes around for recreation. Coming from "The land of 10,000 Lakes" we couldn't be too far from water. So we decided we would look no further west than Topeka, and no further south than Iola.

We ended up outside of Pomona KS. It's a tiny little quaint town, friendly people, 15 miles from Pomona Lake and 25 miles from Melvern Lake. Both have State & Federal Parks. There are lots of rivers and streams and lots of hills & deciduous trees. We are centrally located about 45 minutes from Topeka, Lawrence and the Kansas City Suburbs. There are several larger small towns around with several thousand people and small job markets but still within driving distance to larger job markets of the major cities.
We live on 52 acres filled with wild life and nature of all sorts. A true wild life haven. Wild raspberries and Mulberries all over the place. If you haven't figured it out yet, I love it here. Kansas has 4 seasons, but the winters are a blink of an eye compared to the fridged Minnesota winters.

[tlawwife]

I live in a small town in western Kansas and want to say that we think we have a very good place to live. It is true that if shopping is your main focus a person has to travel to do that. If a sense of community is what you are looking for you will find that here. We have fabulous schools. Ours has been listed in the US News and World Report best schools in the nation for the last 2 years. If you like farming areas that is what we do. I moved my family here from a larger area in Southeast Missouri 11 years ago and the kids tell everyone it was the best thing we did for them. We are not near a University but do have teachers who have gotten their degrees while living in Leoti.

Most communities have some type of health care. We have a completely free completely volunteer EMS service which has the fastest response times in the state. However it is true if you need a specialist you have to travel to a larger facility somewhere else.

We have beautiful sunsets and the stars really sparkle out here.

[nymommy0f4]

I will definatley follow the advice about schools and look into the towns which have been offered.. ty

[lebanonmom]

People say "there are no jobs" that is not true, myboss has been trying to hire someone for months now but no one wants to work. It is a small, growing town and a great boss, dont pay much but these days 2 part time jobs = full time work.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by lebanonmom

People say "there are no jobs" that is not true, myboss has been trying to hire someone for months now but no one wants to work. It is a small, growing town and a great boss, dont pay much but these days 2 part time jobs = full time work.

Unfortunately, this is an all too common theme among the frontier counties in the Great Plains. It is very hard to find people that are willing to move to isolated towns, and a huge number of younger people out-migrate to urban areas following High School and College.