Looking to move to Kansas from Connecticut. (Wichita, Overland Park: renting, custom home)

[thriftylefty]

IMO there are about 8-15 Midwestern states that are far different from the east coast. Lack of entertainment, cosmopolitanism and progressivism are regional attributes. Wichita, Kansas is not all alone in its stark difference to Hartford, Connecticut. The east coast had a 200 year head start. People who grew up in Philly or Albany are not going to see St.Louis, Kansas City, Dallas,or Omaha as being so diffrent from each other
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[Sewellfamily]

Originally Posted by cp1969

OK...average age of 40 puts them being born in 1969...if they grew up without indoor plumbing (let's say up to age 12; that's marryin' age round these parts)...that puts houses in Leawood or surrounding areas without indoor plumbing in 1981.

Can any of you hillbilly Leawooders chime in and tell us about your no-indoor-plumbing adventures from the early 1980's? Did y'all have a two-holer out back by the moonshine still? How 'bout in the winter? Them chamber pots probably sold fer BIG money back then! Did ya hafta carry water from the crick or ya'll have a well? Did ya hafta use corn cobs or was ya uptown and used them Monkey Wards catalog pages?

C'mon, let's hear them tales of log-cabin livin', on the edge of civilization, Leawood Kansas, circa 1981!

LOL! This was funny. I have been reading all the replys and they have been very helpful. I didnt check in for a few days and came back to some wonderful and funny comments.

[Sewellfamily]

Originally Posted by kcmo

That is some funny ****. . I like the Flint Hills and much of the eastern half of Kansas is much more scenic than most midwestern and great plains states.

It's makes a 300 mille road trip a little better. Driving across Nebraska, Iowa, Indiana, Texas, Illinois etc is much worse than Kansas.

Having said that. I'm "bored" as soon as I get to about Lackman on I-435...

Vacation in Kansas? Really? Most Kansas "tourists" are in the KC area and we all know that 99% of what there is to do in KC and really Kansas, is in KCMO. But for the most part, tourists in KS are people stopped at the gas stations along I-70 asking what the chances of being struck by a tornado are.

OK, now that I got that off my chest.

This idea that Kansas is so different from Connecticut is really sort of silly.

Part of Kansas is dominated by a large metropolitan area (KC). Wichita is a decent sized city and really not a bad city. Kansas has large college towns etc. The state also has a large agricultural culture.

This is not all the different than most other states. KC makes Hartford look very small. Connecticut has many very rural areas and I'm sure they didn't have indoor plumbing at one time either. The people are the same everywhere. Take a person out of small town KS and one out of small town CT and take a person out of suburban Hartford and one out of suburban Johnson County, KS and can you really tell the difference?

If you move from Queens, NY to Topeka, KS, then yea, big time difference. Does anybody do that?

If you move from the Hartford area to the KS suburbs of KC, is it really that big of a difference? Why would it be any different than moving to suburban Boston? If you moved from rural CT to rural KS, is there going to be culture shock? Doubt it.

Good Point. I am very adoptable. Besided I wasn't thinking about the rural area. I would perfer the suburbs or the city.

[bgandl2]

Originally Posted by Sewellfamily

Good Point. I am very adoptable. Besided I wasn't thinking about the rural area. I would perfer the suburbs or the city.

It sounds to me like you'll probably like it just fine. There are affordable parts of Johnson county--I'd either pick older construction close in to Kansas City or move out to Olathe, Ottawa and Spring Hill Avoid KCKS--Piper School District is scary stuff.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by bgandl2

It sounds to me like you'll probably like it just fine. There are affordable parts of Johnson county--I'd either pick older construction close in to Kansas City or move out to Olathe, Ottawa and Spring Hill Avoid KCKS--Piper School District is scary stuff.

Ottawa is fairly far removed from the core of the metro so that would only work if the OP found work in south Johnson County. The road from Spring Hill to Olathe is pretty poor unless they have upgraded it over the past couple of years.

[Torn2pieces]

I think your rent is really cheap for CT... I lived there...I also was born and raised in NY...

Why would you ask about Welfare? As far as I know All states have Welfare/assistance

The grass isn't always greener elsewhere. I know this because I lived in several states, thinking it would be good to live somewhere else, because I read it or heard it on the news.

---

How can you possibly move with no job?

I heard construction is on a downward slope, especially if you're going to start your own business...

Have you ever been to KS? Have you done enough research? I ask this because it's important to know what you might be getting yourself and your family into...

Wouldn't it be wise to at least visit for a few weeks to get a feel of it?

Do you know you pay tax on all food? Oh wait, everything is taxed in KS

There is a big a difference between living in the East and the West, if you live in a smaller town. I'm not talking about KC...

I would not move to a state on a whim....

[Sewellfamily]

Originally Posted by Torn2pieces

I think your rent is really cheap for CT... I lived there...I also was born and raised in NY...

Why would you ask about Welfare? As far as I know All states have Welfare/assistance

The grass isn't always greener elsewhere. I know this because I lived in several states, thinking it would be good to live somewhere else, because I read it or heard it on the news.

---

How can you possibly move with no job?

I heard construction is on a downward slope, especially if you're going to start your own business...

Have you ever been to KS? Have you done enough research? I ask this because it's important to know what you might be getting yourself and your family into...

Wouldn't it be wise to at least visit for a few weeks to get a feel of it?

Do you know you pay tax on all food? Oh wait, everything is taxed in KS

There is a big a difference between living in the East and the West, if you live in a smaller town. I'm not talking about KC...

I would not move to a state on a whim....

I am not moving on a whim. this is something thqt my husband and I have been thinking about for the past year. Kansas is also not the only state we've been looking into. I am doing my research. I came to this forum because I wanted to hear from people that actually live there. it's good to look up the status of a place, but they don't mention things that someone that lives there would. I already mention that visiting is not an option right now. And we do have jobs.at least my hubby does. he's a drivers assistant and he has his roofing company on the side. I just finish my CNA course and I am currently in College to be a nurse. And I also mention why I asked about welfare. We're not moving until around this time next year,so I am just collecting info at the time. after we feel we have done enough research the family will sit down and decide which state is best for us. I don't want to be told that I am better off in CT. I've lived here all my life and want a change. Many people move all the time. I am not scared of the economy, we're actually doing ok dispite job issues across the country. Yeah compare to NY CT rent is cheap, but still high for what we're getting for hartford. Taxes is a given no matter where you live in the US. CT also tax food. I try not to think about taxes because there is no way around.

Thanks for your comment

[thriftylefty]

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Here is a link to a company that operates hospitals in Kansas

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by Sewellfamily

I am not moving on a whim. this is something thqt my husband and I have been thinking about for the past year. Kansas is also not the only state we've been looking into. I am doing my research. I came to this forum because I wanted to hear from people that actually live there. it's good to look up the status of a place, but they don't mention things that someone that lives there would. I already mention that visiting is not an option right now. And we do have jobs.at least my hubby does. he's a drivers assistant and he has his roofing company on the side. I just finish my CNA course and I am currently in College to be a nurse. And I also mention why I asked about welfare. We're not moving until around this time next year,so I am just collecting info at the time. after we feel we have done enough research the family will sit down and decide which state is best for us. I don't want to be told that I am better off in CT. I've lived here all my life and want a change. Many people move all the time. I am not scared of the economy, we're actually doing ok dispite job issues across the country. Yeah compare to NY CT rent is cheap, but still high for what we're getting for hartford. Taxes is a given no matter where you live in the US. CT also tax food. I try not to think about taxes because there is no way around.

Thanks for your comment

I am just wondering, but have you also considered medium sized cities like Omaha and Des Moines?

[city_data_poster]

Sewellfamily says: "I already mention that visiting is not an option right now."

Well, Sewell, I sure hope that at some point down the road visiting does indeed become an option for you.....you really should come out to Kansas and see it for yourself before you make your decision.