Moving to Wichita--need advice (Kansas City, Hope: apartment, for rent, crime)

[christina82]

My family and I are moving to Wichita in June. We're going to stay at a weekly hotel while we find jobs and a place to rent. I've already been applying and have had a couple of responses. We have some money saved in the meantime.

I have some questions I hope you can help with:

Where is a good place for storage in case we need it?

What are the good areas for renting a house? My husband doesn't drive so we need to be somewhere where he can get out by himself (life's hard when you can't get some alone time). We want to live in a decent neighborhood though where we can get a 2-3 bedroom house for under 750.00 if possible. We also have a 3 and a 6 year old.

Is there much violence? I've looked at a few statistics and being from Atlanta it seems pretty tame in that respect, lol.

Any advice you all could give would be greatly appreciated.

[crazyma]

Hey! Hope you can get a job lined up before you actually come... that is a big step to take to come without.
BTW Airtran has pretty cheap airfare to & from atl. Saw last minute one way for $69 the other day in case you need to come do a look see/ interviews.


That said, I'm from Atlanta, been here 2 yrs. Yeah it is pretty tame compared to the big A and the metro area...this place is a piece of cake- BUT remember you still need to keep your eyes and ears open!

Be warned, up around me (close to Rock and 21st/29th, The weekly hotels are kinda pricey-

Anyway- IMHO I like the NE side of town, if you look at a map of the area, more specific from Oliver going east, than from Kellogg going north, even north of 96.... It can be a little uppity the further east LOL
Some where off N. Rock Rd. would allow your hubby some ease in getting around with out a car.
For example- Wal Mart is at 29th North and Rock
Dillons grocery @ Rock & 21st has a small library
and there's a Dillons at Central & Rock

I think you will be able to find something in your price, there are even some decent apts. ( a pool is cool here in the summers Check out craigslist.

Good luck! There's a lot to do and see here is you are willing to look around.

[christina82]

I do have a friend that lives up in Wichita. She said the southeast part is cheap and decent neighborhoods.
Are there any decent neighborhoods near downtown??
Also, does Kansas have state run pre-k for 4 year olds?

[crazyma]

I really can't tell you anything about the other sides of town, just that they were not our liking. Not that I am a snob, by no means, I just liked the ease of getting around over here in the NE, close to 96 for hubby as he works right off it, plus the older established neighborhoods with trees.And the immediate area has all that I need

I guess SE would be okay- I go over to the Wal Mart at Pawnee to get my hair cut ( good gal)

Now College Hill area is closer to downtown, but a little isolated from shopping I believe, as far as walking. I think I heard they have a pretty good elementary school in that area. Riverside is pretty nice and Delano is supposed be okay.

here is a link to the schools site
Wichita Public Schools - Home
I don't really know anything about the schools, but will venture a guess they are not worse than metro Atlanta's.

It is very easy to navigate around Wichita, as most of it is laid out with north/south, east/west rds. and not all that winding stuff like around Atlanta, LOL. Plus the traffic is NO WHERE like around Atlanta...a lot of'em actually stop on the entrance ramps and signal
Hope that helps a bit.

[bluede78]

I would be careful on the southeast part of town. They have nice houses and it is close to everything, however; I have heard that the southeast area has some of the worst schools in the Wichita Public Schools.

I just moved here, also, from St. Louis. I have been doing lots of research on Schools and preschools. I have a 3.5 year old. I have to say, I am not impressed with the preschools that I have seen. I think I have seen over 15.

I, too, currently rent an apartment in the Northeast area (until we sell our house in St. Louis) It is very nice and close to everything. I will say that New Song Academy is the nicest preschool that I have found. It is a litlle expensive, though.

I have heard (in hindsight) that you can rent a house cheaper than you can rent an apartment here in Wichta. I have heard the Riverside area is nice and the houses rent for about you price range. I don't know too much else, about it though.

Good Luck with your search!

[christina82]

Originally Posted by bluede78

I would be careful on the southeast part of town. They have nice houses and it is close to everything, however; I have heard that the southeast area has some of the worst schools in the Wichita Public Schools.

I just moved here, also, from St. Louis. I have been doing lots of research on Schools and preschools. I have a 3.5 year old. I have to say, I am not impressed with the preschools that I have seen. I think I have seen over 15.

I, too, currently rent an apartment in the Northeast area (until we sell our house in St. Louis) It is very nice and close to everything. I will say that New Song Academy is the nicest preschool that I have found. It is a litlle expensive, though.

I have heard (in hindsight) that you can rent a house cheaper than you can rent an apartment here in Wichta. I have heard the Riverside area is nice and the houses rent for about you price range. I don't know too much else, about it though.

Good Luck with your search!

Thanks for the information. I am definitely looking for a house. My kids are too used to having a yard. I think my six year old would drive me crazy if he couldn't go outside when he wanted.

[hudsucker]

am thinking of moving there this summer also. Not because I love it but because I have family there. That said I do not hate Wichita and there are a few things I like, there are some community plays, the zoo. There are some things I do not like, High taxes on property compared to other cities of the same size, to conservative for my taste but you do what you have to. Home values I have tried to follow close and they are dropping but not real fast. I think when all the layoffs take affect and the slow down hits the home payments we will see more of a drop. To be fair the prices did not sky rocket over the last 10 years so I do not believe they are going to drop 50%. but a 20% drop may be in order. It is only 220 miles from Branson and even though I am not a country western fan, there are a lot of things to do in Branson. Kansas City is a fun place to spend the week end and its only 180 miles away.

[MissChrista]

Originally Posted by crazyma

I really can't tell you anything about the other sides of town, just that they were not our liking. Not that I am a snob, by no means, I just liked the ease of getting around over here in the NE, close to 96 for hubby as he works right off it, plus the older established neighborhoods with trees.And the immediate area has all that I need

I guess SE would be okay- I go over to the Wal Mart at Pawnee to get my hair cut ( good gal)

Now College Hill area is closer to downtown, but a little isolated from shopping I believe, as far as walking. I think I heard they have a pretty good elementary school in that area. Riverside is pretty nice and Delano is supposed be okay.

here is a link to the schools site
Wichita Public Schools - Home
I don't really know anything about the schools, but will venture a guess they are not worse than metro Atlanta's.

It is very easy to navigate around Wichita, as most of it is laid out with north/south, east/west rds. and not all that winding stuff like around Atlanta, LOL. Plus the traffic is NO WHERE like around Atlanta...a lot of'em actually stop on the entrance ramps and signal
Hope that helps a bit.

I also would say dont count out the West side of town! There is just as much as on the NE side of town as the West but it is a little bit more spread out. But i would definitely say Northeast or West side. Southeast area is okay, I mean regardless of where you are in Wichita there isn't really a significant amount of crime unless you are out there just looking for it! If you are looking for affordable try the South part of town, it may not be that pretty or as pretty as the West and NE side but no one really bothers you and its pretty quiet! Alot of people i know love that side of town though. I have live NE and now West and i love it!