Moving to KS from AZ (Wichita, Overland Park: relocation, housing, rent)

[ladygemini]

I'm a single mom of a 4 and 6 yr old looking to relocate to either KC, MO/KS. Came out to visit this past weekend and only went to the Plaza downtown. I'm moving from Phoenix and was "cold" so I stayed in my room for the most part. I did some soul searching and was impressed at how friendly everyone was in the Barry area. This was not a relocation trip, but is fast becoming an option and change for me and my kids.
I'm looking to relocate in June when my kids get out of school. Here in AZ we have before and after school and not finding that the schools there are offering that.
In reading the post I am becoming interested in the Johnson County cities. I work in the medical field as a payment poster for a medical billing company and I have previous dental front office expience. I see that the salaries are comparable to what they pay here and I'm looking for slower pace and affordable housing also.
i know race should not be an issue but I am black and being prior military am very big on diversity for my kids to grow up knowing all races and colors and blending in as I have growing up. So any suggestions?
I have military friends in Ft. Riley willing to help as mich as possible, but they are also trying to convince me to move to that area of KS and I don't like being that far away from a major airport :-)

[W350]

Take a good look at Salina! We could use your services and are about 1 1/2 hours from Wichita, if our airport is not big enough for you. We are about 48 miles from Ft. Riley, so you can still visit your friends in short order.

http://www.ci.salina.ks.us/

[AZ_singlemother]

I'm in Arizona too - single mother as well. I have family in Witchita and the school systems are well more advanced than AZ schools. Prices are reasonable but jobs are not as abundant. What's your line of work?

[shannanb]

yes, moving from Arizona to the Midwest is appealing as the cost of living here is skyrocketing and you don't know your neighbors, our bad weather of heat lasts for months- not a week or so- but literally months! It isn't unusual for it to be above 100 degrees for 100 or more days in a row. Dry heat? Don't make me laugh. With all the swimming pools and ponds on the multiple golf courses, our humidity has been increasing each year. I've been back to the Kansas City area during ice storms, during August and July, and have found I can handle that weather much better! Imagine 4th of July and not being able to set off fireworks because it's too dry. If you go to a public showing, you sit in 108 degree heat (at 8pm) melting with 10's of thousands of people around you. Yes, I can see why sane people would want to leave here! Good luck- there are some beautiful towns near KS City- Baldwin, Gardner. On the Missouri side of the river there are Oak Grove, Blue Springs, Odessa and many others that ARE Norman Rockwell. My word, I visited my cousin with my sister and my sister wanted to know how we were going to get in when we arrived- I said "No problem, the door is unlocked!" She was flabergasted! Imagine her expression when she found out the the keys to the my cousin's car were in the ignition! I can't wait until we move! Only 6 more months!

[Plains10]

Johnson County has one of the best economies of any county in the state of Kansas. Their are definitely jobs in your field in the KC metro area. If you are looking for affordable housing I would look more toward areas of central and northern Overland Park, and some areas of Shawnee and Lenexa. The parts of the these cities have more of a plains/midwest flavor as well. Houses in parts of these cities generally are priced close to the $200,000 level.
I would avoid southern areas of Overland Park because the prices are too expensive and I would also avoid buying cookie cutter houses in Olathe. Baldwin City is in Douglas County and too far away from the KC metro area. Gardner Kansas is EXTREMELY conservative politically along with Olathe and is growing way to quickly, with many cookie cutter houses and big box stores everywhere. Also, Olathe and Gardner subdivisions were built mostly on agricultural land so their is a definite lack of trees compared to the "established" neighborhoods of the suburbs further to the north.
Overall, the school districts in Johnson County are very good with the three big ones being Shawnee Mission, Blue Valley and Olathe. The park system is decent, but most parks in the county tend to be located farther away from where most people live.
The economy in the area is fairly good overall, but definitely not booming as fast as it was back in the 1990s.

[JordanMackey]

Hello ladygemini,

First off let me start off with yes I'm a Realtor for this area. Moderator cut: soliciting I'm a newer agent, but I've lived in this area all my life so I know it well.

There have been some awesome comments and posts on here. I was browsing Google and checking some of my rankings for different terms when I came accross your post and saw that you might be in need of a bit more direct advice that it appeared you were getting.

Breakdown of the local citys - Just a quick overview Moderator cut: soliciting

Anywaz back to actual city breakdown.

Overland Park - School district is Blue Valley, ranked in the top 50 school districts in the NATION, but unless you're wanting to rent a townhome you're going to pay for that ranking. Homes are low $300's on up to high $700's.

Gardner - As suggested by a bunch of these posts, probably would not be your best bet. Lets just say I don't know if the majority of Gardner has gotten around to notice equal rights To say it lightly.

Shawnee - Great school district, close to everything aka (Downtown KC/Mo, Shopping at Legends, Oak Park Mall, Movies... You name it) Also BY FAR!!! The most reasonably priced considering the school district, neighborhoods, crime (If any ) and to quote Shannon "Norman Rockwell"(esk) living style. This price range is typically $190-$425k the higher prices being in some of the newer developments.

There are TONS AND TONS of other communities, opportunites, and amenities I didn't even mention, although since it is 2:43am right now and I've got a sales meeting I have to attend in 6 hours I might need some sleep...Hehe

Moderator cut: ...

[ladygemini]

I have a variety of skills to include prior military, nursing, customer service, corrections officer, travel agent, hotel desk clerk and so on. I was recently working in the medical field as a biller but just got diagnosed last week with Lupus so life is taking a bit of a turn for me now. I am considering Junction City where I do have friends closer. Email me off the board ladygeminiaz@yahoo.com

[Plains10]

Originally Posted by JordanMackey

Hello ladygemini,

First off let me start off with yes I'm a Realtor for this area. Moderator cut: soliciting I'm a newer agent, but I've lived in this area all my life so I know it well.

There have been some awesome comments and posts on here. I was browsing Google and checking some of my rankings for different terms when I came accross your post and saw that you might be in need of a bit more direct advice that it appeared you were getting.

Breakdown of the local citys - Just a quick overview Moderator cut: soliciting

Anywaz back to actual city breakdown.

Overland Park - School district is Blue Valley, ranked in the top 50 school districts in the NATION, but unless you're wanting to rent a townhome you're going to pay for that ranking. Homes are low $300's on up to high $700's.

Gardner - As suggested by a bunch of these posts, probably would not be your best bet. Lets just say I don't know if the majority of Gardner has gotten around to notice equal rights To say it lightly.

Shawnee - Great school district, close to everything aka (Downtown KC/Mo, Shopping at Legends, Oak Park Mall, Movies... You name it) Also BY FAR!!! The most reasonably priced considering the school district, neighborhoods, crime (If any ) and to quote Shannon "Norman Rockwell"(esk) living style. This price range is typically $190-$425k the higher prices being in some of the newer developments.

There are TONS AND TONS of other communities, opportunites, and amenities I didn't even mention, although since it is 2:43am right now and I've got a sales meeting I have to attend in 6 hours I might need some sleep...Hehe

Moderator cut: ...

It seems like Gardner attracts some of the most extreme conservative people I have ever seen in my life. They think all development is good no matter how ugly it looks. Also, why must they built most of the new houses with stucco exteriors? The area must appeal to people who have moved to the KC metro from western sections of Kansas because they do not seem to have good shade trees at all. Also, the demographics of the city are quite disturbing as well. Even as a "bedroom community" the total percentage of persons under the age of 18 is between 30-35%. That is an extremely high number! The median age is only around 28 years old! Ultra conservative Gardner sometimes fails to realize it is 2007 and not the 1950s anymore!

Overland Park has a good economy with plenty of jobs in the city itself in a variety of career field areas. If you can not afford the higher prices in southern Overland Park, their are plenty of quality homes in central and northern Overland Park with more reasonable prices. In fact you can find a decent 3-4 bedroom house that was built in the 1960s or 1970s for a fairly reasonable prices in a solid neighborhood. The Shawnee Mission District has also been renovating many of their older school buildings over the past few years as well to modernize them with new computer labs and science labs for some of the high schools. Both the Blue Valley and Shawnee Mission school district are recognized for being excellent. Shawnee Mission schools tend to have more diversity compared to Blue Valley schools as well.

[Plains10]

Originally Posted by ladygemini

I have a variety of skills to include prior military, nursing, customer service, corrections officer, travel agent, hotel desk clerk and so on. I was recently working in the medical field as a biller but just got diagnosed last week with Lupus so life is taking a bit of a turn for me now. I am considering Junction City where I do have friends closer. Email me off the board ladygeminiaz@yahoo.com

If you are considering Junction City, I would definitely check out Manhattan instead. Manhattan has had a much more solid economy with stronger job growth over the past few years. Junction City is in Geary County which has lost a lot of jobs over the past several years, and is one of the fastest declining counties in the country. Manhattan might have more opportunities and would also have good diversity as well considering that Kansas State University is located in the town.

[malarkey]

ladygemini,

My nieces are both nurses and they live in Roeland Park. Now, I'm not super familiar with KC anymore (been years since I lived near there) but their not-so-little tudor style house is cute cute cute and it was WAY affordable (under 200K) when they bought it a couple years ago.