Alabama Boy Moving to Kansas??? (Topeka, Lawrence: apartments, for rent, houses)

[tgraeter]

I may be moving to Kansas from Alabama. I have lived in the South my whole life, except that I have traveled all over with the military. What changes should I be concerned about? I have always been able to get along with most anyone no matter where they are from. I will be moving to the Ft. Riley area around Manhattan if this goes through. I am an avid hunter and fisherman and not at all scared of being out in the middle of nowhere. As a matter of fact, I would love to be out in the middle of nowhere. What would the weather be compared to Alabama? What could I exspect to pay for a house 3-4 beds, 2 baths and a few acres of land? Thanks all.

[quesera]

You can check the apartment listings in the Manhattan Mercury. Toward the bottom of the page are listings for houses for rent. Good luck in your search! TheMercury.com - Apartments

[AnywhereElse]

Well, we stayed for two years near Fort Rucker in Alabama and used to live in the Junction City area several years back and wanted to go back there but the cost of housing about tripled when the Big Red One came back from Germany. Now, the housing is grossly overpriced since we are familiar with many of the different houses on the market since my husband was born and raised there. We ended up in the SE where housing is cheap but the wages are low, taxes high - can't really win anymore. We used to camp a lot, the lakes are great. The further away from Junction City/Manhattan that you can relocate too, the less expensive the property but it will be a drive into town and expect freezing rain and some snow in the winter. Flooding can also be a problem. I am not sure what part of Alabama you are coming from and that would make a major difference. I wouldn't call it the middle of nowhere - I am in the middle of nowhere here in the southeastern part of the state. If you want the middle of nowhere try northwest Kansas. I really like the area between Salina and Topeka - my favorite of the state. I liked the weather in southeast Alabama - the mild winters were really good. Kansas is extremely humid and allergies are off the charts. Also, I would be careful of the housing since even though the towns are on the small side, both JC and Manhattan can be rough if you get into the wrong neighborhoods so watch out for the lower priced housing. As with all other areas, drugs are a problem both the manufacture and use of. I always liked Herington but the drive in the winter always kept me away. Hope my rambling helped.

[concrete it]

If you like fishing and hunting you picked an excellent area to move to. The only thing i personally dont like about the area is the cold winters. Dont let housing scare you because its still cheaper than a lot of places in the US.

[tgraeter]

The only real concern I have is the winters. I really have little to no experience dealing with snow and ice, other than a 1 1/2 tour of duty in Korea while in the army.

Is Kansas always windy? My mom moved us (I was only about 5-6 yrs. old) out to Oklahoma for a brief period of time and she said that all she could remember was that it was always windy.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by tgraeter

The only real concern I have is the winters. I really have little to no experience dealing with snow and ice, other than a 1 1/2 tour of duty in Korea while in the army.

Is Kansas always windy? My mom moved us (I was only about 5-6 yrs. old) out to Oklahoma for a brief period of time and she said that all she could remember was that it was always windy.

NE Kansas has fairly mild winters. Expect many sunny days during winter It is windy a lot during the winter which can get annoying. Snow is moderate to low with 10-20 inches per winter on average. Freezing rain events can also happen, and those occur a couple of times each winter. Traveling is never recommended when ice is involved.
Kansas is fairly far south in latitude so winters are not severe at all compared to the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest. However, Kansas winters will take some adjustment if you're coming from the Deep South.

[KSUgrad]

here's info on housing: Manhattan Association of REALTORS
Info on Manhattan: www.manhattan.org.

Best wishes for your move!

[Meredith Richey]

We have lived here for 1 1/2 years and are in Lawrence, KS. It is relatively considered the NE part. Anyway we came from CA. For us the winters have been fairly mild, only snowed about three times last winter. Houses in this area w 3 or 4 bedrooms and a few acres out of town are anywhere from 199 to 799. Lawrence is more expensive. In the country most are on the low end. Compared to CA it is great prices for more land! The farther into the country the less expensive. Here in the eastern side it is rolling hills and woods with lower lands as farmland. It is terribly humid in the summer, esp. August=HOT. In the winter it is around a low of 20 but there are some days of 60 degrees which feel like summer! Even so for us CA people we love it here! NO traffic jams, friendly people, "fun" weather, etc.....Wet, thunderstorms in the spring. Beautiful autumn. I think you just need to love weather to move here. The people are wonderful.

[seastorm]

If you are army and being transferred then you certainly want the manhattan area. KSU has a great campus. Lots of hunting and fishing...lots of lakes..we have real seasons here...midwesterners are friendly lot. stay in the northeast part of the state..wouldn't want any further west than manhattan or certainly salina at best...