Some thoughts and questions about Kansas... (Wichita, Hutchinson: real estate, property taxes, luxury)

[ljkbsb]

I moved from Kansas to South Carolina and our realtor here kept telling me about the low taxes, etc. Yes, our property taxes are lower here, but the public school system is not very good, so we have to send our son to private school and pay tutition. Now, the taxes look great. We thought we had done our research well and thought we moved to an area that had relatively low cost of living, but we are struggling to make ends meet even though our income has increased. It's the little things like costs at Walmart that make a difference and the big things like personal property taxes, which are higher than Kansas, which I didn't think was possible. I miss Kansas and would move back tomorrow if we could both find jobs.

[elfyum]

To my fellow Flint Hills devotees - I was hoping to attend the prairie burning in Chase County in April, but the weather was way too cold! I'm wondering if there is anything similar - some sort of unique festival or activity/ies that take place in this area in the summer. I know the weather will be to my liking, & although I can just drive around & appreciate the scenery, I would like to see if there's something going on that I would enjoy. Thanks!

[rondamarchant]

Hello,

I have a friend who owns a nice farm near Paola. He says it is "peace on earth." He lives in Kansas City, works in Kansas City but travels to his farm during the weekends.

Here is the Paola website: Paola, KS - Official Website.

Some more stats are located on the city-data.com:
http://www.city-data.com/city/Paola-Kansas.html

Thanks,
Ronda Marchant

[cadibug]

Hi,
This is my first post. Just wanted to say hello from Eureka, KS in beautiful Greenwood County.
I've been living in KS since 2000, and of the places I've lived in, Eureka is by far the smallest and sweetest little town. Jobs are definitely few and far between. Hubby works in Butler County, which isn't far, but with gas as high as it's been the commute is killing us. He's recently started carpooling with a coworker so that we can afford some little luxuries, like food and clothing, lol.
I've heard SO many people from around here tell me that their parents and grandparents referred to the Flint Hills as "God's Country".
Anyway, wanted to pop in and say hi!

[fishbowl]

cadibug, we go to Eureka now and again. I have a question about it. The hospital. Is the ER open 24/7, and is it manned by doctors 24/7? We are trying not to use the Emporia ER again, and really from Madison have the choice of Emporia, Eureka, or Burlington.

We were just down in Eureka yesterday to go to Alco. Bought a patio chair. We wanted to eat at the Copper Kettle, but they weren't open. Seems to me like they're closed Mondays, but maybe it was closed for Memorial Day. I like their fish sandwiches okay, and their "Robert Redford pie" is good. (The best fish sandwich I think I ever had was in Independence at Eggbert's.)

I have to go back to Eureka today or tomorrow to pay our car tags.

We've looked at houses there, but I think we might just stay where we are.

[lebanonmom]

Up around the contigual center of the usa part of Kansas is awesome. I once lived in Oswego, that was fine and in Galena but the north central part is awesome! Sure, some things may cost as much as other places but where else can you buy a house for what you would put as a down payment anywhere else or less! When I first moved there, I had put everything I owned in the garage whie preparing the house to live in and I made a trip to Wyoming and forgot to shut the garage door, When I got home a week later, nothing had been touched! It is awesome!

[kansaslady]

I live in the KC Metro Area and my profession is as an Administrative Assistant. I have family in CA, TX, VA. The salaries for Admins in the KC area are, for the most part, higher than in any of the states I listed. And that includes CA!

Comparing salaries to housing costs, Kansas is one of the most affordable places to live.

[lebanonmom]

I am applying for a job I saw in Red Cloud, Nebraska as it is only 20 miles from my home in Lebanon. I wont mind a cut in pay if they hire me, if I can go back home! It is costing me an extra $800/mo just to live here and that isnt including utilities as I would have them there too. And I am not getting the hours here either. Last month I lost a total of 5 days due to either computer problems or lack of work at work. this month I have already lost 2 days. The was 1/4 my total pay so I will gladly take a cut in hourly wages, would probably end up making more anyhow and be back home! As far as the commute, it is just a nice, quiet, peaceful, relaxing drive! I drive 15 miles where I am now!

[2112]

Time to revisit this thread... just spent the last 3 weeks driving all over Kansas... about 3,500 miles worth. My favorite towns (no particular order) were Pratt, Ottawa, Russell, Concordia, Newton, El Dorado, and Winfield.

I visited taxfoundation.com to check on the tax burden imposed by state & local taxes in Kansas as compared to my home state of Oklahoma. Last year, Kansas was 15th overall, Oklahoma was 45th. This seems to explain the vast superiority of Kansas's highway system to Oklahoma's.

Do Kansas cities and towns levy income taxes on their residents or workers?

What is this "intangibles" tax?

At any rate... sometime within the next five years I can see me looking to find a nice two-story farmhouse (complete with basement!) somewhere out in nice flat Kansas countryside so I can see for miles around, surrounded by nothing but the quiet waving wheat. :-D

[KevK]

Originally Posted by 2112

Hi, y'all...

I drove through KS this past weekend (a very unfortunate weekend in some parts ) and had some thoughts and questions I'd like to share.

First and foremost was the difference in motorists between Kansas and Oklahoma (where I live now). It seems to me that we Oklahomans could learn alot about driving from Kansans. It was like my stress level behind the wheel went down several notches after I was across the border. I actually enjoyed driving again. Of course the minute I passed back into Oklahoma, it was back to the usual terror.

Second, the Kansas road system seems to beat Oklahoma's by miles. I was able to drive down state and US highways without beating my car to death. Things are well-signed and even at night things are generally easy to discern at speed. Plus, I didn't notice an overabundance of speedtraps. Overall, I felt very safe. Of course the minute I passed back into Oklahoma it was back to the usual roughness.

I was floored by the number of beautiful farm-style homes in Kansas. Downtown areas were very clean (except maybe the west side of DDC), well-kept and quite quaint. Something very poignant about driving through small Kansas towns after dark was that they seemed very abandoned, like everyone went home and stayed in for the night, even early on Saturday night.

I've been a little put off about some of these things about Oklahoma for awhile, and I have been considering moving out. I like the Texas panhandle, and my impressions of Kansas have been pretty favorable. This leads me to some questions.

The area I toured was generally the south-central area of the state west of Wichita (again, bad weekend for this). Is the rest of the state outside of the large cities comparable in infrastructure and culture?

How are the large cities for livability and crime?

How are the prices on some of these big, beautiful farmhouses and attached land?

How do incomes and costs of living relate? Is the tax burden ridiculous (something has to pay for that road system...)?

What's the general impression of government in Kansas?

Thanks, all...

Oklahoma is a very poor state. Kansas isn't which is why the roads are better.