Cessna Factory, Where to stay? (Wichita, Kansas City: extended stay, appointed, apartments)

[Cypressluna]

Hello everybody, I'm from Houston Texas. Been here my whole life.
I studied Aircraft Maintenance Engineer,
I have a job interview coming up for Cessna Aircraft Company.
If everything goes good, I am willing to relocate.
What should I expect, where to stay, what is there to do in Wichita,
The basic questions that usually come from a newcomer..
Btw I'm looking at renting a condo, I'm not into the get a house thing yet,
Thanks for your help, any info greatly appreciated

[goaliefight]

Stay West of Tyler Road. There are not many condos or decent apartments in Wichita. There are lots of duplexes if that is what you are into. Not sure what you budget is, but you can rent or buy a whole house for cheap here. $800 to $1200 a month in most places.

As far as what is there to do here? Drink and go to church. That is about it. Make sure to spend some time in ICT before you make the move. It's going to be A LOT different than what you are used to. Also, if you do move, buy a coat. Coming from Houston you will be in for a shock when the winter kicks in.

PS. Kansas has state tax on employee income. It will be 5-8% of your pay. That will be a shock to you coming from Texas. Also, your tags on a new $25k vehicle will be about $500 a year.

[knrstz]

It all evens out. Texas has insane property tax that makes up for not having state income tax. Yes you will need a coat here. Last winter you didn't need anything other than a light jacket. Historically it can get cold.but with temperatures being hotter the last two years it seems like that could he changing. There is a lot more to do here than drink and go to church. what.things do you like to do? Then we can give you some feedback on wichita

[Modron]

There is a lot to do in Wichita. It just depends on what you like. For instance, Wichita Art Museum, Great Plains Nature Center, Lake Afton Observatory, Wichita Symphony, Music Theater, Tallgrass Film Festival and their summer movie series, City Arts classes, Wichita Center for the Arts, the ice rink, the Wingnuts baseball team, River Festival, Exploration Place, the water reclamation place, a avriety of Parks, ... . There is stuff to do. If you need it to be at the level of NYC or LA you're likely to be disappointed. If nor, avail yorself of the opportunities. Oh yeah, and Cowtown and The museum of World Treasures.

[buck75061]

Modron nailed it. Also, the movie theaters here are going to surprise you. Check out the Warren multiplexes. I've lived in Dallas and Kansas City, spent extended stays in Houston, Phoenix, San Antonio, and Denver, and I think we have them all beat in that regard. You'll find most chain restaurants here, but we also have some good locally owned places, including several in Old Town (a walkable entertainment district near downtown) and some decent ethnic options, including Thai, Vietnamese, Middle Eastern, Indian, Italian, and Mexican restaurants, along with plenty of Chinese buffets. We have a couple of regional shopping malls and several outdoor shopping centers. You won't spend over an hour each day on traffic-choked freeways, either. You can be just about anywhere in the city in less than 20 minutes or 30 minutes in the metro area. Our metro's population (630,000) is a little more than one-tenth the size of Houston's, but there are benefits to living in a medium-sized city. Kansas City, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa are less than three hours away, and all are worth weekend road trips. A drive to Dallas takes about six hours or a little less. St. Louis takes about seven hours, and you can reach Denver in eight hours. If you like outdoor recreation, you can be in the Ozarks in four hours, too. I wish you luck.

[drjones96]

I interviewed with them about 4 years back. They handled all the flight, rental, and lodging arrangements for the interview trip. (given that you posted this 2 weeks ago, you probably know the deal by now and possibly already had your interview)

As far as where to live, I'd go for Goddard or Maize area if you plan to stay at Cessna. But if you may possibly go to work for Spirit or HBC in the future it may be best to live somewhere neutral like Derby.

As was mentioned already, there are not very many apartments compared to a city like you are coming from. A lot of the apt complexes here are run down. I lived in one for a few months waiting for my house to be built. Worst dwelling experience I've ever had. Don't get me started.

Look for rental houses on craigslist. There are a lot of decent quality houses for rent around here. You will get a lot of quality sq ft for your dollar compared to most of the crumby apts around here.

As was mentioned: State income tax. Just keep in mind that you will have to pay it. It's not huge but it is an expense we didn't have in Texas (I came here from Fort Worth). When factoring in costs of living you should probably add this in. When comparing salaries take off about 5% of whatever they offer you to compare against what you're making in Houston. Looking back I probably would have tried to make a case for a higher salary because of this.

Cost of living: Surprisingly, cost of living here seems higher than Fort Worth. Housing is more expensive because every house has to bare the cost of a basement. If you compared two 1-story homes (one in Fort Worth to one in Wichita) with similar main floor square footage the one here will sell for $25k-$50k more because of the basement (even if it's unfinished). This was my experience anyway. Otherwise, aside from housing and state taxes it costs about the same to live here as there.

Hope that helps.