Sorry for redundancy...but there's a lot of Wichita relo's going on... (Kansas City: best cities, salons)

[rooch]

Okay--I appreciate everyone here dealing with the various 'Oh my goodness, I'm moving to Wichita' threads--and I've read through many of them and the info has been good knowledge.

Alright--I gather, there's not a ton to do; it's pretty conservative; it's light on crime; weather isn't bad.

I'll likely be relocated coming up in June by my company Case New Holland (they're located on 3301 S Hoover Rd, which has no significance to me whatsoever since I don't know the city). Where's a good place to live in proximity to my job? I don't mind driving 30 minutes...no longer than that though. I just need a 3 bdrm townhouse/condo with a garage mainly, without worrying about car thefts and that type of crap.

I'm 27, my wife is 26; we are from Detroit, but have lived in LaCrosse, WI (college years), then Milwaukee; now we're 25 mins north of Atlanta. We're confident we can make it really anywhere...just Wichita seems like a place I never would've thought I'd move to. Further compounding things, we JUST had a baby boy 4/21 and have a 5 y/o daughter.

I just need to make sure the school system is VERY good. Also, I get a little leery with my child being the only black person in her class and all.

In general, how is Wichita's black population? I don't care about the racism crap because that's everywhere--but if there's a good number of educated, professional black people--that would be good.

We just have no clue as to what to expect!

[bluede78]

Please, by any means don't consider this racist...

I just moved here from St. Louis, MO, so I have had my fair share of cultural diversity. Wichita, KS doesn't seem to have a large black population. There are a lot of Hispanics, here. We are currently in an apartment in the Northeast part of Wichita. It is a very nice area. In this area, there seems to be a larger black population than anywhere else in Wichita. However, you were wanting a good school district, and this area is in the Wichita Public Schools. All of the research that I have done states, NOT to send your kids to the Wichita Public Schools. Now, there are many private schools that people in this area send their kids to. Other areas with great schools are: Andover (one of the best in the state, but taxes are outrageous!), Derby (South of Wichita and fairly small, but very nice..lots of educated white collar workers), Goddard (fairly far west from everything in Wichita, but great schools) and Maize (aka Northwest Wichita...this area is supposedly the fastest growing area in Wichita. It is very nice and great schools.)

No matter where you live, you can get to one side of Wichita to the other within 30 minutes. It is not a very big city and we don't have lots of traffic (unlike Atlanta and St. Louis) I will say that the closer you are to Wichita State University, the more crime you may find. If you choose to look in the Northeast area, I would stay east of Woodlawn and north of Central. In the Northwest area, I would stay west of Ridge Rd. If you are interested, I can give you the name of a Wonderful real estate agent.

I am sorry I can not give your more information about the the cultural population in each area, but everyone here seems to be very nice. I have heard (on this site) that there are many racist people here in Wichta, not sure towards what race, though. My husband is Hispanic and we have yet to experience that unacceptable behavior from anyone.

This city is very family oriented. Supposedly this is one of the best cities in the country to raise a family. There are a lot of churches, which is a great source of entertainment and a way to meet new people. The YMCA's here are the best I have ever seen. I would check out Kansas' Tourism Dept for things to do. Many people travel to Kansas City or Tulsa/Oklahoma City for weekend gettaways. They are all about 3 hours away.

Hope this help... Good Luck in your search! Congrats on your beautiful baby boy!

If you have any other questions, please feel free to e-mail me anytime: bluede78@yahoo.com

[Modron]

My neighbor was a welder for Case for, like, 25 years. We live south of Kellogg and Maize Rd. Hoover Rd. is just east of here, maybe, ten minutes. We're in the Goddard school district, a town just west of Wichita, which has a better reputation than Wichita public schools. I have no idea what the ethinic mix is in Goddard district, but that information may be available online. The west side is not as well integrated as the east side. Personally, I would LOVE for my neighborhood to integrate.

There has been development on the west side as far as services, like salons and restaurants. I think it still doesn't offer as much "culture" (bookstores or more expensive restaurants; if you want to spend $200 plus per person dining out it's easier on the east side.) as the east side of Wichita, but the streets are a little wider and the pace is a little slower.

Best of luck.

[rooch]

thanks for the info so far...unfortunately it seems like the major cities always have failing public schools...hence one must always live in suburbia. The only saving grace is that in some cases, my daughter was blessed with good teachers in the city proper...but I don't know if I want to continuously take that chance.

[averagejoe76]

My advice would be to check out Haysville,its not too far from your work.
Housing is inexpensive,very safe area.Not sure if Haysville has many Townhomes...
I wouldnt put my kids in Wichita schools.
For your last question,Wichita does have a sizeable middle class/professional..
Black community.however the population of lower-income folks is much larger.
The black and hispanic community make up a large part of the city followed..
By asians(mostly viet & laotian).

[rooch]

I am getting a WIDE range of opinions on Wichita schools...not too sure what to make of them. My wife found these apts/townhomes called East Hampton Estates on 2901 Governeour St...I don't know if that area is good or not.

Also--I've heard about people being told what school their kids have to go to on here. Is Wichita 'different' somehow in regards to schooling for elementary kids? I thought you just went to your neighborhood school if you were in elementary/middle school for the most part. Don't they just have designated zones that if you fall in the zone, then your public school is predetermined?

I have found more often than not, if you have a good teacher, then you are usually good to go. same with a company, if you have a good manager, then the company's good as a result in your eyes. Now unless there's a massive budget crisis or the students lack the essentials in the Wichita Public School system, then that's another story. Otherwise, I'm fine with investigating the school and meeting the teacher to determine if I like it rather than paint the whole district with a broad brush.

[Modron]

The Wichita school district has a reputation for not sharing the wealth among it's schools. Meaning, if you live in a wealthier area, say, around Coleman Middle School you get a better school environment than if you live near Jardine Middle School which is in a poorer neighborhood.

[rooch]

ahh...I see. I've also heard good things about the YMCA system from a colleague of mine actually--so I'm interested in seeing that. It's likely better than the Bally's membership I'm currently in.

[averagejoe76]

Im a member of the YMCA,Its really good IMO
I havent been to every location but the North & East one are nice.

[Modron]

Ditto on the YMCAs. I've been to four different ones, back when I was a member. I found them to be well-maintained and pretty up to date with equipment and such. The YMCA down south, around south Meridian was expanded in the past 3-5 years. The west side one, near Central and Ridge, has been remodeled. I think it's the smallest one. It's the one closest to me. And there's a new Y in Andover. Interestingly, the one I was least comfortable at was the fancy, Koch one on the northeast side.