Moving to Wichita; what's the cost (Derby, Andover: 2013, crime, houses)

[TopJack3460]

[SIZE=3]I am in the Army and being stationed near McConnell Air Force Base. I want a house in the Derby area (this appears close to work and has good stats). A few questions; what is the average monthly cost for Water/Gas/Garbage/Electric/Internet? Also, everyone seems to talk about the high property taxes in Kansas. On a $130,000 home in Derby what is the “ball park” $ for the monthly property taxes. Another added concern is that we are retiring in 2013. Does anyone know how Kansas is about taxing a military pension and disabilities for war related injuries (also how is the VA out there?). If I decide to leave Derby how hard would it be to sell a $130K home? Sorry for all the questions, we just received word last week we are moving out there in January.
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[drjones96]

Derby- I live there and love the town. Lots of military folks live there. I live next door to a family the husband and wife are both in the USAF.

Water - If you have an irrigation well and sprinkler system it can cut your water bill to around $25-$40 probably. I don't have a well or sprinkler system, however. My water bills are usually ~$70-$80 in the hotest part of the year due to having to water the yard. And it can be as low as $30 in the winter when I don't.

Gas - I have a gas furnace and hot water heater. My gas bills in the summer are as little as $20. But during the 2 coldest winter months it can be as much as $225.

Garbage - Up until now there have been numerous providers of this service here but Derby passed a law(?) that now has one trash service providers. They also offer recycling service that is included in the price. The cost is $14/mo. (I think)

Electric - My electric bills have varied between $75 and $155 over the course of a year. My total energy bill between gas and electric averages $200/mo and this is for a house that is approximately 3000 sq ft of interior space. Not all of it is finished but it still has to be heated/cooled.

Internet - We have our service through Cox. It's a bundled service with Phone, internet, and cable. The total bill is about $150 but the internet portion is about $35 I think.

Taxes - Property taxes on a $130k home would probably be about $2500/yr (+/- $500)...it all depends on if there are any specially imposed taxes to pay on the house. These are taxes that cover the sidewalks, sewer, and other items in your neighborhood...they pay out over a number of years and then you don't have to pay them after that unless they start a new round. Also an older home may have these taxes already paid down so you won't have to.

Have no idea on taxing your pension....or the VA.

Derby...along with Goddard, Andover, Maize, etc is among the more desireable places to live so your home resale shouldn't be too bad. I mean there are a lot of things that factor into that to make a generalized statement but assuming it's a good home it shouldn't be hard to sell.

[TopJack3460]

Thanks, this information is helpful. Let me brief you back... So I should expect to pay about $300 a month on utilities. I am looking at a home with 1500 to 2000 square feet. I guess I will be paying $200+ a month on taxes (sounds like about 2% of the cost of the house). I heard about the special tax out there, I told my realtor to try to avoid houses with it.

Looking at the stats for Derby it seems schools are good and crime is low. Presently I am in Phenix City Alabama (crime and schools leave allot to be desired out here).

I am hoping Kansas works out for us, I hear good things.
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[drjones96]

I think I posted a stat in another thread that for your energy bill you could expect to pay $0.07/sq ft per month. My house has about 3000 sq ft so would take twice the energy to heat/cool than a 1500 sq ft house.

You should expect for a house between 1500 to 2000 sq ft to cost between $100 and $140 per month for energy.

And if you aren't like me and you don't have a bunch of kids running around using up your water and making you run your washing machine 24/7 then it's not going to cost as much in water and subsequent energy required to run your hot water heater. So your cost will be lower there too.

2% is about right on the taxes around here. If you budget for that you'll get close.

Derby is a great place to live. People are very friendly. There is hardly any crime to speak of outside of speeding tickets and teenagers being teenagers. And we've been very impressed with the school system. It's a clean cut town generally speaking.

[StuckinOZ]

Originally Posted by TopJack3460

[SIZE=3]I am in the Army and being stationed near McConnell Air Force Base. I want a house in the Derby area (this appears close to work and has good stats). A few questions; what is the average monthly cost for Water/Gas/Garbage/Electric/Internet? Also, everyone seems to talk about the high property taxes in Kansas. On a $130,000 home in Derby what is the “ball park” $ for the monthly property taxes. Another added concern is that we are retiring in 2013. Does anyone know how Kansas is about taxing a military pension and disabilities for war related injuries (also how is the VA out there?). If I decide to leave Derby how hard would it be to sell a $130K home? Sorry for all the questions, we just received word last week we are moving out there in January.
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That's how I got stuck in OZ....my husband was stationed at McConnell. Having checked out the cost of living in places I'd really LIKE to live (Austin, Ft. Worth, New Mexico) I've decided to stay here because the cost of living is better than most places(and now I have grandkids here). Times are hard here right now due to the recession, but you are military and you shouldn't have to worry about that too much. One thing I hate about Kansas is the continuous taxing this state does. In Texas (where I'm from) there's no state income tax, you only pay property tax once (instead of every year like here) and there's no tax on food. In Kansas, you pay state income tax, property tax every year (cars, boats, etc.) and tax on food.

I lived in Derby when we first got stationed here, and it is a nice little town. Lots of Air Force folks there. It's a desirable place to live, so you shouldn't have any trouble selling once you leave there.

[TopJack3460]

Thanks, you all have been really helpful. I just confirmed today from my branch I will be sent to Wichita. Presently, for a 1500 sq ft house I pay $250 Electric and $50 in water. It sounds the same or cheaper out there, but I pay very little in taxes. We have only one kid left at home (teenager) so with the three of us we shouldn't use as much energy.

My wife drives a bus on post (Fort Benning) and does very well (overtime and good hourly wage), she has a degree but is not working in it (criminal justice). How are the job opportunities out there?

Thanks for any advice you can pass on.

[quesera]

Here's a good job search site. https://www.kansasworks.com/ada/work...earchForm=true

You'll need to set up an account, to look at the listings.

Here are local job listings in the Wichita Eagle.
CareerBuilder.com | Wichita Eagle