Nice Little Town Outside of Topeka? (Lawrence, Salina: real estate, 2014, loan)

[AnywhereElse]

Thank God through a miracle, our house in SE KS has sold! We would like to get very close to Topeka without being in Topeka itself. Topeka has many things that would be beneficial for our family in general. I am mostly looking at towns to the west and south as they seem more reasonably priced as far as housing goes. I am trying also to avoid any known illegal drug havens - been there, done that by mistake and don't want to go there again. I have looked as far west as Alma and in the south, as far as Lyndon. We like to camp so the lakes look good! I was looking at Scranton which looked kind of good and maybe Overbrook to the west. I have been using the Blue Skyways website - a service of the state library system. Any thoughts or experiences would be appreciated. Also, how is the economy doing in Topeka? If this doesn't look good, we'll be looking more toward Abilene and Salina of which we are a little more familiar. Thank you. I just can't believe we actually get to move, "AnywhereElse".

[jbtornado]

the topeka economy is dependent on what the local state government does in terms of jobs.. With Sam Brownback in charge and cutting things, Id guess Topeka probably hurts a bit..

Overbrook was a nice town not far from Topeka or Lawrence if you are looking south.. Maybe if you want to be near Topeka and to the west, you should look at Council Grove, Chapman, Herington, and Abilene that are not that far from Topeka and Salina and are quite nice small towns.

[kanhawk]

Glad you get to move. What do you think of Burlingame? I always liked the wide brick streets of the downtown there and it's about 30 miles from Topeka.

[AnywhereElse]

Actually, I was looking at Burlingame and it looked kind of good. I like the "old" not the new, revitalize/destroy historical for some new age look. I am looking for "charming" or as close as I can get in the world today. Yeah, love brick streets!

[GraniteStater]

Look at Holton, north of Topeka in Jackson County.

[AnywhereElse]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

Look at Holton, north of Topeka in Jackson County.

I gave it a look and it is lovely but would probably be a little higher priced housing than we could afford unless we were looking at the very bottom of the market. We are trying not to spend a whole lot more than what we are getting out of our current home, if his loan goes through - which in itself is producing some agony these days. It does look like Holton has made a lot of progress from years ago and I was surprised. When looking at the real estate, I came up with a couple great houses (the older ones with chunky wood trim) in cities just outside Holton. It seems the smaller the city, the larger the parcel of land is that the house sits on. Thank you for your suggestion because it did get me looking up that way. I know they have what looks like a good program for people with developmental disabilities (like my son) in Soldier, KS although, we are considering just keeping him home and would like a smaller, friendly town to get him out and socialize him. This has to be our last move! Thanks!

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by AnywhereElse

I gave it a look and it is lovely but would probably be a little higher priced housing than we could afford unless we were looking at the very bottom of the market. We are trying not to spend a whole lot more than what we are getting out of our current home, if his loan goes through - which in itself is producing some agony these days. It does look like Holton has made a lot of progress from years ago and I was surprised. When looking at the real estate, I came up with a couple great houses (the older ones with chunky wood trim) in cities just outside Holton. It seems the smaller the city, the larger the parcel of land is that the house sits on. Thank you for your suggestion because it did get me looking up that way. I know they have what looks like a good program for people with developmental disabilities (like my son) in Soldier, KS although, we are considering just keeping him home and would like a smaller, friendly town to get him out and socialize him. This has to be our last move! Thanks!

Congrats on moving on out of the SE Kansas "Ozarks," though. NE Kansas, in general, does offer more considering all the taxes you pay in the state.

[AnywhereElse]

Almost 5 years stuck in SE KS, if you have ever been here, no explanation would be necessary. When I hear that the loan comes through for our buyer, I'll move so fast packing that even my shadow won't be able to keep up with me! With time I have slowed but determination can go a long way

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by AnywhereElse

Almost 5 years stuck in SE KS, if you have ever been here, no explanation would be necessary. When I hear that the loan comes through for our buyer, I'll move so fast packing that even my shadow won't be able to keep up with me! With time I have slowed but determination can go a long way

I know what you mean. I am pretty familiar with Chanute, and if Bourbon County is similar than I can definitely understand...

[Harpoon]

I would concur with the Holton recommendation from a previous poster. It is located about 25 miles north of downtown Topeka on US Highway 75.