Moving to Kansas from Germany; what is there to do for fun? (Wichita: hair salon, theater)

[NJFYNEST]

hello everyone. I moving from Germany to Kansas in Feb of next year? Ever time i tell people that i moving there they tell me im going to hate it. I just want t know about the area and are then any clubs, malls? I would also like to know about the weather?

thank you , NJFYNEST

[AnywhereElse]

Do you have any idea what part of the state you are going to live in? What sort of activities do you consider fun? The weather varies and they claim to have four seasons but I have never seen a year with four seasons and I know what they look like since I grew up in Michigan. Not much snow but ice can be a problem in the winter. The wind is bad over I think the whole state so allergies to dust and mold can be a big problem. So, with more information about what you are looking for, I feel that you can get a wide range of opinions.

[zman0457]

Get ready for the general mindset of most people to be just about the opposite of a Western European viewpoint.

[Connecticut leaves]

Kansas is a well-kept secret. People there are generous, friendly, and quick to help their neighbors. We moved from Connecticut to Wichita, KS several years ago and found that all the amenities in the bigger cities are more easily accessible in Kansas. You have access to museums, theater (albeit dinner theatre), fine dining, and beautiful sunsets. And the traffic is much, much less constricting that on the East Coast.I have a feeling that if you have any kind of intellect, you will be adept at finding plenty to do. It is said that intelligent people are never bored; they always find something to keep themselves occupied. It is people with small minds and the attention span of two-year-old children who have difficulty enjoying the beauty that surrounds them in places other than a coffee shop, boutique, or hair salon with many gabbing, gossiping people milling around telling them they are beautiful one minute and stabbing them in the back the next.Try the restaurants on The Waterfront in Wichita or the museums of Exploration Place on the river. There are Botanical Gardens that will leave you breathless. Also, find an open field (if you're not allergic to grasses) and find the myriads of colors around you. It may look like a sea of grass, but just like the watery sea, there are amazing things in every inch of what you see.If you're closer to Kansas City I have heard there are many things there to see and do as well, though I haven't driven up that far north in Kansas yet. I hope to soon. Dodge City has museums; Greensburg has been newly rebuilt with pride and love and boasts the deepest hand-dug well in the world; Pratt and Medicine Lodge have cobble-stone streets laid by workers from the Depression Years work programs during the Great Depression; Medicine Lodge was the site of a famous Indian Treaty in the 1800's and has a stockade/museum with Carrie Nation museum. This is just a small sampling of the "local" flavor. Don't sell them short; Kansans may speak slowly but they're just as sharp as anyone else in the world and usually much, much slower to speak ill of people around them. Politicians from Kansas? President Eisenhower, Bob Dole, Elizabeth Dole, and more. Musicians from Kansas? Martina McBride, Danny Cox, Larry Lingle, and more.Actors from Kansas? Ed Asner, Kirstie Alley, and moreOther famous Kansans? Amelia Earhart, Wyatt Earp, Wilt the Stilt Chamberlain, Buffalo Bill Cody, Clyde Cessna (you'll know him by the airplanes named after him), George Washington Carver, Kathleen Sebelius (another politician making her way to Washington DC as we speak), and many, many more.Keep an open mind and an open heart and you'll find plenty to do, people to talk to and enjoy, and places to stimulate your intellect.

[pioneer88]

well put Connecticut Leaves

[Modron]

Wichita has plenty to do at the level of a 330,000 to 400,000 metro area. I'm a native Kansan who is far less enamoured of the people of Kansas than Connecticut Leaves is. But then, I've been here longer and seen the state's somewhat winding path to the condition of it's present ideology. It hasn't been pretty, and it is far from forward thinking. There are plenty of people here who gossip and backstab (... you know, like calling people small minded with attention spans of two-year olds ...) - they just toss in that you're going to burn in Hell for all eternity in the whole gossipy process. A consequence of this is that we're experiencing a big brain drain with our best and brightest leaving for more metropolitan, if not cosmopolitan, fare.

That said, I went for a walk in downtown Wichita just today. I took a picture of a true urban bunny which happens to be one of the bronze sculptures lining Douglas the downtown's main thoroughfare. I'll be posting that pic on Facebook for friends of mine in Manhattan, NY who have pet bunnies. The bronze sculptures downtown are whimsical in that they blend midwestern images with what there is of a downtown here. It's a small downtown, and short. You can look up at an angle and see blue skies, unlike other, more metropolitan cities.

I walked through Old Town as well. When this area of the city was renovated it was intended to be artsy markety. The artsy markety hasn't lasted and the space has been filled with professional offices. There are still restaurants and clubs in Old Town. And, that's where the Museum of World Treasures is. It's quite a good museum, especially considering it started as a private collection.

I enjoy the botanical garden, Botanica. They deal with a lot of limitations because of the climate zone, and they've adapted some of the gardens - like the Shakespearean Garden - well under the circumstances.

I always recommend Old Cowtown living museum, especially during special events. They also have real cowboy singers there if you get tickets to the show. I've been to that show with a couple Europeans, from Spain and Germany, on two separate ocassions and in each case they really enjoyed it.

The zoo is quite nice for a community this size. If you're into stuff like the success of breeding programs, the Sedgwick County Zoo is pretty impressive. They tried to dress up some of the exhibits for animals like the big cats to make them more friendly for the inhabitants and the viewers. Unfortunately, last time I was there there appeared to have been some random vandalism that detracted from the appearance. But, I know they have tried as much as possible to make improvements.

Where ever in Kansas you wind up, I strongly recommend you make a trip to the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson. It is a great museum of the space program along with IMAX movies, a planetarium, and Dr. Goddard's Lab, etc.

I have said often and with some intensity that there's plenty to do at least in the Wichita area, that's never been my beef with Kansas. I hope you enjoy it here.

[Modron]

As far as clubs and malls, we have standard USA midwestern kinds in the Wichita. Clubbing hasn't been the safest pasttime for a few years. There's been some dangerous activity at some clubs. They seem to have cleaned up some of the clubs in Old Town and reduced the violence, or they just aren't reporting it anymore. Either way, for several months now there's been enough violence around the city I chose not to go out much at night. Most of the time the clubs I hear mentioned are comedy clubs. I haven't been, but people seem to enjoy them. And maybe Shadow Club in east Wichita. They have a website.

As for malls, I think they are pretty standard fare, too. Some of our better shopping areas are more like shopping centers with exterior storefronts. You'll find these on both the east and west sides of the city if you're in Wichita.

Please keep in mind that Wichita is the largest city in Kansas. The Kansas City metro area is larger and has more offerings, but that includes the Missouri side of the KC metro area. Other than that, you're looking at slim pickings for young adult activities in Kansas.

As for the weather, it ranges from below freezing to above 100F from winter to summer. On occasion we miss spring or fall, or both, and move straight into the harsher seasons of winter and summer. Recently it's been near freezing overnight and then shirt sleeve weather by late afternoon. Be prepared to carry at least a light coat on days like these.

[NJFYNEST]

thank u all for replying .The place im moving to is FT Riley.Its just me and my new husband .We have no kids .So thats y I ask. Once again thank U!

[thriftylefty]

be prepared to take long drives for entertainment, maybe weekend trips.

[averagejoe76]

Originally Posted by NJFYNEST

thank u all for replying .The place im moving to is FT Riley.Its just me and my new husband .We have no kids .So thats y I ask. Once again thank U!

If you ever desire German food Junction City had two places to go..
Last time i went there.I grew up in Germany and nothing compares to That,but its decent food.