PCSing to Whiteman AFB-What to should i expect? (Kansas City, Independence: amusement parks, daycare)

[nwi]

My husband has been a HP recruiter for as long as weve been together. He is going back to SF and we are moving to Whiteman AFB. I have never lived on base before let alone in the middle of no where. What will i expect? Is there things close by for me and the kids to keep busy? How is on base living like? We also have a double edge sword going for us, we are currently stationed in Chicago, were my husband grew up. My son spends every sat night at his grandparents, this move will be traumatizing to him.

[flynavyj]

Sorry to hear about your move. Whiteman isn't a bad base, but I know the enlisted housing looked pretty bad, not sure if he'll be lucky enough to be in officer's quarters or not. Knob Noster really doesn't have a lot in it, there is a golf course just off base, along with Knob Noster State Park which has some mild hiking. I spent 5 years in Warrensburg, MO (the next town to the West off Hwy DD). That town is bigger than Knob, and because of the college has a little more "vibrant" downtown (until summer). Sedalia is a nice town, and is larger than both of the previously mentioned towns. All in all, I'm sure you'll find stuff to do to keep busy, but it's not going to be any Chicago. I haven't been back through town in a few years, really needing to make it back for a homecoming weekend sometime.

[Krystal821]

I recently got here to Whiteman (7 weeks ago) and I LOVE it! I do have to travel a bit to do the fun shopping, but it's not bad. I have been to Kansas City a few times and some of the state parks becuase there is so much to do. It is a perfect place for a family. There is a state park in Blue Springs with Bison and Elk. My daughter and I had a great time there. We live in base housing, which I chose the older one BUT the majority of their homes are brand new, never lived in and they are very nice. The base is pretty small and the commissary is not what I am used to. There is a Walmart in the next town, Warrensburg. No Target but there is a Target and HUGE mall in Indepence, which is a little over an hour drive. We usually take a day to go places. How old is your son? Would he be in daycare or school? I like the CDC here, better than Keesler's.

[nwi]

**flynavyj** thank you for the info. I was trying to talk to hubby about moving to Indepence, but I didnt get to far. But i am looking forward to the lower cost of living! Its gonna be quite a adjustment moving to that small of a town. Hopefully gas will be cheaper since it sounds like im gonna be putting alot of miles on the car going to places! Right now Walmart is right behind my house,lol.

[nwi]

**Krystal821** Thank you for the info also! My son will be 4 when we get down there, and we will have our 2mo daughter also. Since im pregnant they have moved our date to the end of july. Im glad to hear about the cdc. My son will be in it for a short time at first while we move in, then later on in the year I plan to back to work. Im so nervous about moving to a small town. Last time i lived in a small town there wasnt really anything kid friendly. How old is your daughter? Also is there activates to do at the base or mom groups or something? Are the people on base friendly? Ive been doing searches on all my fav stores and they do all sound like they are in Independence. How far is Warrensburg? We are going to live on base and we've looked online at all the floorplans. Thats one of the perks of moving, is we get a bigger, new house. Hopefully the new privatization company wont be too difficult to work with. We are hoping they are out of 3 bedrooms so we can get a 4 bedroom, but it sounds like alot is open. May i ask why you choose the older one? Do they let you look at a few, or it like this one or none sort of deal? Also do we all have fenced in back yards? Im really nervous about coming from a home owner to having to follow many rules, im gonna be scared to put a nail in the wall! Im so sorry about all the q's! Ive been on the computer searching for days for info or anyone currently there. So nice to finally found someone!

[flynavyj]

Warrensburg, MO is about 12-15 miles away...it's a short drive down Mo-DD. It'll also be the nearest source of a Walmart, which is a super walmart The town has most of the other typical "big-small town" amenities. Not a lot of shopping though, but as stated, the Kansas City suburbs are about an hour away...You can reach Lee's Summit in about 45 minutes, I could do it in 30ish minutes down Mo-50 out of Warrensburg, which is a decent highway. Things take longer if you decide to head North to I-70, and in many instances, taking Mo-50 into the KC burbs, then swinging North on one of their extra highways Mo-291, I-470, etc can be a bit of a time saver.

[kye154]

Whiteman AFB is far superior to anything in Chicago I have seen. It is just that you will have to get adjusted to living out in the country, and not have the convenience of shopping in the city. Winters are milder than Chicago too. But, if you like the city, Kansas City isn't all that far away. Sedalia to the east, Warrensburg to the West, lake country to the south. However, I will warn you the Missouri Dept. of Revenue is pretty predatory, since the state is broke. They will try everything to get you to pay taxes to them, even if you are not a resident of the state, or if you hold accounts outside the state, in which earnings did not come from Missouri, they will still try to tax you on. Like most other states, they share information with the IRS, and will try to nab you on everything. They are pretty ruthless.

[kcmo]

I know a few families personally that live in KN. A couple of families just live there and are "locals", another one is military.

They all have kids etc of all ages and generally they all love the town. I have never lived in a small town (I did live in Warrensburg for a few years while taking under grad classes), but KN seems like a very tight community. Everybody is really into the high school sports etc.

The people I know that live there are actually well traveled etc, so not really your country bumkin type at all, but the place is very much a country town and the locals often drive old pick up trucks, do a lot of hunting etc. It's just a very rural culture. But they are very friendly and because it's a base town, it's actually quite diverse and so it's not just a rural culture. I would say Sedailia is probably more country culture than KN, just because so many people in KN are not from rural Missouri.

The people I know that live there are in Kansas City all the time going to Royals games or whatever. Lee's Summit is not that far away and they have all the suburban basics (Target, JC Penny, Macy's, Best Buy, Kohl's, mega theaters etc). Blue Springs also has all that. Independence has a big mall and all the basics plus some destination shopping like bass pro shops.

Lee's Summit is very active, they have lots of festivals etc and that area of metro KC has a ton of recreational assets like lakes, and state and county parks.

Also, There is a lot to do in KC proper. They have the sprint center, the plaza, the river market, museums, amusement parks, pro sports, Broadway theater etc, festivals etc.

The Kansas side suburbs have even more suburban retail malls etc. There are some big malls in Overland Park. KCK has the village west area near the speedway which has a lot to do and shop. The Northland area of KC back in MO has Zona Rosa and the casinos.

Basically KC has anything you could find in most major metro areas, you just have to drive 45-90 minutes to reach the different parts of KC from KN.

But I would image for most basic shopping Warrensburg and Sedalia will be just fine. You will just want to drive up to the city on weekends etc.

Knob is also at the door step of the recreational lakes of Mid Missouri. While everybody in KC fights traffic on Fridays to get to "the lake", you are already half way there.

Lake of the Ozarks offers everything from a zillion outlet malls to resort hotels to quiet camping areas. Bagnell Dam is less than 2 hours away. Truman Lake is an hour away.

So while you are in the middle of nowhere, you really are in the middle of everything if you take advantage of the KC area and Mid Missouri. There are a lot of bases truly in the middle of nowhere with no major cities or decent recreation for hundreds of miles.

You should be okay. Just embrace the local culture while getting out often and staying active and you can live a nice life at Knob. Plus you are at one of the more popular bases in the country due to the stealth bomber and they put on a great air show there every year. Oh and Sedalia is home of the state fair. State fairs are interesting to say the least, but it would be close and easy to go and see a concert or something.

Oh and one more thing.

Take Amtrak into KC! Drive to Warrensburg, park and take the train to downtown KC for a weekend (or even a day trip). You can take transit or taxis (or in many cases walk) to the attractions in central KC,MO like Crown Center, World War I Museum, City Market, Plaza, Nelson, Steamboat Arabia, Jazz and baseball museums and much more. I used to take the train back and forth from KC to Warrensburg all the time. It's fast, convenient and cheap.

[JustSid]

I have family that lives in Warrensburg and Higginsville. They are nice places to live. Higginsville has a Walmart and a couple of good places to eat.

I grew up in Independence and there are a ton of things to do there. There is the Independence Center (mall) it has had some updates recently. 39th Street has a lot of things to do: the mall, places to eat, the movies, Walmart and Target, etc. Off of 291 and 23rd St. there is a water park. Your basic roads with shopping, eating and some things to do along them will be: 23rd Street, Noland Road, 40 Highway, 39th Street and 24 Highway. Also there is The Square, its the historic part of Indep and there are a lot of cute shops and Harry S. Truman museums. There is also the festival Santi-Cala-Gon, Im not sure if I spelled that right. Its a pretty fun time.

Blue Springs and Lees Summit are also nice. There are many things to do in KC as well. The Lake of The Ozarks is a very fun place to go. I think you will really enjoy your time there. My husband and I are dying to get to Whiteman.

[7gkids]

I see military shopping in Sedalia. I think it is about 18 miles to Whitman. Sedalia has a nice Wal Mart, Lowe's, Menard's, Big Lot's, Kmart,Penny's and Sutherland's. Lots of good eating places there too. Sedalia also has the State fair which is fun for all ages!

Missouri State Fair


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