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I may be relocating to Wichita in the near future and need as much/any info as I can... It will be me and my 3 children, so info on schools, day care, apartments, aprox cost of utilities, anything is helpful. Thanks in advance!!!
Location: Jonquil City (aka Smyrna) Georgia- by Atlanta
16,259 posts, read 24,772,368 times
Reputation: 3587
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mrs_Spain
I may be relocating to Wichita in the near future and need as much/any info as I can... It will be me and my 3 children, so info on schools, day care, apartments, aprox cost of utilities, anything is helpful. Thanks in advance!!!
It is a cheap place to live, very safe with good schools, bad weather and a lousy economy. The people are friendly for the most part- if your battery dies a sudden death in the Wal*Mart parking lot you won't have to beg 20 people to give you a jump. There is alot of what you call "working class" and poor folks there and lots of trailers on the south side of town but they are not mean and nasty like the white trash you find down here in the south. Tattoos, trucks and cycles are all popular in Wichita.
Rent is cheap but utilities are costly because the weather is very harsh. A nice "open the window and enjoy the breeze day" is rare in Wichita. You are either running the heat or the AC almost year around. Gasoline is cheap when compared to other places but a car is a must- you cannot survive there without one. Day care I don't know anything about because none of mine were raised there. I was.
There are a few neighbourhoods to avoid there but 90% of the city is quite safe. The schools are good and a few like East High are nationally recognized for excellence. The city has ample parks and pools for your children to enjoy in the summer. It also has some cultural things and a few shopping centers that are basically cookie cutter models of every mall you have ever seen anywhere. The zoo is ok but not great. For those things your best bet is a drive up to Kansas City. The same goes for air service. Wichita really sucks when it comes to air service. Although it is called the "air capital" don't be fooled. The only place you can fly cheap from there is here (Atlanta). Otherwise a drive to KCI will be required.
It is a cheap place to live, very safe with good schools, bad weather and a lousy economy. The people are friendly for the most part- if your battery dies a sudden death in the Wal*Mart parking lot you won't have to beg 20 people to give you a jump. There is alot of what you call "working class" and poor folks there and lots of trailers on the south side of town but they are not mean and nasty like the white trash you find down here in the south. Tattoos, trucks and cycles are all popular in Wichita.
Rent is cheap but utilities are costly because the weather is very harsh. A nice "open the window and enjoy the breeze day" is rare in Wichita. You are either running the heat or the AC almost year around. Gasoline is cheap when compared to other places but a car is a must- you cannot survive there without one. Day care I don't know anything about because none of mine were raised there. I was.
There are a few neighbourhoods to avoid there but 90% of the city is quite safe. The schools are good and a few like East High are nationally recognized for excellence. The city has ample parks and pools for your children to enjoy in the summer. It also has some cultural things and a few shopping centers that are basically cookie cutter models of every mall you have ever seen anywhere. The zoo is ok but not great. For those things your best bet is a drive up to Kansas City. The same goes for air service. Wichita really sucks when it comes to air service. Although it is called the "air capital" don't be fooled. The only place you can fly cheap from there is here (Atlanta). Otherwise a drive to KCI will be required.
In a to the point way I agree with your assessment of Wichita. There are a few things to do but not much. The bars and music are limited, not like in Kansas City where food and music are notable. The bible thumpers have pushed out the casino as if that some how will save their pathetic soul or some such nonsense. The community is poised to take a big dump if the economy is any worse and it does not look like it will get much better anytime soon. The only reason I would move there is for family. If my family was in any other place I would jump at the opportunity to move, but Wichita auggggh.
Rent is cheap but utilities are costly because the weather is very harsh. A nice "open the window and enjoy the breeze day" is rare in Wichita. You are either running the heat or the AC almost year around.
Utilities are much less expensive here than in my previous house in Fort Worth, TX. My average energy bill in Texas was more than my maximum energy bill here. It wasn't unusual in TX to have a $600 electric bill in August for a 2000sqft house. And the lowest it ever was was around $250. This was on a purely electric house. Here I have natural gas for my furnace and HWH. My highest combined bill has been $350 and that was during the coldest month of the year. So having an efficient house and an efficient running furnace would be a good thing. Otherwise the electric is DIRT CHEAP in comparison. My highest electric bill has been $90 and that was during the hottest month of the year. The gravy months are in the Spring and Fall when you hardly use the Furnace and the bulk of the gas usage goes towards the HWH.
During September, October and even November this past year there were many days when we had the windows open and never turned on the AC or Furnace. Heck...last Saturday was warm enough that we opened the windows.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pnutbujelly
In a to the point way I agree with your assessment of Wichita. There are a few things to do but not much. The bars and music are limited, not like in Kansas City where food and music are notable. The bible thumpers have pushed out the casino as if that some how will save their pathetic soul or some such nonsense. The community is poised to take a big dump if the economy is any worse and it does not look like it will get much better anytime soon. The only reason I would move there is for family. If my family was in any other place I would jump at the opportunity to move, but Wichita auggggh.
The OP is a woman with 3 kids. I seriously doubt her first priority is that Wichita has cool bars, casinos, and live music in said bars and casinos. But I could be wrong...
Location: Jonquil City (aka Smyrna) Georgia- by Atlanta
16,259 posts, read 24,772,368 times
Reputation: 3587
Quote:
Originally Posted by drjones96
Utilities are much less expensive here than in my previous house in Fort Worth, TX. My average energy bill in Texas was more than my maximum energy bill here. It wasn't unusual in TX to have a $600 electric bill in August for a 2000sqft house. And the lowest it ever was was around $250. This was on a purely electric house. Here I have natural gas for my furnace and HWH. My highest combined bill has been $350 and that was during the coldest month of the year. So having an efficient house and an efficient running furnace would be a good thing. Otherwise the electric is DIRT CHEAP in comparison. My highest electric bill has been $90 and that was during the hottest month of the year. The gravy months are in the Spring and Fall when you hardly use the Furnace and the bulk of the gas usage goes towards the HWH.
During September, October and even November this past year there were many days when we had the windows open and never turned on the AC or Furnace. Heck...last Saturday was warm enough that we opened the windows.
The OP is a woman with 3 kids. I seriously doubt her first priority is that Wichita has cool bars, casinos, and live music in said bars and casinos. But I could be wrong...
You highest bill in Wichita was $90??? What do you live in? A shoebox? My sister told me her electric bill for a 2 bedroom apartment in a 4 plex was $240 for a single month in the summer in Wichita! My bill here for a 2000 sq ft house here in Georgia has bills that average $270 in the summer and we are not as hot as Wichita in the summer.
You highest bill in Wichita was $90??? What do you live in? A shoebox? My sister told me her electric bill for a 2 bedroom apartment in a 4 plex was $240 for a single month in the summer in Wichita! My bill here for a 2000 sq ft house here in Georgia has bills that average $270 in the summer and we are not as hot as Wichita in the summer.
It might be true that Georgia isn't as hot, temperature-wise. But man, I'm sure it's much more unbearable with the humidity factored in. Georgia is in the South, after all.
KevK, when was the last time you lived in Wichita? The weather here has actually been quite temperate both in winter and summer for several years in a row. This past summer, there were only a few days over triple digits.
Oh, and I averaged $130/mo on a 2 bedroom apartment during June, July and August this last summer, and I don't like to be hot.
You highest bill in Wichita was $90??? What do you live in? A shoebox? My sister told me her electric bill for a 2 bedroom apartment in a 4 plex was $240 for a single month in the summer in Wichita! My bill here for a 2000 sq ft house here in Georgia has bills that average $270 in the summer and we are not as hot as Wichita in the summer.
Yeah my highest electric bill has been ~$90 and that was during July/August on a house that has about 2800sq ft of living space. My gas bill in the same months was about $35.
The winter months hit me the hardest. My peak gas bill in the winter has been $250. Electric in the same months has been ~$80.
I just want to add that the Zoo in Wichita is GREAT!! I am now in Texas and the Wichita Zoo is better than both Zoos here in the DFW. Wichita is a nice place to live and cost of living is cheap. Very easy to get around there and can get anywhere in about twenty minutes. Jobs are hard to come by and the plane industries like Boeing and Cessna are always laying off people. The schools are good and people are quite nice. There are two malls; Towne East and Towne West, both are nice but you won't find any high-end stores in them. The city is growing both in the East Side and West Side. The east side is a little more expensive (I think). There are area's in the North to avoid and are not safe. The south part of town and the older neighborhoods are cheaper. KC is a great place to go visit as is Olka City. There are several lakes in the area if you like to camp and boat.
No, my highest priority isn't the bars and casinos, but if I have any friends from out of state visiting, can letthem know LOL
Does anyone know anything about Mulvane? Thats the side of town I will be working on and would honestly prefer to live out of the city. :-/
Quote:
Originally Posted by drjones96
Utilities are much less expensive here than in my previous house in Fort Worth, TX. My average energy bill in Texas was more than my maximum energy bill here. It wasn't unusual in TX to have a $600 electric bill in August for a 2000sqft house. And the lowest it ever was was around $250. This was on a purely electric house. Here I have natural gas for my furnace and HWH. My highest combined bill has been $350 and that was during the coldest month of the year. So having an efficient house and an efficient running furnace would be a good thing. Otherwise the electric is DIRT CHEAP in comparison. My highest electric bill has been $90 and that was during the hottest month of the year. The gravy months are in the Spring and Fall when you hardly use the Furnace and the bulk of the gas usage goes towards the HWH.
During September, October and even November this past year there were many days when we had the windows open and never turned on the AC or Furnace. Heck...last Saturday was warm enough that we opened the windows.
The OP is a woman with 3 kids. I seriously doubt her first priority is that Wichita has cool bars, casinos, and live music in said bars and casinos. But I could be wrong...
From what I can see utilities run about the same as they do around Greensburg, so thats cool, and I have read up on the school system, not bad from the reviews I have seen. I appreciate everyones responses!!! Thank you!!
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