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Old 09-24-2010, 01:45 PM  
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Honolulu, Hawaii
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Another guy thinking of relocating to Wichita!

Hey guys, good morning!


Well, currently I'm active duty Marine Corps, and I finish up this contract in 2013 or so, give or take a year, depending on my deployment/mission schedule.

My wife and I are seriously considering the Wichita area for relocation. We've both lived in that area before, and we really like the pace of life, and just wide open spaces, I suppose.

After living on Oahu, the most densely populated of the Hawaii islands, anywhere but here is going to be a nice break!

My questions about the area:

- Has there been any major new events/attractions built in the last 5 years or so? Last time I lived there was in '05.

- What are the nicer areas? I lived up on the NE side in Bel Aire and really liked it, mainly because it wasn't too downtown. I'd like to get a house with a little bit of land - not farm-sized land, but enough for a few dogs and four-wheelers to comfortably play in.

- I've got two kids, so I'm also concerned about school districts. I have no idea which ones are more favorable over others.


Thanks in advance for the input, guys!
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Old 10-06-2010, 10:56 AM  
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Wichita, Kansas
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I moved back here in 2004 after 4+ years in the Corps, so I can relate. It doesn't seem like a lot has changed much in the last five years but I'll try to sum up some of the things that come to mind.

The biggest development/attraction that has been built since 05 is the downtown arena. It's larger than the old Kansas Coliseum so it draws bigger events. The zoo has been expanded a little, but I'm not sure how much since 05. The NW side (21st and Maize Rd area) is still growing faster than any other as far as housing, restaurants, etc.

Other than more development on the NE, NW, and toward the suburb towns, the demographics haven't really changed much. The far NE and NW sides still have some of the nicest neighborhoods. E and W sides are still expanding into Andover and Goddard respectively and are mostly upper-middle class. Derby has also seen a lot of development since it was named one of the top places to live in some random magazine a couple of years ago. The N and S sides are still mostly lower-middle and working class areas. As long as you stay away from Wichita State University, Plainview, and Oaklawn, you can generally find nice areas. I've been looking for a place with a few acres on the NE side but nearly everything between Wichita and El Dorado is still over priced compared to any other area.

Do you have a job lined up? If so, where you work may be a big consideration when getting a place. The north junction (I135/I235/KS254/KS96) is the still about the only place to have serious traffic problems everyday, so you may not want to buy anything that would require you to drive through that everyday.

I haven't looked into schools too much yet but from what I hear things haven't changed too much since the 90s (I graduated from Maize in 96). Andover and Maize are still about the best suburb schools as far as test scores go. Wichita Heights or Northwest seem to be the best Wichita high schools. If you're looking at private schools, I hear that Collegiate or the Independent School are the best, but I don't know if they're any better than the numerous private religious schools around.
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Old 10-09-2010, 10:38 PM  
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wichita, ks
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wichitas not bad theres not a whole lot to do entertainment wise kc is much better.but other than that its decent place my kids go to schools just outside of city park city and haysville which i like smaller schools for them.its nice to have those connecting towns for that reason.
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Old 10-14-2010, 09:12 AM  
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Wichita, Kansas
Join Date: Oct 2010
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Andover was great for Schools and raising children
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Old 01-04-2011, 09:02 PM  
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Wichita, KS
Join Date: Jan 2011
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I live in the derby area and the schools are good, but the taxes suck.
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