Want to move to Kansas from San Diego, any tips on nice areas west of Kansas City, ruralish? (Wichita: house, buying)

[Mattks]

Originally Posted by mostlysunny1

You really need to rent in area to see the problems. Flint Hills had lots of money move into area and started to thrown out some people near Council Grove. If you don't fit, businesses and new residents are thrown out quickly and harshly....You really need to rent anywhere to see the area problems and decide.

KC poor have been moved out to a lot of the suburbs bringing all the gang stuff and lots of drugs, even in country areas it is now very far. Better to look at things from a rental & see how shopping/basics run in your area to see if you want to deal with it. Area has lots of good jobs but social situation is stifling with all the poor made to hassle residents of town so poor will even get by...Gangs of kids harass some new residents and military sending many running...If you do not respond to this and ignore it, you will get along better with the locals. There are also so many scams in all of KC running so long they are like local institutions of business....See what you think, then buy.

There have been allegations of utility price gouging out in country near KC and really affecting poorer neighborhoods. Check out the previous bills for property before you even rent...The price gouging is increasing and expanding its way around town so there is no telling. If house is only electric, it could be $800-$1k utility bills in south Johnson County. One little 'rate increase' will triple your bills...

Ignore everything this person said after the first paragraph... For example, I live in the country (on 1 acre) in an all electric home, family of 3, our monthly bill is never over $200 except in the hottest part of the summer... The only other bill we have is water, and that never exceeds $50. We have a newer central hvac, but our house is fairly old and not energy efficient.

Going from San Diego to rural Kansas might be quite a shock. I've never been to SD, or California, but even Lawrence and Manhattan (our liberal strongholds) probably aren't as liberal as SD. The Kansas state government is very conservative, so I hope you can learn to live with that headache, but having more people like you would be great to even out our state politics...

[AnywhereElse]

Lawrence: https://www.city-data.com/city/Lawrence-Kansas.html, note the cost of living, etc.

And, Mattks: What are you able to grow in your area? We were in SE KS and for 6 years and the first two years, we had a bountiful garden and then the heat and drought took it out. Here, in central KS about 1 1/2 hours from Lawrence, I couldn't even get one tomato the last 2 years. For us, if we water, the water has so much bleach that the plants don't have a chance, add the heat and we end up with nothing. We have had almost no moisture this winter and with the dry air, allergy issues are extra bad.

I do think a lot of people glamorize KS as a place they'll move to and be able to easily grow a big garden and fruit trees and it is important they realize that is not, for the most part, the kind of farming that is done. I grew up in the Michigan/Indiana area and it was entirely different. We lived in the "fruit belt" there. Here, the crops are generally corn, wheat, etc.

It is important to stress that most KS counties have codes and zoning in place and it is important if you buy something that you understand what your limits might be. Homesteading in KS can be more difficult than one would think.

If you get into using rural utilities, the prices definitely go up and everyone has their comfort level and someone not used to cold temps will probably keep that thermostat higher than someone used to the cold.

It is always good to compare cost of living. Especially good are the calculators that give you an estimate of how much more or less income you will need to live in a specific area. Living out and away from things mean more expense for gasoline and wear-and-tear on one's vehicle. I remember in the 70's, it was not unusual for someone to be able to drive an hour to work back and forth and still come out ahead, not so much anymore. I was driving from JC to Salina to work at the time. Glad I don't have to fill the tank for the trip anymore.

Obviously, if you do your shopping in one of the smaller towns and don't commute into the larger towns, you will be a LOT more. With ordering online, we conquered that along with the lack of selection in our current location.

It is very difficult to relocate and you want to make sure you can cover the expenses.

[TinaMcG]

Our utility bills in semi-rural South Johnson County (electric except for the cooktop and fireplace) aren't anywhere near $800-1K a month. No way. Even when my husband forgets to pay the electric bill and we get one of KCP&L's recorded "reminders", they're not that much. We don't complain about the utility companies.

Water One is fantastic, the water is the best tap water anywhere. KCP&L are reliable, at least for us, anyway. Eight years here and we've had exactly four power outages. The first one was a transformer meeting a lightning strike head on. That was 3.5 hours. The next three combined were about 30 minutes. No brown outs or rolling blackouts during heat waves either. That is a far cry from the abysmal experiences I had with Com Ed in Chicago for most of my life, when more than once, I had to go to a hotel when the power was out for three days in winter or lost freezers full of food when it was out for three days in summer.

The only thing we're missing in these wide open spaces is fiber. We don't have cable, we don't have fiber. We have DSL, and it's not fast enough where we are for streaming on the television. So we're going to have to get Chromecast, I guess.

[AnywhereElse]

Worth mentioning though is that if the property has a well and is not connected to rural or city water, those wells can go dry. I remember one year when I worked on Ft. Riley that people were coming in early to shower at the gym on post because they had no water. Also, water quality is important and most areas publish a yearly report. Also, look at sewer or septic tank closely and most of all, make sure the property is not on the radar of the codes department. I have seen things.

[Mattks]

Originally Posted by AnywhereElse

Lawrence: https://www.city-data.com/city/Lawrence-Kansas.html, note the cost of living, etc.

And, Mattks: What are you able to grow in your area? We were in SE KS and for 6 years and the first two years, we had a bountiful garden and then the heat and drought took it out. Here, in central KS about 1 1/2 hours from Lawrence, I couldn't even get one tomato the last 2 years. For us, if we water, the water has so much bleach that the plants don't have a chance, add the heat and we end up with nothing. We have had almost no moisture this winter and with the dry air, allergy issues are extra bad.

I do think a lot of people glamorize KS as a place they'll move to and be able to easily grow a big garden and fruit trees and it is important they realize that is not, for the most part, the kind of farming that is done. I grew up in the Michigan/Indiana area and it was entirely different. We lived in the "fruit belt" there. Here, the crops are generally corn, wheat, etc.
.

We grow corn, squash, cilantro, yellow onion, green onion, watermelon, a few tomatoes (I think 3 survived last year), cantaloupe, and a couple others. Our garden is pretty small and we don't water much, but the ground is very fertile from mulching. Tomatoes are the only thing that didnt grow very well. But one of my trusses broke that held them too... I'm in rural Shawnee county.

[Shareelovesderek]

Thanks everyone ! I don't want to farm just a farm type setting where I can have chicken and goats and my dog. Where my neighbors house isn't 10ft from me . Also I was told west Kansas is typically drier which I like , Humidity would be hard for me . I have my mother in law and brother in law in olathe and Lawrence . Want to be closer then them but not to close  is it possible to get a 2 plus bed house with a few acres under 400,00?

[Rivertowntalk]

You could live in Lawrence and have chickens if you wanted to. They let people have chickens in town, but no roosters. As far as a goat, maybe you could get away with a pygmy goat in town, but probably not one of those big ones that run off and climb on cars, etc. What kind of goats do you have? We have humidity here.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by Shareelovesderek

Thanks everyone ! I don't want to farm just a farm type setting where I can have chicken and goats and my dog. Where my neighbors house isn't 10ft from me . Also I was told west Kansas is typically drier which I like , Humidity would be hard for me . I have my mother in law and brother in law in olathe and Lawrence . Want to be closer then them but not to close  is it possible to get a 2 plus bed house with a few acres under 400,00?

If you are more liberal, I would not recommend western Kansas. Hays vicinity is about as moderate as it gets and that isn't saying much. Yes, the climate there is drier but also much more rural than you are looking for. If you want to be more convenient to cities in eastern Kansas you are better off looking in rural areas that are close in.

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by Shareelovesderek

Thanks everyone ! I don't want to farm just a farm type setting where I can have chicken and goats and my dog. Where my neighbors house isn't 10ft from me . Also I was told west Kansas is typically drier which I like , Humidity would be hard for me . I have my mother in law and brother in law in olathe and Lawrence . Want to be closer then them but not to close  is it possible to get a 2 plus bed house with a few acres under 400,00?

There is a lot of land between Olathe and Lawrence. Eudora, Desoto, Linwood, Edgerton, Lenexa, Olathe. You should be able to find something along there. What you want is a hobby farm! Look at land along K10 between Olathe and Lawrence. Go to reeceandnichols.com and look on the map view. Stilwell, but land is expensive there.

Or outside of Lawrence. If you wanted to go south, Gardner would probably be the least expensive place you'd find nearby. But each area has its own "flavor" so you'd need to see what appeals to you.

If you look at reeceandnichols, though, you can put in your search parameters (like 2 to 10 acres) and then hit map view and see all the properties that match that and see where they are.

If you don't mind the Missouri side, you can find cheaper land down around Belton, Harrisonville and Peculiar and also on the Kansas side in Linn or Miami County, but that may be further south than you want to be.

There's lots of humidity in half of June, all of July and August and half of September.

Does that say under $400,000 or under $40,000? Under $400,000 - yes, most definitely. Under $40,000 - not unless you go really rural and find some land with a really old house or a trailer on it.

[Gunluvver2]

Originally Posted by Shareelovesderek

Thanks everyone ! I don't want to farm just a farm type setting where I can have chicken and goats and my dog. Where my neighbors house isn't 10ft from me . Also I was told west Kansas is typically drier which I like , Humidity would be hard for me . I have my mother in law and brother in law in olathe and Lawrence . Want to be closer then them but not to close  is it possible to get a 2 plus bed house with a few acres under 400,00?

Sharee,
The big question is are you going to have to work? In the Western end of the state $400,000.00 will buy a nice house and 160+/- a few Acres of farmland. It is often easier to find and buy a house with a quarter section (160 acres) than it is to buy 5 acres with a house. I was born in Cheyenne County Kansas and grew up just across the line in Colorado. I visit quite often and have an interest in the family farm that my Grandaddy homesteaded in the late 1880's. It is a great place if you like the peaceful life and rural living. The cost of living is low compared to larger cities in the East end of the state but the jobs you find there, if you can find one, are lower paying. As far as having a neighbor ten feet away. . . some places you won't be able to see the next door neighbor place if it is cloudy LOL.