Living here sucks...here's why (Wichita, Kansas City: 2014, lease, neighborhood)

[cuja1]

I think it looks kind of neat from the pics on the web. Not Manhattan but seems like a nice enough downtown. Wichita is some what famous among hardy palm tree lovers because someone there grew a Sabal Minor McCurtain that survived -24 F. You can google it. It's still about a 1/2 zone warmer than where I live.

[springless_chicken]

I was born and raised in Wichita. It sucked and I left. I have moved back twice thinking it might have grown up. It didn't. I know folks from Wichita tend to defend the town, but if they ever left and moved to the East, West or a populated large city and returned they would get why folks from outside think it is a lame, slow, boring, bible belt town. There are some minor appeasements, but there is really little to nothing to do no matter how hard they try. If you are married, with kids and you want a clean town, lots of churches and decent school Wichita is probably for you. If you want a little sin, a fast pace, multiple diversions and excitement in the mix forget it. Surprisingly Wichita has some of the best local musicians and bands in the country, but the venues and clubs are not exactly uptown.

[wildmissingno]

Originally Posted by Fin36

I have been in Wichita for many years due to family circumstances. Previously, I lived in large coastal cities. I am going to be stuck here at least a few more years, and all I can do is hope I don't go completely insane before then. If you are thinking about moving here, consider the following.

1 - There is not much here in the way of things to do. No major league sports, limited shopping and dining, very few cultural opportunities. You'll have to drive to Kansas City or Oklahoma City if you want to attend a popular concert. Also, there seem to be monopolies on grocery and drug stores. There is only one decent enclosed shopping mall.

2 - People tend to be conservative, narrow minded, and not motivated to do much about changing point 1 above. They seem perfectly content with what little is here, or they are OK with making road trips to get those things.

3 - Speaking of road trips, the closest "real" city, Kansas City, is two and a half hours away. Between here and there is a whole lot of nothing.

4 - Your choices of direct flights out of the local airport are very limited as far as destinations and frequency. And the flights you can get are ridiculously overpriced. To fly somewhere like Denver or Chicago will normally cost over $300 round trip. Just because you're smack in the middle of the country doesn't mean easy access to anywhere.

5 - The weather sucks for the most part. Summer is sunny, windy, and hot. Winter is sunny, windy, and cold. Spring and fall last about two weeks each. It hardly ever rains, so if you have a lawn, you'll have to water it frequently. Mosquitoes and other insects are everywhere. If you have allergies, plan on taking meds nearly year-round.

6 - Most people here are from here originally, or moved to Wichita from even smaller towns, and they are not very interested in making new friends as they are often busy with their local families and the friends they grew up with. Moving here, you will always be an outsider. And if you don't care about KU or K-State, you won't have anything to talk with them about anyway.

7 - If you love being outdoors, you won't find much to do here. There are of course parks, but no real "wild" areas within a short distance of town or public lands. For example, you have to drive a couple of hours to find some decent hiking trails and forested hills. Otherwise, it's flat and featureless here.

8 - The city skyline is pretty lame. For a city that claims to have a population of 300k+, it looks smaller. When (if) someone comes to visit you, good luck finding something interesting to show them or somewhere fun to take them. Old Town is kind of fun for a date night, but can be dangerous and often seems like a ghost town. The zoo is nice, but since it's usually too hot or too cold outside, you won't want to stay long.

9 - The local house style is dull, particularly new houses. Sure, new houses in other cities are cookie-cutter too - but at least they often have some attractive features. Example: In the south, there is a traditional look; in the southwest, there is a southwestern look. Houses here are often plain boxes. Also, many people don't fence in their yards, so their kids and dogs roam free.

10 - You can't buy alcohol where you buy your groceries, unless it's "near beer' or similar. And liquor stores cannot sell mixers or snacks.

I could probably go on, but 10 is a good place to stop my rant. You have been warned.

I am from Wichita. I moved several different places and then came back out of necessity. You are absolutely right about all of these points!

[knrstz]

Anyone who lets their happiness be influenced by a city's skyline needs to reprioritize.

[RcHydro]

Most people born into this dont know any difference, or have any desire to leave. Just live miserable their whole life. Not happy with where you live, move. There are no jobs in your area, move to where there is employment. Simple as that.

[TedH71]

Been here 10 years. I completely agree with the recent poster with the 10 listings. I'm obviously not from here but my wife is and so is her family. They all think Kansas is great. Well, hell, yeah....it's because they've grown up here, went to college here, and got jobs here. That's all they know. My wife is starting to get fed up though finally because of her job. Employers DO look at your resume and if you are the type to do contracts (i.e. temporary jobs) or job hop (common in other cities esp cities with high tech jobs prone to lay offs/etc)...they will not give you the time of the day. They will give you some consideration if you've worked at a job IN town.....in Kansas, not outside Kansas. Took me a while to get a job here. I'm not working right now because I had to quit my last job due to scheduling conflicts with my previous job and school. Just graduated so I'm starting to hit the job hunt scene.

[jHolman91]

Originally Posted by TedH71

Employers DO look at your resume and if you are the type to do contracts (i.e. temporary jobs) or job hop (common in other cities esp cities with high tech jobs prone to lay offs/etc)...they will not give you the time of the day. They will give you some consideration if you've worked at a job IN town.....in Kansas, not outside Kansas. Took me a while to get a job here. I'm not working right now because I had to quit my last job due to scheduling conflicts with my previous job and school. Just graduated so I'm starting to hit the job hunt scene.

This is the trouble I'm having trying to find a job, Well I've always had this issue finding work and I don't job hop(I've only had 3 jobs in the last 7 1/2 years).It's gotten real bad now that I tried to move out of state to Colorado, but after I got screwed over on what I was offered I had to stay, But I've been back a month and have had no takers on jobs and even though I have forklift certification, I have actually been told by managers that most business's will not even consider me or hire me because I don't have at least 2 years of experience or having worked in a warehouse. I've been using a temp group but every job I've been given the business outs me after the first day, So now after being jobless, basically broke and it may take me months to get a decent job(my longest stretch was 4 months not counting the 4 years it took me to get full time employment) I have decided on risking bankruptcy to try moving back to Denver where I know I can get full time employment much faster than here.

I was born here and after going on vacations all my life I've found better cities than here. I don't know why most people swear this is an decent city to live in but spending time in other states then coming back here, I don't see it.

[TedH71]

Have you tried to apply to the Arnold Group in Wichita? Lots of jobs there.

[cuebert1981]

I have lived in Wichita my entire life and yes Wichita is hell on earth there is nothing to do what so ever this is for old people and on top of that the racism is bad in this town my wife is black and I am white the jobs are mediocre at best if you get the right skills you are in great shape stay away from hell in the summer time it hits 110 with humidity 60% sweating bullets the crime when I was there it was under control nope not anymore

[Calvert Hall '62]

Originally Posted by Fin36

People tend to be conservative, narrow minded,.

You could come here to the very progressive and diverse People's Republic of Maryland which is overrun with us left wing moonbats and which has been described as "America in Miniature" from the mountains in the west to the seashores in the east. We have lots of culture, monuments, history, the National Aquarium, pro football and major league baseball.


Other attractions for us open-minded liberals include a tax for every letter of the alphabet; a bleeding heart justice system that favors criminals rather than victims; a sanctuary for illegals including MS-13; and our largest city is always top 10 per capita in murder, STDs, and OD deaths