Kansas

Started by Homegrown Tomatoes, January 17, 2008, 10:28:11 PM

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Homegrown Tomatoes

What do y'all think of southern Kansas (south or southeast of Wichita, within about half an hour.)?

Homegrown Tomatoes

Is there anyone on the forums who lives in that area and can give me any input?  Probably not any further south than Wellington... not farther north or east than El Dorado (at the most)... Viola, Clearwater, etc. would be great?  Anyone?


Sassy

Homegrown,  I have a friend who lives near Waverly, Kansas - but I've never been there.  I've seen pix of rolling, green hills.  It's 50 miles to the nearest decent town for shopping or doing anything else.  They had a beautiful home custom built for them.  She likes the area & she doesn't like it.  I think she'd rather be closer to a city.  But she isn't into gardening & such.  She runs a trucking business with her husband & is pretty busy with that - works out of the home.

They are very involved in church there & love that.  She used to have to go by herself, but in the past few years her husband has gotten really involved & I think she doesn't mind being there as much.  He's from that area but she is from the valley where I mostly grew up in California & her family is all out here.  Not much else to tell you.

Sounds like your husband got a good offer - they have a lot of undergrounds homes around there because of the tornados  ;)
http://glennkathystroglodytecabin.blogspot.com/

You will know the truth & the truth will set you free

Homegrown Tomatoes

I think that the eastern part of KS isn't bad... it's kind of pretty in it's own way.  I still prefer OK, but I have to admit that I don't think he'll get  a better relocation package anywhere.  We're seriously considering the option.  He has more interviews next week, so hopefully we'll have more than a week to make a decision and a few options to weigh against each other.  I'm still hoping a couple of the Tulsa companies come through with an offer....this is the part of moving I don't like.  I don't mind the packing and the hunting for property, but I really hate trying to nail down all the final offers and stuff.

Sassy

I'm not sure where Waverly is located - would have to look on a map - there are no trees anywhere except for what a person plants around their home, but it did look pretty.  She's been there for over 15 yrs now, maybe closer to 20. 

Sounds like you got a great offer - look on the bright side - it's probably far enough away where certain relatives can't just pick up & come over for a slumber party anytime they wish or park old cars out front...  ::)
http://glennkathystroglodytecabin.blogspot.com/

You will know the truth & the truth will set you free


Homegrown Tomatoes

That's true ;D.  Could be just as hard as here to find a babysitter for the afternoon, though!    I've been looking at properties online now for two days (and have done very little else productive.)  What do you think?  I found 10 acres near the place he'd be working, and it has a liveable and tiny 2 bed/1 bath home on the property, and  we could buy it with cash.  It's totally fenced, has a pond, and of course septic and well and electric, and I can see a propane tank sitting in the yard, and the listing mentions other farm outbuildings though it doesn't show what condition they're in.  Our original plan was that we'd build a little house and live in it until we could afford to build a bigger one debt free.  What do you think about buying a little house that's liveable and staying there until we could build a bigger home eventually, and then we could use the little one as a MIL cottage-guest house?  Originally, our hope was to eventually make it into a little B&B venture perhaps or some sort of agri-tourism deal, but now I'm not sure... in Kansas?  Anyway, right down the road, I found another property with a big, beautiful home with a wrap-around porch on 20 acres with fences and barn and so forth... really nice looking place, although we'd have to have a mortgage on part of it....I'm a sucker for big porches.  I also like the fact that it is a larger acreage and all... It has a horse barn and hay storage, but doesn't look like they ever really did much with the land in the way of landscaping/gardening.  On one hand, it would be great to be debt free from the onset, but at the same time, I'd like to have a little more land... the second place has  great locations for gardens, and it's fairly level all around the house.  The thing that kills me is that it is just as cheap or cheaper to buy land with an established house/well/electric/septic than it is to buy completely undeveloped land.  And, once we're out the cost of undeveloped land, we still have to have a place to live... d*  I'd like to be some place at least semi-permanent (IOW, someplace we own) by the time the baby gets here in mid-late May.  Darn, I was sure hoping he'd get offers in OK first so that at least I know a little more about the area and what we're getting into... he may have offers in OK as early as Monday, but I don't know if any of the other companies would buy our house here if we can't sell it.... that's a huge thing as far as relocation goes.  Thinking out loud here, I guess, because there is no one here but the kids and the dog to discuss it with!!!  None of our friends here understand why we would want to move south, either, so it is pointless to discuss it with them. ???  What to do, what to do...

Homegrown Tomatoes

BTW, Waverly is further north and east than Wichita... kind of between Wichita and Kansas City.  Not a bad area, really, for Kansas. 

Homegrown Tomatoes

Do you think folks know that dogs are dogs in Kansas???

MountainDon

Only if they're named Toto.   ;D
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.


Homegrown Tomatoes

 ;D  Should have seen that one coming a mile away! 

Seriously, it looks quite probable that we'll be moving within about a month and a half, max. 

benevolance

wow...

Congrats...When you decide it is time for action whew...

Good for you though...Go for it... I love Kansas...I bought a car out in Lawerence one time...Nice town..A little flat out there...But good people...Not all in your business too bad like other places...

And yeah I suspect with it being a farming state they know a dog is okay being outside and all :)

Homegrown Tomatoes

Well, growing up, I admit I didn't like Kansas much... every time we drove across it, we were on a long, flat interstate with very little to look at... However, a while back when my great-aunt died, we went up there for her funeral.  On the way home, we stopped at a little park called Mushroom Rock State Park because I remember my great-aunt always saying that she liked it.  It totally changed my perspective.  It was spring, and the sky was deep intense blue, and there was nothing but rolling, blowing prairie as far as I could see, but you'd come over a little rise and there'd be a creek or trees completely hidden from view only minutes before.  I felt like we were the only people on the face of the earth, and I remember thinking then that I wouldn't mind living in Kansas if I could live someplace like that.  There's something pleasant about the sound of the wind rustling the grass...and I remember an old friend from our church in Oklahoma telling us about the first time he visited his wife's parents in Kansas.  He was from somewhere in the northeast, someplace heavily wooded, but I can't remember where for sure.  He said that the first time he went to Kansas, he "fell in love with the immense nothingness" of it, and the fact that the sky looked like God had turned a big blue bowl upside down on the earth.  We still haven't sent in the acceptance letter, but I'm almost certain we will....I am absolutely looking forward to it, and hey, if I need to see more trees, I can drive 2.5 hours home and see all I want there.   ;D

benevolance

Do you have a job offer in Kansas?

Homegrown Tomatoes

My job is the same year round, regardless of location... I'm a stay-at-home mom and am homeschooling the kids.  Doesn't pay real well, but benefits are good.  DH got a really good offer in Wichita, though. 


benevolance

My wife is a school teacher and when we finally have kids we are going to school them at home... Good for you for having the conviction to school the kids at home...I wish more people took the time to truly get involved with their kids lives and help educate them...

We are supposed to be our kids best friends.. to teach them everything they need to know...our morals and values are supposed to be passed on...there is no better way to do this than to spend time with them and to teach them by doing...

I hate it when I see kids being dropped off in the morning at daycare or school and picked up after supper then the parents take them home and send them to bed....What kind of life is that like for a kid?

i went to a summer day camp thing one summer when I was about 11.. day one I got bored and just took off through the woods and bee lined it for the house it was like half a mile through the woods to our property... the camp counsellor tried to catch me to bring me back...I was like... umm get away...On our small farm I could go fishing or work in the barn (small workshop with bandsaw vice tablesaw etc...) or even work in the  garden...whatever... sitting in a stuffy room in summer day camp was like jail to me... I will never do that to my kids...

MountainDon

Quote from: benevolance on January 21, 2008, 07:01:22 PM
We are supposed to be our kids best friends.. to teach them everything they need to know...our morals and values are supposed to be passed on...there is no better way to do this than to spend time with them and to teach them by doing...
Right on the money except for the first thought. We are supposed to be our kids parents, not their friends. There is a substantial difference. OMMV
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

Sassy

I agree, MtnDon...  now since our kids are in the late 20's & 30's we're friends with them - you really get to enjoy them in a different way when they are older  :)
http://glennkathystroglodytecabin.blogspot.com/

You will know the truth & the truth will set you free

benevolance

Don

You can be both...

I mean when your kids are small they want you to be their best friend...you are their mentor their role model and their hero...They look to you.. they look up to you... they copy you...

Yes there are times when you have to raise your voice or punish them... no question... But there is no reason why you ever have to stop being their friend.... When they are 15 you might butt heads with them some... but even if you are hard on them you are being their friend for doing what is best for them.

benevolance

i have seen parents think it is so cool to let their kids do whatever they want go drinking and smoking with them... party etc... they think that if they let their kids do whatever it means their kids like them...

This is bad and the parents should be flogged for it... not a little slap on the wrist either...mean stripped down and flogged from one end of town to the other with the cat o' nine tails

MountainDon

Friend to your young child. IMO, being a parent is vastly different from being their friend. Yes, they look up to you. Yes, you teach more by example than by word. People who do not 'parent' their babies, toddlers, juveniles do not end up with responsible, unselfish children that grow into responsible, unselfish adults. The difference between parenting and being friends, buddies with one's kids is a concept that some have trouble grasping.

YMMV
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.


benevolance

in my experience you can be their friends... as long as they understand that when they get spanked or grounded it is nothing personal... I mean if there are no problems you can go fishing and spend time together and life is good... When they do not listen break the rules or rebel... it is time to stop what is going on and correct their actions immediately...If there is a correction of bad behaviour then life can resume as it was before... if not they will need constant reminders to behave... If you are consistent and fair with your kids and they know the rules...They will understand that being grounded or spanked is their fault... and eventually they will stop being angry with you over it...

Punishment with kids is something that once over you move on and forget about it...If they make a mistake you punish them and after life resumes...So as long as they behave you can engage in fun activities with them laugh joke and be their friend and parent...

Homegrown Tomatoes

Well, there's a dilemma now.... DH has gotten two offers, and both are really good... REALLY good.  It is really hard to choose, so we've been agonizing over it for the past few days.  Usually, I make decisions very quickly and easily, but even I can't do that with this one.  One new shred of info that I got last night now has me leaning toward the one in OK instead of Wichita.  I've tried to totally leave emotions out of it, because of course, Oklahoma is my favorite place in the world, but here's the deal.  The salaries are the same, but the company in OK gives a 15% bonus each year, and the cost of living is 9.4% lower in OKC compared to Wichita (according to salary.com) so the same amount of money will do more.  Furthermore, we could see cousins more often... the girls really really miss their cousins.   ???  So, that's where it stands right now.  I am calling the relocation company for the OK job today to discuss some details with them.  The only distinct advantage that KS company has is that they would buy our house in 2 months if it doesn't sell.  However, the OK company will pay either our mortgage here or our rent there until the house sells here, so either way we won't end up homeless... and it'll give us more time to look for the right property before buying.  That might mean that we don't get into a place we own until fall or later, BUT, we won't be without a place to live...  I might not get to garden if we're in a rental property this summer, but I would probably be fairly busy with a baby anyway, so maybe it is for the best?  If we could buy a place by fall, I could plant a garden in the fall and garden all winter like I did in the past in OK.  dunno.  It's tough.  DH is really wrestling with it too... we never expected so many good offers.  He's gotten a total of 4 really good offers so far, but he turned two of them down because of location.  But we'll choose one of these two.

:-\  The suspense is killing me... I am ready to move, but now I don't know where.

benevolance

well it all depends on whether you like yer family :P

Seriously... if the money is about the same and the cost of living is lower in Oklahoma...Go for it... Plus you just said it was one of your favorite places

So you have a place you absolutely love, you have family there...And the cost of living is much lower...

Seems like a slam dunk to me...Oklahoma

Sassy

That's the way I'm thinking too - the lower cost of living plus all the things you were wanting...  don't see how you could go wrong!  What a nice predicament to be in...  :)
http://glennkathystroglodytecabin.blogspot.com/

You will know the truth & the truth will set you free

Homegrown Tomatoes

the job in KS is a better match for what DH's expertise is in, but the OK job would give him the opportunity to do something different, which would probably also be a good thing in the future.  Also, there would be no travel required for the OK job... as I'm typing this, it sounds better by the minute.  The only trick will be finding the right land/property.  The OKC area has skyrocketed in the three years we've been away, but there are some houses that I looked at back when we were hoping to go to Oklahoma State that are still on the market and are a reasonable drive from the city... maybe they'll be more willing to take a low offer after waiting all winter?  He really likes the company in KS a lot, but he likes the people in the OK company better...I think we're going to OK, but not sure yet.  Hopefully soon we'll be able to decide.  With the exception of my parents, the rest of our family in OK is great... there are difficulties with Dad especially, but hopefully we can find land that is not too close to him.  We want to be close, but not too close.  My mom can be a little bit of a porcupine too sometimes, but her heart is in the right place.  I think I'll call her today and ask her to give me the  phone number of a local girl who sells real estate... maybe she'll be able to find us the right place for the right price, and it'll make mom feel useful in the process.