Why would I hate Wichita? (Kansas City, Green: apartments, loft, houses)

[mikegrowingintohouston]

I might be moving for a job in Wichita as something along the lines of a Financial Analyst / Modeler (take a wild guess what big private company this might be).

I live in Houston.

I like the idea of moving to Wichita.

Why? Because 95% of my time is doing the following:
1.) Working
2.) Eating out, watching movies, drinking with friends at bars/houses/apartments/restaurants, etc.
3.) Eating at home, showering/cleaning/running errands/etc, watching TV, reading, browsing the internet
4.) Exercising (running, weight lifting, biking)

Now, which one of these is better or worse:
1.) This is implicitly better based on the information I've provided (and no long commute in Wichita)
2.) Houston gets an edge with more food selections and people I know here
3.) This is absolutely not different in any way
4.) This would be better in Wichita (not as hot, better city to bike in)

I really don't understand all of the hate towards Wichita. I think people just like to blame their sorrows on whatever is convenient.

If I was financially independent and had all the time in the world, no way I would move to Wichita. 99% of us have neither of those.

So what am I missing?

[chele123]

I don't know why you'd hate Wichita. It's not bad at all.

[knrstz]

Wichita isn't bad at all. It's just nothing special, so people bash it. I'm kinda like you. I have a pretty major home gym and love to bike. I'm moving to Fayetteville, Arkansas next week and the main reason is lack of scenery in Kansas. However, Houston isn't too gorgeous although it's much greener. My point is that Wichita isn't a health and fitness mecca like Denver, but if you like working out and being outdoors, you can pretty much do it anywhere. I eat very healthy and like fresh produce. In the four years I've been in Wichita we have had several nice health food stores open up, Natural Grocers and The Fresh Market on the east side. The west side has the farmers market. There is also one on the east side at Green Acres. You can do almost anything in Wichita that you can in Houston. It's just on a much smaller scale. However trading in your Houston Astro tickets for Wichita Wingnut(yes that's their name, lol) minor league tickets has it's advantages. Unless there is a wreck, you'll never get stuck in traffic. Some things will likely be cheaper here. I don't know if you have family or not, but if you make any kind of decent money, you can live in a safe and nice area. If you crave a bigger city, Kansas City and Oklahoma city are about 2 1/2 hours away. My opinion on Wichita is that because of many jobs being in an assembly line manufacturing/union jobs, it has led to many people feeling the same way about Wichita as they do their jobs. They complain and don't realize that it's not that bad. I had a friend visit from Tulsa and he was very complimentary towards Wichita. I think you'll do fine here, you might even like it if you don't buy into the negativity of some of the locals.

[Sco]

The major downside that I see for you is the job situation. If things work out and you like that job and that employer, you will like Wichita.

However, if you get fired, laid off or just don't like working there, you will have no choice but to move out of Wichita.

You can also imagine how an employer that knows that their employees have almost zero job mobility and negotiating power treat them. I have known people on the inside of a certain privately held major employer in Wichita that have been involved in actions their employer takes to actively discourage other employers from coming to Wichita with similar employment opportunities. They want to be the only game in town with the ability to completely control the pay and working conditions in the Wichita metro area for cetain types of white collar workers.

All I can say is keep your eyes open and make sure you fully understand what you are getting into.

[mikegrowingintohouston]

Sco,

Mobility is easy! Just hop in the car and go. Of course I can do this only because I will have no house and no kids. With a house and kids, ya I would completely agree with you! But even then, you can always sell your house and move your family.

[Sco]

Originally Posted by mikegrowingintohouston

Sco,

Mobility is easy! Just hop in the car and go. Of course I can do this only because I will have no house and no kids. With a house and kids, ya I would completely agree with you! But even then, you can always sell your house and move your family.

As long as you understand that going in, you should be fine. If your prospective employer is who I think it is, you can expect to be working a ton of hours, so your outside activities will be very limited anyway. They have no concept of a work/life balance.

[drjones96]

Originally Posted by mikegrowingintohouston

I like the idea of moving to Wichita.

Why? Because 95% of my time is doing the following:
1.) Working
2.) Eating out, watching movies, drinking with friends at bars/houses/apartments/restaurants, etc.
3.) Eating at home, showering/cleaning/running errands/etc, watching TV, reading, browsing the internet
4.) Exercising (running, weight lifting, biking)

Now, which one of these is better or worse:
1.) This is implicitly better based on the information I've provided (and no long commute in Wichita)
2.) Houston gets an edge with more food selections and people I know here
3.) This is absolutely not different in any way
4.) This would be better in Wichita (not as hot, better city to bike in)

(Let me preface this by saying that I haven't lived in Houston but I have lived in DFW but it's a similar sized metro area so I think it's a fair comparison)

1.) Work is work. The only thing that could make work better is the people, policies, environment, etc. And if it takes less time to get to and from work. Don't know your employer but I can tell you that Wichita is very easy to get around compared to Houston and much less stressful.

2.) The one thing I miss most about living in the DFW area is the variety of places to eat. Not that you can't get food in Wichita....it's just that it's not on the same scale.

3.) This is not going to change at all. It's just that errands may take less time due to it being easier to get around.

4.) It still gets blistering hot here. I'm actually taking a break from cycling right now because I just don't want to deal with the heat. July and August are pretty much on-par with DFW. There is usually only about 4F difference in average high temperature between DFW and Wichita in July and August. But Wichita has seen record highs that exceed DFW's. It also gets extremely cold in the winter. This past winter was very mild but the few years before there were some sub-zero days....I think there was one day it was actually -19F....that's cold. The Spring and Fall seasons seem to be very cool in comparison to DFW though. Kansas has a reputation for tornados because of the Wizard of Oz. We saw more tornados in DFW than Wichita. Not sure what it's like in houston but I'm sure there is the periodic hurricane or tropical storm that hits there.

[GuitarArt1980]

I'm from Wichita and moved to DFW (similar metro of Houston, like previous poster said) about a year and a half ago and here are my thoughts..

1) You already have this one answered

2) I read somewhere that Wichita has the most restuarants per capita in the U.S. and there are quite a few dining options for a city it's size. However, I realize how spoiled I am in DFW whenever I visit Wichita - so living in Houston, you're probably used to a lot more/better options than Wichita. Although, new restaurants are coming and going all the time. When it comes to movies, Wichita has some of the best theaters in the country, including the largest IMAX screen. If you're into trendy wait-in-line dance clubs, you'll be dissapointed in Wichita's club scene. Otherwise, Wichita's Old Town district has several nice bars and clubs, as well as some cool bars along Douglas Ave. Sometimes I miss being able to go have a drink at a cool place without having to valet or having to park 2 miles away!

3) You answered it

4) As previously stated, the weather in Wichita is not much cooler than Texas in the summer. I'd say Wichita gets just about as hot as Houston but somewhere between Houston and Dallas for humidity, but can get downright nasty cold in the winter. Wichita is a fine place for running and biking because it's so easy to get around. For gyms, Wichita has some of the nicest and largest YMCAs in the country (I think your potential employer has quite a lot to do with this).

Overall, I think Wichita is an excellent place to live, especially if you ever raise a family. However, if I were single and moved there from DFW (or Houston) I'd probably get a little bored. But if you make friends easily, you'd might like Wichita just fine. I'd recommend a loft in Old Town based on your lifestyle.

[mikegrowingintohouston]

Thanks for the responses...

[samcrow]

Originally Posted by mikegrowingintohouston

I might be moving for a job in Wichita as something along the lines of a Financial Analyst / Modeler (take a wild guess what big private company this might be).

I live in Houston.

I like the idea of moving to Wichita.

Why? Because 95% of my time is doing the following:
1.) Working
2.) Eating out, watching movies, drinking with friends at bars/houses/apartments/restaurants, etc.
3.) Eating at home, showering/cleaning/running errands/etc, watching TV, reading, browsing the internet
4.) Exercising (running, weight lifting, biking)

Now, which one of these is better or worse:
1.) This is implicitly better based on the information I've provided (and no long commute in Wichita)
2.) Houston gets an edge with more food selections and people I know here
3.) This is absolutely not different in any way
4.) This would be better in Wichita (not as hot, better city to bike in)

I really don't understand all of the hate towards Wichita. I think people just like to blame their sorrows on whatever is convenient.

If I was financially independent and had all the time in the world, no way I would move to Wichita. 99% of us have neither of those.

So what am I missing?

By that criteria you would also love Somalia.