Questions regarding a move to KS

[Harley Quinn]

HI!

My SO is relocating to Fort Riley, KS. Since I refuse to live in military housing, I'm trying to hunt down other options. The Army is being it's usual helpful self, so I'm turning to my ever-resourceful DU'ers! I believe the Fort is nearest the city of Manhatten, but not 100% on that. Any advice or opinions on the area or Kansas State U (where I'll most likely transfer)? What's the cost of living out there?

Any advice or resources would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. Manhattan is okay

There are some DUers there. Hopefully they will respond. But I do think you are smart to want to live there rather than Junction City, which is the closest city to the base.

And welcome to Kansas. :hi:

[Telly Savalas]

2. The pawn shop to population ratio is considerably lower

in Manhattan than Junction City.

Plus Aggieville is a really nice place to walk around during the day. Junction City has no analagous locale that I can think of.

[scratchtasia]

3. I went to grad school at KSU

Manhattan's a nice town. It's not as liberal as Lawrence, but it's not as conservative as most of the rest of Kansas. I lived pretty cheaply in Manhattan--I had to!

The closest town to Fort Riley is actually Ogden, which is a tiny little town barely off the base. You probably don't want to live there.

Junction City is a bit closer to Fort Riley than Manhattan is, but it's pretty dumpy. You'll prefer Manhattan, I'm sure.

I taught KSU classes at Fort Riley for a couple of sessions. The commute from Manhattan isn't bad.

Probably the biggest housing company in Manhattan is McCullough Development--they've got various properties around town. You might want to look at their website. I'm not necessarily recommending them, but it's a place to start looking.

Because Manhattan is a college town, most rental leases go through June or August. It might present more of a challenge to get something with other terms, but it can be done.

[HiSee]

4. Welcome to Ft. Riley

Hi Harley,

Manhattan is a great town. It is pretty conservative, but two of our Democrat state reps live here. Sydney Carlin (moderate) and Tom Hawk. They are friendly and accessible. The town is clean and safe. If you have younger kids there isn't much to do unless they are into sports. The cost of living is pretty high considering we are in Kansas. Housing can be expensive, but pretty nice. KSU is a good school, the staff is a great mix of progressives and conservatives. One bad thing, during football season everything is purple. The produce can be very disappointing especially if you are coming from Tacoma or Germany. There is a farmers market on Sat. mornings and Wed. afternoons. There is one small organic food store. We don't have any great bakeries or delis, but there are a few good coffee shops. We have a mall that is ok, some chain type restaurants, some fun pubs and bars. We have some nice parks, and somewhat of a greenbelt.

Fort Riley is about 20 minutes away depending on where the unit is. My husband is a flight medic on Marshall Airfield. He is in Iraq right now. Fort Riley is a nice fort. The historic part is really pretty. The PX is not great. Hopefully that will change with all of the new soldiers coming in. The commissary is fine. The hospital is ok, they try. The support for dependents is pretty good.

Kansas City is a great place, good music, ok food, great if you eat meat, good shopping, very fun bars and pubs.

Good Luck

[MuseRider]

6. Welcome to DU HiSee!

My oldest son is a student at KSU but almost done now. He does not feel very fond of it but I have several friends, liberal friends, who live there and are quite happy. Tom Hawk is indeed a nice guy as is his wife.

[HiSee]

7. Thanks MuseRider

DU has been a great source of information.

[Harley Quinn]

8. Thanks for such detail!

Sorry for the delay in answering...been a bit swamped at work.

I appreciate the time and effort in your response. The area does sound nice.

And, I used to live in Bloomington, IN (home of IU), so fanatic sports fans don't scare me!

[HiSee]

5. The local paper link.

http://www.themercury.com/
http://www.manhattan.org/, Chamber of Commerce.

[Biology]

9. I live in Manhattan...

...and teach at the University. I definately think that Manhattan is the best place to live around the Ft. Riley area, although I'm sure that many of my Junction City friends might disagree. Probably more democrats in Manhattan than in surrounding areas because of the University, but of course Lawrence is clearly the liberal gold standard of Kansas.

The cost of living is typical midwestern, meaning that you don't have the high prices of some of the big cities near the coastal areas. Housing has been getting more expensive in the last few years, and in the last couple of years has gone up considerably because of the soldiers returning. However, housing prices are quite varied, and you can get a typical small, older home in some areas of town for $50,000-$70,000, moderate sized homes for $100,000-$300,000 depending upon location and age, and of course there are newer areas with million dollar homes. All of the banks are eager to give out loans. Do not buy in the flood zone.

As far as renting goes, the market is again varied. The cheaper places, $300-$450 per month are primarily student apartments and you might want to steer clear of those because of noise. There are a lot of basement apartments for rent, but most of these are student apartments and are well broken in. There are higher end apartments, such as Georgetown and Westchester Park, where you can spend $850 for a 900 sq ft 2 bedroom/2 bath unit with washer and dryer. No loud parties allowed. I live at Georgetown for a while and really liked it. They do background checks to insure that one has a sufficient income to make payments.

Lots of new restaurants and businesses opening up, a very good school system that actually has HS science standards higher than the state mandates, and lots of city and club recreational options for both kids and adults (softball, soccer, baseball, basketball, etc.). Three golf courses but I don't know why in a town this size.

[Harley Quinn]

10. Thank you...

and welcome to DU!

I would be in the student category, so renting in the student district (and the associated noise!) doesn't bother me! Manhattan sounds like a nice city, and apparently we have some Duers around!

Thanks again for all the info!