The missus and I are thinking about where we'll live when we retire from the military in Summer 2012. We both enjoyed our one-year assignment to Ft Leavenworth; rolling hills, country towns/festivals, KC nearby, nice folks, good duck hunting.

I'd like to teach criminal justice and/or political science as a community college. I could, however, find other work in the area if need be. Hey...there's always the Gun Library at Cabela's.

I'd be interested in hearing from folks who live in and around the area.

All I know about KS is I had to cross it to get to CO and WY but why not figure on renting for six months or a year so you can get some hands on knowledge.
My company moved me to Tulsa and the realtors fell on us like a pack of wolves. And showed us all the dogs that they couldn't sell in the worst parts of town. Luckily, my company paid for a rental for a year so we were able to learn quite a bit b/4 deciding.

If Kansas suited your needs and desires, I'd say go for it. It ain't where you are, but where you are (mentally) that counts. Just as a suggestion you might look a bit further east in Missouri before making your final decision.

My first thought would be firearms laws, and the political makeup of the state; then the tax burden

Rich

I like Kansas, good outdoor activities, traditional values, friendly people, not too crowded, many of the qualities that made America great. However, it gets cold, taxes are high (estate). I would also recommend renting before you buy, you might decide you want something different.

Thanks for the responses guys. Lots more homework to do on my end.

I was born and raised in Kansas - moved to Texas after finishing college. Kansas has some good deer hunting and bird hunting (quail, pheasant, ducks, geese, dove and even praire chicken). The fishing is also good, with a number of reservoirs scattered through out the state. Land is still relative cheap. Kansas does have a state income tax.

Two years ago, my wife and I decided that we were tired of the low winter temperature and high taxes of Wisconsin. The kids were grown and gone, scattered from Fairfax, Virginia to Lander, Wyoming.

We wanted 4 seasons, but not 6 months of winter that we put up with in Rhinelander. Because I'm on a disability pension, it had to be a place that offered a lower cost of living. I love to fish, so that was important, but I also love to hunt as well.

We looked quite a bit and ended up in northwest Tennessee. In comparison to Wisconsin, property costs are much lower, and property taxes are considerably lower! We bought a nice 2 bedroom, stick-built home (with a big garage) in the country for under $80K and property taxes are only $400 a year.

Tennessee is a "Shall Issue" state and they seem to be very gun friendly, especially when compared to Wisconsin.

And while TN does have a higher sales tax, we live 15 minutes from Kentucky, so any big ticket items we need, we simply drive north...

The hunting is pretty good too. There is a pretty fair amount of public land, and in my area, we're allowed 3 whitetail bucks per season, and 3 antlerless per DAY! In the spring, we can shoot 4 bearded toms too. The duck hunting is pretty good, and we have a lot of small game hunting as well as dove shooting.

All in all, we really like TN and I'm not leaving. They'll bury me here...

Shof, big bend country or Reelfoot??

quote:

Originally posted by wasbeeman:
Shof, big bend country or Reelfoot??

We now live just north of Paris, about 20 minutes west of Kentucky Lake. It's beautiful country, rolling terrain with woods, interspersed with fields, streams all over and the weather is great! Today, New Year's Eve, it was almost 60 degrees.

If you are a small game hunter and want to teach in a community college then look at Kansas City. Lots of community colleges and just outside the city there is lots of quail and turkey hunting let alone the waterfoul. Rabbits, squirrels, whitetail deer. There are coyotes and fox and if you run dogs there is pretty good racoon hunting. And you are right next door to Kansas. Kansas City is a great city.

Yes, I live in beautiful, downtown Camden, about twenty miles from Paris. I was in Paris today. I'm just a couple of minutes from the TN river, aka, Kentucky Lake.

quote:

Originally posted by wasbeeman:
Yes, I live in beautiful, downtown Camden, about twenty miles from Paris. I was in Paris today. I'm just a couple of minutes from the TN river, aka, Kentucky Lake.

Well heck wasbeeman, we gotta get together soon. I'll show you the 8 point rack I took off a dead buck I found just down the road! PM me and I'll give you my cell phone number.