Question about (Semi) Retiring to the Flint Hills

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stlcatfan
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Question about (Semi) Retiring to the Flint Hills

Post by stlcatfan » March 5th, 2022, 11:00 am

This question is for folks who live in Manhattan or the Flint Hills region. I have been thinking a LOT about retirement (or semi-retirement) in the near future. One of the areas I am thinking of retiring to is the Flint Hills, but not necessarily in the city of Manhattan. I want to live in or near a small town, but within reasonable driving distance of Manhattan so I can go to more games. I also grew up in Kansas and it would be nice to move closer to my family after I retire.

Are there any areas (cities, counties, etc.) you would recommend taking a look at? My ideal location would be near a small town, on 5-10 acres of land, with a pond or a creek, and good well water. I would like for it to be somewhat open prairie, but with some timber as well. Obviously, property taxes and access to utilities are considerations as well.

Thanks in advance for any insights you can provide!
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Post by ToledoCat#3 » March 5th, 2022, 11:34 am

stl, I'm in somewhat the same boat, only I'm retired in the Flint Hills but want to be closer to family, friends in Manhattan area.

Wamego is a great small town and the 24 hwy corridor from Wamego to MHK is rapidly becoming solid housing of some sort. It's tough to find small acreages for sale and the price is high. Some vacant farm land recently sold for more than $10,000 per acre. Zoning restrictions are pretty tight.

If 60 miles is close enough for you to consider, then Emporia is a possibility. Chase County (Strong City/Cottonwood Falls) has plenty of open land and ZERO zoning regs. Morris County (Council Grove) is 40 miles south and the state is improving hwy 177 all the way from Council Grove to the Interstate.

Those are my suggestions.
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Post by stlcatfan » March 5th, 2022, 2:25 pm

ToledoCat#3 wrote:
March 5th, 2022, 11:34 am
stl, I'm in somewhat the same boat, only I'm retired in the Flint Hills but want to be closer to family, friends in Manhattan area.

Wamego is a great small town and the 24 hwy corridor from Wamego to MHK is rapidly becoming solid housing of some sort. It's tough to find small acreages for sale and the price is high. Some vacant farm land recently sold for more than $10,000 per acre. Zoning restrictions are pretty tight.

If 60 miles is close enough for you to consider, then Emporia is a possibility. Chase County (Strong City/Cottonwood Falls) has plenty of open land and ZERO zoning regs. Morris County (Council Grove) is 40 miles south and the state is improving hwy 177 all the way from Council Grove to the Interstate.

Those are my suggestions.
Thank you for those suggestions. Yeah, I had heard that about Manhattan and Wamego, too. I'm glad you told me that Chase County has no zoning regulations. I am familiar with Chase and Morris Counties. There is some pretty country down there.

Of course, I'm still looking at different options. I've also been looking a little more East toward St. Mary's, Paxico, and Maple Hill. My son is doing an internship this summer in KC. It is one of those deals where if they are happy with each other, he could go to work for them when he graduates from college. So living between Manhattan and KC would be pretty ideal and I am still only about 90 minutes from where I grew up (and my folks still live). Rural Missouri is still another possibility. Again, it will probably come down to where my son ends up after graduation. St. Louis is his home base so I imagine he will end up here or in KC, most likely.

I know my dad would like me to come back to Kansas. He even offered to go land hunting with me when I come back.

Anyway, thanks again for the information. It is much appreciated!
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Post by KITNooga » March 15th, 2022, 1:11 pm

wamego. eskridge. council grove.

options abound
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Post by stlcatfan » March 16th, 2022, 1:27 pm

KITNooga wrote:
March 15th, 2022, 1:11 pm
wamego. eskridge. council grove.

options abound
Thanks. There is hardly a day that goes by where I am not thinking about this. I need to practice patience, I guess. :)
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Post by ToledoCat#3 » March 16th, 2022, 2:22 pm

If you like small lake living, take a look at Lake Wabaunsee between Alma and Eskridge. Pretty crowded shoreline, but homes for sale occasionally.
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Post by RichardZ » March 17th, 2022, 12:47 pm

Toledo, Your mentioning land being $10000 an acre caught my eye,

We moved to a small town 25 miles north of Dallas and Ft. Worth in 1987 and bought acreage with home and barn. At the time the land next to us was for sale. It was 10 acres for $100,000. I so wanted to buy it, but had like zero dollars having just bought our new place.

Hop forward to 2022. Property now is...$200,000 for an acre of bare land.

Patience...
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Post by wild@nite » March 21st, 2022, 1:24 pm

stlcatfan wrote:
March 5th, 2022, 11:00 am
This question is for folks who live in Manhattan or the Flint Hills region. I have been thinking a LOT about retirement (or semi-retirement) in the near future. One of the areas I am thinking of retiring to is the Flint Hills, but not necessarily in the city of Manhattan. I want to live in or near a small town, but within reasonable driving distance of Manhattan so I can go to more games. I also grew up in Kansas and it would be nice to move closer to my family after I retire.

Are there any areas (cities, counties, etc.) you would recommend taking a look at? My ideal location would be near a small town, on 5-10 acres of land, with a pond or a creek, and good well water. I would like for it to be somewhat open prairie, but with some timber as well. Obviously, property taxes and access to utilities are considerations as well.

Thanks in advance for any insights you can provide!
How small?

Council Grove and Wamego are 2,000 to 5,000 people, I think and are both great little towns. Council Grove has better scenery (as far as the Flint Hills), but Wamego has some of the best small town celebrations in the midwest. Their fireworks display is THE best I've ever been to and I've been to a bunch. I took some friends one year and they laughed when I told them that Wamego's 4th of July fireworks was better than most large cities in the U.S. Let's just say that they could not believe how impressive it was. If you haven't been, you have no idea. Council Grove has a nice little lake outside of town and is a very scenic drive to Manhattan.

If you want smaller towns, I'd suggest Westmoreland or even Olsburg. Olsburg is really small, but is near the north end of Tuttle Creek Lake and has some very beautiful areas to by land and build a home. Westmoreland is a town of about 600 people and has a pool and a grocery store. Nice little town and is about a 25 minute drive from Manhattan.
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Post by Wyocat » March 21st, 2022, 4:44 pm

https://www.facebook.com/groups/6473538 ... 6966639184

You'll have to join the group to see it. Manhattan Buy and Sell. 6+ acres live creek, timber near Wamego. $80K
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Post by ksuatheart » March 26th, 2022, 8:34 am

Saint Mary's and Maple Hill are heavily populated with Latin mass Catholics, (the St Mary's group separated from the church after the Latin was taken out of the mass, and there is tension between the English and Latin crowd). These people are good people, but the dynamics are very unusual, and if they aren't your crowd, you at least want to be aware of what is going on. Lots of families with lots of kids, and insufficient housing means high prices.

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