Wichita, Kansas is one of the few remaining well-kept secrets of mid-sized cities in the United States.  Located in the core of America’s Heartland, this city is bursting with character and great living conditions.  Originally inhabited by the Wichita Indians, this area of excellent soil, wildlife and resources was settled by travelers headed west in the mid-1850s.  Named for the Native Americans of the area, the city was incorporated on July 21, 1870.  Early on, the commerce of this quickly growing city was mostly cattle trade and agriculture.  As the years have passed, Wichita has seen everything from crude oil to Pizza Hut, fast-food to camping equipment, but most importantly as it has given this city its proud nickname of “Air Capital of the World,” the aviation industry.  The big ones such as Spirit AeroSystems, Cessna, and Learjet started here and remain to this day employing a large portion of the City of Wichita.

Where entrepreneurs of times past and present call home, this city based on hard work and innovative thinking is only moving forward.  Wichita was recently ranked number 9 in 2006 by Money magazine in their “Top 10 Best Big Cities” article, just in front of New York City.  Forbes.com also granted Wichita with a great “best of” award in 2005, number one as the “Best Place to Live the Good Life Cheaply.”  Residents could not agree more with these national experts, as they experience it daily.  With tons of land in and around the city, as well as homes of all shapes and sizes everywhere, Wichita represents one of the hottest real estate markets and lowest costs-of-living around.  With median home sales prices around $120,000 it’s no wonder why.

On top of its bustling economy, Wichita provides its locals and visitors with abundant recreational, artistic, educational and shopping options.  Stop by the Wichita Skatepark and marvel over the area’s skaters as they plunge into one of the deepest bowls (9-1/2 feet) of skateparks around the Midwest and practice their tricks on this 100% “skateable” 12,045 square foot park in the heart of downtown.  Located at the intersection of the Big and Little Arkansas rivers, this city is alive with people enjoying the outdoors.  The Arkansas River Bicycle Path is a popular choice providing over 22 miles of unobstructed “road” for cyclists of all abilities.  Just beyond the tire-beaten path you can stop off at a number of other Wichita sites like the Wichita Art Museum, Lawrence-Dumont Stadium, the Old Cowtown Museum, and Riverside Zoo.  A number of parks around town offer lakes to fish, waterski, canoe, sail or swim in as well as the infinite number of sports afforded by thousands of acres of open space.  The area also holds more than 35 of the most beautiful golf courses in the Midwest, including private, public, and semi-private links.  On the non-recreation front is the nightlife local dwellers flock to for every kind of live music imaginable, dining from every corner of the world, and local performances of opera, ballet, symphony, theatre and cinema.  Shopping is all around town in the form of area boutiques, unique gift shops, outlets and national chains.

The more than 500,000 metropolitan-Wichitans of this beautiful, inspiring city are here for a plentitude of reasons.  Perhaps you should be too!

Contributed by: Plaza Real Estate