The Midwest is an often underrated area, but it’s full of pleasant surprises for anyone willing to check it out. Take Kansas: Is it even in the Midwest, or is it part of the Great Plains? Does the answer matter? According to a study by Emerson College Polling and the Middle West Review, 91.2% of Kansans say yes, they’re part of the Midwest. While that may be a controversial opinion in some circles, Kansans clearly disagree. Regardless, the state has some honest-to-goodness cities like Wichita, which enjoys one of the lowest costs of living in the U.S. If walkable neighborhoods just steps from both downtown and tasty local restaurants are what you’re after, then Wichita’s College Hill neighborhood should be on your radar.
Derby may be Wichita’s largest suburb, and nearby El Dorado has its fun lake vibes, but both are still a 20-30 minute drive from downtown Wichita. Meanwhile, the College Hill neighborhood is only 10 minutes by car. Better yet, you can take the bus, bike, or even walk the 3 miles into downtown for a more environmentally-friendly alternative. Everything else you might need (including parks and dining) is inside the community’s boundaries. This single-square-mile neighborhood features tree-lined streets, historic homes, local dining, and College Hill Park.
Explore historic homes while walking around College Hill
College Hill has been considered a desirable neighborhood since it first came into being in the late 1800s. The area sits on higher ground than downtown, typically putting it out of reach of floods from the Arkansas River. Because of that, many of the early city’s rich and powerful built their homes in College Hill. Trees were planted, roads were built, and even a streetcar ferried passengers up the hill.
Today, over a dozen of these historic homes are on the National Register of Historic Places, including Frank Lloyd Wright’s Allen House, the only Wright home in Kansas. Guided tours of the Allen House are available. You could also stroll the tree-lined streets of the residential areas for free to admire the other historic homes. They’re easily walkable from the two main shopping areas on either side of the neighborhood, Lincoln Heights Village on the east and Clifton Square on the west…