The picture above doesn’t look like much other than a piece of pasture ground, but it will soon be the site of our home in a small community, in western Kansas.
For any of those who have built a home in a rural area, or are in the process, you can probably relate to what I’m about to say.
The road to get where we’re headed has been full of few sharp turns, hills and bumps, but it’s an exciting one. And we couldn’t be more thrilled to move to our “Mayberry” community.
We’ll miss some of the convenient pleasures of living in a more populated part of the state, but we’re sure excited to get back to the perks of living in a rural area—family, a close-knit community, great school, and hopefully impacting our community in a positive way in the future.
Speaking of impact as we’ve been planning and working on the building process, my husband came across a program through the Dane G. Hansen Innovation Center that’s giving back to homeowners who build a house in a community of 10,000 people or fewer. The Kansas Housing Cooperative Program is aiming to address a critical housing shortage to people in northwest Kansas through a forgivable loan process. Opportunities like this are tremendous for the development and growth of rural communities.
According to the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation, its estimated 3,800 to 4,800 homes need to be built each year in rural Kansas to meet demand. This loan is shared by three partners: Dane G. Hansen Foundation, State of Kansas and local northwest Kansas communities. We’ve already started to feel the small-town character from our county economic director and she’s the perfect example of the vital role economic development committees play in rural communities.
Forward thinking collaboration is what drives growth and sets certain communities apart from others. I’m sharing this in hopes it reaches other families who are looking to move back to their hometowns or rural communities. I encourage you to reach out to your economic development director and see what housing programs are available in your county.
And to the local individuals and business who are helping fund these grants and programs, thank you! Your support has helped make the road to “Mayberry” a little less stressful.
Kylie Reiss can be reached at kreiss@hpj.com.
