Quoted:
My son will be taking a job in Wichita and is looking at houses...
He has narrowed his choices down to a place in Bel-Air and one in Andover.
Young family first grand child wouldn't be starting school for at least 3-4 years, has another on the way.
He wants to stay on the East side of town where his job will be.
Good areas?
Suggestions?
Thanks
View Quote
Either of those are fine places to live.
Andover is actually in Butler County, and there's a couple of miles of separation between Andover and Wichita. There's still plenty of roads to choose from when driving into Wichita, he won't have to worry too much about traffic during his commute. Andover has great schools. Andover has it's own Police and Fire departments, a Butler County EMS station in town, a hospital, a nice Dillon's Marketplace, and a great YMCA with a water park. Anything else is far enough away to not be a bother, but close enough to make a quick trip to.
Bel Aire is directly connected to Wichita in Sedgwick County...so it's like living in Wichita. The biggest problem with Bel Aire is being in the Wichita School District. Your grandkids would really be better off in Andover Schools. In Bel Aire, you MIGHT be able to go out of district to Circle Schools, but it's becoming more and more difficult. Bel Aire is served by it's own police department, SG county fire and SG county EMS. There's pretty much everything nearby in Wichita from Bel Aire, including another YMCA which I think also has a water park. Honestly, I'm not exactly sure where the city limit is, and what's Wichita vs. what's Bel Aire. Perhaps that's part of what I don't like about it.
If it were me, between the two, I'd choose Andover for the schools, the public safety agencies, the commute, and to NOT live in Sedgwick County.
ETA: There's not really a "bad" or "good" part of town in either of those towns. The worst places in those towns are miles ahead of most areas in Wichita itself.