Possible move - TX, OK, KS, MO - questions?

[Angel]

Dh has an opportunity to change jobs within his company but it would mean a move out west for us.  I have been out west once in my life and I was 16 so no real memory except the stars were beautiful.  At this point he can pretty much pick where he wants to go as he needs a central base for auditing.  I'm still not on board with this as I'm an only child and it leaves my parents 12-14 hours away from us (they won't fly), but I want to be researched up and prepared.  So can you all help me with some questions?

 

1.  TX and OK have no laws regarding homeschooling?  I don't even need to report to anyone?  Is that correct?

 

2.  MO and KS require a letter of intent sent once?  Is that it or is there more here?

 

3.  We would be looking at NE TX, far east OK or KS or far west in MO.  We would like some property/be in the country (hubby and dd want chickens and goats lol) but still not far from shopping/library.  And we are looking for low cost of living.  Any towns to recommend?  

 

4. Does MO have poisonous snakes, too? :eek:  I know the others do LOL.

 

I'm not even sure where to start.  It's a bit overwhelming.  We may have the opportunity to go out on a survey trip which would help but again, I don't know where to start.   :willy_nilly:

 

Thanks so much!!

[elegantlion]

Well MO and KS are considered more mid-west than "out west", guess it just depends on your location though. ;)

 

MO is easy to homeschool in, no reporting, but you do have to count hours (which is not difficult). MO does have poisonous snakes, but snakes aren't everywhere. In the country, yes, you'll probably find some snakes. 

 

Cost of living in MO is not bad, but it can depend on what you want activity wise and where you plan to live. Kansas City is a sprawling metropolis which technically covers Kansas City, KS and the Overland Park, KS area. 

 

Eastern Kansas is pretty geographical similar, then central and western Kansas have more rural and have a different feel. Oklahoma and TX are quite different in feel. 

 

I would probably look at weather, locations your dh may have to travel, and what kind of amenities you want. Kansas City has a good airport if he need access to that. I know weather would be a huge consideration for me and if I had a choice, I'd head for TX between Dallas and Austin, I'm sick of winter though and hate snow.  :lol:

[prairiewindmomma]

If you need to be close to an airport, your options of where to live are fairly limited, especially if you need decently priced flights.

 

Depending on where you are coming from, the COL is probably fairly low for you. You can use some of the COL comparison websites to see groceries, utilities, rent, etc. compare.

 

KS is a letter of intent state. As a private, non-accredited school, there are no content requirements, and the hours must be "substantially equivalent" to what public school students do....not defined, but interpreted as 186 days/1080 hours. There's an early 1980s case that also sets forth the requirements that the instructor be "competent", that instruction is "planned" and "scheduled", and that periodic testing occurs. I don't know of anyone who has had their records inspected, ever....the only time it would come up is in an abuse/neglect situation. University admission isn't complicated, an ACT score of 21+ and a transcript are enough. Kansas has a decent statewide interlibrary loan system. Local smalltowns issue "state library" cards which gives you access to additional free online services. Water rights and utility costs are becoming a big issue here (and in every state you listed). If you are living rurally and your well goes dry, you are bringing in water. If you are hooked up to the rural water district, rates have been crazy as demand has been high. Even in cities utility costs have soared over the last 5 years. You'll also want to look at property taxes and insurance rates...people who move here complain about those. In buying a house, you'll want to look at expansive clay issues if the house has a basement or evidence of settling.

 

Here are MO's homeschooling requirements: https://www.hslda.org/laws/analysis/Missouri.pdf

 

OK's: http://www.hslda.org/laws/analysis/oklahoma.pdf

 

TX: http://www.hslda.org/laws/analysis/texas.pdf

[Angel]

Any of these states are west of OH  :D

 

Dh will be getting a company car.  I don't think that he will need a large airport very frequently, but that is something I should check with him about.  

 

After our winter here, I admit that TX looks pretty good, but it's the farthest from my parents at 14+ hours.  

 

I would like trees and green.  I guess when I think of KS and OK, I don't see that.  Silly, I know, but I think cornfields.  

 

I didn't know there was a cost of living comparison website.  I'll be checking that out.  

[Ellie]

The only requirement to homeschool in Texas is children. :D Oh, there's some verbiage about citizenship and whatnot, but since you never, ever have to account to anyone about what you teach, and the "required" subjects are things you'd teach anyway, it's not even worth discussing.

 

Texas is a private school state (homeschoolers are considered equivalent to private schools, which are unregulated) because of a court case.

[iamonlyone]

We have homeschooled in the Kansas City, Mo. area and the eastern Kansas area. Kansas is simpler because we don't have to track hours per subject and location, as I did in Mo. However, as a previous poster mentioned, we are catagorized as "private schools" and there is no homeschool law per se, which I find rather odd. But, since it hasn't caused legal problems for Kansans, we just go with it. Both areas have strong homeschool communities and many opportunities including sports, fine arts competitions, etc.

 

In my opinion, both would be fairly easy to find some land and have livestock. In fact, in Topeka, you can even have chickens in city limits! I don't know about goats. And, eastern Kansas is green and has lots of trees. It looks pretty much the same as the KCMO area.

[Jennifer132]

We live in central OK, and there are no homeschooling requirements. The homeschooling community is quite robust here. You might look at Jones, Arcadia, Piedmont, Guthrie, or even Mustang or Yukon, all suburbs of OKC. We are moving near (ish) Jones, and it's rural (lots of green and animals are permitted), but freeway and airport close. I can see why you'd think of cornfields because the land is mostly flat here. But there are areas where there are more hills and wooded areas, so it's not all flatland. The Edmond area is greatin terms of nature and convenience, but the cost of living is a little higher, comparatively.compared to CA, where we came from, everything in OK is cheap! ;)

[Heather in OK]

The eastern part of OK, near Tulsa is called "Green Country".  ;)

 

And you are correct, there are no regulations here.  OK is the only state with the right to homeschool written into the State Constitution.  

 

 

 

We would like some property/be in the country (hubby and dd want chickens and goats lol) but still not far from shopping/library.

We live in an area like that, only we can't have goats.  If we were a little further east we could.  Check out Broken Arrow, Coweta, Owasso (not sure what the regs are on chickens and goats up there), and Bixby.  

[Butter]

In TX, we are supposed to make sure our kids are literate and teach citizenship and TX history, but there's really no requirements.  You move in and homeschool.  That's it.  I suppose if you were investigated by CPS you'd have to prove your were actually educating somehow and covering those required topics.  I can't think of any other situation where you'd have to prove compliance with the law since you don't report to anyone.

[Angel]

I'm keeping track of all you say.  I think OKC may be a little too far west.  It's good to know eastern KS and OK are green.  And thanks for specific cities to look up in OK.  That will help as well.  I appreciate all the help!

 

 

[MomOfOneFunOne]

AMDG

 

I notice that you're studying ASL. There is a large monthly silent dinner in Tulsa well attended by lots of deaf and hearing. Also, if you go south and east in OK, it gets more lush, green, and hilly.

[prairiewindmomma]

Olathe, KS (KC metro) has a HUGE school for the deaf and a large ASL population. I really think KC metro--which is a sprawling 2 or so hours across--40 miles in any direction of the state line) may be something that would appeal to you. Rolling hills, lots of trees, lots of small family farms, vibrant farmer's markets, huge libraries (including academic ones), and access to MCI airport. You are right off I-35 and I-70...

[Excelsior! Academy]

We are in OK.  Nope, no regulations here.  There is a thriving homeschool population.  In NW OKC you can be 20 minutes from just about anything you like.  Airport 20 minutes, Bricktown (one of the entertainment districts) 20 minutes, cows, trees, and deer way less than 20 minutes, yes, even Edmond is 20 minutes.  :)

[Kevin'sMom]

I live in southern Missouri. All I had to do to homeschool was sign a form. We have plenty of copperheads, but so do the other states you mentioned. The cost of living in my area is very low, but there is also nothing to do here. We live on a hobby farm, but I dream every day of moving back to the city.