St Mary's KS sspx

[Michael Wilson]

Thanks for the above post Padraig.
I want to correct the driving distance; its 25 Mi To Topeka; and 27 to Manhattan; You do have to drive everywhere; since I don't have any children that does lessen the driving load.
I also work at the Public School and walk to work, and my sister works in town. So even though I drive to Topeka once a week, I've only put an average of 7,500 mi on my car per year.
Houses are cheaper in the surrounding towns; but its not that far to get there: Emmet 6mi; Rossville 7mi; Maple Hill 10mi. From time to time bargain houses here in town do come up for sale. 

[Padraig]

You're right about the distances. I was remembering my drives from where I was staying in Emmett, and probably over-estimating. It felt like a LOT of driving, but probably not 6k miles in the three months I was out there.

I have family in Emmett, Maple Hill, and Bellevue, and although you're right that it isn't that far to any of them, it's far enough that it dilutes the effect of proximity to family. That's what I meant when I said that if you go with the area surrounding St. Mary's you lose the benefits that you moved out there to enjoy, although it will be cheaper. You won't see them everyday. Probably not even every week, unless you plan for it. It's true about family, and even more true about the rest of the Traditional community.

My only point being that if anyone planned on moving out there, I would advise moving to the town that their church was in (either Maple Hill or St. Mary's), even if it is more expensive. Don't go to all the trouble of moving there, and then miss out on the whole purpose.
(However, it will be more expensive, so be aware of that.)

[Maximilian]

There is a definite religious "cliquishness," which requires strict adherence to a party line: FSSP, SSPX, or Resistance. Everyone knows who is on which side, and they generally don't associate with each other.

I've experienced this same thing without having to move to Kansas.

(If I had to choose one, I'd probably choose the Resistance, but that would put a strain on my relationship with my wife and her family out there, who are very pro-SSPX.)

I recently heard that some people we know in Australia are actually Resistance, and there is a Resistance chapel in Queensland. Which puts the lie to the idea that the Resistance is nothing more than a handful of people living in a cabin in Kentucky.

The residents out there who aren't member of the parish (and there are of course many of those) are not all exactly "salt of the earth," good, God-fearing Christians. There's a lot of white trash, and there's a rampant methamphetamine problem out there. You end up trading one collection of vices for another when you move from the city to the country.

Yes, we experienced this same thing living in another rural traditional haven (not Kansas). The local residents who seemed like "salt of the earth" types were all doing meth and other drugs. The "Bible Belt" of America is also the "Nascar/divorce/alcohol/drugs" belt of America.

It's a mistake to think "Well my children will never interact with the locals." Yes, they will. If you live in Washington DC, they will interact with those locals, and absorb those vices, while if you live in Oklahoma, they will interact with those locals and absorb those vices.

I guess it's a case of "Pick your poison."

[nmoerbeek]

Would anyone care to share their experiences? Who here has "up and moved" from Sodom to Shangri La, i.e. from a liberal area to a trad friendly area? Were expectations met? Regrets? I tell you, not a day goes by wherein the Mrs. and I don't mention moving from Californicated Colorado to an area more conservative, mostly Dixie. We had an opportunity with a tremendous job lined up in mid Michigan, but there was no FSSP or even SSPX community within a comfortable driving distance. Not to mention, well, Michigan. So as it stands now we be still here in CO with our beloved FSSP parish staked within an illegal alien, homosexual, tattoo-conventioned, freak face, synthetic and slut populace. Yet it is going to be near 60, mostly blue skies here in December today. I think I will go snowshoeing.

I moved from So Cal to WV.  I worked in a pretty upper class area but lived on the edge of the barrio in Riverside.  Even many of the conservatives in California are liberal.

Where my expectations met:
Yes.  I live within a 5 minutes drive of the Priory, and the community of Priests are always solicitous for my and my entire families spiritual well being, I made friends quickly with members of the community and there are a far number of people who live close enough in town to have a closer relationship than just on Sunday after Mass. My cost of living is lower, my house is bigger, and my neighborhood is nicer.  I also work in Software Development and should something happen with my job there are lots of other jobs for me in the Neighboring Northern Virginia.

Regrets: No.  A few surprises.  Mainly that the area of WV I moved to is full of transplants due to our proximity to DC.  I know more transplants than native West Virginians.  The town of Charles Town where I live was only a population of  under 6000 today, but was only about 3000 in the year 2000.

Is this place conservative:  In some ways extremely, in other ways no. Hard core liberals are in the minority, but they exist and have a big chip on their shoulder living in WV. (so you will both see Confederate Stickers are some trucks, and RESIST stickers on hybrids).   The beautiful country here also goes to peoples heads here and can make them go environmentalist.    Also Sheperdstown (which is a university town about 20 minutes away) is full of people acting like hipsters with all the worst liberal attitudes.

However people practically fall over themselves if they find out you are veteran in public, gun rights are taken for granted, and people say things in public here that I would have not said in California without fear of repercussion.

As far as Tattoos that is pretty ubiquitous everywhere I travel for work and it is a thing here too, another Tattoo parlor just opened up in town (we know have 2 that I know of). Modesty is definitely better here than where I lived before but that could also be related to the weather being cooler.  It is not uncommon for Homosexuals to bitterly complain about the way their are treated in town, you can see this on various yelp reviews of restaurants, or stores. 


As far as life at the Priory:
They have most day all of the Offices said publicly most are sung.  There are 3 Latin Masses a Day.  They offer confession and Spiritual direction and run a scout program for kids, and have a very large Third Order that is relatively new.  The Brotherhood I am in also has just accepted our first local Novice here, and an oblate, and we have another postulant. The local NO parish St. James has a very large Catholic community and most of the lay faithful get along well with the faithful of the priory and regularly invite us to their Catholic events, they just built a huge shrine to Our Lady of Fatima outdoors that is worth visiting.  One of my friends runs a monthly Catholic poker game, and another has a monthly drinking men's only drinking club. 

With that being said, many families are in the scout program who do not go to the Priory for Mass nor do they all come from trad families, once one of my daughters (who was 7 at the time) argued with another scout over the existence of hell. If you hate Vatican II with a burning passion (I don't but I make mention of it) no doubt you will cringe when occasionally it is mentioned from the pulpit.  Their homilies are mainly based on scripture, the Fathers or St. Thomas and occasionally later Monastic figures, and not so much on later baroque figures (Alphonsus, Montforte, etc), mystics, apparitions and so forth (which for whatever reason really bothered a friend of mine who came from a FSSP parish). Not all the women in the community where skirts to Mass, most women cover their heads but not all, etc.  They do an all Saints party for the Children every year, not uncommon to see St. JPII costumes or Mother Theresa.

Trad paradise? Probably not, however real religion and fraternity is alive and well here and I am very happy with my choice. The priory has a guest house large enough for a family to stay (they ask for a voluntary donation of 50 dollars a night) if anyone is ever interested in visiting.

[Josephine87]

nmoerbeek's post:  I want to go to there. 

[Maximilian]

The priory has a guest house large enough for a family to stay (they ask for a voluntary donation of 50 dollars a night) if anyone is ever interested in visiting.

I wish I had known of this when I visited in 2016.

[Michael Wilson]

I just remembered one of the members here posted a story about a new traditional monastery in Oklahoma; it sounded like it was in the boonies, but maybe somebody here can fill us in and update the information? This might be something Heinrich would be interested in.

[Gardener]

I just remembered one of the members here posted a story about a new traditional monastery in Oklahoma; it sounded like it was in the boonies, but maybe somebody here can fill us in and update the information? This might be something Heinrich would be interested in.

You mean Clear Creek? If so, they have been going since 1999 when the founders came over from Fontgombault.
[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0MGudBINKw[/yt]
[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Rii92S_5Og[/yt]

They have grown so much, they have opened a new one in New Mexico.

[Heinrich]

Where is the NM location?

Thanks for thinking of me, Michael.

[Gardener]

Where is the NM location?

Thanks for thinking of me, Michael.

In the mountains of the Gallup diocese. They're not accepting visitors yet.

[ThreeKings]

Would anyone care to share their experiences? Who here has "up and moved" from Sodom to Shangri La, i.e. from a liberal area to a trad friendly area? Were expectations met? Regrets? I tell you, not a day goes by wherein the Mrs. and I don't mention moving from Californicated Colorado to an area more conservative, mostly Dixie. We had an opportunity with a tremendous job lined up in mid Michigan, but there was no FSSP or even SSPX community within a comfortable driving distance. Not to mention, well, Michigan. So as it stands now we be still here in CO with our beloved FSSP parish staked within an illegal alien, homosexual, tattoo-conventioned, freak face, synthetic and slut populace. Yet it is going to be near 60, mostly blue skies here in December today. I think I will go snowshoeing.

CA to TX ranch
Best move ever.
Had SSPX mass until 2012, then resistance for a while.
Nothing for a while while we prayed to God to send us sacraments.
Drove 4 hours each way to mass once a month to an independent.
Then prayed God sent us a priest as we built our family chapel.
Now we have mass every week in our family chapel.
We found it best not to compromise.
Stay true to God and He will take care of you.

[ThreeKings]

Would anyone care to share their experiences? Who here has "up and moved" from Sodom to Shangri La, i.e. from a liberal area to a trad friendly area? Were expectations met? Regrets? I tell you, not a day goes by wherein the Mrs. and I don't mention moving from Californicated Colorado to an area more conservative, mostly Dixie. We had an opportunity with a tremendous job lined up in mid Michigan, but there was no FSSP or even SSPX community within a comfortable driving distance. Not to mention, well, Michigan. So as it stands now we be still here in CO with our beloved FSSP parish staked within an illegal alien, homosexual, tattoo-conventioned, freak face, synthetic and slut populace. Yet it is going to be near 60, mostly blue skies here in December today. I think I will go snowshoeing.

Not permanently, but for two summers I did move out to St. Mary's, KS, to work at the nearby Onyx Collection factory, a company owned and operated by traditional Catholics. I'd rate the experience as "mostly positive." That being said, I don't have plans to permanently relocate out there (despite frequent hints from my wife about how much she'd love for us to be back there someday).

The good: The people I met were almost universally friendly, generous, sincere Catholics, who loved God and their way of life. The availability of the sacraments and Mass, direction from the priests, and Catholic fellowship was unique to my experience.

The not so good: Everything else.
The cost of living is high, or the standard of living will be low. There is basically a housing shortage due to the huge influx of residents, and real estate is expensive in town. If you live outside of town, where it is dirt cheap, you lose most of the benefits you moved out to the middle of Kansas to enjoy.
You have to drive EVERYWHERE. Just get used to putting 25k miles (at least) on your car every year.
Shopping is difficult, unless you want to drive 35 miles to Topeka or Manhattan for groceries. (There is a store in town, but it's pretty crumby. And it's run by this atheist who enjoys having meat sales during Lent.)
I didn't have any children to put into school, but I get the impression that tuition isn't exactly cheap.
There is a definite religious "cliquishness," which requires strict adherence to a party line: FSSP, SSPX, or Resistance. Everyone knows who is on which side, and they generally don't associate with each other. (If I had to choose one, I'd probably choose the Resistance, but that would put a strain on my relationship with my wife and her family out there, who are very pro-SSPX.)
The residents out there who aren't member of the parish (and there are of course many of those) are not all exactly "salt of the earth," good, God-fearing Christians. There's a lot of white trash, and there's a rampant methamphetamine problem out there. You end up trading one collection of vices for another when you move from the city to the country.

I know I sound pretty negative, but I don't mean to say that no one should move there. There are MANY people for whom the things I listed are small problems in the face of living in a Traditional community. Which you really be doing if you moved there. You will never see more women in skirts than out there. You will never see more 15 passenger vans in residential driveways. You will never see more priests in cassocks walking down the sidewalk. Those things (and many other aspects of Catholic life which are just parts of NORMAL life for those residents) are very real, and very positive. There's definitely a sense of having reached a "critical mass" of Catholics, where your experience of life is now substantially different from living in a predominantly worldly location. But the negative side exists as well, and saving your soul will never be easy.

Your last paragraph is interesting...
One does not need to FEEL Catholic to BE Catholic.
And just because it LOOKS Catholic does not make it Catholic. 
Don't be deceived.  Move where it is best for your family.  Homeschool, pray for sacraments, travel to some as often as you can without compromising the Faith.  God will reward you.

[Heinrich]

Would anyone care to share their experiences? Who here has "up and moved" from Sodom to Shangri La, i.e. from a liberal area to a trad friendly area? Were expectations met? Regrets? I tell you, not a day goes by wherein the Mrs. and I don't mention moving from Californicated Colorado to an area more conservative, mostly Dixie. We had an opportunity with a tremendous job lined up in mid Michigan, but there was no FSSP or even SSPX community within a comfortable driving distance. Not to mention, well, Michigan. So as it stands now we be still here in CO with our beloved FSSP parish staked within an illegal alien, homosexual, tattoo-conventioned, freak face, synthetic and slut populace. Yet it is going to be near 60, mostly blue skies here in December today. I think I will go snowshoeing.

CA to TX ranch
Best move ever.
Had SSPX mass until 2012, then resistance for a while.
Nothing for a while while we prayed to God to send us sacraments.
Drove 4 hours each way to mass once a month to an independent.
Then prayed God sent us a priest as we built our family chapel.
Now we have mass every week in our family chapel.
We found it best not to compromise.
Stay true to God and He will take care of you.

I guess this is what they mean by "home alone."  I believe you are a Marine, correct?