‘It became home’: Why Amy and Chris Feimer Chose Wichita

There’s a lot to love about Wichita, according to Chris and Amy Feimer. The pair took a “leap of faith” in 2008, moving from southern Pennsylvania to the Midwest without either of them having a job lined up in Wichita.

Nearly two decades later, they’ve built careers, raised a family, explored the community and found something they weren’t necessarily looking for when they made the move: home.

For Amy, the move was a return to a place she once couldn’t wait to leave.

Seeing Wichita Through a New Lens

Amy grew up in Wichita, but she spent much of her childhood dreaming about life on the East Coast. After graduating from McGill University in Montreal, she moved to Washington, D.C., then the Baltimore area, where she built a career in banking and earned her MBA.

She eventually met Chris, who had spent his life on the East Coast. Over the years, Chris joined Amy on trips back to Wichita to visit her parents. Each visit gave him more insight into the city.

“He came to appreciate that it offered the amenities of a larger city without the traffic and congestion we experienced on the East Coast,” Amy explained.

“After visiting Amy's parents several times in Wichita, I convinced her to move to Wichita to raise our family,” said Chris.

For Amy, becoming a parent changed the way she viewed her hometown.

“Wichita offered the quality of life we wanted for our family, along with the opportunity for our children to grow up near their grandparents and extended family,” she said.

The Feimers also began to notice the tradeoffs of life in a larger metropolitan area. They had access to big-city amenities, but getting anywhere could mean sitting in traffic and spending a lot of time in the car.

“Wichita is such an easy place to live,” Amy said. “Wichita gives you more of what matters most — the time, space, and resources to build a life you love.”

Chris noticed something else right away: the people.

“When you drive down country roads, people wave, and every time you walk into QT (QuickTrip), someone holds the door for you. I love that,” shared Chris.

Chris has a distinct way of describing Wichita.

“Wichita is like a pair of Levi jeans. Right amount of class, affordable and always so comfortable.”

Finding a Community That Invests in You

Today, Chris is retired, and Amy is the CEO of Hunter Health, a role she has held for 10 years.

She credits Wichita’s community of business and civic leaders with playing an important role in her professional journey.

“I would not be where I am today without the support of so many people in Wichita,” Amy said.

Throughout her career, she’s experienced people offering their time, advice, connections and encouragement, often without being asked.

“That reflects something special about this community: people genuinely want to see one another succeed,” she said.

That spirit of connection has helped the Feimers feel rooted in Wichita, even after nearly 20 years.

There wasn’t one moment when they suddenly realized the city was home. Instead, they said it happened gradually through careers, friendships, routines, family and community.

“Even after 18 years, I’m sometimes still surprised that Wichita is where we landed,” Amy said. “But somewhere along the way, without a single defining moment, it became home.”