Moving to Lexington. Good or bad idea? (Omaha, Grand Island: apartments, rentals)

[AdrianR]

Hello. My wifes friend recently moved from CA to Elwood, NE. She says that although Elwood is a dead end, she says Lexington is a good place with a lot of jobs and low overhead. With a population of about 10,000 is this even true?

My wife and I (with my 1 year old and soon to arrive baby son) are considering moving out there if this is true. We live in Southern Ca and it is just too hard to survive out here.

[btoverdrive]

Bring warm clothing for sure. And get ready for the term "wind chill". I lived in Omaha for 7 years and could not wait to get the h#$% outta there!!!

[mom28sofar]

I have friends in Lexington and Elwood. Both areas are ok. You need to fully prepare yourself for the complete culture shock of moving from the West coast to the midwest. We are from the west coast and lived in Nebraska for 4 years. I loved that it was cheaper to live, hated everything else. Its a food desert, be sure of that... Nebraskans LOVE processed, chemical filled food, not all but most. If your looking for friends, that might be hard too, since is a far drive to pretty much everywhere. My husband had an hour to hour and a half commute while living there. Did it pay well, YES but for the extra money you give up TIME with your family. There is NO work-life balance... its go, go, go... work, work, work... money, money, money.
People there pretty much keep to themselves which is hard if you don't have connections already in place.

The weather is severe to put it mildly... I could go on but you get the picture. If you have any questions, PM me.

[dober1]

I lived in Lexington from 1979-82 and it was a great town. However all that changed when Sperry New Holland shut down and we all lost our jobs. They turned that plant into a meat packing plant and brought in the illegals. I still have good friends there and they tell me stay away. It went from a nice small town to a pit full of illegals, gang bangers and more recently Somalian refugees. I hear Elwood and the Johnson lake area are still ok but only go into Lexington for supplies and then get out. Lexington has basically become the Southern California of south central Nebraska.
It really makes me sad to see this happen in the midwest but Lexington is just one of many once great towns to go down the toilet.

[GSL-NE]

Yes it is almost completely spanish speaking, and gets a bad rep for this, but it doesn't actually have violent gang activity like Grand Island or Omaha do.

[empires228]

It gets an unfair bad rep like most other packing towns. The nice things about small towns is that it is really easy to tell what kind of neighborhood you are in. You even have decent shopping and dining options not too far down I80 in Kearney (target and a really nice small mall), and you can find several other national retailers in Grand Island.

[inspektorf]

I have been offered a position at the packing house and am looking for a rental property in or around Lexington. Should I look somewhere else--perhaps in North Platte? I have 2 young daughters, ages 9 and 13 and don't want them in a gang-town.

[dober1]

Originally Posted by inspektorf

I have been offered a position at the packing house and am looking for a rental property in or around Lexington. Should I look somewhere else--perhaps in North Platte? I have 2 young daughters, ages 9 and 13 and don't want them in a gang-town.

North Platte is too far, try Cozad or even Kearney.

[GraniteStater]

Your best choice is Kearney overall.

[todd00]

Living in Lexington wouldn't be my first choice. There is too much crime considering how small the town is. Kearney is about 35 miles from Lexington. There are a couple of very small place in between, Overton and Elm Creek. Rent maybe a bit more, as UNK is there in Kearney. You might be able to find something around one of the very small towns around the area. It's a bit farther to Holdrege, about 40 miles. As you have children, check the state registry for sexual offenders before renting a place. You don't want to have neighbors like that. Good Luck.

Where are you moving from? That's a job I could not do for any amount of money.

Kearney Apartments for Rent - Kearney Apartments Reviews and Ratings
http://www.city-data.com/city/Kearney-Nebraska.html

Listing from the Kearney newspaper
Kearney Hub - Classifieds - Rentals