Advertising Nebraska? (Norfolk: homes, job market, taxes)

[Papillion1707]

I've seen a lot of states advertise like "visit us", and our state is great. I am aware that Nebraska has one of these commercials, but it is hardly used if at all any more. What i'm trying to get at is should the state make commercials not for tourism, but to show people that this is a great place to live, and if you want to have a better life you should come live here. I think that in a way the state should use propaganda because there arn't any truly meaningful reasons why not to make a change for the better. Thoughts?

[IsThisOneTaken?]

You make some very valid points. Sadly, as the economy turns sour, tax funding for visitor and economic promotion will continue to decline. There will need to be more public/private partnerships formed to promote the state.

If you've never been there, our state's DED does have a pretty cool website:

Visit Nebraska - Travel & Tourism Homepage

I imagine that the DED will suffer from reduced funding until the economy turns around.

As far as getting people to move to Nebraska, that will be a tough sell. Those of us who live here love it, but it is hard to get others to want to move here. There is a perception that our taxes are high and there's "nothing to do" in Nebraska.

[SCGranny]

I am very experienced with growth and its joys and pitfalls I spent 20 years promoting it to happen the right way. The problem I've seen (and not just in Nebraska) s that the local governments will beggar themselves and their current constituents to attract people to live there - some people whom they may not want, who may actually be detrimental to the people and land. The only way to fiscally and responsibly attract growth is to point out (and not in TV advertising, but in market-directed advertising) the good job market here, the responsible way of life here, and the wide open spaces and opportunities for expansion, as well as recreation for CEO's, employees, etc... WITHOUT giving away the farm for a mess of pottage. Developers get too many breaks from local government - and when they do, they find it all too easy to run a company for profit right into the ground, then leave a wasteland of abandoned buildings, homes, and sometimes Superfund cleanup projects in their careless wake, as they go on to bigger and better venues to pillage. Nebraska needs to attract responsible developers (there are some! LOL) who want to not only grow a business but a community, and to be a part of that community, not a sore thumb in the middle of callused fingers.

Nebraska is a jewel and not just the properties but the people and their way of life. Development and an influx of people will introduce not only diversity and new ways of looking at and dealing with situations, but also more of the criminal element which follows prosperity like coyotes. Unless Nebraska is willing to deal with and dissuade the latter, by encouraging responsible and directed growth, they will beggar their constituents and ruin their land. The Tyson Chicken factory in Norfolk is a prime example of this.

I don't mind people coming here who want to love it as much as I do - but I DO mind people coming here who will destroy the beauty of the land and its people.

[Papillion1707]

Its simply to let people know that they can find simple ways to make life easier.