Why isnt Nebraska pro-Omaha?

[Go Ne]

Honestly, I would love to live on a farm, you feel so alive and free, the air is a pure living substance, and with the sky you don't need street lights.

[mattpoulsen]

I won't get into this back and forth between rural vs. city life, but the reason most people leave rural areas isn't because they don't like the lifestyle.

They leave to go to college and/or jobs. I think many who grew up in a small town would love to live in a similar place when adults if they could simply find higher level employment.

That said, I love aspects of both the city and small towns. I never have really understood why its so difficult to like both.

[SCGranny]

I tend to disagree... look over at the moving, the green forums, right here on City-Data as well as elsewhere. People are sick of the rat race, sick of the cities, and are fleeing them in droves. CA people have abandoned CA for ID, CO, WY, UT - and are trying to either do the 'rich country squire thing' (which won't last) or to learn to live with less, on less, and to adapt their desires to new areas and attitudes. I think rural areas will see an influx of folks NOT looking for the next Wal MArt or Starbucks or sushi bar.

Sure, I've got friends back East who will never give up those things; wouldn't get their pants muddy much less covered in manure unless someone saddled up their pony and held the reins for them, too. They talk about "Wow, how great and simple your life sounds!" - but wouldn't think of growing, canning, freezing their own food, or much less knocking a little chicken manure off of an egg before they ate it. But that doesn't mean that there aren't thousands out there who are looking to get back to basics. Everyone should be happy in their own space, nothing wrong with that at all. The only thing that IS wrong is thinking that YOUR way is the ONLY way to live - and that you have the RIGHT to insist that you have to drag others in your wake. That's as bad as walking into a Catholic church, standing up during a High Mass and telling them, "No, Mormonism is the only true religion!" - and gets you just as far. Do try real hard not to imagine that you're the only one who "knows how to live" -because I've been there. It may be fine for you, but not for me - not ever again.

[DTO Luv]

Originally Posted by Go Ne

Honestly, I would love to live on a farm, you feel so alive and free, the air is a pure living substance, and with the sky you don't need street lights.

I live on my grandpa's ranch in the middle of nowhere NE for awhile. The quiet was nice but the isolation was getting to me.

[mattpoulsen]

My point is that I would live in a smaller town if I could. Its not about the amenities that are offered, its about the type of employment. For example, if I could be a physicist in my home town then I'd probably move back. But the reality is that's simply not possible. I absolutely HATE the rat race and that's why I choose Omaha. Its big enough to collect certain "tech" professionals but small enough that the rat race is manageable.

[thatguy1]

I agree with Matt, except the physicist thing. Omaha is a good sized city for me, but I would like a home with some land just outside of Omaha.

[SCGranny]

Well, I LOVE the country life. I've lived everywhere from a ranch in NM with a bucket well and no electricity (a caretaker), to cities with over a million population. All my life I have wanted to have my own piece of property, big enough to raise my own crops and have all of the animals I wanted. I may have lived the city life, but I always kept a toehold (part-time job) on farms, taking care of horses, goats, and cattle as well as plowing/harvesting over 1000 acres. I could fit into the city quite well, make a boatload, and socialize and utilize with the best of 'em. But when I found this property in the middle of Flyover, NE, I jumped at the chance to own it. This is what I want for myself, what I have always wanted for myself. I do NOT want the big city amenities. I have been involved in creating massive developments for areas that demanded them, and I do NOT want that here, around me. Everyone thought I loved the city life and the mental challenges and being involved in all of the activity - but for me it was just a way to get by and make money for what I really wanted. Even Omaha is too big for me now. Heck, Chadron is too big for me now!

I don't want to be 'dragged toward progress' because I've been there and I know what it really is. I like the people, I like the countryside, I like the water and the dirt and the sky and everything about it. This is what I've dreamed of. So it rather bugs me when folks say that cities are the only place to be, and that everyone 'should' educate themselves about the world, move to the city, be a part of the excitement, etc. I've been educated, viable, and active in "the world" for far too long, TYVM, and I don't want this place to become a part of it. Fortunately, neither do my neighbors. 'Far as we're concerned, you can keep it.

To quote Louis L'Amour - "I seen the elephant" - and it simply isn't all it's cracked up to be. To me, excitement and joy is watching my plants take off and produce, or a newborn calf suckle for the first time, or a chicken cackle when she lays an egg, or the wild deer, turkeys, antelope, and geese wander around like they own the place. If folks think that those pleasures make me uneducated and lacking - so be it. Shrug. I know better.