Is Palmer, NE a safe place to live if you are an African American? (Omaha: moving, racist)

[SCGranny]

Originally Posted by Omaha Rocks

This is total BS.

Palmer has a population of about 450. Somebody from New York City has not only never heard of Palmer, NE, that person isn't considering moving there.


But here's a little heads up for you. There are no Italians in Palmer. There are no African Americans in Palmer. It's 98% white, and 2% Hispanic.

Awww, c'mon, Omaha Rocks - four years ago I had never heard of Cody, Nebraska (pop 177), and now I live here! LOL Different circumstances and different attitudes toward life can be a draw as well as a deterrent... Of course, I am "lily-white" (except we're Irish, not Nordic!) like most of my neighbors, but it is political attitude, lifestyle and life attitudes, and the beautiful country that attracted us. Not everyone from NYC or the East is a citified arrogant liberal - some of us feel more at home here than anywhere else! I have noticed that there are few African-Americans here, but most of my black friends say they wouldn't move here because of 1)jobs, 2)cold and nature (the wide-open spaces and howling winds disturb them), and 3) culture, in that order. They prefer the bustle of big-city life, and their churches and food and gatherings are quite different than in Nebraska. Why, I have to grow my own collards and black-eye peas, and few folks here have ever even tried grits, much less shrimp'n'grits, for breakfast! And the "oysters" are Verrry different! LOL

[Omaha Rocks]

Originally Posted by SCGranny

Awww, c'mon, Omaha Rocks - four years ago I had never heard of Cody, Nebraska (pop 177), and now I live here! LOL Different circumstances and different attitudes toward life can be a draw as well as a deterrent... Of course, I am "lily-white" (except we're Irish, not Nordic!) like most of my neighbors, but it is political attitude, lifestyle and life attitudes, and the beautiful country that attracted us. Not everyone from NYC or the East is a citified arrogant liberal - some of us feel more at home here than anywhere else! I have noticed that there are few African-Americans here, but most of my black friends say they wouldn't move here because of 1)jobs, 2)cold and nature (the wide-open spaces and howling winds disturb them), and 3) culture, in that order. They prefer the bustle of big-city life, and their churches and food and gatherings are quite different than in Nebraska. Why, I have to grow my own collards and black-eye peas, and few folks here have ever even tried grits, much less shrimp'n'grits, for breakfast! And the "oysters" are Verrry different! LOL

Hahaha! Yeah, when you mention "oysters" in the rural Midwest, folks' thoughts run along very different lines than in other parts of the country!

To me, there's no question that the OP is a 1-post troll. Nothing more. IF said member is actually living in NYC (I assume it's just another member who's screwing around starting this thread), the only connection to Palmer would be through somebody he/she knew.


Out of curiosity - if you don't mind my asking - how did you land in Cody? I grew up on a farm in a rural area, but that part of Nebraska/South Dakota seems very desolate. Was that actually the attraction rather than a deterrent?

Feel free to PM me if you'd rather... Thanks!

[skidamarink]

Originally Posted by Omaha Rocks

To me, there's no question that the OP is a 1-post troll. Nothing more. IF said member is actually living in NYC (I assume it's just another member who's screwing around starting this thread), the only connection to Palmer would be through somebody he/she knew.

Wow, I didn't think of that. lol But you never know, it could've been like that scene in that Truman Show movie where they blindly put their finger on the map to decide where they move next and it turns out to be Fiji. Maybe the OP is tired of New York and just randomly came across Palmer, NE.

But that was a clever observation of yours.

[SCGranny]

Originally Posted by Omaha Rocks

Out of curiosity - if you don't mind my asking - how did you land in Cody? I grew up on a farm in a rural area, but that part of Nebraska/South Dakota seems very desolate. Was that actually the attraction rather than a deterrent?

Feel free to PM me if you'd rather... Thanks!

Naw, I'm not shy about it. DH and I were looking to get out of an area that had DEMANDED growth, and I was one of the people elected to bring it in. I was trained in development, etc, and with my compatriots started a huge initiative to turn a town of 1800 people and a county of 25,000 into a growth community. We worked at it daily for over 10 years and succeeded. The place will double in size in the next 4 years, and by 2022 that county is going to have 240,000 residents by all estimates. WE HATED IT. (Have you ever been really GOOD at something you hated?) We didn't want growth, and we didn't like the thought-control, property-control, attitudes, and we didn't like the increased ordinances and restrictions on our lifestyle that everyone else wanted and demanded. DH and I have always been down to earth country people, raising our own food, minding our own business, not caring what anyone else thought about our fruit trees, gardens, and farm animals.

So we went looking for a place to retire that had no controlling property ordinances, had an honest, simple, and decent way of life, and would never outgrow itself. We wanted a place where we could have chickens and cows and horses and fruit trees and vegetable gardens and greenhouses where no one would even think about making laws against them, and where we could go out at night without worrying about being accosted at gunpoint (a very real occurance - happened to me twice, good thing I was carrying) or being harassed in the daytime by 'do-gooders' who think that the more rules they enforce, they better off everyone is. We looked for something/someplace old and solid with a history of 'cussed independence' where we could live our life's dream of owning a small homestead farm and producing for ourselves (and our neighbors, if we had enough). I looked for property for 4 years on the internet, and the farmhouse with 60 acres in Cody was one of six properties (in NE, ND, and SD) I had on a list when I came out to look. I got to Cody - and never left. This was what we wanted, this was the attitude we sought, this was the type of property, people, and atmosphere we were looking for.

To be honest, I'm kind of glad that people think of the area as 'desolate' and unimprovable and even uninhabitable. It means that the high-end developers won't come here to ruin things with their McMansions and manicured lawns (where the cops have rulers to measure the height of your grass and fine you if it is over 1 and 3/4ths of an inch high - and no I'm NOT exaggerating) and gated communities, and that no one will put up big box stores that sell cheap Chinese goods to a mindless public that thinks that more 'stuff' means you are high class. The 'retirement communities' aren't going to rush here to build their little enclaves of endless exercise and self-satisfied, purposeless activities to keep their little minds and aging, oversurgeried bodies occupied. Freedom and autonomy mean more to us than just rhetoric - and personal freedom is what the High Plains, and especially the Sandhills, have. It isn't for everyone, and it isn't perfect (no place is) but it suited us right down to the fine hairs. When we come over that last hill and see the old water tower, we're like Dorothy, every time - "There's no place like home".

This weekend we go to buy our "miniature" milk cows... grin. The chicken coop is full, we are getting eggs every day from some very heavy chickens that love the cold, and the garden is about to be plowed under for next year - after giving us about 50 lbs of potatoes, some very nice pumpkins, and filling our canning jars and shelves. We have wood piled up for the woodstove, there are about 20 wild turkeys, some pheasant, bunnies, deer and antelope wandering through our property that need attention. The nights are silent and starlit, the days bright with sunshine or thunderous with storms or grey, dim, and peaceful with snow. Oftentimes for hours the only sound is the wind around the house, or the neighbor's cattle lowing in the next field over... we love it!

The people I worked with back there are all appalled that we "gave up so much" to go after what we wanted; many said they had no idea that we "were like that". They will never come here, either - which suits us just fine, too. They like what they have become, and we like what we are and have always been.

[Omaha Rocks]

^ Sounds like you nailed it, Granny! Good for you!

I like solitude as well, but not quite as much as what you've got. My wife & I were fortunate to find a big old house in the middle of North Omaha. It's on a 1 acre lot, bordered on one side & the back by a new elementary school. Two older neighbors next door on the one side, and the house sits 150 feet back from the street. It's almost like having the best of both worlds. We're isolated (to a point) but we pull out of the driveway and we're within minutes of being anywhere we want to go.

For a lot of years we lived on a big acreage in rural Minnesota. It was wonderful because - like you - I like to be left alone to make my own choices and do my own thing.


Anyway, congrats on "the find"! It sounds like Cody, NE fits you and your hubby perfectly!

[Nomad001]

Originally Posted by Omaha Rocks

This is total BS.

Palmer has a population of about 450. Somebody from New York City has not only never heard of Palmer, NE, that person isn't considering moving there.


But here's a little heads up for you. There are no Italians in Palmer. There are no African Americans in Palmer. It's 98% white, and 2% Hispanic.

Actually my fiance who is white is living there with my son so I have every reason to consider moving there. But thank you any way for the info.

[Nomad001]

My source and info comes from someone that actually lives there and has been back and forth there for nearly 4 yearss

[Nomad001]

Originally Posted by Omaha Rocks

Hahaha! Yeah, when you mention "oysters" in the rural Midwest, folks' thoughts run along very different lines than in other parts of the country!

To me, there's no question that the OP is a 1-post troll. Nothing more. IF said member is actually living in NYC (I assume it's just another member who's screwing around starting this thread), the only connection to Palmer would be through somebody he/she knew.


Out of curiosity - if you don't mind my asking - how did you land in Cody? I grew up on a farm in a rural area, but that part of Nebraska/South Dakota seems very desolate. Was that actually the attraction rather than a deterrent?

Feel free to PM me if you'd rather... Thanks!

I can understand that some might think I maybe playing around but I am serious. I'm a native New Yorker that just had the pleasure of celebrating the Yankees 27th World Series Win. My fiance is stuck in Palmer for reasons I'd rather not mention and rather than wait years to see her and my son again I have begun to consider giving up life in NYC. I know that it would be a hard move and a completely different environment but after growing up in the boroughs I think it might be time to move on. You are right though, that like quite a bit of New Yorkers until I had a reason I never heard of Palmer. At this point I am greatly considering Palmer, G.I. or possibly other surrounding towns or cities near it.

[Omaha Rocks]

Originally Posted by Nomad001

I can understand that some might think I maybe playing around but I am serious. I'm a native New Yorker that just had the pleasure of celebrating the Yankees 27th World Series Win. My fiance is stuck in Palmer for reasons I'd rather not mention and rather than wait years to see her and my son again I have begun to consider giving up life in NYC. I know that it would be a hard move and a completely different environment but after growing up in the boroughs I think it might be time to move on. You are right though, that like quite a bit of New Yorkers until I had a reason I never heard of Palmer. At this point I am greatly considering Palmer, G.I. or possibly other surrounding towns or cities near it.

Okay.

Honestly, if you grew up and have lived your whole life in New York City, I think you're going to have a very hard time adjusting to life in Palmer, NE. If you've never been to Palmer, there's no way to help you understand the difference. But let's just say that right now you probably have more people living within 500 feet of you, than live in the entire town of Palmer. And after driving out of Palmer, you're going to drive another half-hour before you see another human being.

In addition, EVERY person in Palmer will IMMEDIATELY know that you're new in town, and who you are. Some will gossip about you, but most will simply want to talk to you and get to know you. That may very well seem very smothering to you, because people in big cities usually don't do that.


It's not that there is anything wrong with either New York City or Palmer. They're just completely different.

[JustMe_T3K]

Originally Posted by Nomad001

I can understand that some might think I maybe playing around but I am serious. I'm a native New Yorker that just had the pleasure of celebrating the Yankees 27th World Series Win. My fiance is stuck in Palmer for reasons I'd rather not mention and rather than wait years to see her and my son again I have begun to consider giving up life in NYC. I know that it would be a hard move and a completely different environment but after growing up in the boroughs I think it might be time to move on. You are right though, that like quite a bit of New Yorkers until I had a reason I never heard of Palmer. At this point I am greatly considering Palmer, G.I. or possibly other surrounding towns or cities near it.

Omaha rocks had an excellent response one post up.

But I gotta wonder why your fiance is "stuck in Palmer".
If the reason (which you don't want to say) has any drama involved ,
well any kind of drama mixed with a very small town has
SCARY written all over it.
May GI would be a better start.