Relocating to Lincoln from Florida... suggestions please. (Friend: real estate, apartments)

[rtp123]

Hello All,

We are moving to Lincoln, NE from Florida in about three months. We looked through the range of apartments on apartment renting websites. We would like to know your recommendations on apartments and neighborhoods. We are OK with higher end apartments as long as the neighborhood is nice and safe. Please guide us on that.

We appreciate your time and thank you in advance.

[Gunluvver2]

rtp123,
If you give a bit more information about what is important to you other than being nice and safe it would be helpful. There are a few neighborhoods that a family with young children would probably want to avoid but none of them are really dangerous unless you yourself engage in risky behavior. A young couple with no kids might not want to live in one of the "safest" areas of Lincoln.
More info please.
GL2

[Wh1t3Rabbit]

Well, my first suggestion would be to not move here, it's rather boring here. I'm kidding. Kind of.

Umm, if you want to be in a nice neighborhood where you won't be ripped off or have someone pounding on your door at 3AM trying to beg for drug money, stay away from the apartments around 27th and vine. A lot of places around 40th and Old Cheynee(I probably spelled that wrong) are nice. The neighborhoods around 56th and Pine Lake are very..upscale-ish, also very safe. If you can give more information, like if you want to be near a work place or school, if you want an apartment or house, that would really narrow things down. You can also look on this website to find out the rate of crimes and what types of crimes occur in what areas. Lincoln Crime Map - Showing Crime in Lincoln, NE - Crime Statistics - Crime Alerts - Crime Stops Here

[rtp123]

Thanks Gunluvver2 and Wh1t3Rabbit for the information.

We are a recently married couple with no kids. So we are not looking for places that are so much family oriented. The Crime map was a very good information, it looks like the south and the southeast part of Lincoln has relatively less crime rate.

As far as living near to the work place; I don't really have a preference. I got a faculty position at the UNL and so we will be settled down in Lincoln for at least 4-5 years. I would certainly not want to live near to the downtown area; I assume the traffic would not be an issue in the commute to and from the university. At least for a year or so, we would like to rent the apartment. We would certainly be interested in buying the house but at the later stage until we get ourselves settled in Lincoln.

Are there perticular apartments that are highly recommended? again, no preference of living near the university, and upscaled apartments are fine as well. I am sorry that I am asking too much info here, but my situation is that I won't be able to spend much of time on apartment hunting after I move there.

Thanks for your replies.

[Gunluvver2]

rtp123,
One thing to consider about the commute to the University campus would be parking on campus. Does UNL provide you with a reserved spot or do you have to take your chances? Getting around campus on a bicycle is a heckuva lot easier than trying to find parking spots. Lincoln has a nice trail system for bikes from any part of town. Typically the bike trails are cleared of snow quicker than residential streets. For five years I rode a bike to work and during that time there were probably ten times I had to take the car. However I had a locker at work and could change clothes on site.

Rush hours in Lincoln are nothing compared to places like L.A., D.C., Boston, Chicago etc. On a bad traffic day it may take 30 minutes to go across Lincoln on one of the major arterial streets. On the bike trails you can move almost as fast as traffic, depending on your physical fitness level.

The nicest apartments are located in neighborhoods South of Highway 2, in my opinion. You can get a fairly good idea of where NOT to locate by looking at the crime maps. A hint: Any place within a mile or two of the UNL main campus is probably in a higher crime area.

I am not sure which apartments on the high end are the most desirable. I live in a dump but it has a great garage close to the State Capital. It is one of the worst areas in town but I personally have never had any problems. My rent on a two bedroom with a great garage is $455/month. Some of my friends that live in high end places are paying over $1,000/month. Most of my friends are homeowners and live in homes worth anywhere from $100,000 to several million, but I rub shoulders with folks from both ends of the spectrum economically because of some of my hobbies.

Renting for a year or two is a good idea before you purchase a home. Right now it is a buyers market but some of the Lincoln real estate agents WILL take advantage of a person that is new to the area and not familiar with real estate prices. Quite a few folks from areas where real estate is at a premium have moved to Lincoln and paid more for property than they really should have. That isn't likely to happen to someone who has lived in a rental property for a year.

Does the University provide any help in relocation for new faculty? That might be a good resource. Friends from your church (if you have one) are a good source of help also. Spending a week end before you make your move would be a great idea probably.

Good luck and welcome to Lincoln,
GL2