[denibeans63]

Hi everyone> my husband has been offered a job in Omaha, He will be located downtown. Co is paying th erelo. We have lived in a suburb of Buffalo (hey - it is a nice place!) for 14 years now. Great schools, nice subdivision with homes not on tope of each other, and, like omaha, a 25 min commute from just about anywhere. I will worry about finding a job when I get there.

I have been reading up and asking around. My number one concern is schools - our son is in 9th grade and struggles in school, so this is going to be stressful. I have heard Millard schools are good..any other suggestions? I have looked at homes on line in Papilion, and La vista, and Elkhorn, . Seems a lot of homes are very new, similar in style, and very litle space between each home?

Where we live now, in a popular subdivision, we are 25 minutes form downtown, and about a 10 - 15 minute commute from Malls or major grocery stores. Also, about 20 more miles west of us, is farmland, so we could board our horse (I sold him - wasnt' sure where we'd wind up)...so we have the best of both worlds here.

So I have lots of questions: sorry:::
Any reccomendations on 1) safe area 2) good school district, 3) nice areas that have small town feel but offer newer homes (1990's - present) and older homes? 3) am I dreaming if I think I can find spaces with a bit of property - only an acre would be fine), We don't want to live in the city, and up to a 35 minute commute would be fine..4).Oh, and are there any areas around where you can live near water (creek, dam?)5) I have to ask this: How common are tornadoes??

It sounds like it many ways omaha is similar to buffalo (except we get more snow!!)..HUsband is moving out there in 1 week, I will be able to come for a "go see" 2 times, so I would love to have some places to look at when I get there.

Thanks so much and sorry for a ll the questions. I appreciate any help you can give!

[Steve_W]

Well if you want to live downtown close to your husbands work, Central High School is located there. Very good school for the OPS school district...Good school anywhere for that matter.

[Dave1215]

Papillion actually meets a lot of your criteria. Schools are good, area has small town feel. For the Metro area its taxes are amongst the lowest. Homes in every price range. Can find Older (for the area) and newer homes. Yes, some of the more entry level homes that are newer construction are on smaller lots; however, there are also large lot homes and also acerages are available within the Papillion area (may be located in the South Sarpy school district, which also gets good ratings).

[Dave1215]

Originally Posted by denibeans63

4).Oh, and are there any areas around where you can live near water (creek, dam?)5) I have to ask this: How common are tornadoes??

Specific to the question and the Papillion area, look at both Hawaiian Village (housed directly on a small lake, about 4 miles south of Papillion and in the South Sarpy school district) or the Walnut Creek area (close to the Walnut Creek dam site, the southern edge of Papillion and in Papillion School District)

[denibeans63]

Thanks for the responses so far! Sarpy and S Sarpy county seem like desireable areas...Are the considered "metro" though, as in within the city limits? I noticed in some of the listings, even though homes are in a certain area, the zip pulls up as Omaha?

Also do areas near the dam flood, and if I am searching, do I just search walmnut creek area? Thanks

[Dave1215]

Originally Posted by denibeans63

Thanks for the responses so far! Sarpy and S Sarpy county seem like desireable areas...Are the considered "metro" though, as in within the city limits? I noticed in some of the listings, even though homes are in a certain area, the zip pulls up as Omaha?

Also do areas near the dam flood, and if I am searching, do I just search walmnut creek area? Thanks

Papillion, LaVista, and Ralston are independent cities from Omaha.

Ralston and Omaha are in the same County (Douglas), so at some point Omaha could annex Ralston, but highly unlikely since Ralston is not a threat to Omaha. Ralston has a different school system from Omaha too.

Papillion and LaVista are in a different County (Sarpy) from Omaha so could only become part of Omaha if state annexation laws were to be changed - not likely. Papillion/LaVista are in a combined school system that is seperate from Omaha. Areas in Sarpy county outside of Papillion/LaVista are also in a school system seperate from Omaha.

So both from a city and county perspective they are independent from Omaha. With that said, they are within the "Metro" area and would be considered subarbs of Omaha. They do have seperate zip codes from Omaha.

Ralston is 68127 (bleads into Omaha a little). Papillion is both 68046 and 68133. LaVista is 68128.

In regards to the flooding, no they don't. The NRD (Natural Resource District) build the Walnut Creek dam specifically for flood control, also the Papio Creek which is about a mile North of that area has the flood basin and the Walnut Creek housing area is quite a bit higher. The Hawaiian Village area is also far enough from the Platte River that it shouldn't be in danger of flooding. There is also some flood control in the area called Shadow Lake just east of Walnut Creek. Papillion and Sarpy County have done a very good job controling building so it doesn't occur in flood areas.

[jesse78]

Another area to consider is Gretna 68028 which is 22 miles sw of downtown Omaha in western Sarpy county. The town is rapidly approaching the 10,000 population mark and continues to lead the state as the fastest growing community.

[Steve_W]

Originally Posted by jesse78

Another area to consider is Gretna 68028 which is 22 miles sw of downtown Omaha in western Sarpy county. The town is rapidly approaching the 10,000 population mark and continues to lead the state as the fastest growing community.

Yeah I didn't even think of Gretna. Also, once they hit that 10K mark they are unable to become annexed (state law). Gretna should become a very prominent city in the future as they would have control of most of the development alond I-80 between them and Ashland.

[Dave1215]

Here are some links for places discussed:

CNN/Money Magazine recognizes Papillion as 6th Best Place to Live
Hawaiin Village
Shadow Lake Housing
Papio NRD (select Walnut Creek under Flood Control)
City of Papillion
City of LaVista
City of Gretna
City of Ralston
Sarpy County
Sarpy Tourism
Papillion/LaVista Schools
South Sarpy Schools
Gretna Schools
Ralston Schools

[ehenningsen]

Right now Gretna cannot be changed to being a neighborhood in Omaha, as the city is in a different county, secondly by the time the bigger Sarpy county cities reach close enough to annex Gretna, the city will be tens of thousands of people too big to be annexed..

Gretna will always remain an independant city, it will never break 150,000 people, but it will most definetely have a very long and bright future as an upper class city..

Plus, the Gretna-Ashland-(Greenville ?)-Corridor is the link between Omaha-Lincoln