[kosnebbear]

As someone who went to one of these less superior smaller schools in Nebraska than they are in Omaha, all I can tell you is that I am glad that I attended a smaller school where the teachers were not overloaded with students and where they took the time to help you even after school one on one. I also had the chance to play in sports. where in a bigger school I would not have had the that great of a chance. As it turned out I was rather good at sports in my school as a matter of fact we won several championships during my time in a smaller school. Everyone knew each other and we all shared like we were one big family. When was the last time you heard of a school shooting in say a school with 35 students in each class? When was the last time you heard about a shooting is a large school?

The one concern that I have about a big city is will your neighbors want to get to know you and your family. Take a look at the terrible event that just took place in Omaha. A 41 or 43 year old Mother died of natural causes and she had a 21 month year old son sometime before Christmas. They think the son was looking for food for maybe one to two weeks as he could not get his Mother to wake up. He died as well from dehydration. A baby will just cry themselves to sleep when they become dehydrated and not wake up again. No one around them missed them, not family, not friends, not her employer, not neighbors, not the mailman, NO ONE CARED. In a small town they will get to know you and yes they will worry about you if they don't see you for a few days. This is a security blanket that you will not have in a big city. You can always drive into the big city to shop then you can leave the big city problems behind and go to the secure little city life.

For the most part every where in Nebraska will be nice, but for me give me the small towns first. I get cable TV, water, sewer, electical power, gas, trash pickup, telephone service, cellular service, internet service, my streets are paved either with asphalt or concrete, just like they get in the big cities, I don't have the public transportation system, but heck 95 per cent of Nebraska has no real public transportation system either, but I have a better security blanket. Also my neighbors will offer their help even if I don't need it and I do the same back to them.

This is my view about life in a big city over a smaller town close to Omaha.

[star_gazer]

Take a look at the terrible event that just took place in Omaha

Oh brother... I guess you could put your head in the sand by buying an acreage all by your lonesome in the countryside as well... and be that much 'safer'. It's called NUMBERS. The larger the city... the larger the numbers... the higher the probability of 'stuff' happening.

And by the way, last I checked... people were being indiscriminately shot in rural Nebraska as well. For every incident in the 'big city'... I can give you examples of similar incidents in 'small towns'... at a rate proportional to population.

It's simply a numbers game. You don't have any significantly higher a number of 'big city' residents PER CAPITA being victimized than 'small town' residents... it just happens by virtue of having FAR more people overall... you hear about more incidents like these.

I can assure you... I know my neighbors every bit as well as you know your neighbors. It just happens... I have far more neighborhoods/communities surrounding me.

[star_gazer]

By the way... you might want to do a little more research on school shootings as well. I may well be generous in suggesting the rates of the incidents are basically identical when looked at per capita... between the 'big city' and 'small town'.

Sticking your head in the sand is looking like a better option.

Feb. 2, 1996
Moses Lake, Wash. Two students and one teacher killed, one other wounded when 14-year-old Barry Loukaitis opened fire on his algebra class.
Feb. 19, 1997
Bethel, Alaska Principal and one student killed, two others wounded by Evan Ramsey, 16.
Oct. 1, 1997
Pearl, Miss. Two students killed and seven wounded by Luke Woodham, 16, who was also accused of killing his mother. He and his friends were said to be outcasts who worshiped Satan.
Dec. 1, 1997
West Paducah, Ky. Three students killed, five wounded by Michael Carneal, 14, as they participated in a prayer circle at Heath High School.
Dec. 15, 1997
Stamps, Ark. Two students wounded. Colt Todd, 14, was hiding in the woods when he shot the students as they stood in the parking lot.
March 24, 1998
Jonesboro, Ark. Four students and one teacher killed, ten others wounded outside as Westside Middle School emptied during a false fire alarm. Mitchell Johnson, 13, and Andrew Golden, 11, shot at their classmates and teachers from the woods.
April 24, 1998
Edinboro, Pa. One teacher, John Gillette, killed, two students wounded at a dance at James W. Parker Middle School. Andrew Wurst, 14, was charged.
May 19, 1998
Fayetteville, Tenn. One student killed in the parking lot at Lincoln County High School three days before he was to graduate. The victim was dating the ex-girlfriend of his killer, 18-year-old honor student Jacob Davis.
May 21, 1998
Springfield, Ore. Two students killed, 22 others wounded in the cafeteria at Thurston High School by 15-year-old Kip Kinkel. Kinkel had been arrested and released a day earlier for bringing a gun to school. His parents were later found dead at home.
June 15, 1998
Richmond, Va. One teacher and one guidance counselor wounded by a 14-year-old boy in the school hallway.
April 20, 1999
Littleton, Colo. 14 students (including killers) and one teacher killed, 23 others wounded at Columbine High School in the nation's deadliest school shooting. Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, had plotted for a year to kill at least 500 and blow up their school. At the end of their hour-long rampage, they turned their guns on themselves.
May 20, 1999
Conyers, Ga. Six students injured at Heritage High School by Thomas Solomon, 15, who was reportedly depressed after breaking up with his girlfriend.
Nov. 19, 1999
Deming, N.M. Victor Cordova Jr., 12, shot and killed Araceli Tena, 13, in the lobby of Deming Middle School.
Dec. 6, 1999
Fort Gibson, Okla. Four students wounded as Seth Trickey, 13, opened fire with a 9mm semiautomatic handgun at Fort Gibson Middle School.
Feb. 29, 2000
Mount Morris Township, Mich. Six-year-old Kayla Rolland shot dead at Buell Elementary School near Flint, Mich. The assailant was identified as a six-year-old boy with a .32-caliber handgun.
March 10, 2000
Savannah, Ga. Two students killed by Darrell Ingram, 19, while leaving a dance sponsored by Beach High School.
May 26, 2000
Lake Worth, Fla. One teacher, Barry Grunow, shot and killed at Lake Worth Middle School by Nate Brazill, 13, with .25-caliber semiautomatic pistol on the last day of classes.
Sept. 26, 2000
New Orleans, La. Two students wounded with the same gun during a fight at Woodson Middle School.
Jan. 17, 2001
Baltimore, Md. One student shot and killed in front of Lake Clifton Eastern High School.
March 5, 2001
Santee, Calif. Two killed and 13 wounded by Charles Andrew Williams, 15, firing from a bathroom at Santana High School.
March 7, 2001
Williamsport, Pa. Elizabeth Catherine Bush, 14, wounded student Kimberly Marchese in the cafeteria of Bishop Neumann High School; she was depressed and frequently teased.
March 22, 2001
Granite Hills, Calif. One teacher and three students wounded by Jason Hoffman, 18, at Granite Hills High School. A policeman shot and wounded Hoffman.
March 30, 2001
Gary, Ind. One student killed by Donald R. Burt, Jr., a 17-year-old student who had been expelled from Lew Wallace High School.
Nov. 12, 2001
Caro, Mich. Chris Buschbacher, 17, took two hostages at the Caro Learning Center before killing himself.
Jan. 15, 2002
New York, N.Y. A teenager wounded two students at Martin Luther King Jr. High School.
October 28, 2002
Tucson, Ariz. Robert S. Flores Jr., 41, a student at the nursing school at the University of Arizona, shot and killed three female professors and then himself.
April 14, 2003
New Orleans, La. One 15-year-old killed, and three students wounded at John McDonogh High School by gunfire from four teenagers (none were students at the school). The motive was gang-related.
April 24, 2003
Red Lion, Pa. James Sheets, 14, killed principal Eugene Segro of Red Lion Area Junior High School before killing himself.
Sept. 24, 2003
Cold Spring, Minn. Two students are killed at Rocori High School by John Jason McLaughlin, 15.
March 21, 2005
Red Lake, Minn. Jeff Weise, 16, killed grandfather and companion, then arrived at school where he killed a teacher, a security guard, 5 students, and finally himself, leaving a total of 10 dead.
Nov. 8, 2005
Jacksboro, Tenn. One 15-year-old shot and killed an assistant principal at Campbell County High School and seriously wounded two other administrators.
Aug. 24, 2006
Essex, Vt. Christopher Williams, 27, looking for his ex-girlfriend at Essex Elementary School, shot two teachers, killing one and wounding another. Before going to the school, he had killed the ex-girlfriend's mother.
Sept. 26, 2006
Bailey, Colo. Adult male held six students hostage at Platte Canyon High School and then shot and killed Emily Keyes, 16, and himself.
Sept. 29, 2006
Cazenovia, Wis. A 15-year-old student shot and killed Weston School principal John Klang.
Oct. 3, 2006
Nickel Mines, Pa. 32-year-old Carl Charles Roberts IV entered the one-room West Nickel Mines Amish School and shot 10 schoolgirls, ranging in age from 6 to 13 years old, and then himself. Five of the girls and Roberts died.
Jan. 3, 2007
Tacoma, Wash. Douglas Chanthabouly, 18, shot fellow student Samnang Kok, 17, in the hallway of Henry Foss High School.
April 16, 2007
Blacksburg, Va. A 23-year-old Virginia Tech student, Cho Seung-Hui, killed two in a dorm, then killed 30 more 2 hours later in a classroom building. His suicide brought the death toll to 33, making the shooting rampage the most deadly in U.S. history. Fifteen others were wounded.
Sept. 21, 2007
Dover, Del. A Delaware State Univesity Freshman, Loyer D. Brandon, shot and wounded two other Freshman students on the University campus. Brandon is being charged with attempted murder, assault, reckless engagement, as well as a gun charge.
Oct. 10, 2007
Cleveland, Ohio A 14-year-old student at a Cleveland high school, Asa H. Coon, shot and injured two students and two teachers before he shot and killed himself. The victims' injuries were not life-threatening.

[Steve_W]

I grew up in a small town with a very small school and I can tell you for sure the teachers as a whole are less educated than you may find in larger school districts. Small budgets buy small minds. Substitute teachers are non-existent. They are instead "babysitters".

Opportunities easily pass you by whether it is sports, academics or anything else for that matter. It's not very impressive to Universities and Employers if you were ranked in the top 5% of a class of 30 people. Hell, all you have to do to achieve that is to show up.

Also, small towns and schools seem to be much less likely to embrace people without family history of that town.

I also know from experience that these smaller towns have so little to offer high school students that they are much more easily drawn to drugs and alcohol.

Trust me, if you pick a good neighborhood in a populated area you will find much more opportunity. All areas have their pros and cons but these tiny little schools in Nebraska are definitely not any better.

[NebraskaNative]

My $.02...

I was born and raised in Nebraska, I've had the chance to live out of Nebraska after finishing college at UNL, and I'll tell you what... It seems like there is the rest of the nation and then there is the midwest.

I've researched quite a few 'relocation' possibilities over the past few years and one thing that I think no one can debate: YOU CAN'T BEAT THE COST OF LIVING. I'm sure you can find something cheaper somewhere else, but overall it's pretty cost-effective.

Unfortunately you have to live in Nebraska to get the benefits.



Some of the highlights I've noted over the years:

--There are some high paying jobs (technology) that will pay into the $80's and $90's, but don't really expect that unless you are in a Senior position. Most likely salaries are in the $40-$70 range for semi-professional careers.

--It can get pretty damn hot in the summer. July and August are in the 90's and humidity is usually up there as well.

--It can get pretty cold (and windy) in the winter. It's not uncommon for the windchill to be in the negatives and the 'high' temps in Jan and Feb sometimes do not make it out of the single-digits. Everyone pretty much hibernates in the winter. You can't really wash your car too often.

--There is NO natural scenery here, the closest natural scenery are the hills in Southern Missouri (6-8 hours away), or the mountains in Colorado (6-8 hours away).

--There are very few lakes.

--The newly built Qwest Center in Omaha does attract some high-end concerts, but only a few per year. The closest venue for ones that don't stop here is probably Kansas City (2-3 hours away).

--There are a lot of local sports, Jr. Hockey, arena football, Husker football/baseball, the NCAA College Baseball World Series is held in Omaha, etc... THERE ARE NO PROFESSIONAL SPORTS!!

--We have a world class zoo (Henry Doorly).

--Property taxes are high. 2.9 is the mil rate on our house, yeah, that's $2900 per $100,000!!!

--Our gas prices normally rank among the highest in the country (again, taxes).

--Tornadoes aren't really a problem.



Would I recommend anyone moving here? No.

[ehenningsen]

I value your opinion NebraskaNative...

But it can be hot in the summer? It's a lot hotter in a lot of other parts of the country a lot more often..

Also, the Qwest center has top concerts coming by on a regular basis and as a matter of fact, it rates in the top20 in the world year after year in concert ticket sales, it also has pulled in American Idol and Dancing with the Stars, Creighton is a tenant and pulls in nearly a top 10 attendance for mens basketball. It also has been a final four for several sports in NCAA, and is a repeat offender of smashing NCAA attendance records, heck NCAA womens volleyball sold out!

There is much more scenery than you give the state credit for, have you been to the Niobrara River? Sandhills? Badlands? Or the buttes of Western Nebraska? the Loess Hills? Sandhill crane season? There is also quite of few lakes and rivers with great camping areas, heck we even have a Cabelas, Bass Pro shop and Camping World here in Omaha..

There are professional sports on tv, lol, we have plenty of high-traditional college sports teams here, and not everyone needs a professional sport and as a matter of fact most people that live in a city with a professional sport don't even follow the local team, lol...

Property taxes 'rates' are in the top 10 to 15 in the nation! But the average burden puts us a little above average overall, as our sales tax and other taxes don't bring in as much money due to the cost of living being so low.
Oh yeah, and in some states, a $600,000 house is worth about $100,000 here and when you do the math you will see why that property tax rates are higher here, and that a house here is still a heck of a lot cheaper than in many hyped up states!

Overall, that was a good post, but because of certain stigma's I had to reply with research I have done.. Good job overall!

[kosnebbear]

How true you are, ehenningsen, I can tell that you are one that does not just stay in the big cities of Nebraska, but will travel about the state to see what is out there past the city limits of either Omaha or Lincoln. In reading some of the posts I can also tell the ones who have not taken the time to see what Nebraska has. There are many lakes and Nebraska has the most rivers and creeks than any other state according to what I have read. There are other things besides professional sports teams. How about sports where people have fun playing instead of greedy players who only want more money. How about watching the kids play because they play for the love of the game. Our weather is something to be hold that is for sure, but it is ours can be rather different. I love my state and I will stand by it, heck I will even defend Omaha and Lincoln.

Thank you, star_gazer, it looks like most ever city that you named is at least 100,000 or larger in size. You did the research that showed my point. Yes with more people you have more crime, but the event with the Mother and son would not have happened in my town or any of the small communities that I have lived in around Nebraska, because we get to know each other as friends. Something that I see when I go to Omaha or Lincoln is that if I say hello to a stranger in line at a cashier I get looked at as if I have come from a different planet. This is something that does not happen in a small town. We talk to everyone, call us being nosey if you like. We will take the time to even help out a stranger. As for me I just call it being friendly, most individuals from a big city will call it being odd or stange. Who knows I might have said hello to you once in Omaha, never know and if I did guess even if you didn't say anything I will still do it again. There are ones in both Omaha and Lincoln who will talk to you even if you are a stranger , but very few. Tell me what is wrong with meeting someone new even if it just to say hello.

Once again it just my view on things as I see it in my 58 years of life.

[Dave1215]

Originally Posted by NebraskaNative

----Property taxes are high. 2.9 is the mil rate on our house, yeah, that's $2900 per $100,000!!!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, looking purely at taxes, yes they can be a little of a shock to some folks depending on where they come from; HOWEVER, when you look at it holistically (income, cost of living, and taxes) Nebraska has a fantastic cost of living.

Also, in Nebraska the property taxes are a sum of a number of taxing authorities, but the 3 big ones are School tax, County tax, and city or SID tax. The sum of these is the total mil levy and that mil levy can vary greatly depending on where you live in the metro.

While your specific levy is 2.9 mine in Papillion is 2.0 and that has dropped every year but 1 since 2003. My 2.0 levy means $3,000 on $160,000 house.

When someone is shopping for a house, they definietly want to consider the County/School/Town-SID due to the big variations in the levy. Papillion (within city limits) is one of the lowest in the metro.

[Dave1215]

Originally Posted by NebraskaNative

--The newly built Qwest Center in Omaha does attract some high-end concerts, but only a few per year. The closest venue for ones that don't stop here is probably Kansas City (2-3 hours away).

According to Pollstar, Qwest Center Omaha ranks 10th in the US and 15th in the world for tickets sold for the 1st quarter 2007. (From what I understand Pollstar is the world's largest resource for international concert tour information).

[Dave1215]

Originally Posted by NebraskaNative

--There are some high paying jobs (technology) that will pay into the $80's and $90's, but don't really expect that unless you are in a Senior position. Most likely salaries are in the $40-$70 range for semi-professional careers.

Omaha metro has a very wide variety of job types and job levels.

2005 Demographics:

Average Hhld Income $60,281
10.8% $0 - $15,000
11.1% $15,000 - $24,999
11.6% $25,000 - $34,999
16.8% $35,000 - $49,999
21.4% $50,000 - $74,999
13.2% $75,000 - $99,999
10.3% $100,000 - $149,999
4.8% $150,000 +

Again, as mentioned earlier, keep a holistic perspective on the the entire cost of living... this is a very economical place to live.