[militaryfam]

Hi there everyone! We are a military family relocating to Omaha from Northern California. We have several questions about Omaha and the surrounding areas.

1. We are looking to purchase a house. We hope to stay between $175k-$200k. We could go higher if needed, but hope to stay in this range. We have been looking in Papillion, La Vista, and Bellevue. Does anyone have an opinion on which of these are the best places to live? We are mainly concerned about the quality of the schools and the rate of crime. Any information would be most appreciated!

2. We have also been looking at homes in Iowa. Does anyone have information about the quality of life in Iowa? Would you suggest living in Nebraska or Iowa? Are there any particular cities in Iowa you would recommend?

3. How is the weather. What is the weather like in the summer, winter, etc? How much snow does Omaha get? How warm does it get in the summer?

Again, thanks so much for any information you may have! We are looking forward to moving to Omaha and hope to learn a little more about it before we get there.

[greyduk]

1. With your price range, you can afford a nice house here. In Bellevue, there are a lot of Hearthstone and Celebrity home developments. I would mostly stay away from them. They save money by putting cheap stuff in them. You can always pay for the upgrades, but they mark it up and that's where they make their money. Not that they don't have a place, especially for some of the younger military families out here, but if you can go up to 200k, you can get something better. Papillion is nice, and had some national attention a while back as a great place to live, so house prices are a little more stable there. Personally, I don't like sitting through all those stoplights on the way to work, especially with some of the drivers out here. It's quite common to be stuck behind 2 cars neck-to-neck doing 5+ under the speed limit, when weather is just fine. La Vista is a bit closer, and has nice homes. For Bellevue, it depends on where. I would stay away from Old Towne... mostly Cold War era/quality homes. The base expanded rapidly back then and all these depressing looking homes popped up. Some of them are remodeled inside, but again, with your budget, you can get something with more curb appeal. If I were you, I'd look in this neighborhood just south of base called Normandy Hills. You'll get an established neighborhood with big trees and a different style in the homes from the rest of the southern metro. I bought a house there a year ago and I'm loving it. You won't be able to walk to anything, so the convenience factor might be a negative for you, but it also keeps things quieter. There's a gas station a minute away both north and south by car, so you're not completely cut off. The biggest advantage is how close it is to the base, without feeling like it. The drive takes 5 minutes. There's a stop sign, 2 exits, and then the gate.

2. Don't do it. The only homes worth having in Iowa for your money are too far away. Either eastern Council Bluffs or a popular choice among those willing to make the drive, Glenwood. Property taxes are cheaper over there so that's what entices the few who do it. Living in Glenwood gets you a long drive, and either the fee for crossing the bridge twice a day, or a big detour north to use I-80.

3. I'm from Minnesota, so I'm used to harsh winters, but I hate them here. It's not usually as cold, and it doesn't last quite as long, but it's soooo windy here. This can be bad because of not only the windchill, but the roads also. They tend to get icier than I was used to, and even a midsized car will be affected by the wind. Not usually enough to outright push it off the road or into another lane, but sometimes enough to make your reaction to it pretty hairy. This is why I hate stoplights in the Winter here, and prefer my neighborhood. The good news though, is that they really do try and keep the roads clear. 370, the main road you would take from Papillion or La Vista, has a few lights on the way to the base, but is the first thing cleared by plows in the area. A lot of military people live out that direction, so don't let me scare you out of it. In Summer, the weather here is awesome. I just wish there were a few more lakes or some smaller rivers for recreation.

Good luck on your move, and welcome!

[Raphael07]

Well Summer and Winter are the twin extremes, this year we got down to -32 once and up to 106ish I think.


Papillion and la Vista are really nice towns too, and you could find a really nice house for that still.

[kdbrich]

If you're military I assume you want something close to the base?

Bellevue is very nice. A little farther away is Papillion and LaVista...again, very nice communities. They're all suburban areas, low crime, great schools. You'd do fine to look in any of the areas.

$175 buys a pretty decent house in any of those areas.