[unemployedinny]

I am currently living in Buffalo NY, I lost my job last August and moved up here to be closer to family, but there are not many jobs here either. I'm thinking about moving to NE(my sister lives in Gretna), and am looking to see what kind of jobs are out there and checking out rental prices(would prefer a small house). I worked in a factory for 13 years, in assemble and running a CNC milling machine, and am currently taking classes for an Associates degree in Accounting(just finished my first semester). If anybody could let me know about manufacturing jobs that are available, and good schools that aren't too big, that would be great. My sister said Millard is good, but it seems kind of big, and Gretna looks good, but was wondering what else is out there. Thanks!

[Dave1215]

Lots of variety for living - all with rentals - wide variety of pricing.
In Sarpy County (where Gretna is) you have Bellevue, LaVista, Papillion, and Springfield
In Douglas County you basically have Omaha, plus Bennington, Ralston, and Valley

Depending on where your job is, how far you want to commute, and if you want urban, suburban, or rural - those three things will kind of define your search area... if rural and a little longer commute then lots of other housing options...

[unemployedinny]

I was looking for something with a good school district, but not huge. My youngest son will be going in to high school next year, and I am looking for a school with smaller classes(100-200 per grade). I wouldn't mind 20-30 minute commute if that's what I had to do. It's better than not having a job at all.

[Dave1215]

People are very opinionated in this area about good and bad school districts, but I will tell you that there really isn't a bad school district... a few rise above the others, but all are pretty good.

With that in mind, what other criteria or wish lists do you have? Maybe that will finetune the areas to look at.. let's start with preference of Rural, Suburban, or Urban - that will really narrow things...

Also, which part of town is the job? that will put the 20-30 minute commute into better perspective.

[DTO Luv]

Also Millard isn't it's own town, it's an area of Omaha so I don't know how you'd quantify the size.

[omahajosh618]

The smallest school district I can think of that meets the qualifications of about 200 kids is the Bennington School District. Bennington is a town of roughly 1000 residents just north of Omaha on 156th street. I've only driven through a couple times but it seemed to be a nice little town. Gretna is a nice community too. I believe the schools are a bit larger.

[ShawJ]

nvm

[vpandora]

Originally Posted by DTO Luv

Also Millard isn't it's own town, it's an area of Omaha so I don't know how you'd quantify the size.

It may be hard to quantify, but it certainly feels big... or at least crowded. I lived in Millard from the age of 4... when Harrison Street was gravel west of 144th and there was nothing but fields... the growth to the west has made the Millard area feel densely populated and closed in. What I hate the most is the traffic... rush hours, lunch, and school traffic. I can drive 20 miles from one side of the metro to the other in 30 minutes or less, but when I lived and worked in Millard, it would sometimes take 20 minutes to drive from 144th and Harrison to 120th & L.

My fiance (he grew up in North Omaha) and I have enjoyed living in La Vista and Papillion, which are to the south of Millard. These areas are experiencing a lot of growth, but it doesn't feel nearly so congested (maybe in 10 years I'd change my tune) as the main corridor streets are wide enough to accomodate the traffic for now and I have easy interstate access. The area also has lots of shopping, restaraunt, and entertainment ammenities nearby. Gretna is west and a bit south of this area.

That said, we are moving to Bennington in the fall, which is north of the Millard area. We are building a house out there south of town. We like that it feels a bit more "out there" and we are not boxed in by more suburban sprawl.

Depending on where you end up working in Omaha, you could have a 20-40 minute commute into the metro area if you looked into smaller communities of Springfield, Louisville, Ashland, Plattsmouth, Fremont, or even into Glenwood Iowa. I can't speak for their schools, but I have known people who have commuted to Omaha from all of these areas.

For manufacturing jobs, or jobs of any sort, look at Jobs Careerlink Employment . I am not sure of what is out there in your area of manufacturing. I work at a plastic injection molding facility, and the bulk of our workforce is entry level packers and warehousers.

As for your own schooling, your choices for continuing include Metropolitan Community College, which is an accredited school and also has various programs accredited by professional organizations. It is also reasonably priced, multiple campus locations, online courses that don't cost more than traditional classes, and convinient times. (I've been s l o w l y working on a associates in commercial still photography for the past several years). To go beyond associates you can also look into Bellevue University, which is pricier but has accelerated bachelor programs that are very popular, as well as University of Nebraska Omaha, Creighton University, and probably some others I am not as familiar with.

Good luck, whatever you do!

[marska]

I moved from Omaha to NY last year. Believe me, Omaha will amaze you! Great place. Sooooo much cheaper than anywhere in NYS.

best wishes...hope all goes well!