Possibly moving to Omaha

[kosnebbear]

Carta,

I have lived in Nebraska the better part of my life. I have lived, worked, made friends from individuals from around the world, India, Africa, South America, Southeast Asia. I had a remark typed, but deleted it. So I will just ask you this one question and you can PM me to reply if you want.

Is race a big deal with you? Do you want me to treat you differently because you are Hispanic? I am not going to tell you my race, but let me tell you that if you consider yourself a Hispanic-American then you are a racist to me. I am not a hypenated American. I consider myself just a plain old God loving, country loving American, where skin color has no place in the America that I know and love. Yes most of us in Nebraska have a very big problem with illegal immigration. Most of us don't care if you want to come to America or Nebraska to live, but most of us just want you to come the legal way. Plus at this time the most illegal immigrates that are in Nebraska are Hispanic and this makes most of us to look at Hispanics wondering if they are illegal or not. If you come to Omaha with the goal of becoming an asset to Omaha you will be just fine in the north, south, east or west side of Omaha. If you can do this then for me I would be honored to call you my neighbor and new friend if I lived in Omaha.

If you want a small town feel with decent schools you might want to take a good long look at Elkhorn. No I do not live there, I live about 75 miles south of Omaha. Elkhorn is just a nice community with excellent schools and the people are friendly no matter who you are. Gretena is also a nice area that is on the west side of Omaha.

[DTO Luv]

Wow. You look at Hispanics and wonder if they are legal? Do you look at blacks and wonder if they stole the shirt they're wearing?

I'm biracial. I've never felt out of place racially except in west Omaha. People don't know what to think of me because I look pretty racially ambiguous. Omaha is not 90% white. There are many minorities of all types in Omaha. When I was in high school at North High the race mix was around 60-40 white and black/other. When I was a South High it had a much heavier Hispanic population. In one of my classes I was the only US native including the teacher. Omaha has the largest population of Sudanese than any other city in America.

[red_hot_chili_yeppers]

Johnson,

I live where Fairview meets Over the Rhine.

[kosnebbear]

DTO Luv,

Your remark is as far as I am concerned way out of line. At NO TIME DID I SAY ANYTHING ABOUT LOOKING AT HISPANICS AS ILLEGALS. All I said was that MOST INDIVIDUALS IN NEBRASKA ARE TIRED OF THIS ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION. THAT MOST OF THE ILLEGALS IN NEBRASKA ARE ILLEGALS. Sorry that you felt out of place in Omaha, maybe you were playing that old race card to many times your self.

I work for the United Nations where I have to work with individuals from all over the world. I don't see any of these individuals that I am proud to call friends other than humans just like me. I have many friends that I trust my life to that are black humans, that no I don't that think that they stole the shirt they're wearing.

Have I ever insulted you for being GAY? No and I will not. Am I to treat you differently because you are GAY? Do you have special rights that I do not have because you are GAY? You made your choice, just don't push it in my face that you are something special. You are not any more special than any other individual who lives in America. If you do push it into my face that you think that you are someone special then you will get something in return that you just might not like at all.

Also if you read enough and get your head out of the sand you would see that if Carta came to Nebraska to become a asset, someone who is not going to throw race into my face that I would welcome as my neighbor and this also goes for any other individual. We don't need anymore individuals like Ernie Chambers who plays the race card faster than anyone else does. We don't need anymore Jesse Jackson's who plays the race card as well. What is needed are Americans who don't care what race you are who will stand together and work together for what is best for this country.

[johnson8617]

Carta,
We still haven't decided where to live, but greatschools.net will give you information about the schools that is more objective and will include the diversity information you are asking for. If you don't have kids, the information still might help you to see what the diversity of different areas is. Our visit to Omaha also decreased a lot of concerns. Initially we felt that we were receiving a lot of looks, but later realized it was primarily from a large group staying in the same hotel as we--and it wasn't hostile. Out on the streets, shopping and in various neighborhoods, we didn't attract attention out of the ordinary for our large family and we were very comfortable. Hope this helps. Good luck. I'm really busy with the move, so I'm not getting on here too much lately.


Kosnesbear,
Your comments are singularly unhelpful to families in the midst of such a huge transition as moving. If you can't directly address the question in a manner that is helpful, you should look for another thread to comment on. As racially diverse families we should be able to ask about the racial makeup of the neighborhoods in without it being assumed that someone has a chip on their shoulder. This thread is about housing/neighborhoods for those who are new to the area and interested in choosing to live in a reasonably diverse area. It is not about hypenating our American status, it is about wanting to be exposed to and have the opportunity to make friends with people who represent lots of places/experiences. I am not worried about being harassed or anything such as that, but would like my kids and myself to have the opportunity to be friends with other people who look like their father or themselves on occassion, in addition to people who have other life experiences just for the purpose of being well rounded individuals--not out of any sense of including or excluding. It is a necessary life skill for their generation to be able to interact with all types of people.

[kosnebbear]

Well one thing you have to know is that Nebraska State Senator Ernie Chambers who is a Black-American wrote and got a bill passed that has made some very uneasy feelings in Omaha. The law that he got passed divided the school district along racial lines something that I for one do not like. Also right after 9/11 I stopped three white males from confronting four individuals who were Muslims. Once again this was not right for them to do this. One thing is that most individuals in Nebraska are tired of this illegal immirgation and they voice this. If you can not take some advise on how to approach most people in Nebraska then maybe you should just come to Nebraska and not ask for individuals thoughts in this thread. Once again if you came to my home town to become a part of Nebraska as an asset and not expect more due to your racial background and are concerned about racial makeup of the neighborhoods then I for one would be honored to have you as a neighbor as once again to me race has nothing to do with what is inside the heart of a person. Once again I have many friends from different countries, cultures, and yes RACE that I consider very good friends who have invited me to come visit them and I have invited them to come to Nebraska to visit me and yes I would be honored to walk down any street REDNECK or not with them. NO I DO NOT HAVE A CHIP ON MY SHOULDER. DO YOU?

Please just for my own personal understanding tell be exactly what a well ronded individual is to you? What do they have to be to meet what you consider makes these individuals well rounded?