Would Norfolk, NE Be A Good Fit For Me? (Omaha: low income, transplants)

[dakota79]

Hi,

I currently live in Kansas and am considering several smaller Midwest/Great Plains cities to possibly move to, and wanted to know if Norfolk and I would be a good fit.

I definitely prefer smaller, compact, isolated cities that aren't overrun with tourists, transplants, tons of college students, and big city mentalitly.

I don't care for fancy stores or restaurants, just the basics like Target, Wal-Mart, a grocery store, hardware store etc...

I am not into nightlife, bars, or clubs.

I am fairly conservative and like to get involved in the community and church. I have strong morals and traditional values, which seem to be vanishing from much of today's society unfortunately. That being said, I am not over-the-top religious and don't push it onto other people.

I currently work in retail and earn lower wages which most would be unhappy with, but it is plenty for the simple life I live. I could transfer with my job as we have a store there, or may opt to look for something new on the same level.

One thing that has attracted me to Norfolk is that there seems to be a decent number of apartments for a city of less than 25K. And they are well within my price range. The newspaper has about 25 listings. I am not too picky, just as long as things are clean.

Weather is not an issue, as I have lived in North Dakota, Kansas, and Missouri, so nothing would shock me. I am used to wind, snow, severe thunderstorms, summer humidity, and constantly changing temps.

The city I live in now is decent, but at times gets very depressing because of the overall vibe. All anyone seems to do here is complain about the the city, and life in general. They put so much energy into complaining and protesting, when that same energy could be used for so many more positive things. There is an exceptional number of people on government support here. Some are legit, but others abuse the system. Businesses have closed in large quanities over the past 20 years. Our mall has only 16 spaces out of 60 possible occupied. I don't need much as I said, but the direction the city is heading bothers me, and no one seems to care around here.

I am looking for a city that is clean and safe, and has a more optimistic outlook on things. I have read several threads on here about Norfolk, and people seem to like it and have good things to say.

So what do you think? Would Norfolk be a good fit for me and a place I should further pursue?

[JustMe_T3K]

Originally Posted by dakota79

The city I live in now is decent, but at times gets very depressing because of the overall vibe. All anyone seems to do here is complain about the the city, and life in general. They put so much energy into complaining and protesting, when that same energy could be used for so many more positive things. There is an exceptional number of people on government support here. Some are legit, but others abuse the system. Businesses have closed in large quanities over the past 20 years. Our mall has only 16 spaces out of 60 possible occupied. I don't need much as I said, but the direction the city is heading bothers me, and no one seems to care around here.

You would probably like it here except the part I quoted above.
1. You will find complainers everywhere.
2 People on government support happens everywhere.

I have a problem with the word support.

Farms get subsidies that are huge, some in the 6 digits and yearly.
It's just another government program that people can collect from if they choose and qualify.

[dakota79]

Okay, scratch the term government support. I wasn't referring to the farm sudsidies.

What I meant was there is a very high number of people on welfare, food stamps, low income housing, worker's comp, Medicaid etc...

Of coruse, there are people on those programs everywhere, but there is an above average number here, and as the government tightens their purse strings, many here will be left with even less, which would cause even greater decline for the city.

[JustMe_T3K]

So your issue is to many low income families.

You will find a lot of that in Norfolk also.

[dakota79]

No, my issue is not that people do not have a lot of money. Heck, neither do I. I actually want to be around lower income people, as I would not relate to the wealthy either. But there is a difference between living simple and self-inflicted poverty.

I am all for assistance to those who try hard and still need help, or those that are disabled and don't have a choice.

But here are some examples of what I do have issues with:

Those who comes through the checkout line with 10 cases of soda and tons of junk food, and use their food stamps for it.

The guy who walks into his low income apartment with a case of beer in one hand and two cartons of cigarettes in another

The people who are poor because they are on the ropes for child support to several women because they have no morals or self control.

Just yesterday, I was at a restaurant where the 300 lb guy in the booth next to me orders everything but the kitchen sink off the menu, then I hear him complaining on his cell phone how he does not get enough in disability.


Where I'm at, there are a lot of people living like this, and the number is growing. The city has a reputation all over the state for being lazy, obese, and decaying. And while not everyone here is like that, I can see how it got that reputation.

[SCGranny]

Originally Posted by JustMe_T3K

You would probably like it here except the part I quoted above.
1. You will find complainers everywhere.
2 People on government support happens everywhere.

I have a problem with the word support.

Farms get subsidies that are huge, some in the 6 digits and yearly.
It's just another government program that people can collect from if they choose and qualify.

Just a comment to clarify - farmers get subsidies, ranchers don't.

[nvrshoutcupcakes]

Norfolk is a great town to live in, I grew up in Norfolk. Well I'm 20 so I guess I'm still "growing up". Apartments are good, and some are really cheap (watch out for Avon Gardens if you decide to move here. one word. ROACHES). There are welfare people who don't deserve it, but I don't think I've ever seen people waving it in others faces like you described. Landlords are really fair here. For example, my husband recent got fired for taking too many sick days (he had to get surgery and was still on eval period so they just fired him) and since we're drowning in debt our landlord is giving us back our deposit even though we gave no notice so we can try to dig ourselves out. Hospitals are good here, and we have pretty much everything that you said you wanted.

[dakota79]

Originally Posted by nvrshoutcupcakes

Norfolk is a great town to live in, I grew up in Norfolk. Well I'm 20 so I guess I'm still "growing up". Apartments are good, and some are really cheap (watch out for Avon Gardens if you decide to move here. one word. ROACHES). There are welfare people who don't deserve it, but I don't think I've ever seen people waving it in others faces like you described. Landlords are really fair here. For example, my husband recent got fired for taking too many sick days (he had to get surgery and was still on eval period so they just fired him) and since we're drowning in debt our landlord is giving us back our deposit even though we gave no notice so we can try to dig ourselves out. Hospitals are good here, and we have pretty much everything that you said you wanted.

Thank you for your helpful response. It's good to know that most of the apartments there are pretty decent. And I'm glad you mentioned the hospitals, as I was wondering what they were like. They can vary a lot in smaller cities I've learned.

I'm sorry to here about what happened at your husband's job and that he needed surgery, and I hope things turn around for you both soon.

[Omahahonors]

You will love Norfolk. Do not consider the the population slide the last five years as that had to do with a very large plan closing. Norfolk has resumed it's modest growth after that. The city has 24,000 people and if you need a bigger city to travel to for any reason, Sioux City is only 50 miles away and Omaha/Lincoln are only 90 miles away.

You will find Fremont in a similar boat, but it is so close to Omaha's west edge that it is beginning to see a surge of suburban boom. Fremont is good for probably another 5-10 years, but it is soon going to be growing very fast.

[mossberg14]

Norfolk is a great city. You might want to check out the job opportunities up there first however.
Depending on your career path, Columbus (my region) is a great city as well, you might want to check out. About a hour away from Omaha as well, great schools around here too. Best of luck to you.