Considering moving from Seattle to Lincoln (Omaha, Kearney: how much, home, employment)

[Jamega]

Hello,

I'm wondering if any of you can tell me what the construction industry is currently like in Lincoln and/or Omaha. My husband is a third year electrician's apprentice in an IBEW union in Seattle. He does mostly commercial/tenant improvement work. He is gainfully employed here, but we have three primary concerns causing us to consider moving to Lincoln or Omaha.

1) I am originally from rural NE (near Kearney) and a lot of my family currently lives there and I'd like to be closer to them. I've been considering a few places within a one-day-drive radius or closer. (Lincoln or Omaha is a 2.5 to 3 hour drive to my family.)

2) The cost of living in the Seattle area is incredibly high. We moved here feeling adventurous, but that adventure has come with a high price and I'm not sure that I'm interested in paying anymore!

3) The economy is not great here and I am having a difficult time finding a job. There seems to be an abnormally high amount of competition for jobs here and, based on past experience and my current research, it seems that I may fair better in NE.

Do you have any knowledge of Lincoln or Omaha electical unions, electrical field in general, or even how much/how little new construction is happening there?

Any feedback would be much appreciated!

[Gunluvver2]

Originally Posted by Jamega

Hello,

I'm wondering if any of you can tell me what the construction industry is currently like in Lincoln and/or Omaha. My husband is a third year electrician's apprentice in an IBEW union in Seattle. He does mostly commercial/tenant improvement work. He is gainfully employed here, but we have three primary concerns causing us to consider moving to Lincoln or Omaha.

1) I am originally from rural NE (near Kearney) and a lot of my family currently lives there and I'd like to be closer to them. I've been considering a few places within a one-day-drive radius or closer. (Lincoln or Omaha is a 2.5 to 3 hour drive to my family.)

2) The cost of living in the Seattle area is incredibly high. We moved here feeling adventurous, but that adventure has come with a high price and I'm not sure that I'm interested in paying anymore!

3) The economy is not great here and I am having a difficult time finding a job. There seems to be an abnormally high amount of competition for jobs here and, based on past experience and my current research, it seems that I may fair better in NE.

Do you have any knowledge of Lincoln or Omaha electical unions, electrical field in general, or even how much/how little new construction is happening there?

Any feedback would be much appreciated!

I would suggest you call the IBEW local in Lincoln and ask them. I am sure they could answer all of your questions. here is a link to their web page
IBEW Local 265

GL2

[Jamega]

Thanks for your reply! I've been perusing the IBEW Local 265 and 22 web sites. Making some calls will be our next step.

[gudmunsn]

We just moved from Seattle to Lincoln and we LOVE it. Say goodbye to the crappy rain every day! I don't know much about the electrical industry because we aren't in it, but i do know unemployment is quite low here. If you have any questions about the differences between the cities, feel free to ask.

[jm31828]

I just moved 3 years ago from Lincoln to Seattle, and I can say to be careful and not be fooled by the low unemployment figures in Lincoln. Sure it does mean there are not too many people unemployed, but it does not mean a job is easy to find, either- if just means that not too many people have actually been laid off during the recession. The actual employment opportunities there aren't great and pay is not great, so moving there does not necessarily mean any better of an employment or living situation. My wife and I had no trouble finding jobs here in the Seattle area once we moved out, and pay was so much better than it was back home that it made up for the cost of living increase (the only real noticeable difference is the cost of housing, which is actually not so bad anyway in the northern suburbs of Seattle where we ended up).

Not to be ripping on Lincoln by any means, but just some things to consider from our experience going the other way.

[skidamarink]

Originally Posted by jm31828

I just moved 3 years ago from Lincoln to Seattle, and I can say to be careful and not be fooled by the low unemployment figures in Lincoln. Sure it does mean there are not too many people unemployed, but it does not mean a job is easy to find, either- if just means that not too many people have actually been laid off during the recession. The actual employment opportunities there aren't great and pay is not great, so moving there does not necessarily mean any better of an employment or living situation. My wife and I had no trouble finding jobs here in the Seattle area once we moved out, and pay was so much better than it was back home that it made up for the cost of living increase (the only real noticeable difference is the cost of housing, which is actually not so bad anyway in the northern suburbs of Seattle where we ended up).

Not to be ripping on Lincoln by any means, but just some things to consider from our experience going the other way.

I wholeheartedly second this post. I moved to Seattle a year after graduating from NU and although it's true that the cost of living here is higher (price of food was the biggest shock for me), I'm still able to maintain a somewhat similar financial spending lifestyle to what I had in Lincoln. Jobs in Lincoln are very limited in what sectors you're in, so I wouldn't go picking up and running to Nebraska with excitement. There's a good chance that you will be sorry.

After living in Nebraska for a good 5 or 6 years, I finally decided I couldn't take it anymore and hit the road this past summer to Seattle. Haven't looked back since. I am more than willing to settle for the lack of sunshine for 10 months of the year with mild weather in Seattle. The benefit of having sunshine in Nebraska didn't matter to me when it was 110 degrees and it felt like someone was holding a humidifier to your face. And it certainly didn't matter each winter when I fell and busted my fanny on the blankets of ice that were covering anything without legs.

[TrevorAlan]

There are unions and union jobs in Lincoln but in general it is not a big union state, even the bigger cities. It MAY be easier to get a job here than in Seattle, i think construction is really starting to take off in Lincoln, but the lower cost of living is matched by generally lower wages, and I have to agree those low unemployment figures may be masking UNDERemployment. I could not say about his specialty, contacting the union may be the best idea. And while there are some entertainment options, a lot less than Seattle. And that rain all the time in seattle is part of evening out the climate, I do not remember it getting as cold in December of Seattle as it gets here.

So there could be reasons for making that move but it won't be perfect.