Tell me about Nebraska please (Lincoln, Kearney: attorney, houses, neighborhoods)

[Vizio]

Originally Posted by RandySurles

I'm coming to Nebraska - flying in to Grand Island - in April 2013 to live due to Nebraska's reputation as a home of friendly, conservative people, wide open spaces, low unemployment and a low cost of living. I prefer small town living; quieter and cheaper - plus they usually offer at least one great restaurant with home style cooking at an affordable price. The lady who posted that Nebraskans won't take to "outsiders" very well had me worried, but reading the posts after hers settled my mind a bit.

I'm disabled from a back injury with nerve damage in both legs, limiting my ability to walk long distances or to stand all day. I can work maybe 20 to 25 hours per week but that's about my limit. Minimum wage or close to it is fine for me. I'd be very happy with a job paying around $180 to $200 a week. I have Medicare so don't need benefits from the employer. I've always enjoyed working with the public; enjoy helping others.

Since my income is so small (under $1,300 per month without working) some have suggested I ask some ministers about finding an inexpensive apartment and vehicle, as well as some suggestions on part-time jobs. Since you're the first minister I've run across here, maybe you could give me some direction. Of course, advice from anyone here is welcomed and appreciated.

I'm a male, 63 years of age, a conservative Christian and will be living alone. My primary needs are a place to rent, inexpensive transportation, a part-time job, a convenient place to buy foods (and other needs) and friendly folks. I'd also like to have cable or Satellite TV and an internet connection in my apartment.

Advice, anyone??? Thanks for reading; hope you can respond to my wish list!

I'm about an hour from Grand Island. I moved out here about 6 months ago from Omaha. I don't have a lot of connections, and honestly don't know a lot about Grand Island. I would be happy to help in any way I can. Feel free to send me a PM and we can get in touch.

Grand Island is a town of about 80k, I believe. They just recently got upgraded to a "metro area". They have a lot of different stores and businesses.

One thought would be that there are some Walmarts in Grand Island...they may need greeters. That might be up your alley. If you have any questions about the other small towns in the area, Hastings is a nice place. I live an hour south of that. If you get out of Hastings, the towns tend to be a bit more tough to find convenient shopping and work other than manual labor/manufacturing.

[RandySurles]

Originally Posted by todd00

Hey Randy, As I mentioned I think you might be able to get some direction by contacting some of the churches in the area. One person may be really helpful and have some ideas for you with regards to a short term place to stay and your other questions about long term employment and a permanent place to live. Do be careful with apartments you see on craigslist, as there are scammers asking for people to send them rent and they will get the keys to ya, always some lie about being out of town or something, then they dont even own the place. It has happened with rental houses, so just beware of that. Were you planning on staying in Grand Island or maybe renting a car and looking around for a day? Hastings is about 23 miles south of GI. Most of these churches have websites so I'm sure you can contact them that way, though this site that lists them didnt give me a direct link. I gave you links for those in GI and Hastings and one Methodist one I found while just checking if they had a website. So I would send them a brief letter and ask if they can be of any help regards to your questions. I would feel really nervous winging it like you are, without better plans ahead. Hope this helps you some. If you have any questions, I'll try and help ya, let me know.

Churches in Hastings by Denomination, NE Nebraska Church Directory.
Churches in Grand Island by Denomination, NE Nebraska Church Directory.

Faith United Methodist Church

Grand Island (NE) Hotels

Don't want to be sharing your hotel or apt with bed bugs, take a look at the offenders registry.
Bed Bug Registry - Check Apartments and Hotels Across North America

todd00 - Thank you for the info as well as the links. I haven't clicked on the links yet; wanted to say "Thanks" before I did anything else. You Nebraska folks are so helpful! Can't wait to arrive in April. I'll spend at least a week in Hastings. Thanks again...Randy

[koberaptor]

nebraska is a good place if you only live in omaha (and surrounding suburbs)
if you are a college student/college-aged then lincoln, omaha, kearney would be the only places worth considering

pretty cheap, high taxes (though no where near the highest), cold winters, hot summers. If you dont live in omaha or lincoln, there won't be much to do.

wouldn't recommend living in kearney unless you attend college there. Pretty boring town

lincoln's major problem is that they dont have an interstate that runs through the city. The city lacks attractions but has a great education system.

If you want to live a rural life, i recommend kearney or lincoln.

if you go northwest nebraska the geography is a little different. more hills, higher elevation, more interesting, stuff like that. (for example, chadron state park or scotts bluff compared to the typical nebraska landscape. So another rural city would be Chadron, NE or Scottsbluff/Gering, NE

[itsMeFred]

Grand Island is a town of about 80k, I believe.

Quick FYI: GI is a town of about 40K and the "metro area" includes Hastings and Kearney.

[Cornhusker]

I grew up in the Sandhills, and now live in the southern Panhandle, and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.
I'm not sure what someone from NY considers too small of a small town to live in or near, but out here, we have a lot of little towns less than 1,000 people within driving distance of some larger Wal-Mart infested towns.
Nebraska really is the good life

[IsThisOneTaken?]

Originally Posted by itsMeFred

Quick FYI: GI is a town of about 40K and the "metro area" includes Hastings and Kearney.

Actually, GI and Kearney are not counted in the Metropolitan status that GI just obtained.

Hall, Howard, Hamilton and Merrick County are counted, but not Buffalo and Adams.

Census survey: Hall County reaches 60K - The Grand Island Independent : Local News

Live in Grand Island area? Even on the Farm? You're now Metropol - KHGI-TV/KWNB-TV/KHGI-CD-Grand Island, Kearney, Hastings

[mb1547]

Originally Posted by koberaptor

nebraska is a good place if you only live in omaha (and surrounding suburbs)
if you are a college student/college-aged then lincoln, omaha, kearney would be the only places worth considering

pretty cheap, high taxes (though no where near the highest), cold winters, hot summers. If you dont live in omaha or lincoln, there won't be much to do.

wouldn't recommend living in kearney unless you attend college there. Pretty boring town

lincoln's major problem is that they dont have an interstate that runs through the city. The city lacks attractions but has a great education system.

If you want to live a rural life, i recommend kearney or lincoln.

if you go northwest nebraska the geography is a little different. more hills, higher elevation, more interesting, stuff like that. (for example, chadron state park or scotts bluff compared to the typical nebraska landscape. So another rural city would be Chadron, NE or Scottsbluff/Gering, NE

I live near a small community within commuting distance of Lincoln. I'm not sure what Lincoln "lacking attractions" means. We have a million things for kids to do, including a top rated children's museum and a wonderful children's zoo, youth theater, youth art programs, community sports programs, ymca sponsored sports and activities, on top of everything offered through the local school districts. For adults, we have the Haymarket, which is a restored area of bars, restaurants and boutique shopping. The Lied Center brings in Broadway shows, touring ballet and musical performances. We're in the middle of completing a new arena in the Haymarket, that will bring in major concerts and performers, as well as provide a venue for the University of Nebraska basketball program. The entire community revolves around Husker football in the fall, when home games bring in around 90,000 people--Memorial Stadium is the third biggest city in Nebraska on football Saturdays. We're a short drive from Omaha, but about the only reason I ever go there is to visit the Henry Doorley Zoo--one of the top rated zoos in the nation. If you can't find something to do in Lincoln, then I'm not sure what you expect.

[Gunluvver2]

It has been my experience that most people that complain of being bored lack any imagination and expect others to entertain them.

GL2

[itsMeFred]

Actually, GI and Kearney are not counted in the Metropolitan status that GI just obtained.

Well if you've watched the central Nebraska news for a few years, GI has long been called a metro area, and it includes Kearney and Hastings.
I thought maybe this is what Vizio was referring to after the confusion of thinking GI itself has a population of 80K.

[Candleshoe]

US Census Feb 28, 2013 update

Grand Island Metropolitan Area 83,462
Hall, Hamilton, Howard, Merrick counties

Kearney Micropolitan Area 52,591
Buffalo, Kearney counties

Hastings Micropolitan Area 31,364
Adams, Clay counties

Combined totals of the statistical areas for the Tri-Cities: 167,417