North Platte is not a good place to move to (Omaha: real estate, rental homes)

[JSLongwood]

This post is for people coming from out of state and considering moving to North Platte

I lived there for a few months with my wife. We are originally from the North East and moved to Texas for family reasons and job opportunities for us. Texas was fun and had a lot to offer, but the job market is different for different people. We were offered a job with the railroad, but the job was in North Platte Ne. So we had to move.

We spent a few days checking out the town before moving. It is the county seat and honestly the biggest place in central/west Nebraska. We figured it had a bunch of places to eat, a few unique things to see and lots of open space, as well as a pretty big population for the area. Being from the Northeast we were looking for a relatively quiet place, with friendly people and a laid back atmosphere.

So we moved there figuring we had a good lay of the land. We were wrong.

So some of the good. It is a clean town. There are some friendly people. There seem to be a lot of police. There are town officers, sherrif department officers ( due to county seat ) and a state police barraks which is there mostly because of rt80 which passes right past town. There is some nice scenery and we have seen some great sunsets. A few cool little places to see like the Golden Spike Tower ( if you like the railroad or just curious it is nice to see and go up and see the view ), there is Buffalo Bill's ranch on display ( the same Bill from the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show that was so famous ). THere is the Platte river that passes on the north and south sides of town. There is a very small, but historical airport that was I beleive one of the first to have a lit runway and they even had air force one land there years ago for a special visit. They a few nice places to eat, like a sushi restaurant in downtown in a area called "the bricks" The bricks is a quaint part of town with bricks used as the roadway. There is a good Mexican restaurant in tht area too. The small airport has a nice place to eat that is diner style food with homemade pie. You can even see the occasional small plane land. There is an old playouse. There is a new bowling alley, with an eating area that is decent. The area does offer a lot of nice craft beers. There is a decent outdoor member only bow range. It has a fairly new movie theatre.

Now for the bad. Most of the town is old. Being from the North East there is old, but quaint. The old in North Platte reminds people of homes built in the 60's and 70's and just left as is. The homes are very dated and plain and just ugly. There are a few newer sections of town ( very few ) that do have very nice homes. They are mostly on the outskirts of town. But there is block after block of old, small, ugly homes. The prices of new homes in town is rediculous for that part of the country. But it's because the town restricts building new places and the real estate agencies ( the 3 in town ) have a lock on the market. A lot of agents have purchased the property and keep it is rental homes. We looked at a lot of places before we rented and most of them were way overpriced and the inside of 90% of them were old and dated and on the verge of disgusting. There is nothing to do. Unless you like to hang out in a crappy bar every weekend, there is really nothing to do. You can see a play or bowl and that's it. Besides the few quaint places to eat mentioned above, there are your typical fast food places ( an old Mcdonalds that is pretty filthy and an ice cream place that conveniently is always out of chocolate ice cream ). There is a crowded Applebees that is really the smallest one I have ever been in. The Downtown area is full of empty stores and buildings. It's a shame too because you could see the area known as " the bricks" if it were promoted and allowed to develop being a cool place to hang out and have little cafes and shopping. But's it's empty and depressing and dismal. You hear the trains in the railyard everywhere in town. They blow their horns, the bang together and you hear it and it never ends. The people that grew up in town are a very closed group and not friendly to outsiders. They will say hello to your face, but talk about you behind your back. They look at everyone else as outsiders. They are snobby and unwelcoming and closed. Not everyone mind you because we did meet some great and friendly folks, but they were really few and far between. If you go to the doctor, soon everyone in town will know what you were there for. The town is isolated. You feel like you are on an island. The next big town is 90+ miles east ( Kearny ) and it is just a bigger version of North Platte. People in North Platte brag they are close to everything. Just drive 5 hours west and you are in Denver and 5 hours east and you are in Omaha. Who wants to drive 5 hours just to see normal things and normal people. North Platte has a mall and it has about 6 stores. It is clean, but its tiny and expensive. In fact most things in town are pretty expensive due to the fact that you are stuck there. There is so much land around the outside of town to look at and you cannot go on any of it. It is all farm land as far as you can see and it is all private. The parks are small and bland and most of them require you to buy a state pass to go there or get ticketed. The lakes are dirty. Rt80 has a bunch of "highway lakes". They are all square and dirty and just a lake because at some point they needed dirt to create an overpass. So they dig a giant square hole and it fills up with water and it is called a lake. The grass is always a brownish green unless you water is half the day every day. The soil is sand. There is more crime than anyone likes to admit. There is a very big drug problem in town, despite all the police. There is a lot of petty theft. There are also bums who ride the freight trains often get off in town and are seen wandering around. Registering a vehicle was rediculously expensive. It is based on newness and value, so even an average new car will put a big dent in your wallet. You see a load of old junk boxes driving around. One last thing. No sports. Either you love college sports and the Cornhuskers or you try to watch a team from another state.

I would describe the town as if you combined the 2 movies Nepoleon Dynamite and Talladega Nights. The town is a bubble that is isolated from the rest of the coutry and people there never leave and don't realize how far off from the rest of the coutry they really are. But they are content in their ignorance. I imagine there are a lot of towns in the middle of the coutry the same way. Not to insult them. I have not lived in any, but I did live North Platte and it is not for outsiders. We hated it and the other "outsiders" in town we met hated it too. If you are from an actual City or either one of the coasts, you will not like life in North Platte. Save yourself a lot of headache and stay away.

[Omahahonors]

Feel better?

[JSLongwood]

Actually I do. Thank you. We felt like we got ripped off and beleive me it was expensive to live there and expensive to get out of there. I wish someone told me these things when I considering moving there. Your forum name is Omahahonors. I did talk to people from Omaha that wound up in North Platte and felt the same as I did. Omaha was a nice place from what I experienced.

[Omahahonors]

Originally Posted by JSLongwood

Actually I do. Thank you. We felt like we got ripped off and beleive me it was expensive to live there and expensive to get out of there. I wish someone told me these things when I considering moving there. Your forum name is Omahahonors. I did talk to people from Omaha that wound up in North Platte and felt the same as I did. Omaha was a nice place from what I experienced.

Thank you.

Im sorry that North Platte wasn't what you were led to believe. Id be dissapointed if I were to have been misled. I know of people who love the town, but they liked that kind of aura and weren't told something that wasnt the case.

Hopefully our friends here can give you some tips as to how you may be able to better your experiences until another option opens opens up.

If you're working for the railroad, maybe a transfer to Omaha is in the cards as the city is home to the headquarters of Union Pacific.

Good luck!

[Gunluvver2]

This is a problem in many communities where a large percentage of the jobs are from one or two employers. Packinghouse (Lexington etc.) North Platte (Railroad).

[Aredhel]

It doesn't sound to me like the problem was with North Platte at all. It sounds to me like the problem is that you moved into a rural area without having any real idea of what living in a genuinely rural area is like. Stick to larger cities or to smaller towns within a 1-2 hour drive of such a city from now on, and you'll be a lot happier.

[T. Damon]

North Platte was the "Big City" that we used to go to maybe once during summers spent working on the family farm. I remember a Mall, a bit of traffic but not much else. Of course we were coming from Brady (actually, a few miles outside of Brady), and for those few that for some odd reason even know of Brady you'll know why we thought of North Platte as a city. It was even way bigger than Gothenburg haha!

As far as locals friendly to your face and cliquish and insular otherwise that's just the Midwest- especially from rural small towns and cities- which of course is exactly what North Platte is. If you don't grow up, go to school and church around those people it's hard to break in as an outsider. They'll be friendly and generally kind but don't expect to be invited to a social event at their home or a local park- they already have all the people they need to know.

Sorry if I offend those locals but it is true- coming from a family from the Midwest.

[Ghengis]

I like the trains

[GraniteStater]

^
I used to remember when I was growing up my grandparents would get a Union Pacific wall calendar that had the best train pictures.

[RYNO71]

Lot's of nice lakes out that way beside the interstate sand pits. You should head west about 45 minutes to Lake McConaughy, white sand beaches and great fishing...