Gordon, Nebraska (Scottsbluff, O'Neill, Cody: appointed, theatre, income)

[jscottyray]

Does anyone have any information about Gordon, Nebraska??

Thank You

[Sandhills Guru]

Not sure what all you want to know. Its been a while since I have been through there. I do know its a nice community, somewhat isolated you might say and others would say it isn't. Beautiful area of the state that is for sure.

Here is thier city site. Welcome to Gordon, Nebraska!

[billiefan2000]

Radio-Locator: Radio Stations you can hear in Gordon, Nebraska.

[jscottyray]

Thanks so much for reply on Gordon!! Wife and I are considering that as a retirement area when we leave Alaska in 3.5 yrs.
Here's a real stupid question!!!
What is snake population like in Sandhills area of Nebraska?
I have a friend in Scottsbluff who says there are an abundance of snakes down there.

I appreciate any information.

Thanks Much!

[Sandhills Guru]

Sent you a pm. Or should say I replied to yours.

[jscottyray]

Hey Thanks for all of your info. I assume when you say have you have friends out that way; you were referring to Scottsbluff area and what I had mentione that my friend had said?? Or were you referring to Gordon area and a snake issue? Sorry, but I can be a little dense at times.

You are exactly right in saying things get blown out of proportion at times.
We will definitel be looking in town, so it shouln't be a problem for us.

We hope to visit Gordon area next summer and will pron go to O'Neill as well (we have friends there). Have thought about settling in O'Neill as well, but like like remoteness of out west a little more.

Thanks,

Scotty

[cookiedough]

The biggest reason I would NOT retire here is health care. If you want fairly easy access to any kind of specialist, or an after hours urgent care, this is NOT the place. There are only a few specialists, such as a podiatrist, in the area. Other than that you will have to drive to Rapid City or Scottsbluff (2-1/2 hours to either one) or worse, to Fort Collins or Denver. That is not what I as a retiree would want . . . a five hour roundtrip in who knows what kind of weather to go to the cardiologist.

If you are used to city shopping and restaurants, you will be very disappointed here. If you are somewhat used to what very small towns have to offer, you may not mind, but you won't find a nice restaurant or a variety of shopping here. Not even a Walmart (there is a smallish one an hour away).

The other thing about retiring here, if you have no connections to the area, is you may have a hard time "fitting in." We moved here two years ago, and unless you have grown up here, you won't have much of a social life. I don't think people purposely exclude you, it's just that they have their own social circles and don't really seem to worry much about the "outsiders."

There is a movie theatre that shows 2 first run movies, a bowling alley, and a few restaurants and shops. The community really supports everything the kids do, from athletic events to dance recitals to Prom.

Winters are cold!! You won't want to spend much time outside November - March. Blizzards, ice, and subzero temps.

I know there are rattlers out on the ranches, but I haven't seen any when I've been walking or biking around town.

[itsMeFred]

We lived on ranches all over the Sandhills, including south of Gordon. I never saw a rattlesnake. Yet in areas on the edges of the Sandhills, I've seen a number.

I also have extensive experience with the hospital at Gordon. lol My husband had blood poisoning once. And they fixed him up with no trouble. He also had his appendix out there. Again, trouble free (except that they tried to charge us for a rupture when it hadn't. Thank heavens for a small hospital, it was an easily remedied mistake).
And a few years later, I had a lodged kidney stone. They doped me up with Demerol and put me on the Life Flight to Rapid.
So, that's my experience. Routine care they handle perfectly well but they also know their limits and will stabilize you and fly you out to Rapid or the Bluffs if needed.

because of its proximity to the reservation, there can be issues you don't always see in other towns Gordon's size. But, at the same time, I wouldn't let it worry me, either.
Truth be told, I really enjoyed Gordon. I wouldn't hesitate to move back were the opportunity to arise.

So far as fitting in, that's going to be something that exists in a small town, no matter where you go. You have to make a very active effort to get involved. And even then, it'll take time. Rural out-migration makes locals more than a bit leery to get close to the new people, because chances are pretty high they won't stay long...

~Erin

[SCGranny]

I have seen several snakes since moving here to Cody in the Sandhills last year. A bull snake in a ditch outside of town, a rattler (abt two feet long) that a delivery guy pulled up in his vehicle and showed off, that he'd killed not far away on the road, and two days ago a 6-foot king snake that was half-in, half-out, of my water trough getting a drink.

I've heard stories about rattlesnake dens on ranches that are close to the river, where the families go out every spring and try to slaughter them all. They never seem to be able to. There are a lot of 'snake stories' here. But my property is pretty high and dry, with no water access other than underground and here on the edge of town. We keep things clipped and clean around the house; the water trough sits under the fence from the corral into the pasture and draws all sorts of critters from the pasture; deer, raccoons, birds, turkeys, etc, so a snake is not surprising. Having lived in SC, where all but two of the poisonous snakes in North America live, there is a dearth of snakes here, in my opinion! I used to turn up stepping stones and find copperhead nests, water moccasins were in all of the waterways and would hang out in the trees and drop into your boat, and I had slain more than one rattler in my own yard there. My cats used to bring me baby rattlers and copperheads when they were finished playing wiith them. So here - hmm, not so scary. At least rattlers warn you.

As for health care, they are very fast and efficient as well as proficient, and very inexpensive by comparison to the South or Northeast. They also treat you like a patient, not an income or a bother, which is really nice. While the ambulance might take awhile to get to you, there are EMTs all over the Sandhills who will come in their cars to stabilize you until the ambulance comes.

I don't understand about the 'not fitting in' - to me that is totally subjective. Yesterday was our town festival, and I not only announced the parade but worked hard with volunteers that I was asked to recruit to put on the barbeque. I have helped out with the HS drama club and get involved in fascinating conversations with folks from all walks of life. The thing is that we didn't move here to be social or to make friends, assuming it would just be one big retirement community - we came here and respected that most people have their own jobs and lives, and like us want to be left alone to enjoy them. But when we need each other we can depend on each other, and that is wonderful.

So when you move, give a holler! Gordon isn't that far!

[omahajosh618]

Here's a link to the city's website:

Welcome to Gordon, Nebraska!