Would nebraskans accept a CA transplant? (Omaha, Lincoln: motel, house, schools)

[Hawkeye48]

Originally Posted by future texan

we are native Californians, and were considering texas as a move, but with the high taxes and other issues, we have been considering NE as a future home...but I have heard that the natives will be hostile towards us...is this true?

I've lived Nebraska and California off and on forever. People fit in here rather easily, but just take a trip out here and spend a few days checking it out just to make sure you like it.

Nebraska is a lot colder in the winter, a lot more humid in the summer. It's much more hot and miserable here in the summer when it's 95 than when it's 110 in Sacramento. The life style is entirely different out here, thunderstorms in the summer, snowstorms in the winter, fanatical college football fans, much, much cheaper houses, lower wages, high property taxes, no smog tests for your vehicles, and lots of hills. It's not something newcomers expect to see, but Omaha does have a lot of hills. You really need to come out and see it before you make a huge decision like moving here. Some people love it, others hate it.

Many people who work in Omaha live across the river in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Much cheaper taxes, and homes are somewhat cheaper as well.

[future texan]

oh and I loved your description of a crime victim!!!!

[future texan]

thanks hawk! was in omaha in 96, but will have to take another good look now...we will take our time finding a place to live, and will probably rent first...the dallas area still beckons, but the talk of terrible summer heat is a turn off...they say it does not cool off at night...how about in NE?? does night cool off a bit during summer??

[Hawkeye48]

Also things are much more conservative out here in Nebraska. Even the more liberal areas are more conservative than what you see in California. If you log on to Omaha.com you can read the Omaha World Herald on-line. That will give you a very good idea of what it's like here.

[Hawkeye48]

Originally Posted by future texan

thanks hawk! was in omaha in 96, but will have to take another good look now...we will take our time finding a place to live, and will probably rent first...the dallas area still beckons, but the talk of terrible summer heat is a turn off...they say it does not cool off at night...how about in NE?? does night cool off a bit during summer??

Yes, it cools off nicely here. And the summer is really only bad for a few weeks, but the weather is very unpredictable. It can turn on a dime regardless of the time of the year.

What part of California are you coming from? Do you currently own your own home? Real estate prices are so much cheaper here. I have a buddy that moved out here from Sacramento last year. He owned a 300 thousand dollar home in the Sacramento area and had about 150K in equity. He came out here, bought a bigger house and paid cash for it with no mortgage. Now his wife doesn't have to work, she stays home and takes care of the kids.

[future texan]

we are north of los angeles, and our home is paid for...my husband is retiring, so am planning on paying cash for what we get....will have to come back and take a good look at omaha and surrounding towns...our goal is to live somewhere that has severe weather, but has natural gas, sewer systems (we now live in a rural area that has, horrors, septic tanks!) plus has all the ammenities, such as good hospitals, chain grocery stores (I know this sounds funny, but we have to drive 20 miles round trip, to a mom and pop store, that can be poorly stocked at times...and 90 miles round trip to a major chain market) so to be able to have grocery stores, drug stores, a mall, and yes, even home mail delivery (ours goes to the post office only)... is our idea of living!!! but it must be in a fairly safe area as well....

[ehenningsen]

alot of areas are more conservative, the state of Iowa which Omaha borders is about 50/50, Nebraska is about 60/40 conservative while Omaha is 60/40 Liberal (Fahey is a democrat).. There are alot of misconceptions on our tax rates here in Nebraska, yes the tax rates are higher than most places, however the taxes paid per capita ranks Nebraska #24 in the nation, which is probably higher than California... Also the average citizen in Omaha averaged over $3,000 higher in per capita income than the average citizen, and Omaha ranked #12 in the NATION for lowest cost of living, if you factor everything in the disposable income in Omaha most of the time ranks in the top 10 out of the 360 metros in the US sometimes below that a bit in the top 15, but is consistantly WAY up there...

Think of it this way, the property tax rate ranks Nebraska at #15 in 2006 in the nation, while most will think that is high, which it is, the actual amount paid is very low due to the housing costing about 1/5 to 1/6 of that on the west and east coasts.. I would gladly pay $170,000 for a 4 bedroom 2 1/2 bath with a larger lawn 1800 Sq feet of space and pay the extra $2,000-$3,000 a year in taxes to pay for the EXTREMELY high education attainment rates in this state, along with quality roads (you will here alot of people here complain, but they don't know how good they have it :-)), with low crime higher than average wages and way below average cost of living... The average Omahan spens 12% of their income on their mortgage for a larger home and yard than the average rest of the nation at near 30%, and the coasts that range between 45-58% (depending on location)

He is right that the weather is colder in the winter and hotter in the summer, however it is not as bad as most make it, we break 90 degrees an average of 10-15 days a year, and the real cold weather for up to 1 1/2 months to 2 months a year (depending on your tolerance)... It's all relative, and here is my explanation for some of the extremes people talk about on here.

[mattpoulsen]

I ran across a CNN rankings for "best big cities to live". Of the 360 metro areas that were under consideration Omaha came in at #7 and Lincoln came in at #60. Here is the link:

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2006/

Omaha is ranked in the "best big cities category".

[MattDen]

If you like being in a more rural area but very close to retail and amenities
what about Ashland, Valley, Springfield, Valley or Fremont they are all with-in a half hour of Omaha and dense retail yet have a small town feel.

[future texan]

will check those out, thanks!...what about norfolk?? how far is it from omaha?? also, is any part of omaha in a flood plane??