[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by Omahahonors

You are not alone.. Omaha's largest migration gains are consistently from California. The city experiences an average of a positive (moving in versus moving) in-migration of 400-700 from your state annually.

I've heard some California transplants comment on this and say that Omaha should be adopted by California, jokingly of course.

What are the numbers of Californians moving to Johnson County, KS by chance? I would wager it's even higher.

[Omahahonors]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

What are the numbers of Californians moving to Johnson County, KS by chance? I would wager it's even higher.

Maybe, but Omaha has a higher growth rate than the KC metro over the last decade.

[kathygrl]

Moved back to California just about 2 years ago after living in Omaha for 23 years (kids are here and I've always missed the ocean and weather)....and I am a licensed Realtor in both Ca. and Ne.. Omaha definitely has a very friendly vibe to it, neighbors will wave and actually say "hello", large yards are actually the norm, great dining scene with hip urban places and pretty much any cuisine you want, grocery shopping=Traders Joes, Whole Foods, Hy-Vee, Super Target (with meat counters, deli, bakery), shopping=Von Maur, Dillards, Younkers, Pottery Barn,Nebraska Furniture Mart (Warren Buffett), Borsheim's (again, Warren Buffett), Sephora and a whole slew of others. Housing and rental prices both are relatively low, especially in comparison to California. Weather is beautiful in the spring and fall, not so much in the hot, humid summers and bitter cold, icy winters....though you might enjoy actually having "seasons" after being in SoCal, at least for a while. If you are a golfer there are many challenging courses around...try Applewood Golf Course and the low green fees will amaze you. Tennis, there a 2 great indoor tennis facilities and a newer 16 court outdoor public facility. Biking, quite a few bike trails have recently been put in and they are planning on expanding more and more in the near future. Best of luck to you in your move and new "adventure", it's always exciting to start another phase in your life!!!

[Jet915]

Just to chime in, I moved to Omaha from So Cal a few years ago for school (Creighton) and loved it. From what everyone else said, people are nicer, it's more laid back, no traffic, cheaper cost of living and I didn't mind having four seasons. The taxes are cheaper as well and people aren't as rude as they are in Cali. Unless you are a person who needs to live in a very large metropolitan city, you should like Omaha.

[Socal2Omaha]

I keep reading about higher taxes in Omaha. Im assuming that the the taxes here in California are still higher, right?

[smithy77]

Property taxes may be higher, but if you're a renter the overall tax burden is probably lower. BTW, you can rent a 'nice' apartment for around $700, luxury digs for $1,000.

[Omahahonors]

Nebraska's State and Local Tax Burden At National Average
Nebraska's state and local tax burden percentage is estimated at 9.8% of income on par with the national average. Overall, Nebraska's tax burden has decreased one percentage point from 10.8% (14th nationally) in 1977, to 9.8% (15th nationally) Currently Nebraskans pay $3,960 per capita in state and local taxes.

The Tax Foundation - Tax Research Areas > Nebraska

California's State and Local Tax Burden Above National Average
California's 2009 state and local tax burden of 11.8% of income is above the national average of 9.8%. California's tax burden has decreased overall from 11.8% (5th nationally) in 1977 to 10.6% (6th nationally) in 2009. Californians pay $4,910 per capita in state and local taxes.

The Tax Foundation - Tax Research Areas > California

State and Local Property Tax Collections Per Capita by State in 2008
]State, collected and rank
California $1,449 14
Nebraska $1,399 16
This essentially means that Californians pay more dollar for dollar in property taxes than citizens of Nebraska. Now, home prices in California are considerably higher which would mean the tax percentage in California would have to be lower. The link below reveals that Nebraskans pay $16.69 per $100,000 assessed versus California's $4.77 per $100,000 assessed. You would pay slightly more taxes in hard dollars in California if you were to use these rates against the same homes in the two states. Nebraska needs a higher tax rate in order to make up for the underwhelming average cost of property here
Average cost in california: $477,700
Average cost in nebraska: $113,200

Dollars per 100,000 rates: http://www.nahb.org/fileUpload_detai...ntentID=105281

taxes collected per capita per house: http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/251.html

[Socal2Omaha]

Smithy, I pay $1300 for a standard one bedroom apartment in a decent neighborhood. $700 doesnt get you much here in Socal.

OH, thanks for the figures. Do you have any info on the property taxes?

[Socal2Omaha]

Originally Posted by kathygrl

Moved back to California just about 2 years ago after living in Omaha for 23 years (kids are here and I've always missed the ocean and weather)....and I am a licensed Realtor in both Ca. and Ne.. Omaha definitely has a very friendly vibe to it, neighbors will wave and actually say "hello", large yards are actually the norm, great dining scene with hip urban places and pretty much any cuisine you want, grocery shopping=Traders Joes, Whole Foods, Hy-Vee, Super Target (with meat counters, deli, bakery), shopping=Von Maur, Dillards, Younkers, Pottery Barn,Nebraska Furniture Mart (Warren Buffett), Borsheim's (again, Warren Buffett), Sephora and a whole slew of others. Housing and rental prices both are relatively low, especially in comparison to California. Weather is beautiful in the spring and fall, not so much in the hot, humid summers and bitter cold, icy winters....though you might enjoy actually having "seasons" after being in SoCal, at least for a while. If you are a golfer there are many challenging courses around...try Applewood Golf Course and the low green fees will amaze you. Tennis, there a 2 great indoor tennis facilities and a newer 16 court outdoor public facility. Biking, quite a few bike trails have recently been put in and they are planning on expanding more and more in the near future. Best of luck to you in your move and new "adventure", it's always exciting to start another phase in your life!!!

Thanks, kathygrl. I am also planning to get my RE license once I get settled in. I did some RE business here in Socal and plan to do some in Omaha.

[Omahahonors]

I updated the last post to include property tax rates and how that amounts to per capita dollars per owner between the two states.