[Djsie]

Hi,

My husband and I are relocating to Omaha from Michigan. We are interested in an area called Ponca Hills. Can anyone tells us about this area, what it is like to live there, crime concerns etc. We like the area as it has trees and hills much like Michigan.

It has been heartbreaking for this Michigander to see so many communities being built in the Omaha area all on top of each other and very few trees being planted. So far it
seems that Ponca Hills is the best place for us. Here is a link that can be copied and pasted to a satellite view of Ponca Hills. We are looking at a house that looks towards the river. There is a big ball field (large green Patch to the north). We are wondering what the area of trees are south of the ball field that butt up to the River. We would hate to buy the house and find that the view of the trees would be cut down for factory or a suburb. If we knew who owned the land, if it is on the floodplain, protected wild life etc., Military owned, it would help our decision.

one conagra drive, omaha - Google Maps


Thanks a bunch!
Deborah

[Steve_W]

If it's the landscape and accessibility of the Metro you are most concerned with, really consider eastern Council Bluffs Area or Glenwood area. Those areas are on the Iowa side of the river and they offer great scenery, lower taxes and very good commute times. You would be located in the Loess Hills very thick with trees and wildlife. Ponca Hills is also a nice area but it's situated right next to the highest crime area in the state. Best of Luck!

[Djsie]

Thanks Steve. I have had a very hard time trying to get a read on this area. There are a couple of places with great views for sale but very expensive. We did drive to this area via the regular street route though bad areas of town and it was a concern. I was not sure if these nasty areas were far away enough away for an expensive investment. Trees and views are important but we want to make a sound investment. It is hard when you are from another state to get a read on some areas so thanks again for your feedback and suggestions.

DJ

[Steve_W]

You’re welcome. Also, I almost forgot to mention, look at Missouri Valley, IA and around Crescent Iowa. Lots of land in the hills with great views of Omaha's skyline. (Jim Hughes Real Estate for the Glenwood and Council Bluffs Area)

[al duvall54]

Ponca Hills is an excellent,crime free area.The seclusion it provides is second to none.Watch out for western Iowa,too many meth labs out in the country.

[CSERLET]

We have lived in Ponca Hills for 23 years. We love the area. We have six acres mostly all trees. We are on a dead end road so we really have no traffic. It's great. No close neighbors. Lots of wldlife, deer, turkey are most perdomonate. Ponca Hills has a problem with water. Alot of homes have wells and some can't hit water. Our well went dry and we have drilled several dry holes. Some homes do have city water, but they are closer to the main highway. We are not in the city limits, but we are in the city jurisdiction. Unfortunately we don't have any representation. Some roads are paved, some are not. You pay for a private trash pick-up. The county takes car of the roads, but it seems like in the last few years they have cut back on the amount of maintaience they do to them like regularlly rocking the roads that are not paved. So in turn the roads get very mushy like ours. Ponca Hills is about the only area left near Omaha that has lots of trees. There is a preservation society that tries restrict tree and earth removal so as not to damage the overall beauty of the area. There are lots of beautiful homes in all sorts of price ranges. There are also some not so nice and they are intermixed through out Ponca Hills. Taxes just were re-evalueated and went up extremely. Some of our neighbors more than doubled. We love where we live it is peaceful and beautiful when everything is in bloom. But city water would be wonderful. We haul our own water which is really cheap but really not conveinent at all. There has been some crime in the area. Mostly because some of the homes like ours are very secluded. Our home was broke into several years ago. So now we have guard lights, really big dog, security system, and a gated driveway. If your looking at homes near the river just be sure your up on a hill overlooking the river, not on the river bottoms. Ponca has it's own Volunteer Fire Department which does an excellent job. But some homes are built in areas where the trucks can't get to them which is bad. And some areas the pumper trucks have to haul water in because there are no hydrants. We have a hydrant a half of a mile from our home, but it's not close enough to pump from. So in turn our Homeoners insurance is much higher. We checked into running city water to our home and it would cost in excess of $128,000.00. Not an option we can afford. Also Ponca will probably never be annex because it would cost the city to much money to supply us with water, sewers, and natural gas, trash pick-up and paved roads. Even with all the draw backs of the area we will never move back to the city. Ponca is outside of the city, but close enough to anything you need. And is so peaceful. If I can help you anymore please feel free to ask.
Chris

[billiefan2000]

Ponca Hills is north of Florence

and north of McKinley Road


there is not much up there but 2 parks and several neighborhoods

and a couple of churches like St John’s Lutheran Church at 11120 Calhoun Road


BTW St. John's

which is right near the

Alpine Inn Restaurant at

10405 Calhoun Road


which is a great place to have lunch or dinner at




Ponca Hills Preservation Association website


Ponca Hills Preservation Association, Omaha, Nebraska - Home Page

[BeenThere1]

Originally Posted by Djsie

Thanks Steve. I have had a very hard time trying to get a read on this area.

Quite understandable....it's a very upscale area in the hills on the very nothern edge of town which has become more or less adjacent to the worst area in town(What is usually called "North O" or "North 30th".

Spend some time there before buying. You may love or, or you may think that you just moved into hell. The think about Ponca hills is that it's all residential & you either have to venture into "the hood" or hop on the interstate to do your shopping.

Hummel Park is also part of\adjacent to Ponca Hills, and it has a rather rough reputation-most likely not the place that you'd like the hang out at, especially if the sun is going down. I could swear that the place is North O's unofficial body dump for murderers.

[wavetek]

Originally Posted by Djsie

Hi,

My husband and I are relocating to Omaha from Michigan. We are interested in an area called Ponca Hills. Can anyone tells us about this area, what it is like to live there, crime concerns etc. We like the area as it has trees and hills much like Michigan.

It has been heartbreaking for this Michigander to see so many communities being built in the Omaha area all on top of each other and very few trees being planted. So far it
seems that Ponca Hills is the best place for us. Here is a link that can be copied and pasted to a satellite view of Ponca Hills. We are looking at a house that looks towards the river. There is a big ball field (large green Patch to the north). We are wondering what the area of trees are south of the ball field that butt up to the River. We would hate to buy the house and find that the view of the trees would be cut down for factory or a suburb. If we knew who owned the land, if it is on the floodplain, protected wild life etc., Military owned, it would help our decision.

[URL="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=one+c onagra+drive,+omaha&sll=41.801457,-88.150913&sspn=0.007214,0.014462&ie=UTF8&ll=41.354 404,-95.96224&spn=0.001816,0.003616&t=k&z=18&om=1"]one conagra drive, omaha - Google Maps[/URL]


Thanks a bunch!
Deborah

I hope this helps propabaly to late but I grew up in Ponca Hills and now live in Akron, OH. Ponca Hills does remind me of Ohio. It looks like your pitcure is outside of Ponca Hills. Ponca Hills is nothing but trees and Hills. Omahas best kept secret. Its not a town either with no crime rate, if their is its at 1-2 %.

[nephthys]

It's not THAT close to crime, plus it's right near the freeway so you don't even need to step foot in North Omaha.