[Wishingforsun]

We have been looking at numerous cities including Southern California, Florida (Tampa Bay Area, Destin & Orlando), Georgia (northern suburbs of Atlanta) and southern Alabama.

Does anyone have any input in regards to other cities that might be similar to Omaha, but that are in a warmer climate?

I love Omaha but just can't do the cold weather anymore!!

Safety is #1.
Schools #2.

Thanks for any input!!!

[ALStafford]

Former Nebraskan, have lived several different places. I could offer a few ideas, but need more information. You say safety and schools are numbers one and two, but what are you planning on doing for employment? All the sunshine in the world won't put a roof over your head or food in your mouth. If number one really is safety, you'll need to give us an idea what type of work your family would be looking for, because a job is essential for safety.


Do you have a budget for housing? Or does that depend on finding a job? Is there a ceiling for housing costs? That will be a determining factor; if your budget is fairly low, it will rule out some locations.


What sort of activities is your family interested in? You mention schools, so I am guessing you have children; are they involved in any activities? Music? Theater? Sports? What recreational/fun activities do you want for your family? Hiking and camping? Museums and restaurants? Many activities for young children and parent groups to become involved in?


Give a bit more than just "warm" and you'll get better responses; if you're new to City-Data, you'll find that you can get really amazing information but you have to give pretty clear information as to what your needs are to get good responses. Again, I'd be happy to help, but need to know a bit more of your needs, first.

[Wishingforsun]

Thanks for your reply! My husband works from home, so commute, travel time isn't a factor. Our housing budget is 1.5m (max).

We have children in school, so great schools are super important, whether that be public or private. They are also in sports so that is important as well. (Club or school).

We would like to be close to restaurants, Starbucks, shopping, etc. We are not big into museums, recreational etc. We are kind of homebodies. ��

Any help would be great. We do like green, versus desert so we haven't given Arizona any thought.

Thanks!!!

[Garthur]

I've done extensive traveling for business and for personal reasons. All 50 states have been visited. I don't live in Omaha, I live in Eastern Nebraska, but I was raised in Omaha. Every place I visited, I looked at it as a possible retirement location. After 40 years of this, I retired and decided that there was no place comparable to Nebraska. I'm retired here.

Ask any police officer and they will tell you that crime is prevalent in warmer months and climates. The cold keeps crime low.


What most don't know is that the only area the comparable to Omaha but yet has a warmer climate is Rapid City SD. Yes they are warmer then here.


Nebraska isn't for everyone, (I heard that somewhere).

[ALStafford]

Thanks for the reply! I would look closely at t he Triangle area of North Carolina, and the Charlotte area as well. Of the two, I prefer Triangle; specifically I really like Chapel Hill/Carrboro. Excellent schools, close to major universities (and the public schools reflective of having a strong university presence), close to a good airport. About 3 hours to either the ocean or the mountains. Strong youth sports, especially soccer, and I know families who had kids swim competitively in club.

The Triangle City-Data forum is REALLY active (I think they may well be one of the most active locality ones), and many of the regulars have been on the forum a long time; they are SUPER helpful. But they will want specifics, so if you'd like some help learning about that area, be sure to note what you did here for me regarding price point, sports (may even help if you note which sports you're interested in), and some info about you and your spouse, and what you look for in personal and family recreation.


I lived in the Triangle for 10 years, moved there from Lincoln, NE. Loved my time living there, and I'd recommend checking it out. Good luck in your search!

[Wishingforsun]

Do you know of any places that are a little warmer than NC? But similar to Omaha.

[BamaDave]

If you like the more open views of the Plains, then maybe you should check out the Dallas-Fort Worth area? The Dallas suburbs are often on lists of the best places to raise a family. Excellent schools, reasonable housing costs, etc. If you're looking for a lot of green...woodsy look and maybe some hills... then I think the suggestions of Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte are great. The Atlanta suburbs are also really nice, or actually with your budget you could purchase an amazing place in a stunning neighborhood in the city of Atlanta itself. If you want warmer than NC, but smaller than Atlanta or DFW, then Birmingham might be a place to consider (suburbs - Homewood, Mountain Brook, Vestavia Hills, and Hoover).

If you're trying to completely escape winter and live in the greener Southeast, then you're probably going to have to look at Florida.

[Giesela]

Santa Fe?

[springfieldcollegealum]

Santa Fe is small in comparison to Omaha and is nothing like Omaha. Plus it's colder than they are looking for in a new home. My vote is on the Tampa area with my 2nd suggestion being Winter Park, FL which is very close to Orlando.

[springfieldcollegealum]

My 1st vote would be for Tampa, FL and the 2nd for Winter Park, FL which is virtually a suburb of Orlando.