NE - Cornhuskers, Where Are You?

[WileyCoyote]

We moved to NE this past May, and we are loving it! Our whole county - the biggest one in the US! - has only 6000 people. *Our little town has 177 people. The next biggest town - 40 miles away - has 2500. There are little towns scattered all over - few with a population of more than 50.

NE isn't al flat corn country either - we live in an area known as the Sandhills, with deep river bluffs and swooping hills. The water in the aquifer is fed by mountain snowpack, runs through miles of sand underground, and is the purest anywhere. In the 1800's no one whould come through this area, because it was 'known' to be arid and not able to support life. Lo and behold, a cattle herd got lost in the Sandhills one winter, and come spring they were found to be even fatter and have more calves than the 'kept' herds. So now the Sandhills has ranches - thousands of acres - and lots of good, decent, down-to-earth, common-sense country people.

If you are a Cornhusker, or just would like to be one, sing out!

[Jamie]

Wile E, That sounds plum beautiful! We are searching for a place to call home. NE was one on our list. I would love to know more about your area.

Jamie

[WileyCoyote]

I haveta tell ya, Jamie, we looked for two years to find our perfect place. Wanted initially to move to ID or UT to be near my brother - but the land prices were ridiculous. The Californians have run the prices up so high as to be 'resort areas' - even in NON-resort areas! We looked in CO, same problem - plus not conducive any more to independent lifestyles, they are WAY too liberal for us any more. We looked in MN - not a lot of smaller properties that had any amenities we wanted. We had narrowed it down to MO (no hills or mountains - snif) ND (they are experiencing an oil boom and rarely sell all rights with the property; which means that someone can come plow up your pasture looking for oil by permission of the previous owner) SD (couldn't find any reasonable property of the right size). So we expanded our search to NE, and we really liked what we found here. We are in the Sandhills, which means we have lots of hills and valleys. The population really doesn't give a DA** what the rest of the country does - they are all about what THEY do. The eastern half (flatland) is mainly corn and crops, the western half is mainly grass-fed angus beef on huge ranches. The kids all wear belts on their pants, because they can't ride horses or herd cattle with protruding body piercings and gangsta wear. Every day I wake up and expect m world to be in black-and-white - it is sooo like Beaver Cleaver's world, with everyone taking responsibility for their own actions, and everyone warm and friendly but minding their own business.

We found a 100-year-old farmhouse with 60 acres, two barns, a shop, and a garage. We spent the past summer painting and reparing it. The locals love what we have done with it (it was kinda let go by previous owners). We can run chickens, cows, anything we want. We can have a garden as big as we want. We can compost and do what we please. There are no ordinances. There is no invasive gubbermint supremacy thing. There is one deputy that lives here but he has 200 sq miles to cover all by himself. There is no crime, everyone carries - the school has a trap-shooting team. We have antelopes, deer, skunks, coyotes, turkey, and pheasant that wander around like they own the place. We have Canadian geese that live here for the winter (they spend their time between two local lakes, back and forth). We have trout and bass in the rivers - my boss has a 22-pounder on his wall. Folks here ice fish as well as fish in the summer. They - adults and children - play cribbage, poker, darts, and pool at the local (and only) restaurant and bar. We dine on grassfed beef; in the summer they barbq whole ones over pits. Folks here work hard - 16 hour days! - and play hard. Danged decent and helpful.

But don't tell anyone. I don't want those city people coming here and trying to "make it better". They've already ruined ID, UT, WY, and CO. We live 150 miles from an interstate or a Wal Mart, and that is JUST how we like it!

[Jamie]

Wow! What a description! Thanks Wiley! Our biggest issue at this point is a job. We would love to homestead but for us we have to continue working for a few more years to get some money saved and a little debt paid off. We are looking in the Omaha area. I am hoping things there are not expensive and it is conservative, etc.

Do you happen to know much about that area?

Thanks for your insights!
Jamie

[WileyCoyote]

Jaime, Omaha - from what my online friends tell me - is hiring, not laying off. The jobs do not pay as much as they do on the East or Left Coast, but the cost of living is far lower. And I do mean FAR. Food is cheap and readily available - this is, after all, where it is grown. Hunting laws are not restrictive, and neither are the laws about what you can grow or raise or build.

The only problems I have with Omaha is that they are very liberal in their political attitudes there - and that area is, well, flat. A city of 800,000 is busy and bustling and has too many people in it for me! But the people for the most part are very nice and very down to earth. They had an influx of illegals that worked the slaughterhouses and feedlots there but now that many of them are closed, Omaha is starting to develop a drug problem and a slum in some areas - but nothing like cities of comparable size east of the Mississippi. My friends tell me that meth is a problem there. But it CAN be avoided.

[Jamie]

Interesting... about the illegals. I think its a growing problem period. Same with Meth... after all it IS the illegals bringing most of it here among other things...

I have heard that it is pretty inexpensive there too, Flat is ok... as long as I have some trees on my property I suppose I'd be ok. I forget its mostly prairie land.

I guess you have to give up something, it might as well be hills, trees and the ocean. The liberal element would bother me too, but I do know of some good conservative circles that we would connect with through our church.

We would need to live out. I couldn't do city life. One thing we are considering while saving is to live in our bus. We have a bus conversion and we thought of living in it to either save money until we could afford to buy outright or find someone with land and buy on a land contract and then live in the bus while we build a straw bale house.

Either way it would be interesting with 7 of our children with us. Our oldest ( number 8) is serving this great country in the USAF.

Thanks for your help very much!! We really appreciate your time.

[BAM]

count me in for the HUSKER state!

Jamie, I live in the Omaha area (for the last 38 years), let me know if you need any info.