moving to nebraska

Nereyda - posted on 02/04/2009

as for people friendly towards military, YES!!! YES!!! YES!!! ... one big example ... there is a welcome center for the base, off base within the bellevue schools district building, there is an Early Childhood Center where you are eligible to go for free only if you are a bellevue resident or military family and it is WONDERFUL .. and they totally cater to the military family's needs ... it is a place to go play with your children not drop off ... and only for preschool age children ... omaha in general is great, many things to do indoors in winter and many things to do outdoors in summer...

Nereyda - posted on 02/04/2009

hi ... we are navy also ... we just left a month ago, my husband was at STRATCOM and we are now in St. Louis, MO with the NRD ... have A LOT of information for you ... especially if you have kids, it is a very very faminly friendly town ... the best areas to live are Bellevue and Papillion because they have the best school districts, so good for your kids and good for your house resale value ... and they are both within 10 min drive of the base ... Bellevue is a little more run down, Papillion is very nice ... we are actually putting our house on the market TODAY ... so if you are interested i can give you more details about the house and neighborhood ... the base is no big thing, but it has everything you can need ... people are nice, i never felt distinction between services at all ... i'll wait to hear from you .... good luck!

Jennifer - posted on 02/03/2009

no more smoking in bars and restaurants.



30 minute drive varies from where you live and the trafdfic from that area. We live about 35 miles from bases (door to door) but it only takes 30 minutes of 95% highway driving to get there.

Kimberly - posted on 02/03/2009

ive been lookingat homes and using mapquest to try to figure out the distance to the base. my husband doesnt want more than a half hour drive.  how far out can we go?

also, here in connecticut there is no smolong in rest-gove buildings-bars-well almost everywhere.  i was wondering about the smoking laws out there.  we dont smoke, but are curious.

again, thanks for everything!!

Jessica - posted on 02/02/2009

My husband is stationed at Offutt AFB. But we don't live in base housing. We have been here since last March and we bought a house in Millard about 15 miles from the base. We live in a really good neighborhood that has its own community center, swimming pool, park, tennis courts, baseball fields and so much more. We have a 20 minute drive to the base but in good area close to shopping and lots of activities for children. We are about 20-25 minutes or so from the zoo and childrens museum via I80.

Vanessa - posted on 01/25/2009

I grew up in western Nebraska, and my husband's family lives in Hickman (south of Lincoln). His brother lives in Bellevue, which is right next to Offutt. Anywhere in Bellevue is pretty safe -- when you drive around the neighborhoods, you'll be able to tell where you want to live. There are a lot of new housing developments being built. I don't know much about specific neighborhoods, but I will say it is easier than most military towns to find a good place to live.

Kimberly - posted on 01/25/2009

thank you both for the info.  i have been doing a bunch of research (even getting info from the chamber) we are hoping to buy a home, but it is nice to know there is new houseing for a back up.  we are currently in housing now-so we are used to the rules.  i have lived here in ct all my life, so snow is a part of life.  its good to know its not as bad as i can imagine. 

another question- how is the job market?  how is the communities?  i mean, are most people friendly toward the military or does everyone stay to themselves? 

again- thanks for everything!!!!

Yara - posted on 01/25/2009

We are currently stationed at Offutt, and we are happy here. I don't know where you are coming from, but that seems to make a difference in how people perceive living here. We live in housing, so we are in Bellevue for schools. The schools here are good, and so are the Papillion ones (another place people tend to live). We are very happy with the elementary school our kids go to. The new housing is decent, but there are a lot of restrictions on what you can do, so check into that carefully before you decide. Most people live in Bellevue or Papillion if they are affiliated with Offutt. Snow can affect commuting, but not as many days as you may think. It gets cold here in winter - mostly because of the wind. The base is nice, but I go there mainly for the commissary. Even though the BX is new, I rarely make a trip there to look for something because I can probably find it at Target which is closer and has better variety. But I do go look if I am already on base.

What I will say is fantastic here is the Omaha Zoo - you can even go in winter because you are indoors for most of the exhibits. (There is a military membership there too.) We also love the Children's Museum and the Durham Museum to take our kids too. And my 8 year old likes the Joslyn Art Museum. So despite the cold, there are things to do.

Jennifer - posted on 01/23/2009

My husband is stationed at Offutt AFB. I love it out here. We actually chose to to move here. I got out of the military in 2005 and my husband reenlisted with a Base of Preference. He grew up in Tabor, Iowa (a hop, skip, snd jump over the river from Bellevue/Omaha area), which is where we currently live. It takes just as long to get to base from here as it would from West Omaha, the schools are smaller, the taxes are half of what they are in Nebraska, and we're close to family. The base is actually in Bellevue, not Omaha. Bellevue is an older community and has some pretty decent schools. From what I am told, Bellevue West is better than Bellevue East (for high schools); haven't heard anything about the elementary schools. The base recently contracted their military housing out. The new management company has rebuilt a lot of the housing, which looks impressive from the street, and I think it rents for the amount of BAH, though I have no personal experience with it. I would however recommend that you look into renting until you familiarize yourself with the area. There are so many areas to consider living that you should she all of them before making a permanent decision. The facilities on base are great. They just built a new BX and the commissary is comparable to many area supermarkets. The Child Development Center has also recently been rebuilt. Overall, the base hase really nice facilities. There are so many things I could tell you. Let me know what information would help.