Tips For Moving To Nebraska

If you've ever considered moving to Nebraska, read on to find information on the weather, sports and local flavor of Nebraska.

Nebraska’s state motto is “The Good Life”, and it shows in the prairie landscape surrounding Nebraska’s cities. But before you pack up and head to the cornfields, there are a few things you should know.

The Weather: While the summers are moderate, not often topping 90 degrees Fahrenheit, spring tornadoes and winter blizzards can be devastating. Nebraska is in the heart of “tornado alley”, which stretches north to the Dakotas and south to Texas, and is the cluster of states that see the most damaging storms every year. Upon arrival in your new hometown, find out where the local storm shelter is and where the tornado sirens are located. In many small towns, the sirens are scattered far and wide, and cannot be heard in the midst of a raging storm. If you live out of hearing range, buy a weather radio and keep it turned on during severe thunderstorms. The majority of damaging storms in Nebraska occur in late spring and early summer.

In winter, be prepared for snow. Nebraska sees an average of thirty or more inches of snow a year; more in the western portion of the state than to the east. Buy a shovel, good boots and de-icing spray for your car’s door locks. Most towns have snow routes that are plowed sooner than other streets; look for the tall white signs or stop by the local chamber of commerce (or even a coffee shop!) for specific information about snow routes.

In Nebraska, the term “sports” is synonymous with “Cornhuskers,” as in the University of Nebraska football team. When the Cornhuskers play, you won’t find anything else being watched on TV anywhere. Don’t even think about asking them to change the channel and don’t mention Kansas then, either. If you’re from either coast, you’re probably used to directions being given in terms of “right” and “left.” Forget about that unless you’re in a large city like Lincoln or Omaha. Everywhere else, you’ll be told to turn south or east, north or west. Sometimes, you’ll be told to turn north at the southeast corner of an intersection or that a building is located on the north side of the street. Buy a compass and start paying attention to where the sun sets; it’ll save the embarrassment of asking “Which way is north?”

Nebraska is served by a slew of independent phone companies, and often a call thirty miles away is one direction will be long-distance while a call made to a location fifty miles in the other direction will be considered local. Just because a phone number has the same area code, do not assume it’s local. Be sure to get a telephone directory that includes a map of calling zones.

Here are a few bits of local color:

1. Red beer is not a bottled import. It’s regular domestic brew mixed with tomato juice.
2. Often, noontime is referred to as just “the noon”, short for “the noon hour.”
3. Do not pick the wildflowers; it’s against the law.
4. The state bird is the Western Meadowlark and the state flower is the camellia.
5. The state song is “Beautiful Nebraska” written by Jim Fras.
6. The Nebraska State Legislature is Unicameral, as opposed to the Bicameral system other states use. Cities like Omaha, Lincoln and Scottsbluff are true metropolitan areas with cultural niceties like museums, shopping malls and extensive libraries, but much of the state is still rural farmland. The crime rate is lower than in the rest of the nation, and people are proud to be neighborly and Nebraskan.

Author: Kira Connally

About Author: Kira Connally moved to Nebraska in 1998 and experienced her own personal culture shock. She is a freelance writer now living in Texas.