Inquiring customers ask me all the time what makes Northeast Nebraska so special. Sometimes folks who are unfamiliar with this area have a hard time understanding what makes it a great place to land. Having traveled ten hours west and ten hours east of home this past year, I can say, without a doubt, what makes Northeast Nebraska so special. We live in the Goldilocks Zone.
You may be wondering what exactly I mean by the “Goldilocks Zone.” It’s really a simple concept in that Northeast Nebraska is the perfect balance of many attractive features. We Nebraskans are often too modest to admit this. I mean, our most recent tourism campaign, “Nebraska, it’s not for everyone,” sends a mixed message. A very highly paid ad agency did a great job of keeping us the best kept secret in all the 50 states.
So, what makes this the Goldilocks Zone? Depending on the time of the year, it can be argued that the weather is too cold and/or too hot. However, we do often get to experience all four seasons (if only for a few days), which provides a nice variety of weather for most of us. What I noticed moreso from our travels is that we are able to enjoy most everything in moderation here in Northeast Nebraska. For example, the further east we traveled, population and traffic density increased while the further west we traveled, we started to feel a bit lonely out on the open prairie. I mentioned in a recent blog post that I thought I could be a rancher in my younger days. Although the freedom of the old west has been romanticized in movies and television throughout the years, I have found that my youthful infatuation has been exchanged for the modern convenience of nearby medical facilities in case of an accident, the ability to run to town for a gallon of milk instead of planning a 100 mile excursion, and the handiness of continuous running water without having to haul it 50 miles to a sagebrush resort in the Wyoming foothills. Plus, have you seen the Northeast Nebraska sunrises and sunsets? That local characteristic alone makes me a believer!
In addition, our road system is much easier to navigate than that of our friends back east who traverse roundabouts and hair pin curves daily. Plus, the speed limit and traffic flow allows us to travel at what might be considered ludicrous speed to transport goods and services across the area. The Northeast Nebraska landscape is often labeled as “flat and monotonous,” but it is just flat enough to allow for roads and highways to cut in mostly straight paths across the majority of the area. This is truly something that can easily be taken for granted until you are wandering aimlessly in the dark across the State of Wisconsin at a constant 45 mph while thinking how much more practical it would have been to fly.
My friends, it should be no secret what makes Northeast Nebraska the perfect place to live and work. We have low unemployment, access to natural resources for manufacturing and construction, and a generally scenic landscape (newcomers comment regularly about the pretty drive into Wayne). From my perspective, the fact that we have a moderate amount of people, traffic, and fresh running water is enough to keep me thinking that Northeast Nebraska is just right. Even Goldilocks would agree that this is the perfect place to plant your roots. Welcome Home.
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