Hello everyone. I found out yesterday I'm going to be at the University of Kearney for probably the next 2 years, starting this summer (Army Assignment).  I really know nothing about the city or the state.

Where should I be looking at housing with 2 young kids and still have under a 30 minute commute?

How is the hunting, fishing and availability of places to shoot?

What else should I know?

@thelaw09

Kearney is not a bad town.  There are nice parts and lousy parts.  You'll know what's what when you drive through.

It has a Walmart, Target, shopping mall, etc.

It's about 30-45 minutes from Grand Island and the Heartland Public Shooting Park which has a bunch of options for shooting - trap, skeet, sporting clays, USPSA, Steel Challenge, 3-gun, and quasi-F-class.

I believe there is fishing at the Harlan County Reservoir.

If you want to hunt, you'll need to find someone with some land and get their permission.

There are a bunch of small towns around Kearney.  Holdrege is about 35 minutes or so away.  Other smaller and closer towns include Gibbon, Shelton, Minden, Elm Creek, Wood River, and Amherst.  If you can handle the drive from Holdrege or Gibbon, those might be better choices for schools, although Kearney has a ton of elementary schools.  I don't know which are the better ones.

ETA - I'm a transplant from NYC.  Nebraska's not as bad as people make it out to be.

Thanks to both of you for the feedback. My biggest stressor right now is housing. From what I'm seeing online, there isn't much of a rental market. Knowing I'll be there 3 years puts me on the fence about buying a house. I'm also not sure if ill be able to get there in person before I move.

One thing I found when I moved here and that has been reinforced with my business contacts, is that landlords and sellers have not embraced online marketplaces and listing services the way big cities have.  Whether you buy or rent, you have to "know people".

I'd start with local chambers of commerce for Kearney and surrounding small towns and also ask the Kearney contacts from your job.  "Do you know someone..."  National Guard, Army, and Air Force have recruiting offices in Kearney - they might know people too.

All of my contacts are in Aurora and Lincoln, so further away than you'd want to commute.

As for buy vs. rent, central Nebraska isn't like NY or LA in terms of real estate appreciation.  The appreciation you see would be eaten up in closing costs and repairs.

Send me a PM and I can get you in touch with some realtors we have used. Yes housing itself is minimal and apartments tend to be where people live for short periods of time but they aren't cheap. There are some places to avoid, basically on the north east side of I80 and 2nd avenue...I mean this area isn't horrible but it tends to be the more run down part, older Kearney so to speak. The north east is where we live and have never had any issues (by the fairgrounds). North west is mostly new development and then southwest of 2nd and I80 has new development and old money next to the University. Overall Kearney is a great place to live. We have tons of parks, children's museum, etc and crime as far as I've ever experienced is very low.