Lincoln, Nebraska. My hometown & current place of residence. University town so I think it has lots of culture. Around 300,000 residents, I think. Great public schools, and I say that as a parent &as a teacher. Downsides? High property taxes of just over 2%, but home valuations are fairly low, around $180k for our 3 bed/3 bath home in an older neighborhood in the middle of the city. Very high car registration costs, but there's a great bike trail network. Politics? Lincoln is a blue/relatively liberal city (at least in the Midwest) in a very red/extremely conservative state. But, at least right now, our taxes support our public schools, which truly are phenomenal. Weather... well, we get all 4 seasons (winter, mud season, second winter, sweltering hot summers). No place is perfect, but I think that Lincoln is pretty good. People are generally nice here, at least at my school where I work & in our mixed generation neighborhood. I genuinely like my students (I teach middle school), so I'm hopeful for a positive next generation. Our house is within easy walking or biking distance from several grocery stores, pharmacies & a Target. Kid rides the bus to free public preschool & spends the afternoon at a daycare less than a block from our house.
