Columbus 1 of 100 best places to live

AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
AAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA
HAHAHAHAAHHAHHAHAHAHAHA
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAhAHAHA
AHAHAHAHAHAH cough cough AHAHAHAH
AHHAHAAHAHAHAHA
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
AHAAHAHHAHAHAHAH sigh OH...

Evidently they've never BEEN there, driven there, or met Jim Bulkley and the rest of the "braintrust" that runs that town.

Good for Columbus. One of only 3 towns in Nebraska.

It is also one of the best 100 places to leave. Everyone may have a job but nobody makes squat for a wage. If you need proof that Glurs is the oldest bar west of the Missouri, just go in the bathroom. How does the punk kid \ crime rate stack up to these other small towns?

Ha Ha that's the funniest thing I've heard in awhile. How much $ did the city council pay them for the advertising ? Or was this a typo ?

I read the comments on the CNN website about Columbus, and if those people think Columbus is so bad, then why are you here. Everyone complained there was nothing to do here, but in the last few years, Columbus has got a new skating rink, water park, and skate park. Our parks in the community are kept up so nice, with the execption of some graffiti now and then, however growing up in the community, graffiti is something we've always had so please don't start blaming it on our "gangs". Columbus is always coming up with activities in the community for people to do like Lawnchairs on the square, movies in the park, the river offers opportunities for four wheeling, swimming, air boating, and fishing. The walking and bike trails gives everyone the opportunity to exercise so we dont end up on the 100 most obese cities in America. It's no ones fault but your own if your bored in Columbus. Start a suppport group! That'll give you something to do, and maybe those people would care about your issues on Columbus.

You can thank Chuck "Pickles" Whitney for this achievement.

They must have done this research several years ago. Hasn't Norfolk had 2 plant closings and over 500 people leave town in the past 2 years? How does that make it a top place to live???

Would somebody please name a town that is under 50,000 people and is not part of a major metropolitan area and has as much going for it as Columbus??? Complain and snicker as you will, but the town is not that horrible.

If anything, potential companies are going to see these listings and look in to Columbus for further expansion. I would be proud and excited to be a resident of Columbus at this time!!!

These lists are made up by a bunch of pinheads who look at a map and numbers on a chart in some library 1000 miles away. I have traveled most of the US and Columbus is nowhere near a great place to live. The only thing Columbus has going for it is that it is located in a pretty descent state which makes it a tolerable place to live. I blame my parents for taking root in this poor town. A strong desire to be around family and kin is the only reason that most people stay here.

Wow!!! Columbus gets something to brag about and it's residents start to complain. The town isn't that bad and has a lot of activities it's residents don't seem to take interest in:

*Horse races in the fall
*Stock car races in the summer
*Thursday night entertainment in the summers in downtown
*A Juco CC with a volleyball and basketball team that traditionally qualify for their respective national tournaments
*A fairly nice lake/park north of town for boating and fishing along with trails and camping sites
*A nice water park (yes it needs a wave pool and a lap pool, but nonetheless the slides are awesome)
*A downtown with a fairly impressive night life (yes, 11th St is not as nice as O St. in Lincoln or the Old Market it Omaha, but it has a nice variety of places to pick and choose from that is consistenly busier than towns of similar size). I would like to see a few more restaurants downtown and to spruce up 11th St. with nice sidewalks and landscaping
*A very nice microbrewery that nobody seems to take advantage of

I could also add on that the town could have had a semi-pro hockey franchise, but the residents voted down the arena construction even though they had enough pledges for season tickets.

And the housing shortage only means that more people are looking to move to town. That's better than the housing surpluses of Omaha, Phoenix, etc. I have 3 different groups of friends based out of Omaha or Lincoln and they've all wandered back to Columbus to build houses.

Along with the housing shortage, there are very few vacant retail places in town (minus the 23rd/33rd area - which is kind of sad). I'd rather be associated with a town that is short on housing and retail as opposed to a town that has vacant houses and buildings all over the place!!!

Name a town in Nebraska that doesn't have a problem with illegal immigrants? At least Columbus hasn't let the town falter to the degree of say a Schuyler.

The same can be said about meth. Has there even been any big meth busts in the city for awhile? Either they've gotten pretty secretive, or it's not as big of an issue anymore.

The biggest downfall with the town has been the increased crime rate due to some of these latino gangs. From what I've heard though, it appears like it's starting to get a little under control.

BE PROUD OF YOUR TOWN COLUMBUS, AND USE THIS HONOR TO BRING IN MORE RETAIL, RESIDENTS, AND ENTERTAINMENT!!!

If you don't like it here there are 2 major highways heading out of town, just pick one. The reason we didn't rank higher is because of the Whiner & Complainer Club. "Oh, poor me, nobody will give me everything for free or entertain me all day long"

Well said Tiny Tim.
I might also add that between the three high schools, the college and community groups there are hundreds (literally HUNDREDS) of sports events, concerts, plays and competitions that are open to the public. There are also clubs, seminars, presentations and more each and every day.

If people don't "have anything to do" it's because they aren't looking!

I will say this: Gottberg Brewery is one of the most under-appreciated aspects of that town, if not the whole state.

I go there every time I come back to visit my parents. Why people go to the various bars and drink crappy bottled beer when they can go to 'Berg and drink a quality beer made by someone who gives a darn about the product they're making, I have no idea. The HILARIOUS thing is that the beer at 'Berg is actually cheaper than the bottled beer during happy hour. Plus, the food is excellent and the establishment is classy and clean. Mac knows what he's doing.

I love that place.

You must be one of those diehard residents huh? One of those people who believe if you aren't from Columbus you don't belong. And when you move no one will care. Yeah I guess I would be a little upset too if someone was dissing my beloved town. It's people like you that make people like me dislike this town. There are a lot better places to live, and also a lot worse. Do I think Columbus is top 100 worthy? Hard to say because it just depends on what you base it off of. I do like the low crime rate, but I wish they had a better selection of restaurants. I don't plan to work a manufacturing job anytime soon so what else would be here for a person like me? Manufacturing jobs are the only good jobs anyone can get here without a college degree. So for a person like me this town would not be on my top 100 places to live. However, for a person who wants to work at BD their entire life, go fishing and drink beer at Lake North, go downtown to the bars a few times a week, and eat at home all the time this is a perfect place for them.

wow....its a good thing they didn't use a misery index, or we would have been on the bottom 100.

just wait until columbus has a viaduct, we'll give papillion a run for its money.

i'll admit, i have never seen so many people hate their own hometown like columbus. there are whiners and complainers, and then there are people who whine and complain about the whiners and complainers and think they are not whiners and complainers. nobody takes the time to figure out why so many people hate this place. there is no shortage of good and decent people... which just makes it kind of odd. this towm needs to see a psychiatrist. maybe it just needs one more place to drink beer.

Ditto to "cry me a river" and "tiny tim".

I think its funny because everything in Columbus is a joke.

Harvard on the hill, crappy bars, the viaduct, no real downtown, bypass that goes to nowhere but walmart, excessive traffic lights, empty buildings, the "C" that the cars cruise on the weekends, MIP capitol of the US, the creepers that sit in their car in Pawnee Park at night, etc.

HA HA HEE HEE

Do you by chance have a college degree? (not that you would admit if you didn't)But I think it is funny that you would "diss" a very nice community college if you have no higher education yourself. Central Community College has a very nice campus and a great curriculum and it is also AFFORDABLE! It is almost stupid for people to go to a University for the first 2 years of school when you can get the exact same education for half the price. DUH!

To the person who said we only have manufacturing jobs, yes we have a lot of those and it is probably the best money you are going to make if you have no degree, but I have a master's degree and I have had 2 great jobs in Columbus and make a pretty decent salary too!

Open your eyes, there are banks, accounting firms, law offices, doctors offices, title companies, investment firms, etc, etc that need professional employees. As do the factories...they need controllers, ops managers, HR managers, etc., etc.

This place is not that bad at all. It is too bad we can't get a few more places to eat and a few more retail stores and get rid of all the little punks that think it is so "bad a**" to spray paint any building they please, but overall it is not a bad place to be.

TO: "to cry me a canal"

I'm not from Columbus. I moved here after the Army. I have been around the US and chose to live here because of it's size and location. I just get tired of the whining and complaining. If you don't like something change it. The powers that be are willing to listen.
I do have a college degree, maybe that makes a difference. I don't fish or drink beer but I am still able to find ways to entertain myself.

I think it is very interesting that a bar is what helped us qualify! Gee- that is sending out a good message! But I do visit Glurs often for the awesome fries!! The beer does taste good too!!
Congrats Columbus!!

It is a sad fact that those who didn't apply themselves when they were young will blame everyone else and complain about it when they are older. It's never too late to improve your lot in life.

Regarding entertainment, I would like for the complainers to work with the downtown business association or the Chamber to turn the old movie theater back to a opera house for regional and local entertainment. It would be great to go by carriage or leasurely walk from Duster, Glurs, El Tapatio, etc. and go see a comedian, a jazz group or a local school group at the Opera house. It would make the downtown more of a destination.

I think some of you people are missing the point. It doesn't matter what criteria they used or from what time frame. There are a lot of towns that are worse off than Columbus. Just be glad you don't live in Iowa.

I completely agree with LiferofCtown, and I've posted that same desire for the old theater on Telegram blogs several times in the past.

I think it'd also be nice to have a winery with an outdoor ampitheater up along the hill north of town. Spingfield, NE has one and it's a great entertainment venue.

...that no matter where you are standing at in Columbus, you can still get out if you try hard enough.

'nuff said.

yes, I have a associates college degree from a very good tech school. I did forget about 4 year degree programs and CCC would be a very smart choice for generals. My apologies.

C-Town is only O.K. As far as Glur's Tavern goes, the tradition is interesting, but could someone that gives a hoot put a little money into that place and make it actually decent. They DO have one of the worst restrooms I have ever seen. I'll bet Guatanamo Bay had better facilities than that joint. I would like to see that place up for sale, I would for sure purchase that hole (at a fair price) and make it the "happening" place to be like it was in the 80's. Could we get some live music in this town other than Thudwinker or Evicted? Sell me the bar and I will prove that Columbus belongs on that list. Seriously, a little money, some sweat equity and imagination, and that place would be full every night. Of course I would respect the historical nature of the building, but a little paint, polish and updated crappers would work. We need some fresh ideas people!

Whompus Cat:

Obviously if you had the money, sweat equity, and imagination, you'd have your own place that would be full every night. What's your excuse??

What a blowhard. What happened? Did Todd kick you out for life?

test message

Columbus was a nice place to live maybe 25 years ago! I grew up here and it is not the same place anymore! Drive down the highway and except for what few new buildings that are not made of metal, I think the town has a dumpy appearance! So all you people that are happy here and will tell me to just move, have you ever been anywhere else?

I have lived many places and have called Columbus my home for 30+ years now. It's a great place to live, work and raise children in!! My children graduated high school here and have gone on to become a doctor, lawyer and teacher! Columbus has a lot of industry and I believe our town has it better than a lot of communities during this recession. We also have many churches to worship and be thankful for what we have been given. Look at what we HAVE, not what we don't have! I'm glad I live in Columbus and feel Columbus is very deserving of this recognition! I'm proud of Columbus and everything it offers.

Who's stopping you?

I'm from Columbus, lived there for 25 years and still call it "home".
I would never move back but you all have a choice to move on or stay put. To constantly whine and moan about where you choose to live is just stupid. If you don't like it, get out!
I miss many of my old friends, and have a lot of family in the area. I just have chosen a different route and am very happy that I moved on. It's not the same for everyone. If you are not happy or successful, only you are to blame for this, not the city.

I am a native Texan in an around the age of 50. I love my state but the job market for me has not been very favorable over the last 5 years. Neither has the housing market. I will not reflect on healthcare it is the worst of all in the state of Texas.

I am looking for a serious change and thought I would check out the job market in other states, one of which being Nebraska. It would also be nice to live in an area with low crime.

If people would take the time to stop and think about the demographics and the underlying implications of this “award”, it might all start to make sense. First off, the majority of the people here are middle-aged blue collar factory workers. They make up the largest cross-section of most every other group. Then if you add their non-factory working spouses and the 25% of the population that are their children, you just chunked out 75% of the towns population.

So, all that industry makes for a bunch of money spent. Some of the factory wages are not too bad for unskilled and semi-skilled labor. But, you have to look at who runs their life. Its usually feast or famine. Work weeks cut to 32 hours don’t leave much left over for entertainment. On the flip side, 7 days/week overtime, and you have a little left over after you pay the bills, but no time to enjoy it.

The simple fact is that the blue collar backbone of America keeps white collar workers like me living fat and happy. All you boneheads say they have the power to change that. Well then, who does that leave to do the work? Therein lies the problem. Should we send the jobs to China, Mexico, etc… Then your sweet little town voted top 100 starts to lose its appeal. The article targets the white collars like me. They keep the cost of living low so me, and others in similar situations, can enjoy the reasons it made the list.

If you enjoy Columbus, you better take a good hard look at who put us here. Those are the ones who should be damn proud, and for good reason.

So, I say thanks to the blue collar. Just like the song says, ‘the fat man’s busy danc’n whilst the thin man pays the band’.

What was it Cobain said, "Here we are now! Entertain us!" Jeesh, it's no wonder Obama got elected. Seems we have an increasingly large number of people in our society who expect the state to provide entertainment.

What's next? Will "entertainment" be the next "right?"

Read a book. Take a walk. Talk with friends. Those who complain of nothing to do need to do some serious re-evaluation of their lives. There are more forms of entertainment for all age groups than there ever has been at any time and yet people manage to complain.

And when did we come to expect life to be a thrill-a-minute joy ride anyway?

Heck, even the kids in big cities complain about having nothing to do. (I think that's how some of them justify shooting each other.)

Grow up.

We have lived here fo 30 years and although it took me a long time to get used to the culture compared to the friendliness and acceptance of western Nebraska, I think Columbus has alot going for us and deserves the award.

The main reason for the celebration of the award is the deversified industry. A good comparison is North Platte, NE where we moved from. It relied on the Union Pacific and Consolidated Freightways. During the 80's the UP decided to moved their employees back to Omaha and CF moved out of state. The city was in a situation of poverty for it's people. The RR bought up the houses so anyone else trying to sell theirs couldn't get the price the RR had set for the market value. The poverty status of the average worker was a tragedy. One year there were a total of only 7 building permits.

We visit North Platte often and it has never totally recovered. It was a booming town when we lived there and now the mall and the outlet stores are gone and the town continues to be hostege to the UP.

I don't believe the award was based on entertainment. It was based on the income and the job availability of the population and the overall economic status of Columbus. For our success in that - Congratulations Columbus! It is a real honor - Top 100 in the US!

FYI

I love this town. I have been all over North America and feel so fortunate that I can call Columbus home.
Just a little observation for the people that complained that there is no entertainment in Columbus, it is most likely that you couldn't afford to be entertained if you had it. Do you know the cost of a Broadway show(Speaking of Plays our Community Playhouse has put on some really spectacular performances)? I know what tickets to a pro ball game run, do you? Symphony or Pop concert tickets aren't cheap either.
Go anywhere else in the country and the crime is unbelievable, I can't recall ever hearing of a mugging in Columbus, trust me it is a very terrifying and unpleasant event. Murder simply doesn't occur in Columbus, did you know it is statistically safer to serve in Iraq than to live in downtown Philedelphia.
If you think that Columbus is a terrible place to live then you probably have never lived anywhere else. Perhaps, instead of complaining you should buy a bus ticket out of here.
Congratulations to the rest of you for making this such a great place to live and work!

So I'm wondering, if you all hate Columbus so much, why is it again that you live there? I think a better solution than complaining about it and laughing about what should be considered an honor, you should just leave. I mean, really. If it's as horrible as you make it seem.
I just moved to a small community and all I hear about is how much people hate it. If it really was as terrible as people want to make it seem, then no one would be living there.

I don't live in Columbus anymore, and I'm still in college...that's what's stopping me as of now...that doesn't mean it hasn't crossed my mind to come back and open a winery...

I like this town! Many of you that have grown up here say it isn't what it used to be, maybe it's you that has changed? You see things differently as an adult you are more open minded as a child.I grew up here and would love to take my family to live somewhere else but not because i don't like it, because, it would be nice to experience something different. But i choose not to because this is my comfort zone.And i think deep down those that complain so much about columbus, really do like it here they just like to ruffle feathers, or they would find the means nessesary to move. People that grew up here or moved here that love tend to defend it witch means the town has proud residents. So love it or hate it, its columbus and congrats columbus !!

I lived in Columbus for 20 years. I was there because of my work, which was a well paying position. I left Columbus almost 4 years ago and travelled the US. The biggest reason we left Columbus was the tax base. You get no credit for being a resident or being a senior citizen. We moved to
Texas where we get credit for such things. I visit Columbus about 3 times a year to see friends and family. Friendships in Columbus are hard to comeby if you weren't born there. Columbus is the most clickish town I've ever been in.

tiny tim

I don't think there's room in this town for another "WHINERY".

When I cam into work from the south; there were no iron gates to pass through (I don't know about the other entrances in/out of Columbus). So the negative people should be able to freely leave if they want to find happiness elsewhere. Also, I noticed that no one had a ball and chain tied to their ankles while driving through town...

Congrats to Columbus!

I'm surprised more people haven't whined about the fact that the only places to shop in this town is either Walmart, WAY over priced specialty stores, or too many dollar stores where everything costs way more than a dollar. It sure would be nice to give Walmart some competition.

L

You're not going to get a competetive store started by sitting in front of your computer whining about it. What are you waiting for? Go open a store. All of the whiners expect someone else to do the work.

Are you one of the Movers and Shakers or are you one of the Whiners and Complainers? Have you taken your life savings, retirement money and a huge loan to start a business or are you investing it in slot machines? Are you working 16 hour days to create a successful business or are you watching TV every night? No one in this town has a right to complain about the businesses here unless they have tried to do something about it. A new business is a risk. Whining about it is useless. Everybody knows what Columbus needs but they sit back and wait for someone else to do it. I can see why Columbus is in the top 100, they have more "know it alls" per capita than most towns.

I read the article that CNN had and there are jobs there? Since when? My husband and I left Columbus in January due to him loosing his job. So the unemployment rate is low. The last time I knew was that none of the factories were hiring. The housing market is bad. After we moved my husband got a job right away even though a bunch of the plants in the town that we moved to are even closing. Homes here are selling like hot cakes. I also have a child and was scared for when he gets older to send him to the high school due to the gage activity. I was more scared of living there than happy. I am very happy with were we are now.

WOW!

The basic thrust from,the folks that don't like Columbus, is that they think Columbus should look more like an top scale Scottsdale, Arizona shopping mega meeting center.

There is only one problem with this.

Operating a bar night spot/ mega super cool place requires revenue from customers, and it requires a lot of revenue from customers.

The complainers about Columbus lacking night life, aren't the sort of folks that have the money to provide anything than is what being presently being provided to them right now.

Smokey bars, wood floors, beer by the glass, and music from the juke box.

Gotberg's, on the other hand is a fine example of a stylish place to spend some time.

But then,the complainers will say that it is to expensive.

The complainers want to shop at Gucci and pay Wall Mart prices.

So sorry for complainers!!

That is not how things work.

Columbus is a fine city, and the folks that live there should count their blessings, rather than listening to the usual pack of complainers.

For example:

The city decided to allow Dial realty to build the Mall.

This was reported as a means of bringing retail prosperity to Columbus.

The complaining group, thought it a wonderful idea.

The thinking group thought it a bad idea.

Today downtown is a ghost street.

The mall is broke, and the only folks that made a dime are the the promoters who sold a bunch of eager beaver town councilmen on a pie in the sky dream.

In spite of it all,Columbus keeps chugging along.

Kearney is way better, poor choice by this magazine

Columbus is not, in fact, such a great place to live. It is like a tiny Nebraska town with 24,000 or so people crammed into it. Which sounds nice until you consider that Columbus is NOT, in fact, a tiny town but the bigger city the tiny towns have to come to for shopping, etc. Columbus hardly HAS shopping, just some new "malls" the same stores get shuffled around. Lots of restaurants, though (so much for the person who said we wouldn't be most obese). There are large populations of both English- and Spanish-speaking people but you'd certainly never know it based on the level of segregation that seems to be enforced (or, if that barrier fails, prejudice will do instead). The water park is neat, except that there was already one in Grand Island to go to and where is the public pool now for those who DON'T want to be entertained like 8-year-olds? Also it's more expensive than just a regular pool. Also, um, you can only use it in summer. Very practical. Nice work. The skate park is not a new development and not actually used by anyone I know. Where are the stores that aren't Wal-Mart? In Norfolk, which apparently is only 1 spot higher than Columbus but where everyone in Columbus goes to shop despite the seeming oddness of having to drive 45 minutes to get to a decent store. If there is so much to do why are the MIP rates so high? You can say it is just "normal teenage drinking", it is the worst I've experienced anywhere. Supposedly it was on a Letterman Top 10 once, Platte County and MIPs. Maybe if you took some folks' alcohol away they would notice where we actually live. If you think it is so easy to fix it you try, I never had any luck. Have fun.

unfortunately if all the people who don't like it just "got out" the population would be halved at least

BEARCAT:

I think Kearney was 101st, because they are even further to Lincoln and Omaha than C-Town.

Dear Editor;

I think it would be best for you to place the latest replys on the top of your list rather than at the bottom.

EG. If there are 100 replys to an article, and I want to look at the latest reply, I have to go down a 100 post list.

The latest posts should be on top.

Cheers.

Give me a break, I like Col., always have. The traffic _ucks, the shopping _ucks, and the crime rate is low, what r these guys smokin????? Oh yea, we have a mall?????????? WHERE would that be???????? Oh, I know it is one of seems like 10 thousand strip malls, and how many dollar stores do they have??????? Norfolk has way more choices to shop at than Col. I almost forgot Col. has Wal-mart. Let me think a min. Oh yea, this would be 3rd Wally World in Col. Nothing else, no Target, no Shopko. Talk about a monopoly, Col. God Fathers need to get a clue!!!!!!!!!!

To LiferofCtown funny you should ask about the old movie theater..I would have loved to buy it but it was GIVEN to the platte valley playhouse or something like that...they are trying to buy another building next to it...WHY has nothing ever been done to it or entertainment brought in is beyond me...like I said I had big dreams but was not given the opportunity it was given away..don't know what they are waiting for........

To Jones and others complaining about complainers:

Every community has their complainers. It's just that Columbus exceedes the national average by quite a large margin!

That's probably why Columbus wasn't ranked higher.

The way I see it, is the peoples that complain theres nothing to do for entertainment. NEVER GO OUT!. Omaha didnt make that list. the big O sucks! go to LINCOLN for big entertainment

I grew up in Columbus and moved away to join the Army 14 years ago. Since then I have lived all over the world and seen all types of communities, and all I can look forward to is retiring to Columbus in 6 years. The problems that people cite are echoed everywhere, they are not limited to Columbus. Some things I have learned is that the grass is not alway greener on the other side and to be careful what you wish for, you might get it.