Moving for a Job, Staying for the Lifestyle: Couple Finds Contentment after Relocation from Phoenix to Omaha

Eva and Will Roberts had misgivings about moving to Nebraska, but the job Eva was offered in Omaha was attractive enough for them to give it a try. “I had not been to Nebraska. I just thought it was an amazing job. I thought we’d live here for a couple years, and we’d move on,” said Eva.

Yet within weeks of moving to Nebraska, Eva and Will realized their preconceptions of the state had been mistaken. “We met more neighbors within the first week of living in our rental house in Aksarben than we’d met in nine years in Phoenix. There’s just that truly genuine welcome you receive here [in Nebraska]. As we lived here longer, I came to love it so much,” said Eva.

Will and Eva moved to Omaha in 2013. The couple have since purchased a house, completed graduate school, and started a family in Nebraska. They even encouraged Will’s parents to relocate from Connecticut to Nebraska.

Moving on from the Valley of the Sun

Eva spent her childhood in Los Angeles, and Will grew up in Danbury, Connecticut. They met while attending Vassar College in New York. Eventually they moved to Phoenix, Arizona, after Eva landed a great job there.

Will and Eva had many pleasant experiences living in Arizona, but they disliked the long, scorching hot summers. Where each of them grew up, triple-digit temperatures were very rare. However, the high temperature in Phoenix is 100 degrees or above for an average of 111 days per year. “Eventually the summers just got old,” Will recalled. “It was like, ‘Oh, we’ve got to go through another summer.’”

Experiencing Omaha as more than a destination city

When an exciting career opportunity opened for Eva in Omaha, they were both unsure what life in Nebraska would be like. Before making the move to Omaha, they visited one of Will’s relatives who lives in the city. He showed them around and emphasized Omaha’s appeal.

He pointed out that many people overlook Omaha because it is not as well-known as destination cities like Las Vegas, New York, or Miami. When thinking about putting down roots, though, he advised that there is much more to consider than a city’s popularity as a tourist hub. “It matters more that it’s a great place to live than lots of people having heard of it and vacationing there,” explained Eva.

Enjoying the diverse Omaha community

Stepping into Nebraska with little knowledge about the state, Eva assumed it would be culturally homogenous. She was surprised by how much Nebraskans differ from one another—even while having such a strong, cohesive community. “I didn’t expect it to be so diverse, culturally and linguistically. I appreciate the diversity of opinion you find here.”

Coming from L.A. and Phoenix, she also feared it would snow much more in Nebraska than it really does. “I thought it would snow like every [winter] day, and I was really worried about that. I had not driven in the snow before. But it is not as snowy as I expected. I love the changes in the trees throughout the seasons. It allows you to pause and enjoy the moments you’re in more because you know it’s fleeting.”

Finding career contentment

The career opportunity that originally brought Eva and Will to Omaha was at the Buffett Early Childhood Fund, where Eva worked for eight years. In 2021, she earned her executive MBA through the University of Nebraska-Omaha. After completing the degree, she wanted to pursue locally focused social impact work in Omaha’s unique nonprofit ecosystem. Front Porch Investments offered the opportunity to work at the intersection of philanthropy, government, and the private sector through funding and advocacy to support affordable housing development.  

“When you think about all the amazing growth happening in Omaha, you don’t want housing costs to increase rapidly. We want people to be able to afford safe homes,” she added. Since 2022, with the support of philanthropic and public partners, Front Porch Investments has helped finance over 2,150 affordable homes in the Omaha area, which is helping keep housing costs manageable.

Will also found opportunities in Omaha that aligned with his career interests. He received his EdD in Leadership from Creighton University and has been employed at Nebraska Methodist College for almost ten years. Nebraska Methodist College specializes in healthcare and is one of the top nursing colleges in the nation.

In his role, Will helps ensure student success through data analysis. He identifies ways to improve outcomes such as student retention, program effectiveness, and academic success. “We’re trying to create educated citizens and future healthcare professionals,” he said. “It’s the meeting of those two things that I think are unique at our college.”

An accessible, affordable community for families

Eva and Will enjoy how many opportunities Nebraska has for young families. They recently attended an open house at the Hot Shops Art Center, an art collaborative in Omaha. “My son got to see glass blowing for the first time,” said Will. “We also went to the amazing park next to the [Kiewit] Luminarium. That playground is phenomenal. Kids are learning how different things work with the water, diverting water this way and that way, and climbing up the amazing structures. Anywhere else they’d be charging to park and to visit the playground, but here it’s free. There’s free fun all over the place in Omaha!”

Eva and Will named many other family-friendly attractions Omaha has to offer. These include the Big Ten Baseball Tournament and College World Series, Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, and the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum. “There’s just so much to do here. It’s fun for families, and it doesn’t burn a hole in your pocket,” added Will.

An attractive, mid-sized city for all ages

When his parents reached retirement age, Will encouraged them to move away from their small town in Connecticut because of its high cost of living. Will suggested that his parents visit Omaha to get an idea of what kind of city to choose for retirement. “I wasn't saying they should move to Omaha. I was just saying, ‘Why don’t you come here and see what it’s like?” he explained.

While visiting Omaha, Will’s parents were impressed by how much was available at such an affordable price. “A couple of months later, they asked, ‘How would you feel about us moving to Omaha?’” Will said. They have now lived in the Omaha metro for more than a decade, where they enjoy being near Will and Eva and seeing their grandson grow up. They have also benefited from spending their retirement in a community with more affordable housing, dining, and entertainment.

Omaha’s many selling points

The ease of getting around Omaha; the city’s affordability; and its uncrowded, unhurried lifestyle are strong selling points to friends who visit Will and Eva. “There are fun activities here that are accessible. [People in other cities are] dealing with traffic. They’re dealing with insanely expensive real estate, no yards, no parks within walking distance, and low-performing school districts,” Will explained.

“These are not problems for us,” he continued. “We have great things here. I love our neighborhood. We have great neighbors. We have great friends. Our son has great friends. We have two parks within walking distance. We have a neighborhood pool. We can walk our child to school. I pinch myself sometimes because we just feel so lucky.”

Eva added, “I don’t personally find a lot of trade-offs to living in a city this size. You can get anywhere you want to go. Maybe the only downside is that people sort of scratch their head sometimes and ask why I live here. I just tell them, ‘If you would come visit me, you would know.’”

The Good Life Is Calling

Are you interested in learning more about living and working in Nebraska? Connect with the Good Life Is Calling team here. You can also learn more about finding a career in Nebraska here.

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