Home
Our Communities
Submit Your Resume
Register With Us
About Us
Contact Us
Featured Sponsor:
Look for these sponsors' logos throughout the various sections of this site.
Sustaining Sponsors:
This month's featured sponsors:
Our Latest Rural Business Opportunity:
Fitness Center with good cash flow.
Just Listed in Benkelman, NE
Our Latest Rural Housing Opportunity:
Nice home in the country, east of Holdrege on Polyline
Just Listed in Holdrege, NE
Welcome to Nebraska Rural Living
Nebraska Rural Living is the brainchild of two sisters who returned to their small town roots after a life pursuing their dreams in big cities. Nebraska Rural Living's mission is to market the very real benefits of a rural lifestyle by highlighting the amenities of rural communities and spotlighting successful entrepreneurs, who make good livings, free of the stress of urban environments. We offer links to a wide variety of sources and resources.
If you miss the safe, quiet streets, the wide-open sky, the sense of knowing – and caring about – your neighbors, we urge you to register and be a part of our community. And perhaps after you join us in spirit, you’ll join us in fact. more...
Livable Small Towns: Holdrege
Holdrege...Halfway to Anywhere
If you were looking for someplace that embodied the kind of values America was built on – hard work, education, common sense, care for others – you wouldn’t have to look farther than Holdrege, Nebraska. Located near the geographic midpoint of the country, Holdrege is one of those towns where all the downtown intersections are paved in brick. more...
Livable Small Towns: Alma
Alma residents find life is fine next door to Nebraska’s second largest lake
Located just north of the Harlan County Reservoir, Nebraska’s second largest body of water, Alma is a progressive, cotton-wood shaded community with acres of green space and easy access to outdoor activities such as bicycling, wildlife viewing, fishing and upland game hunting. Lots of amenities such as parks, a golf course, and bicycle and hiking trails, combine with think-big vistas, affordable housing, and a can-do community spirit to create a town with a lot to offer businesses, entrepreneurs, retirees and families. more...
Livable Small Towns: McCook
Isolated and proud, there's more to McCook than meets the eye
Although McCook, like many rural Nebraska communities, can boast of friendly people, excellent schools and low crime, it enjoys some amenities that many smaller communities don’t have, including McCook Community College, an airport with commercial service, a modern hospital and a variety of lakes, rivers, reservoirs and open space for hunting, fishing, camping, boating and wildlife viewing. more...
Livable Small Towns: Benkelman
Benkelman is a Town With a View...and a view of the future
About as far south and west as you can go and still be in Nebraska, Benkelman is a town with a view, built on spectacular terrain featuring lookouts and ledges. Only three hours from Denver International Airport, you’ll find the hectic, high-priced urban lifestyle evolves into wholesome, affordable, rural living in Benkelman and Dundy County. more...
Rural Success Stories: Blue Valley Aquaculture
Hog farm to trout farm is amazing fish story in Sutton
On a steamy summer day at Blue Valley Aquaculture in Sutton, Nebraska, thousands of silver steelhead trout dart into long columns of splashing, cold water and visitors feel a refreshing rush of cool, oxygenated air. The bubbling, rushing water and silvery glints of teeming fish represent an extraordinary transition – physically and culturally – from a hog confinement operation to a fish farm. more...
Rural Success Stories: Cutters Café
Historic Red Cloud café lures restaurateur from retirement
Mary Terry intended to retire from the restaurant business when they moved to Red Cloud, Nebraska a few yeas ago. “I retired for a whole year, but I couldn’t stand it because I miss the people,” she said. “We recognized an unmet demand for breakfast in Red Cloud, saw an opportunity and decided to take it.” more...
Rural Success Stories: Andrew’s Gardens
Eat your vegetables is advice of Phelps County entrepreneur
Andrew Erickson grew up on a 1400-acre farm in Phelps County. While his dad planted corn and soybeans and raised pigs, Andrew’s mother planted vegetables and flowers. Andrew says, “From my earliest memories, I liked planting, caring for and harvesting vegetables.” more...
Rural Success Stories: Burns Podiatric Laboratory
A glove for your feet is goal of McCook orthotics company
There's a reason foot doctors in all 50 states turn to Burns Lab in McCook, Neb. for individually designed foot braces for their patients. "We've built a reputation," says Mary Thorson, general manager of the Burns Podiatric Laboratory. "We produce the best quality orthotics in the United States."
Orthotics are orthopedic devices usually fitted into shoes that are designed to treat and support various biomechanical foot disorders. more...
back to top
Articles & Essays: We'd like to know...
What does it take for people to make the move to a small town
If you’re one of our growing community of readers, you know that Nebraska Rural Living is about celebrating the things that make the rural lifestyle appealing: safe neighborhoods, good schools, affordable housing and a relaxed, uncongested lifestyle that lets you know – and care about – your neighbors. more...
Articles & Essays: Living off the land
Rural Nebraskans get the benefit of buying, selling and “eating local” by Gene O. Morris and Phil Soreide
In ancient China, as the story goes, they had a curse disguised as a blessing: "May you live in interesting times." Interesting times challenge us, they test us, and occasionally they can even bring out the best in us. And the times we are living in are nothing if not interesting. more...
Articles & Essays: Box Turtles
Box turtle study uncovers "rhythm of life" on Platte River island by Mark M. Peyton
Biologist Mark M. Peyton’s job, in part, is to make a regular assessment of the wildlife on Jeffrey Island, a 4500-acre habitat area. On a recent expedition, his “pup” sniffs out its first two ornate box turtles, and it doesn’t take long before they’re, well, doing what comes naturally. more...
Articles & Essays: Golf courses of the Republican River Valley
The rolling hills and valleys of the Republican River Valley are perfect for some of the most stunning golf courses in Nebraska
Many people have the opinion that Nebraska is flat and lifeless. These courses prove that Nebraska is beautiful — as long as you know where to look. Among the clubs and courses of the Republican Valley are Cross Creek in Cambridge, the longest public course in the state, and the unique Red Cloud Country Club, Nebraska’s “best-kept secret”. The courses range from relatively undemanding to challenging, and without a doubt, any one you choose will be entertaining and beautiful at the same time. more...
back to top
Rural Foodies: Burchell's White Hill Farmhouse Inn
Burchell’s White Hill Farmhouse Inn is the quintessential country barbecue experience by Betty Sayers and Pam Soreide
You will be glad to drive a country mile to dine at Burchell’s White Hill Farmhouse Inn. If you’re looking for a farm-country kind of experience, you just can’t get more country than this. Wide fields of green corn plants flank the gravel road leading to the farmstead nine miles north and west of Minden, and while signage is minimal, the trip is well worth the adventure for some great barbeque. more...
back to top
What's Going On in Rural Nebraska
Holdrege couple plans mix of bikes and kites for Labor Day Weekend
Looking for something to do this weekend? Why not dust off the old two-wheeler and take it for a spin? Sunrise, sunset, midmorning and late afternoon, bicyclists are pedaling across Nebraska. Exercise enthusiasts, cross country trekkers, bicycle clubs, fund-raisers, racers and lone riders just out to enjoy the day all like the rural Nebraska route.more...
back to top
Also Featured This Month
Why small towns still reflect life in TV’s ‘Golden Age’
When author Phil Soreide catches a few minutes of the Andy Griffith Show, it gets him thinking about the similarities his town has to 1950s television shows. more...
Dancing Leaf Lodge is unique B&B experience for archaeologists, paleontologists
You can see a Saber-toothed tiger skull, eat buffalo stew, and spend the night in an earth lodge, just like the local natives did 1,300 years ago. more...
Briskets, brackets, hinges and ham share space in unique Oxford hardware store
It’s not every town where you can get great barbecue and pick up a gallon of paint on your way out the door. more...
back to top
