UNL is in the middle of nowhere in the larger sense. It is in a sparsely populated region far away from the major population centers. KC is moderately close, but that's it. Chicago is about an 8-hr drive. By contrast Blacksburg is only about 4 hrs from 'civilization', meaning the DC area, which is part of the NE highly densely populated region and all its "attractions"... 4hrs more is NYC. All things considered, I suspect that most would rather live by the Blue Ridge Mountains in Blacksburg, than in the Great Plains near Lincoln, NE.
Omaha metro area has 900,000 people. Omaha is 45 miles away from Lincoln, which is a nice town with a population of 272,000 people. Lincoln is also in a rich farm region with unparalleled fan support throughout the state. I've never encountered a state as consumed by college football as Nebraska. Nursing homes would be trashed and burnt to the ground by rioting senior citizens if they couldn't get Nebraska football games on TV. Four hours away is St Louis. Eight hours away is Chicago, Denver, and the Rocky Mountains, which are all easily accessible by AMTRAK train service.
Blacksburg is in a relatively depressed, though beautiful, part of the Appalachians. It is cut off from civilization to the north and west (West Virginia and brutal interstate driving through an intense portion of the Appalachian Mountains). VaTech is a better-regarded school than Nebraska. Interest in VaTech football is tiny compared to the following Nebraska has in state and elsewhere. There is no doubt which school has a stronger football program and greater fan support. I would prefer to live in Blacksburg because there are more interesting bugs there. I wouldn't assume others would prefer Blacksburg over Lincoln, though. The Lincoln area has more normal "mainstream" people than the Blacksburg area (unless you think moonshiners, yahoos, and banjo-playing cornholers are normal).
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