Not that I disagree with you but you have to admit that Peoria is a bit out of the way and is an oasis. Land grabs there should be fairly inexpensive, especially once you get out of the city center. My recollection was that there wasn't much even out towards Pekin. Building around Bloomington, Peoria, Champaign, heck even Kankakee (as horrible as the idea may be) is much different then building in the suburbs where the sprawl is beginning to really get out there.
You're obviously somewhat familiar with the area if you namedropped Pekin But it's really about managing expectations...on both sides of the argument. It's not Peoria, CR, Omaha(in particular), Bloomington, ect are exactly wide spots in the road. The Peoria area has a metro population of over 1/4 million people. We've got (I think) the only level 1 trauma center in downstate IL. Cat HQ is here and all of the ancillary support shops for Cat. Three hospitals, and an airport that has free parking You can get about anywhere you want in 20 minutes, traffic is almost a non-issue and outside of the ghetto area in downtown Peoria it's a very safe. I could say many of the same things for CR, Des Moines and Bloomington. Omaha is an entirely different story and is a very large city (by midwest standards). It's got a metro reach of over a million people, has a significant fortune 500 presence. Cost of living standards are much in your favor and there's an abundance of parks, golf courses, and trails.
But they aren't flashy, fancy, or exciting places. They don't have Ikeas or major touristy hotspots. No mountains or white sand beaches. But to make up for that you get dirt cheap housing, reasonable wages relative to the area, short commutes, excellent school districts and nice, big safe yards to raise yo kids.
In my case for Peoria, I'm only a 2 hour drive from Chicago, 3 to St Louis and 4 to Indy. I can hop a round trip flight to Vegas for $120 and one to Tampa, FL for $100 depending on deals. Considering it only takes me 15 minutes from about anywhere in the area to drive to the Airport and about 20 minutes to get through security I've got a leg up on traveling from O'hare. Sure I'll have to connect through there for many flights but I'm still not banging my head on the dash trying to get through traffic and then getting jacked $50 a day for parking.
I might have to drive farther in a lot of these areas, but at least I'm not jammed up bumper to bumper. When I lived in Phoenix I had a 6 mile drive that could take over an hour and a half depending on what was going on with traffic and accidents. I can damn near drive to Chicago in that same time.
So far yes, unnaccessable? Not all. You'd be amazed at the number of people that move here from big cities (like my basketball buddy from Brooklyn) that really embrace the area once they settle in and appreciate what they have here.
If you need an electric, ultra urban downtown area like Chicago, NY, or some other large cities provide then you won't be happy. But if all you do is drive home to your suburbian home and spend an hour in traffic each way and do little else than hang out with your family on the nights and weekends like many suburbian families do...then I've got a leg up on them in terms of standards of living, stress, and likely schools.
Again...managing expectations. I've got a great place to raise a family, good jobs for my wife and I, and a one stop sign, 15 minute commute to work.