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Never been to Grand Rapids so this is probably a pretty one sided argument.
Transit: Sounds like GR wins in public transit pretty handily. Omaha like mentioned is still working on the BRT line. The streetcar conversation has been brought up again, but they have been talking about that for more than a decade now. If you want to throw air travel in transit it looks like Omaha has the leg up there.
Eppley Field definitely serves more passengers than GRR. They both have service to 23 destinations. Keep in mind there are 3 other passenger airports within an hours drive from GRR(AZO, LAN, MKG) giving people in the immediate area options. Within 2 hours drive are SBN, FNT, DTW and MDW, and within 3 hours is ORD. Most leisure travelers will travel to Detroit or Chicago for the cheaper fares. GRR tends to be dominated by business travelers less concerned about higher fares. I think they may be more evenly matched there, if Grand Rapids were more isolated with a CSA of 1.4million I would imagine the passenger numbers would be similar.
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Walkability: Omaha has the ability to annex suburbs so much of that area gets lumped in on walk scores. I would imagine the older part of Omaha that grew up around the streetcar is similarly walkable to GR. I live 3 miles west of DT and have a great little neighborhood pocket with bars and restaurants and a few services 3 blocks away that I walk to. We have a number of those neighborhood centers rather than one massive contiguous walkable area.
It's similar in Grand Rapids, not just the contiguous core. Neighborhoods around the core that have walkable/gentrifying areas include Easttown, the East Hills, Cherry Hill, the Westside, and now Creston is starting to get that reinvestment as well. There are other neighborhoods that are quite walkable business districts, they've only seen modest reinvestment and don't have the trendy feel the others do.
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Downtown:Looking at google maps they look pretty similar in scale. Not sure if Grand Rapids has an Old Market type area? Looks like Omaha might have more green space DT.
For Grand Rapids the Heartside neighborhood would be similar.
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Diversity:Stats say Grand Rapids can't argue with that.
Entertainment: Probably Omaha. Larger sporting events, AAA baseball, NCAA Basketball tournaments, College World Series, US Olympic Swim Trials etc. Music Omaha has a pretty good reputation for local and indie music support and the CenturyLink Center seats 18,000 and gets a lot of the major name acts yearly. Omaha's Zoo is consistently battling with San Diego for best in the nation as well. Grand Rapids does have Founders Brewery which makes me jealous.
There are now over 50 breweries in Grand Rapids, Founders is the biggest. People have started to come from all over to do the brewery tours, "beer tourism". Some of the bigger breweries like New Holland and Atwater in Michigan have opened 2nd taprooms in GR. If you ever got the chance to check out the breweries I'd recommend Vivant, and Harmony as well. Van Andel Arena in GR gets most of the big name acts and is constantly on lists for arenas, at 12,000 it's definitely smaller than Century Link center. In terms of the minor league sports scene I think Omaha definitely takes it. GR has Teams in all 4 major sports, as well as a budding football club. It does not get any NCAA events .
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Natural setting: Grand Rapids. Being that close to the lake would be awesome.
Long term outlook: Pretty close I would imagine. Both seem to be growing midsized metro areas. Omaha might have a stronger corporate HQ base which could help out.
Desirability: Again I would imagine pretty much equal.
Omaha definitely has a stronger corporate base. Berkshire Hathaway alone is bigger than all of the midsized companies in GR combined!
I prefer Grand Rapids over Omaha. More people in the metro, and even more if you expand to CSA. I think Omaha is a more established brand as a city, but I don't think it has any answer to the access to water and beautiful nature that GR has.
Grand Rapids by far. You are closer to so much more. You have Chicago within a 3-4 hour drive, Detroit, and then access to all of Michigan's beauty and the Great Lakes.
Only thing Omaha has over GR is probably the weather.
Grand Rapids by far. You are closer to so much more. You have Chicago within a 3-4 hour drive, Detroit, and then access to all of Michigan's beauty and the Great Lakes.
Only thing Omaha has over GR is probably the weather.
Think again. Omaha’s economy and job diversity/opportunities are a bit stronger than GR. So advantage Omaha here. The COL is probably a wash between the 2. Diversity of population tilts slightly the Omaha way. The eatery and entertainment scene is close, probably a wash. Topography “beauty” is in the eyes of the beholder and most here on this forum, who have spent little to no time in the Omaha area, automatically assume there is little to no “beauty” here.. which is baloney. Proximity to other cities- Omaha is less than a 3 hour drive to Kansas City MO. About a 7 and change hour drive to Chicago and about the same distance to the Rocky Mountain topography of Denver. Another wash. I’ll agree that the Omaha climate is better overall..
I see both of these metros as equals. Omaha has the stronger national brand and benefits by being the largest city and metro in a 2 state region (Nebraska and Iowa).
I cut Omaha’s way only because I’m from Omaha and live here currently. But to say that one metro is “by far” a better place between these 2 evenly matched metros..well.. It defies reality.
Think again. Omaha’s economy and job diversity/opportunities are a bit stronger than GR. So advantage Omaha here. The COL is probably a wash between the 2. Diversity of population tilts slightly the Omaha way. The eatery and entertainment scene is close, probably a wash. Topography “beauty” is in the eyes of the beholder and most here on this forum, who have spent little to no time in the Omaha area, automatically assume there is little to no “beauty” here.. which is baloney. Proximity to other cities- Omaha is less than a 3 hour drive to Kansas City MO. About a 7 and change hour drive to Chicago and about the same distance to the Rocky Mountain topography of Denver. Another wash. I’ll agree that the Omaha climate is better overall..
I see both of these metros as equals. Omaha has the stronger national brand and benefits by being the largest city and metro in a 2 state region (Nebraska and Iowa).
I cut Omaha’s way only because I’m from Omaha and live here currently. But to say that one metro is “by far” a better place between these 2 evenly matched metros..well.. It defies reality.
I disagree. I'd have to see the data to be sure that Omaha's economy is slightly stronger than GR's. Over the last 40 years Grand Rapids had to transition from national and economic obscurity where Omaha hasn't. It was on its way to being another forgotten industrial city. Its economic growth is in Eds/Meds, Bio Pharm, and corporate growth. There's a reason it has become much more recession resistant compared to Michigan. It has had a much longer way to go to even be in the same conversation as Omaha. Where Omaha has always had a stronger brand being the largest city in Nebraska and within a several hour radius.
As for nature and recreation there's just not a comparison. Not at all a knock on Omaha as I've been in the area a few times and have never been one to discount it for scenery. I just don't know how anyone would be intellectually honest and think the two are peers in this department. Omaha just doesn't have an answer for the Lake Michigan coastline or the several resort communities that are in Grand Rapids metro, or within an hours drive. It doesn't have an answer for the quick access to Michigans north country with it's big hills and dense forests. It doesn't have a Traverse city within 2 hours of it. Grand Rapids is the gateway to Michigan's vacation country and its gold coast. Grand Rapids itself sits in a small valley with hills rising on all sides of it. It's one of those "cities in a forrest".
I do think these two areas are a close match. Though I do give GR the nod for location/nature. Proximity to bigger cities. Additionally Grand Rapids is the center for more people and close to several other small/mid sized cities. There are 2.1million people within an hours drive of downtown Grand Rapids. There are 1.2million people in that same distance from Omaha.
I disagree. I'd have to see the data to be sure that Omaha's economy is slightly stronger than GR's. Over the last 40 years Grand Rapids had to transition from national and economic obscurity where Omaha hasn't. It was on its way to being another forgotten industrial city. Its economic growth is in Eds/Meds, Bio Pharm, and corporate growth. There's a reason it has become much more recession resistant compared to Michigan. It has had a much longer way to go to even be in the same conversation as Omaha. Where Omaha has always had a stronger brand being the largest city in Nebraska and within a several hour radius.
As for nature and recreation there's just not a comparison. Not at all a knock on Omaha as I've been in the area a few times and have never been one to discount it for scenery. I just don't know how anyone would be intellectually honest and think the two are peers in this department. Omaha just doesn't have an answer for the Lake Michigan coastline or the several resort communities that are in Grand Rapids metro, or within an hours drive. It doesn't have an answer for the quick access to Michigans north country with it's big hills and dense forests. It doesn't have a Traverse city within 2 hours of it. Grand Rapids is the gateway to Michigan's vacation country and its gold coast. Grand Rapids itself sits in a small valley with hills rising on all sides of it. It's one of those "cities in a forrest".
I do think these two areas are a close match. Though I do give GR the nod for location/nature. Proximity to bigger cities. Additionally Grand Rapids is the center for more people and close to several other small/mid sized cities. There are 2.1million people within an hours drive of downtown Grand Rapids. There are 1.2million people in that same distance from Omaha.
One thing is for certain- these 2 metros are pretty much an even match. Can’t go wrong with either.
Everything else, I’ll just agree to disagree and leave it at that
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