What's it like in Lincoln, Nebraska? (Omaha, Waverly: apartment complexes, lofts, low crime)

[julieal]

Hi, i'm new to this and have read a few threads about Lincoln. Some have made me excited to come live there and some have made me want to go into a corner and just hide.

I've been a Michigan resident all my life, but i have to move to lincoln with my husband this May.

I was just wondering what its like.. Is it ideal for a couple? Will we have things to do there? Do you guys have acitvities like bowling or just recreational fun?

I've never been away from home so you can obviously see that i am a little nervous.

Do you know any great apartment complexes near UNL? I would appreciate the names of the areas so i can check them out online.

Lastly, i was checking out schools for a program i was interested in going into. Can someone give me more information about BryanLGH College of Health Sciences? I checked it out online and it seems to offer everything i was looking for but i just wanted to get someones opinion on it that may have attended it or know of it?

I appreciate any feedback.

[Omahahonors]

Originally Posted by julieal

Hi, i'm new to this and have read a few threads about Lincoln. Some have made me excited to come live there and some have made me want to go into a corner and just hide.

I've been a Michigan resident all my life, but i have to move to lincoln with my husband this May.

I was just wondering what its like.. Is it ideal for a couple? Will we have things to do there? Do you guys have acitvities like bowling or just recreational fun?

I've never been away from home so you can obviously see that i am a little nervous.

Do you know any great apartment complexes near UNL? I would appreciate the names of the areas so i can check them out online.

Lastly, i was checking out schools for a program i was interested in going into. Can someone give me more information about BryanLGH College of Health Sciences? I checked it out online and it seems to offer everything i was looking for but i just wanted to get someones opinion on it that may have attended it or know of it?

I appreciate any feedback.

Lincoln is a city that is approaching 300,000 people (surpassed that in metro size) so you don't have to worry about recreation at all. Especially with all the cranes in downtown, the downright awesome new arena and historic haymarket area. Way too big to not have bowling, has a decent nightlife, soon to have big-named concerts, has tons of Husker sporting events, has minor league sports etc. It's going to have everything a person will want in an everyday activity and still has plenty of cards left.

Lincoln has been a city on the rise based off of population alone, but there are some real big-city projects that are going on pretty much everywhere in the downtown area.

Plus, the edge of Lincoln is only 23 miles from the edge of another fast-growing core (the southwest edge of the Omaha continuous core) which has about 910,000 to about 915,000 (or about 875,000 to about 880,000 under the 2003 definitions) with the new msa definitions coming out next year.

[JustMe_T3K]

Originally Posted by julieal

Hi, I'm new to this and have read a few threads about Lincoln. Some have made me excited to come live there and some have made me want to go into a corner and just hide.

Moving anywhere can be scary and/but will provide you with loads of new challenges.
Your attitude towards the move will be the deciding factor on how happy you will be here.

Good Luck.


PS: I live in a town of 800 and we still have a bowling alley.

[Garthur]

I live right in-between Lincoln and Omaha. I'm very happy here. Lincoln is a small town that doesn't know that it's a mid size city now. Nebraska has low unemployment. The largest employers in Lincoln is the state and the university. Lincoln is also a low crime area.

One thing that I don't like about Lincoln is the basic lay out of the streets. If you want to go from south Lincoln to Omaha, you have 2 choices. One is to all the way around Lincoln to the west and then catch interstate 80 on the North West side of the city. The other way to go is to drive North through city traffic for upto 30 mins to get to Interstate 80 for the 30 min drive to Omaha.

[Swarley55]

Lincoln has definitely outgrown its city roads. They seriously need to consider a beltway or something.

[VitruvianMan]

Originally Posted by Garthur

I live right in-between Lincoln and Omaha. I'm very happy here. Lincoln is a small town that doesn't know that it's a mid size city now. Nebraska has low unemployment. The largest employers in Lincoln is the state and the university. Lincoln is also a low crime area.

One thing that I don't like about Lincoln is the basic lay out of the streets. If you want to go from south Lincoln to Omaha, you have 2 choices. One is to all the way around Lincoln to the west and then catch interstate 80 on the North West side of the city. The other way to go is to drive North through city traffic for upto 30 mins to get to Interstate 80 for the 30 min drive to Omaha.

Another option is to head east on Old Cheney all the way to 148th and then take that to Waverly and then you can get on I80E at the Ashland exit I believe.

I was literally just thinking Lincoln needs to upgrade the infrastructure in a bad, bad way then saw this thread and had to register and comment. The streets just aren't cutting it anymore. It takes about 25 minutes to get from one end of town to the other, which is roughly 10 miles.

But Lincoln does NOT have a metro area, if so where? Waverly? It's mostly residential and commercial areas mixed throughout the city. Just pick a street 27th, 48th or 56th and you'll find houses along the side of the road and then come across strip malls.

However, the Haymarket and the downtown area are different as you'd expect. With the new arena coming into town, that might bring new attractions in the way of concerts and other performing artists.

But, having said all of that, Lincoln was just named the happiest city in America . And being a 21 year old college student at UNL, I'd agree with that! The only other places I'd move to, are Austin, TX or Denver, CO.

I'll let somebody else comment on entertainment. I'm curious what other people do here? I mean, I exercise quite a bit and Lincoln has some nice biking and walking trails. There's also a lot of parks and other recreational areas in town. There are plenty of bowling alleys and everybody here is very friendly ime.

[Im Lauree]

We moved here in January for UNL. We really like it. We moved from CA to NE in 2007 and the little town we moved to was horrible. People were really, really rude and mean - almost hateful. We haven't found that in Lincoln. There is lots to do here and although we haven't done everything there is to be done (getting jobs, going to school, etc.) we look forward to exploring the city further. Superior Place Apartments is good value for what you get. We have a 2 bedroom - almost 1,000 sq, 2 bathrooms and nice layout for less than $600 month. Utilities are less than $50. Laundry room right next door (literally). Lincoln is safe and friendly. A real melting pot too. Many different ethnic groups getting along fine.

[Nebraska mom]

Bryan is a very good school. That being said, most Nebraska colleges are very good schools with higher graduate levels then many other states. Lincoln is a city with a small town feel. There are many apartments in Lincoln, you could live anywhere in the city and generally be to the otherside with in twenty minutes or so... Welcome home!

[Carmelo777]

Lincoln has some cool new lofts in the downtown buildings. I don't know if you would call them skyscrapers haha, but old warehouse and manufacturing buildings turned into apartments and retail spaces. You could walk to UNL and any of the downtown restaurants, bars, etc.
Lincoln has active local music and art scenes. The first Friday art walks have been growing each year. There are lots of small music venues like the Zoo Bar, Duffy's, The Bourbon, etc.
Now that we have children, we have been experiencing the family entertainment the city has to offer. There is a small children's zoo in town, and Omaha boasts one of the top zoos in the country. Lincoln also has an amazing Children's Museum downtown. UNL has the Sheldon Art Gallery and Morrill Hall which is a Nebraska natural history museum. UNL hosts Jazz in June outside the Sheldon every Tuesday in June. The city has a few bowling alleys, a roller rink, several movie theatres, lots of parks-including Pioneers Park which has a nature center for all ages where we love to go. The Lux Center for the Arts has art classes for all ages and is a fun place to be. There are a few small lakes in or near the city and city pools all over town for summer fun. If you get bored in Lincoln, Omaha is 45 minutes away, Kansas City is 3 hours away, and Chicago, Minneapolis, and Denver are 8 hour drives.

[nycbee]

Carmel, thanks for the info! We are going to be moving from NYC in September (having spent 12 years in Manhattan). Looking forward to the different pace of life (especially as we have a 2 year old and another on the way in November. Glad to hear there is a lot for kids to do and hopefully enough to keep us olduns occcupied. Well, mid 30s anyway

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