Questions about lincoln (Omaha, Center: real estate, apartments, hotels)

[paths92]

I am currently a volunteer EMT and a paramedic student in northern VA (DC suburbs). Once I finish school I was thinking about moving somewhere else for a year or so just to try something different. Lincoln is one of the cities that came to mind. I am looking for a smaller metro area with jobs and reasonable cost of living. While I love where I currently live, the cost of living is outrageous and traffic is terrible. Its not uncommon for me to be sitting on the interstate with my car in park during rush hour.

I have seen mixed reviews about Lincoln on here. I went to Nebraska one time (I have family in omaha) and found the people in both cities to be friendly. Some people on here say its a great place, some say its boring and terrible. Most of my free time is spent going to gym, working out, playing basketball, being outside, hiking and I have recently taken up martial arts classes. Not a heavy drinker or a "club" kind of person.

Would lincoln be a good fit for a young male looking for a small metro area to try out?

Thanks!

[Shredaspud]

If you like bicycling, Lincoln is your town. They keep updating and building new trails it seems. You can ride from the north to the south or from the east to the west all on bike trails. The coolest new area is the trails just east of downtown where they have what can be best described as a park/trail/fountains/sculpture area called the "antelope valley". Anyways, I noticed that you like gyms, working out, etc, so I'd figure I would give things a stab. Lincoln also has numerous parks that are FREE, unlike Fontenelle Forest in Omaha. Wilderness Park is pretty, uh, wilderness-y and is good for winter hikes. During the summer, you have to outrun the skeeters. The University campus is also a great area to walk around and explore, and Memorial Stadium is just dam cool. The new arena to the west of Memorial Stadium is coming along nicely. Lincoln is doing good, despite the economy.

Omaha has more jobs, but I cannot stand, repeat, I cannot stand the interstate system which LOVES to back up out of the blue for no good reason whatsoever such as people rubbernecking minor accidents. Every night, it seems, during rush hour, there are accidents on BOTH sides of interstate 80 because of people rubbernecking.

Lincoln is pretty docile when it comes to bad neighborhoods. It's nothing like Chicago. I think it would be a good place to raise kids or live a pretty easy lifestyle with less of the traffic concerns. Plus with Lincoln, you have Omaha nearby to find exciting stuff to do. So if you are looking for a relaxed life, Lincoln is it. Just so you get a feel for prices, I've rented 1br apartments from 365 to 525 a month. Omaha seems a bit higher than Lincoln. $100k will also get you a nice 2/3 br house with good research. The market seems to have tightened up since the economy is on the rebound and many homeowners are holding out for better prices. I'm expecting house prices to gradually increase over the next few years.

People are also pretty open to conversation here. I can usually BS with most people in lines at stores. I've dealt with many kinds of people over my years in, um, retail. Rich, ghetto, poor, and middle class. Most seem pretty relaxed here. Hope my ramblings helped.

[IsThisOneTaken?]

Sounds like you would like Lincoln.

In both Lincoln and Omaha, the fire departments are the primary EMS provider. So unless you want to work for a private company, doing mostly transports, you had best be prepared to couple your EMT-P training with FF training if you want to find a job.

However, if you plan to just keep EMS on the side, there are volunteer EMS agencies around Lincoln that would love to have you.

[TrevorAlan]

I grew up here and after living in LA for a while came back to raise my kids here. Frankly Lincoln could use some more entertainment options but Omaha is less than an hour away and Kansas City only a couple and those are great towns. Denver and the mountains are just a day away if you like winter sports and there are outdoor activities all over the surrounding countryside and near states. It is halfway to everything. Plus the city is really expanding with a new arena and a lot of redevelopment.

here are a couple tourism links
Hotels in Nebraska | Nebraska Game and Parks | Things to Do in Nebraska
Lincoln Convention and Visitors Bureau

So the affordability can be worth it if you don't have to have a fast lifestyle. Salaries might not be that high but the cost of living is not either and government services are generally well run if that is what you plan to work for. There are several private health care companies here too.

Winters are cold but not as bad as farther north and we don't get socked in by snow that often. Summer hot with lots of humidity but not as bad as Texas say.

I am actually a real estate agent so if you want to know what property values are like I could give you more information.

Trevor
trevor.mcarthur@woodsbros.com

[KatyL]

There is a nice to moderate bar scene. The famous (?) Zoo Bar and a great Jazz scene. Nice galleries, but Omaha is much better for all of those things-- as far as night life and so on.

Hardly any traffic problems. Watch the downtown during Husker games. No place to park. Traffic backs up then.

I think it is okay but think Kansas City or Omaha are better for what you want. Lincoln is more a "moms and pops with little kids" type place.

[jm31828]

Originally Posted by KatyL

There is a nice to moderate bar scene. The famous (?) Zoo Bar and a great Jazz scene. Nice galleries, but Omaha is much better for all of those things-- as far as night life and so on.

Hardly any traffic problems. Watch the downtown during Husker games. No place to park. Traffic backs up then.

I think it is okay but think Kansas City or Omaha are better for what you want. Lincoln is more a "moms and pops with little kids" type place.

Having lived in Lincoln for 12 years up until 2010, I would agree with what was mentioned above. For someone coming from a major city looking for a nice small metro area that still has some things to do, Lincoln is really not it. Lincoln is even smaller than that, it's not a metro area at all, just Lincoln- just the one town of about 225,000 people. So it doesn't really have a lot going on as you'd expect even in a smaller metro area- outside of football season when the town does feel alive and busy, it really feels sleepy as you'd expect in a smaller town. Kansas City or even Omaha would fit the bill a bit more, IMO.

[mb1547]

The OP says he's looking for a smaller metro area. The Omaha metro area is around 900K, and Lincoln's is about 300K. It all depends on what you're looking for, because of course Lincoln isn't going to have as much available as Omaha--that still doesn't mean that there's not plenty to do.

Lincoln has the Lied Center that brings in Broadway and musical performances year round, the Haymarket (a smaller version of the Old Market in Omaha) for boutique shopping and dining, and if you're a sports fan--Husker athletics, as well as Salt Dogs baseball and the Lincoln Stars Hockey team. Neither city has a major professional sports team, but we really don't need one with the Huskers. The new Pinnacle Bank arena will be opening this fall, and it will be very comparable to the Century Link Arena in Omaha, so a big world of major concerts and events will open up here in a few short months. If you're looking for world class museums, neither Lincoln or Omaha fill that bill. If you're into biking and outdoor activities, Lincoln is much better than Omaha, and lots of people out here not only bike the numerous trails in Lincoln, but the paved country roads to and from the lakes in the area. If you want to spend every night out dancing or clubbing at bars catering to the late 20s/early 30s crowd, Lincoln may not be your cup of tea.

Personally, I love Lincoln, but I love the feel and the energy of college towns. About the only time my family goes to Omaha is to visit the zoo, or to go to a show at the Orpheum--they get more Broadway shows than we do for longer periods of time. The two cities are less than an hour apart, depending on where you live and where you're going. My advice is to visit both cities and get a feel for them. If you're looking for a "Kansas City" type community, with everything that city has to offer, Omaha isn't it either. The great thing about Nebraska is that wide open spaces (which I love) are a short drive no matter where you are, but we're centrally located so you can travel anywhere easily to enjoy the things that a major city would offer. We live in the country near a small community in the metro area, and just about everyone commutes into Lincoln for work.

The Gallup Healthways Well Being Index just named Lincoln the happiest metro area in the US, out of 188 other metro areas, mainly for our great public services and really low unemployment.

http://journalstar.com/news/local/li...7fc048ff6.html

One quick note to a post above--Lincoln doesn't have as many of the traditional neighboring suburban towns side by side with the city because they've mainly all been rolled into the city of Lincoln instead. They've become neighborhoods within the city vs. separate communities.