Buying a house (Omaha: apartment, crime, neighborhood)

[brsd4f]

Hello. I have rented a apartment the past two years in the downtown area, but I'm looking at possibly buying a house. I want to live in the midtown,benson,dundee area due to my job being downtown. I'm not from Nebraska but Omaha is a great city as far as I can tell. I was wondering if anyone can give me some advice on a few areas that I'm interested in. I want to be in a good neighborhood with as little crime as possible. Also is Benson a better school than Central? Here are the areas
1) North or south 51 street----north and charles, and north and lake st.
2) south 48th street to william street
3) south 42 street to shirley street
4) south 52 and jones


I really apreciate your advice. Can anyone explain where dundee is,where midtown begins and where benson fits into the equation?

thanks

[tpabes]

Some threads that might help a little:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/omaha...ts-dundee.html
http://www.city-data.com/forum/omaha...re-benson.html
Midtown is more the medical center area to downtown, IMO. My personal preference would be to go with the Dundee and midtown areas, over Benson, but thats just me. I would also go with Central over Benson, again my opinion. I only lived in Omaha for two years, visit often, but hopefully some residents will chime in for you.