[DTO Luv]

Omaha is pretty low crime compared to other big cities. Not comparable to Lincoln though.

[mattpoulsen]

Omaha is a low crime city. Its all relative.

[Isaysos]

Its much lower crime than we have in Minneapolis and Chicago. It depends on what part of the city you are in. I grew up in a neighborhood about 10 mile west of the Chicago Loop. (Oak Park, actually its own city government) and there were many nice areas in Chicago and I was not the least worried about crime, but if you cross a certain street or border at night, it can get a little scarry. Im sure Omaha and Lincoln are the same way, just not as extreme.
On another note, I find it odd that restaurants in smaller towns like Lincoln, even Iowa City, are always crowded, even more so than many in Chicago. (Im betting its because their college towns.)

[DigHighHeels]

Lincoln vs Omaha?
[SIZE=3]I can’t believe this is even a topic. I have been an Omaha business man for 25 years, and I can honestly say that there is no comparison between Omaha and Lincoln. First, the provincial mentality of Lincoln is like nothing I have ever seen. It is painfully clear that the citizenry of the capital city is a product of either the government or university systems. Low cost producer wins. Quality doesn’t matter. And most frustrating…All things being equal, Lincoln buyers would rather pay more and do business with a company from out of state, than support an Omaha company. I have seen it 1,000 times![/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]Second, it appears that Lincoln’s growth has come predominantly from an influx from smaller NE communities. As “small town” Nebraska continues to shrink, it APPEARS that that population is TRENDING towards Lincoln. Omaha’s growth on the other hand TENDS to come more from larger more metropolitan and savvy areas. The cultural diversities this creates makes for a much more interesting population and community.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]Third, although I hate to jump on the transportation bandwagon here, it is true. I live on the far western edge of Omaha and can be at the airport (far eastern edge) in 30 minutes. It takes that long to cover ¼ the distance in Lincoln. And since we’re talking about airports and the availability of flights… Do I really need to elaborate here?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]Fourth, the overall attitude towards business, the economic driver for everything, (no, shockingly it is not government or the University), Omaha is in a different league. Comparing the business climate in Lincoln to Omaha, is like comparing Branched Oaks to Lake Michigan. Forget about it![/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]Fifth, Six, Seventh… Schools – Look at the options in Omaha and the proliferation of private education which forces the public schools to keep up. Which leads us to property taxes which SUCK in both communities. I still can’t get my mind around why in God’s good name Nebraska has more school districts than Texas. That’s Millions of dollars every year spent to support eight student school houses. – Insane! I really could go on…and on…and on… But I’ll stop now.[/SIZE]

[mattpoulsen]

Dig,

The question is what type of atmosphere you prefer. Some people like a midsized college city. Not everyone in the world is seeking a more "metropolitan" feel. Before simply dismissing Lincoln because you don't prefer it, why don't you try considering why other people like it.

I have lived in both cities and like both of them very much, but for entirely different reasons.

Dig, I would also add that the public school system in Lincoln is EXCELLENT. By inference, you try to lead people to believe that the Omaha schools are superior. Well, that simply isn't true.

I would also ask you what Nebraska is supposed to do with the small school districts in rural Nebraska?? Should we simply say, "you don't get an education". First of all, maybe you should get out of Omaha and get a feel for the state you live in.

Plus, you can cut out all the small 1 room school houses out of the state, which they pretty much have already done, and you won't feel property tax relief in Omaha!

[DigHighHeels]

I don't care why other people like or dislike it. I was expressing MY opinion because that is what was requested.

You can read whatever you want into my comments about the school system, but all I really meant (and what I wrote) was that the parochial system was forcing the public system in Omaha to improve.

What would I do with the small districts? Consolidate them more rapidly. This includes Omaha as well... IE, Consolidate OPS, District 66, Millard, Elkhorn, Bellevue etc. It should be treated as one, just as districts in Broken Bow, Chadron, et el should be consolidated. (I don't mean those specifically, but offer them only anecdotally).

[mattpoulsen]

Yes, it was your opinion and its my opinion that your opinion is off base. Guess that's how opinions work.

Further, you very strongly infer that Omaha has better schools because of the private influence...well, all I was stating is that Lincoln has excellent schools. You can split hairs, but you know what you were inferring.

As far as consolidation goes, the reason consolidation can't be applied the same way in Omaha and out-state Nebraska is pretty simple...miles between schools.

Its not practical to bus kids 2 hours a day to get a bigger and technically more efficient school system. You're the one talking about quality vs. price in regards to Lincoln business...well that applies to education as well.

Bigger schools don't offer a better education...they offer a cheaper (per pupil) education. In fact, every study you can possibly find will tell you the smaller the class the better the education. So, when you consider the cost and time of busing, the reduction in quality, and limited savings due to efficiency, the forcing of out-state consolidation is just silly.

Also, you're mixing issues on consolidation. The one-room school houses that you speak of are already being forcibly consolidated. The high schools (such as in Broken Bow and Chadron) have hundreds of students. You make it sound as though we have highschools with 8 kids in it. The one-room school houses that you apparently detest so much are already, by statue, being forced to consolidate with the K-12 districts. Even the smallest of highschools will have no less than 60 to 70 students (note the small schools will house 7th graders and 8th graders in the same building as highschool).

[kosnebbear]

Matt,

You are right about it not being practical to bus kids 2 hours a day in order to attend school. There are places in western Nebraska where the students are sent to school in one town for the whole week. While in town they stay in homes of families in the town for the week. Then they are bused home for the weekend, back to work on the ranch.

As for the old K-8 one room schools some of them that are close to a larger school like maybe 15 to 30 minutes by bus needs to be closed and to become part of a larger school. The law that you are talking about has been repelled by a vote of the people. It is no longer a law that forces these schools to merge. The problem is that the vote came after the deadline that forced all of these K-8 school districts to merge with a K-12 school district. Consolidating these schools where the kids have to spend hours on the bus in western Nebraska would not be a very good idea at all.

As for better education for the kids if you consolidate schools you don't need as many teachers which means that a consolidated school could select the teachers from each school who was good at their jobs. The fewer jobs for teachers makes getting those jobs more competitive This in turn would make the education better, because you are getting the best teacher available. It also would make more educational opportunities for the kids, like new programs starting might not have been available before in the old district because they could not afford it. It makes the taxable base for the school bigger which in turn spreads out the taxes over a larger area. Matt read about what took place with Tecumseh and Nemaha Valley High Schools and what took place with their merger just last year. I also know as I live in this area and was happy to see it happen. Now the kids, which is what a school was built for have more educational opportunities because of the merger. I will be nice and help you with your reading by giving you this link to the story that was published in the Lincoln Journal Star a while back.

JournalStar.com - Lincoln, Nebraska - News - Schools (http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2007/11/17/news/schools/doc47224ecd034e6829525700.txt - broken link)

[DigHighHeels]

Funny...No comments on my thoughts on the business climate or the provincial attitude of Lincolnites...???

[mattpoulsen]

There are no comments about the Omaha business culture because people are pretty much dismissing you. You state the obvious...big deal. The Omaha metro is about 3 times the size of Lincoln. No one really is surprised that there are more robust business opportunities in Omaha. What's your point?? That still doesn't change the fact that there are plenty of opportunities in Lincoln. No one said the two cities were equal on every issue. The point was that both cities are nice, but for different reasons. Why is that hard to figure out?? Don't think that you some how showed Lincolnites with your comments...people just don't really care about your comments because you're stating the obvious.