[GhostPoet]

So, my wife and I are considering moving to Ohama. Just a few question if anyone could help us out!


1) What is the weather like in the winter?

2) What is the weather like in the off-seasons? We live in gloomy Washington right now and are hoping to find a place to live that's warm and sunny A LOT more often than not. (during the off seasons)

3) What is the job market like for standard office work? (ie Accounts payable)

4) Is there a lot to do? Mainly what we look for is a large theater to see movies in, LOTS of places to eat of different variety and a big mall.

thanks!

[jesse78]

Winter weather is pretty hit and miss, we usually have one or two big snow events in a season and several small snow events in between. Last year we didn't get out first snowfall until Dec 31st. The nice thing though is we very rarely get ice always snow. Sunshine abounds during Spring and Summer, it seems most of the rain hits in the evening after a nice sunny day. I would check out Jobs Careerlink Employment to do job searchs in Omaha it is a great resource. We have several big malls(both enclosed and open air) mainly in the suburbs, there are presently several movie theatures scattered throughout the metro and they are building a new theatre at the westroads mall(my fav indoor mall). Also we have a small amusment park here in the city, however just three hours to the south is Worlds of Fun in Kansas City which is a huge theme park. Hope this helps

J~

[kosnebbear]

Winter in Nebraska is something that you have to experience to understand. Here is a web link that you can go to that will show you what some of past winters were like.

Nebraska Weather and Climate

Here is a couple of job sites that you can also surf so that you can have an idea of the job market in both Lincoln and Omaha. You will also be able to look at the cost of homes or rental properties in Nebraska as well.

http://www.wrk4neb.org/
InterLinc: Employment
lincolnjobs.com - Job Search (http://www.lincolnjobs.com/search.cgi - broken link)
lincolnjobs.com - Job Search (http://www.lincolnjobs.com/search.cgi - broken link)
Omaha.com Home Page

As for movies in Nebraska, do you play the piano? We are still in the stoneage in Nebraska and we don't have those talking picture shows like you have in the eastern part of the country. As Bill Engel would say at about this point, "Here's your sign". Yes we have large movie centers where you can have a choice of the movie you want to see. We have everything you have there so you are not coming to a area that is not without entertainment and about any kind of food you want you can find in Nebraska as well.

[jesse--james]

The job market here is at about FULL employment. I think it is at or around 4% unemployment. That means LOTS of JOBS for those who want to work. At 4% even idiots can find work--so when your order gets messed up at McDonald's it's because the smarter people all have better jobs.

There is plenty to do also -- just no major league teams -- but there are plenty of minor league teams here. (that's what hometown sports is all about right?)

The winters arent' tooo bad. We usually have a reallly mild fall -- or a really mild spring. --sometimes not so much -- but lately really only about 4 snow events worth mentioning per season.

[Katarina Witt]

There are lots of restaurants in Omaha. People there seem to love to eat out. What do you mean by "off-season" weather? Omaha has four distinct seasons. Last fall, when we were out in Sept., the weather was beautiful. Summer and winter are the "real thing".

[buffy888]

1) What is the weather like in the winter? Weather in winter does vary. The past few winters have seemed a bit milder than those in the past, but that could change again. I am a big baby when it come to the cold, so I HATE the winters, but it's probably not really that bad. There are a few days when it is so cold that you can kind of feel the inside of your nose freeze up. Just make sure you are prepared for driving in the snow as well as on ice. Know a few different routes for how to get to/from work in case the roads are really bad - or there are a lot of accidents - on your normal route.

2) What is the weather like in the off-seasons? We live in gloomy Washington right now and are hoping to find a place to live that's warm and sunny A LOT more often than not. (during the off seasons) Spring - I would generally not call it warm and sunny, but when it starts to warm up a bit after a cold winter, any raise of the temperature feels great. I like late spring/early summer - not hot, just warm, and generally sunny. Summer can get very hot. (People here will tell you it is very humid, but since I am from the South, I know that's not really true.) Fall - Doesn't seem to last very long before it turns cold, but it is very pretty watching the leaves change colors.

3) What is the job market like for standard office work? (ie Accounts payable) Job market is good. People have given you some good links. The Careerlink site is a great one - you can look at all of the jobs posted in one day or you can search by career field or by employer if you have a target employer. I don't think you should have any problems finding jobs. If you can't find your dream job right away, there are a ton of call centers (there are both inbound and outbound positions, so if you don't want to call people at home, there are plenty of inbound positions where you can take orders, do customer service, etc.) where you could work temporarily until you find a better fit.

4) Is there a lot to do? Mainly what we look for is a large theater to see movies in, LOTS of places to eat of different variety and a big mall. One thing I do enjoy about Omaha is the variety of restaurants. While we seem to get more chain restaurants every day, there are still plenty of local places as well. Some that have been around for years have been closing down (mainly due to competition from the chains), but there are many that are still holding on. There are several different movie theatres in all areas of town. The main local theatre chain is Douglas Theatres, but there are also a couple of AMC theatres plus the theatre in Dundee that shows more "art" films, midnight showings, etc. There are also performing arts - the Community Playhouse, for example. As others mentioned, there are a few different malls around town. The 2 newest ones are outdoor malls (I still do not understand why so many of these keep popping up in a place that can have bad winters), but there are indoor ones, too. There is a Sam's Club, plus a Costco will be opening soon. The Qwest Center brings in a lot of musical performers - plus, if a band or singer is on tour but isn't coming to Omaha, they might be coming to Kansas City, which is only 2 1/2 hours or so away.

Not sure where in Washington you are, but just an FYI that I have found some folks in Nebraska to be not quite as liberal/open-minded as I have seen in other cities... And people always talk about how friendly Midwesterners are, but I have encountered many very rude people here (especially the type that don't realize there is anyone else in the world but them - parking their cart in the middle of a grocery store aisle so no one else can get by, letting the door slam in someone's face rather than hold the door open for someone, letting their kids in Wheelies cut right in front of you while shopping, etc.) - I know there are rude people everywhere, but I have run into more here than I have while living in much bigger cities. Neither of these things are huge complaints - just observations.

Another thing to do here is volunteer. There are many great volunteer opportunities here. One example is the Nebraska Humane Society - it is wonderful. If you like kids, there are lots of volunteer options at the Children's Hospital. Many other places to volunteer, too.

When you need a weekend away in a big city, Southwest Airlines usually runs a lot of fare specials between here and Chicago - sometimes $34 or $49 each way...

Good luck with the move if you do decide to come.

[mattpoulsen]

I know there are rude people everywhere, but I have run into more here than I have while living in much bigger cities.


I've had the exact opposite experience.

[MarriedWithOutChildren]

mattpoulsen, buffy888 was merely stated the experiences that he/she has had in Omaha compared to experiences in other cities. He/She was responding to a post regarding the weather, job market, and activities in Omaha- why must you reply with a rebuttal to almost everything that I have read? Your response was not even regarding the original post.

In regards to the original post, as previously stated, there are plenty of jobs in the Omaha metro area. Again, the site that I find most useful is the Careerlink website as it has job postings for the Omaha metro area. Omaha has a lot of fun outdoor venues as well as theatres and great eateries.

Good luck and hope that you will be joining us in Nebraska!

[Hawkeye48]

There is no off season here in Omaha, we have four solid seasons here. Summer is humid and we do have summer thunderstorms frequently, and tornado watches/warnings are common. In the winter, usually most people simply are fine with a shirt, sweater, and light jacket. Layering is best, but it can get really cold once in a while. Contrary to what you may have heard, Omaha does have hills, a lot of them. World class sprinters and cyclists train here, so you need good tread on your tires or you won't make it up a lot of hills here in the winter.

As far as activities go, we have lots of restaurants, a great zoo, movie theaters, a minor league baseball team, the Orpheum/Holland Performing Arts Center, the Quest Center for concerts, and of course this is Nebraska, so we are huge Nebraska football fans. So much so that the huskers own the NCAA national record for consecutive football game sellouts at 282 straight games. Probably because we don't have any major league sports franchises.

Our malls are about the same size as any other city the same size. Houses are much cheaper than in many other areas of the country. We have a number of lakes for recreation here, as well as pretty much everything else you would expect to see in any other city about the same size. Public transportation isn't that good, so you need a fairly reliable vehicle. You should check out the local newspaper online at Omaha.com. That will give you a pretty good idea of the local job market as well as the many local activities and events. But if you are seriously considering moving here there is no substitution for actually visiting Omaha over a weekend.