moving to Omaha from DC area (NoVa) (Bellevue, Papillion: apartments, rental)

AF-JROD · 11-27-2011, 11:40 AM

Hello city data peeps! I'm moving to Omaha by the end of Jan, will be working at Offutt AFB and looking for a place... just from looking around the internet I saw some neat places in what I believe is downtown Omaha by Urban Village Development. The other place that called my attention was Papillion and I saw several different places that I liked. What can you guys tell me about these two areas and how will my commute be??? thanks!

smithy77 · 11-27-2011, 11:47 AM

...From Omaha but living in the DC area (NoVa). If you have kids, it doesn't get any better than Papillion. If not, I'd check out Downtown or Mid-Town. Rental prices are about half of what you're paying now, and purchase prices are even lower. Compared to DC, traffic in Omaha is non-existent. Commuting is a relative breeze. Urban Village does excellent work, mostly re-habbing older properties in up-and-coming neighborhoods----kinda' like Del Ray in Alexandria. There are a number of new-ish developments----like Midtown Crossing and Ak-Sar-Ben Village, that are similar to Shirlington. Check out eomahaforums.com for updates on just about everything having to do with Omaha.

Raphael07 · 11-27-2011, 06:26 PM

Smithy... who are you on EOmaha?

And I believe what you saw in midtown by Urban village was their newest renovation project. Its still in a semi rough area right now, but thats Omaha standards and that place is rapidly improving due to this project and Midtown Crossing. So, if you don't have kids, go for it.

AF-JROD · 11-28-2011, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smithy77

...From Omaha but living in the DC area (NoVa). If you have kids, it doesn't get any better than Papillion. If not, I'd check out Downtown or Mid-Town. Rental prices are about half of what you're paying now, and purchase prices are even lower. Compared to DC, traffic in Omaha is non-existent. Commuting is a relative breeze. Urban Village does excellent work, mostly re-habbing older properties in up-and-coming neighborhoods----kinda' like Del Ray in Alexandria. There are a number of new-ish developments----like Midtown Crossing and Ak-Sar-Ben Village, that are similar to Shirlington. Check out eomahaforums.com for updates on just about everything having to do with Omaha.

Thanks Smithy77!

I really liked those apts by UVD, I'm glad to hear good things about those places. I really don't have kids so schools are not an issue. But I will check those other two places as well. It's good to have an idea before I fully dive into finding a place once I get there.

Also what can you tell me about the winters there? Should I think about getting a new car??? I have an infiniti sports edition g37 that does pretty bad in DC during the winter... ( i actually don't drive it at all

) well at least when it snows... my other car (which my wife drives around) does great in the snow and we somehow manage to drive one car during the snow days, but I was wondering if I should just get rid of it or will I be fine? I mean is there really that much of a difference???

thanks again for all your help!

rock_chalk · 11-28-2011, 08:03 PM

I was just in NoVa today. I think it has many similarities with Omaha (in a good way).

smithy77 · 11-29-2011, 12:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AF-JROD

Thanks Smithy77!

I really liked those apts by UVD, I'm glad to hear good things about those places. I really don't have kids so schools are not an issue. But I will check those other two places as well. It's good to have an idea before I fully dive into finding a place once I get there.

Also what can you tell me about the winters there? Should I think about getting a new car??? I have an infiniti sports edition g37 that does pretty bad in DC during the winter... ( i actually don't drive it at all

) well at least when it snows... my other car (which my wife drives around) does great in the snow and we somehow manage to drive one car during the snow days, but I was wondering if I should just get rid of it or will I be fine? I mean is there really that much of a difference???

thanks again for all your help!

Average January temperature in Omaha: 22 degrees

Average in DC: 34 degrees

Hey, nice wheels----I'll be honest. Heavy, high performance cars usually don't do well in a snow/ice storm. Expect Winters like the year before last (09-10), but they're pretty good about clearing it, and the traffic is much lighter, so you won't ever have to go through that nightmarish apocalyptic ice/snow storm we had just before rush hour this past February. Drivers in Omaha generally know about Winter driving techniques----the DC area has people from all over the planet, many of whom are from warm/snowless countries, and we know how interesting that can be during a Winter storm. You'll see a lot of 4-wheel drive SUV's around Omaha----they're practical. Omaha is much more used to/geared for Winter. As a kid, I actually looked forward to ice skating/tobogganing (Omaha is surprisingly hilly)/hockey, etc.. Most people in the DC area consider it more of a nuisance. I'm glad to hear that you're adventurous enough to consider city living. Most of the AF families I knew growing up wouldn't venture very far from the base or Bellevue/LaVista/Papillion. Omaha has a lot to offer for a city its size.

harshbarj · 11-30-2011, 03:56 AM

Honestly, if your car can handle a DC winter it will do just fine here in Omaha. Just a single nor'easter can dump as much snow on DC as Omaha sees in a full year. A heavy snow in Omaha is around 6-8 inches, just a warmup for east coast cities. Most storms drop around 3-4 inches, though we have had a few go over a foot.

Depending on where in Dc you live I would avoid Papillion. Papillion is a suburb of Omaha and part of the sprawl affecting the area. If you're into urban living you will want to remain downtown or around midtown. Living in downtown or midtown can mean not needing to get out the car every time you want to go somewhere, saving money big time over the year. You are also close to may things to do in Omaha as well.

Commutes in Omaha are generally at or less than half an hour. Going from midtown to offutt should be about 15-25 min, depending on traffic and where you live.

iBEAM · 12-17-2011, 01:23 PM

Interesting... I'm also moving to Omaha to work at Offutt AFB from the DC area--- NoVA (Alexandria, Del Ray)--- though my move date is probably around the end of February. I've likewise been looking at the Urban Village. I have an Architecture degree and love that it's so affordable to live in the city in Omaha. I don't want to buy when I first get there as I have no idea just how long-term this will be. I do want to live in downtown/midtown/old market. I'm okay with redevelopment areas as long as I have secure parking.

Besides the Urban Village developments, I've also considered the Skinner Macaroni Apartments (thoughts?). I'm well into my 30's.... female.... any other ideas on good urban apartments without paying too much would be appreciated!

joeyrindone · 12-18-2011, 07:26 PM

I have a Mercedes SLK and I'd imagine it handles similarly to your car. Just get some good winter tires and you'll be fine.

Swarley55 · 12-18-2011, 11:54 PM

Since everyone else is weighing in, I have a Lamborghini countach and it does fine. But seriously...

You'll be fine with any cars early in the winter, before the city snow removal budget has been used up. They get it scooped pretty quickly. By about the 20th snow sometime in late February, you may have some problems. In those later snows, the roads are horrific for days at a time, and Omaha is a relatively hilly area for Nebraska. It's not like you won't be able to go out or anything, but you will definitely have problems getting around with no 4x4 later in the winter when they don't clear the roads as fast or as well. I definitely appreciate my 4x4 while i watch all the other morons spin their tires trying to get up a 30 degree incline from a dead stop...