[CrownVic95]

Originally Posted by mostie

That's a hard one to answer, because I can't be completely sure just why I hated it so much, but I did- never hated a place so bad in my life, lol. There were things going on in my family that might have had something to do with it (you know, you associate something bad with a place, that sort of thing), but there were things about Omaha that bothered me as well....

I didn't like the weather at all- it was just....too off-the-charts for me, summertime would have the horrific-and I mean horrific-humidity, then out of the blue would come a major rainstorm, hail, and the possibility of tornadoes- it was just strange for me. I didn't care at all for the fact that it was a big town, the road/driving rules were just really odd to me and a little difficult for me to navigate- the people, well...this is just my opinion, and I honestly mean no disrespect..they just seemed overall semi-bent most of the time. Not too outgoing, road rage, etc. This isn't to mean that others won't really like it there, it's just that me and the midwest did not get along well, lol.

They do have a really nice zoo, I will give them that- so along with the unem. rate, which is phenomenal compared to most places, the cost of living which isn't bad either, it could be a real gem for a lot of people. It just wasn't for me!

I agree with you about the heat/humidity....and that's one of the two (and only two) aspects that are much better out here than there. The other is geography, generally.

When I first moved to Omaha from upstate NY many years ago, I could scarcely believe the summer heat. That's the one thing that will probably forever keep me from returning to the heartland.

[mostie]

Lol, I notice you're in SF- I'm originally from the Central Valley, so you can understand how completely odd the weather was to me. I used to laugh at the "heat waves" of 90 degrees in the midwest, and how "sweltering" they supposedly were, and considered midwesterners to be weather lightweights....until I lived there, and came to a complete understanding of just how brutally hot the humidity could make it.

[Data1000]

As far as humidity goes, the humidity Washington DC and down the coast from DC is the highest I have experienced in the US.

[ARPARP]

Maybe because they've tried the Florida/California thing, have learned their lesson, and now know better.

I've never been to Grand Rapids, so don't know how it compares to other Midwestern towns. But I did live in several other Midwestern metros, including Omaha, for many years and took way too much for granted when I did.

I'd venture a guess that those looking to escape the traditional warm-weather panaceas far outnumber their counterparts in the Midwest.

The thing about it is the economy is awful here. I know it is bad in FL and CA, but why come up to somewhere where it gets six feet of snow?

[CrownVic95]

Originally Posted by ARPARP

The thing about it is the economy is awful here. I know it is bad in FL and CA, but why come up to somewhere where it gets six feet of snow?

You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone. I miss terribly the snow and real seasons I spent the first 24 years of my life with. Someday soon I will return to it and once again experience the blessing that is a real winter and a fresh snowfall. It won't be Grand Rapids or similar, as there are more attractive options with which to fulfill that goal, like northern Idaho.

[rezfreak]

Yup exactly. I thought I'd enjoy moving out of Nebraska, but some of the things you think you'd never miss, you do. I MISS having seasons. In Florida its unbearable hot in summer to "nice" in the winter. I miss having days of cold. The coldest we got all winter was in the 40s for a week or two at night, and people here busted out full length coats like we were preparing for a blizzard.

I remember being pregnant in October (just had moved to Florida 4 months prior) here going to a birth class. It was in the evening and was somewhere in upper 40s or low 50s at the time. I wore jeans and a tank top. The other preggos were in coats and scarves/gloves. One lady looked at me and said "You arent from around here, are you?" Guess it was pretty obvious

Things positive about florida: winter weather *is* nice, but not good for swimming as waters are dreadfully cold. I also have more friends here than I ever had back in Omaha.

Things positive about Omaha: Unemployment rate, zoo, family atmosphere, midwest friendliness, drivers (I know you guys think they are horrible, but trust me, they are 20x better than tampa drivers). I really could go on with the positives, but its nearly 1 am and I'm grasping to try to find more - even though I know there are loads more).

Our military stay here in Tampa is up in 1 year 1 month. Since this is a "special duty" assignment, we get a higher "base of preference" on our request - basically we get a higher chance of going where we want since this was a special assignment, the only people who get higher preferential treatment are soldiers who are stationed overseas coming back to the CONUS. We are hoping that with the base of preference AND the fact we are ONLY requesting Omaha will mean we have a significantly higher chance of going back Omaha. Plus, my husband will only have 6 more years left til retirement and the military tends to let people finish out their career where they'd like to go.

[ARPARP]

The main two problems with Michigan are too much snow, too many clouds, and a sluggish economy. People say it is "getting better" but underemployment is still high, a lot of people dropped out of the labor force (particularly young people), a lot of people left, and employers are free to treat their employees like garbage because there are so many people in poverty/unemployed. That is one downside of high unemployment. A friend of mine pointed out I have a job, but I am underemployed. There are full time jobs but they are almost all factory jobs. College grads have some jobs but expect to compete brutally. Basically there are jobs but the jobs get worse and worse. To land a "good job" here is like winning the lottery. I don't think Nebraska is an economic utopia but it is definitely better off than MI.

I can handle the cold, it is just the snow and clouds I hate. I understand Nebraska gets as cold in the winter as we do, but is less snowy and cloudy. I won't mind that. I like it sunny and cold, in fact that is my ideal climate. Michigan cold is more of a damp, cloudy cold. Whereas I picture Nebraska being a dry cold. Michigan in winter is like Seattle with snow instead of rain.

Finally MI is getting poorer and poorer over time, it is also getting older. This is leading to less tax revenue and road deterioration. I understand Nebraska has high taxes (especially for a supposedly rock-ribbed Republican state). Surprisingly for being such a liberal state Michigan has moderate tax rates, so it is kind of the inversion of what you would think. I'm not sure what schools and services are like there but in MI are roads are rated near the bottom. Florida seems to have the best roads, and surprisingly Arkansas is a close second from my observation. But every state I have ever been to has better roads than Michigan by far. Finally our schools, with a few notable exception, are in the toilet.

You see a lot of ghetto types in MI, you probably have some in Nebraska but believe me, it is nothing. If I do decide to move to Omaha I am interested to see how it compares. The tales of North Omaha are laughable compared to what I've heard of in Flint, Saginaw, and Detroit. Still, another MI problem is the state government is lagging on education, infrastructure and the like in order to support our failed cities. It drags down the less bad cities like GR in order to support the likes of Benton Harbor, Flint, Saginaw, and Detroit with our tax dollars. That is what our tax dollars go to in Michigan.

[CrownVic95]

Originally Posted by ARPARP

The main two problems with Michigan are too much snow, too many clouds, and a sluggish economy. People say it is "getting better" but underemployment is still high, a lot of people dropped out of the labor force (particularly young people), a lot of people left, and employers are free to treat their employees like garbage because there are so many people in poverty/unemployed. That is one downside of high unemployment. A friend of mine pointed out I have a job, but I am underemployed. There are full time jobs but they are almost all factory jobs. College grads have some jobs but expect to compete brutally. Basically there are jobs but the jobs get worse and worse. To land a "good job" here is like winning the lottery. I don't think Nebraska is an economic utopia but it is definitely better off than MI.

I can handle the cold, it is just the snow and clouds I hate. I understand Nebraska gets as cold in the winter as we do, but is less snowy and cloudy. I won't mind that. I like it sunny and cold, in fact that is my ideal climate. Michigan cold is more of a damp, cloudy cold. Whereas I picture Nebraska being a dry cold. Michigan in winter is like Seattle with snow instead of rain.

Finally MI is getting poorer and poorer over time, it is also getting older. This is leading to less tax revenue and road deterioration. I understand Nebraska has high taxes (especially for a supposedly rock-ribbed Republican state). Surprisingly for being such a liberal state Michigan has moderate tax rates, so it is kind of the inversion of what you would think. I'm not sure what schools and services are like there but in MI are roads are rated near the bottom. Florida seems to have the best roads, and surprisingly Arkansas is a close second from my observation. But every state I have ever been to has better roads than Michigan by far. Finally our schools, with a few notable exception, are in the toilet.

You see a lot of ghetto types in MI, you probably have some in Nebraska but believe me, it is nothing. If I do decide to move to Omaha I am interested to see how it compares. The tales of North Omaha are laughable compared to what I've heard of in Flint, Saginaw, and Detroit. Still, another MI problem is the state government is lagging on education, infrastructure and the like in order to support our failed cities. It drags down the less bad cities like GR in order to support the likes of Benton Harbor, Flint, Saginaw, and Detroit with our tax dollars. That is what our tax dollars go to in Michigan.

Yes, though I haven't been to either Michigan or Nebraska for 25 years, I have no doubt that Omaha would be an environmental improvement for you. The only negative would be the summer heat, which would far exceed that of Grand Rapids.

I wrote the above, then looked at this graphic....

Climate Comparison for Grand Rapids, MI and Omaha, NE

Though it shows the two to be much closer than I would have thought in temperature, I still say Omaha would be much hotter in the summer.

No question Michigan is much wetter in the winter.

[MountainMen]

About the original question... In Omaha, individuals who stand out from the crowd and question the culture here are just not valued, nor even accepted, so what develops is this massive herd mentality where people are afraid to be unique. Herd mentality is good for big corporations who hire a lot of people to do menial work. Thus a low unemployment rate.

[McBain II]

Originally Posted by MountainMen

About the original question... In Omaha, individuals who stand out from the crowd and question the culture here are just not valued, nor even accepted, so what develops is this massive herd mentality where people are afraid to be unique. Herd mentality is good for big corporations who hire a lot of people to do menial work. Thus a low unemployment rate.

Yes, that's it. Clearly, this is why Omaha has such a presence of Fortune 500 and 1000 companies relative to its population.