[Dave1215]

Originally Posted by hi ppl

so, what about the crime? What areas of the city are considered bad areas?

Another way to look at crime (big generality) is to look where the level 3 sex offenders live. I pulled this straight from the Nebraska State Patrol website and I think it generally does follow the crime trend. The nice thing about this one is it breaks Omaha into its individual zip codes.

Sarpy County = 30 Total Level 3 Sex Offenders
68133 Papillion 1
68046 Papillion 2
68123 Bellevue 3
68128 LaVista 5
68147 Bellevue 6
68005 Bellevue 13

Douglas County = 309 Total Level 3 Sex Offenders
68119 Omaha 1
68122 Omaha 1
68136 Omaha 1
68144 Omaha 1
68154 Omaha 1
68502 Omaha 1
68116 Omaha 2
68130 Omaha 2
68152 Omaha 2
68137 Omaha 3
68138 Omaha 3
68164 Omaha 3
68114 Omaha 5
68127 Ralston 5
68132 Omaha 7
68117 Omaha 8
68106 Omaha 9
68134 Omaha 9
68107 Omaha 14
68104 Omaha 19
68131 Omaha 19
68108 Omaha 20
68110 Omaha 23
68102 Omaha 34
68105 Omaha 44
68111 Omaha 64
68112 Omaha 72

[ostargazer]

You know the day Omaha annexed Elkhorn... it's crime rate instantly went up 1000%.

Seriously... one should look beyond these 'black/white' statistics. Omaha is one of the larger cities in the United States... spanning well over 100 square miles. There are bad parts... and there are parts which make parts of Ashland/Papillion look like white trashville.

I would suggest visiting Omaha and taking a drive around town to get to know the area first hand... rather than relying purely on blanket statistics. Like MOST midwestern cities... you'll find the lower crime rates in the newer suburbs... and those are to the west... northwest... and southwest. That said, Omaha's overall rate of crime in general is low... and let's face it... most violent crime is targeted. Unless you're a drug dealer/user/gang member/criminal... your odds of being victimized in all but the worst neighborhoods of Omaha... are quite low. As Dave alluded... there are some VERY nice neighborhoods east of 72nd. Heck, the 2nd richest man in America lives in one of them.

[Dave1215]

Originally Posted by ostargazer

You know the day Omaha annexed Elkhorn... it's crime rate instantly went up 1000%.

Seriously... one should look beyond these 'black/white' statistics. Omaha is one of the larger cities in the United States... spanning well over 100 square miles. There are bad parts... and there are parts which make parts of Ashland/Papillion look like white trashville.

I would suggest visiting Omaha and taking a drive around town to get to know the area first hand... rather than relying purely on blanket statistics. Like MOST midwestern cities... you'll find the lower crime rates in the newer suburbs... and those are to the west... northwest... and southwest. That said, Omaha's overall rate of crime in general is low... and let's face it... most violent crime is targeted. Unless you're a drug dealer/user/gang member/criminal... your odds of being victimized in all but the worst neighborhoods of Omaha... are quite low. As Dave alluded... there are some VERY nice neighborhoods east of 72nd. Heck, the 2nd richest man in America lives in one of them.

Agree with you, which is why I provided a zip code breakdown to show some of those dramatic differences. I also told her of some nice areas east of 72nd so glad you reinforced that.

[Go Ne]

theres an area in millard close to a lake (zoroinsky) nice shopping area nereby about 5 minutes to village pointe which is an outdoor mall 5 minutes to oakview mall great school system (Millard Public Schools) which is better than OPS (no offence) short commute to all of the high shcools. very friendly people. it also has a kind of small town feel.
Ralston is also a good area which has a very small town feel but the homes are fairly old. I highest recommend millard

[ostargazer]

I live in the area of 168th and West Center... which is generally in the area which Go Ne is referring to. While I of course think it's a great area (not sure I'd give it a 'small town feel' though... although granted, I haven't lived in a small town before )... it's just one of a large number of great places to live in Omaha and the surrounding communities... including areas in the OPS school district. Again, so many folks place precedence on 'numbers'... say, average ACT scores... when this has less to do with the schools themselves... and more with the student body demographics. The reality folks is... the wealthier demographic is living in the suburbs... Millard, District 66, Papillion, Elkhorn schools. Likewise, single parent, low income households are going to be more prevalent in OPS... and are producing children which on average... may not be performing as well in school, for a multitude of reasons. That's not to say that teachers in inner city schools aren't as good as those in the suburban districts... or that there aren't many students who are attaining the same degree of academic success, regardless of their background... but in the end, everyone simply looks at the 'watered down' assessment score averages. Do some research people... visit the schools... talk to teachers/administrators... make your own decision.

That said, Millard schools are very good... certainly by the numbers (thanks in some part to my son who scored a 36 on the ACT ).

[Steve_W]

Originally Posted by ehenningsen

Right now Gretna cannot be changed to being a neighborhood in Omaha, as the city is in a different county, secondly by the time the bigger Sarpy county cities reach close enough to annex Gretna, the city will be tens of thousands of people too big to be annexed..

Gretna will always remain an independant city, it will never break 150,000 people, but it will most definetely have a very long and bright future as an upper class city..

Plus, the Gretna-Ashland-(Greenville ?)-Corridor is the link between Omaha-Lincoln

I could see Gretna as very similar to Papillion in the future...maybe even become larger.

[Dave1215]

Originally Posted by Steve_W

I could see Gretna as very similar to Papillion in the future...maybe even become larger.

Kind of agree. Papillion has higher standards for development (as does LaVista) than Gretna which is why I think they've seen the growth they have, but Gretna's not had bad growth either. If they ever figure out how to get that mall on I-80 to finally pull out of its dulldroms and make some money they could have some serious sales tax to help pay for infrastructure and spur development. They also have a lot of nice growth potential east on the highway to Papillion south towards the river and west. Lots and lots of potential if they manage it properly.

[Steve_W]

Yep, they definitely need a large scale project or idea to spur that development. It is almost like investors have had a wait and see who makes the first move attitude for the I-80 corridor. (also the land preservation debate doesn't speed things along either)

My vote would be an ammusement park or something of that nature. Hotels, restaurants and other shopping would follow.

Regarding that mall, aren't all outlet malls really having a hard time these days? I'm not sure but I have heard even around tourist areas they have been slow.

[Dave1215]

Originally Posted by Steve_W

Yep, they definitely need a large scale project or idea to spur that development. It is almost like investors have had a wait and see who makes the first move attitude for the I-80 corridor. (also the land preservation debate doesn't speed things along either)

My vote would be an ammusement park or something of that nature. Hotels, restaurants and other shopping would follow.

Regarding that mall, aren't all outlet malls really having a hard time these days? I'm not sure but I have heard even around tourist areas they have been slow.

(1) The paper reported last month that the outlet mall sold to a local developer. Indication was he had plans to do something with it that wasn't outlet. I think as part of the deal Gretna annexed down to that part of the interstate, so with that if it does take off they get the sales tax boost.

(2) As far as I-80, the paper has reported several times about a governor's commission that's getting all the various jurisdictions and private interests together to do planning for the I-80 corridor from Lincoln to Omaha. Define what that should be, how it should develop, and what should be protected. The link is: Nebraska Innovation Zone Commission and they also had a link to a SURVEY asking just what the corridor should be.

[sirrah17]

District 66 is hardly suburban.