[iamjacobm]

Ohh and checkout Hear Nebraska awesome resource for the local music scene.

[citychik]

Ooooh, ooooh, the largest community theater??!!!?? If I move there, I will have to get involved with that. Thank you! I will make note of the neighborhoods you mentioned.

[citychik]

iamjacobm and ahawes, and anyone else who might care to answer, if you are also familiar with Lincoln, how would you compare Lincoln and Omaha?

It seems that wherever I read statistics or come across a "best cities" list, they seem to suggest that Lincoln has more job opportunities and higher salaries because they have a surplus of jobs and not enough people to fill them. But I first starting looking at Omaha because it came up in a lot of those lists, too. Would you guess they have about the same job opportunities, or would one city offer more than the other, especially in administration?

It also seems like Lincoln possibly has more things to do, but is surrounded by less, while Omaha has Council Bluffs nearby for a different flavor if one wants it. Which city would you say would be more fun for someone into the arts, history, and dining out?

And which would have better deals on apartments? I looked at some apartments online in Lincoln and a lot of them are in bland, nondescript buildings. Would one of the two cities be more likely to have older apartments (in good shape) with character and interesting architectural details (not just a plain rectangular garden apartment)?

I'm wondering if both cities offer about the same, as far as employment and cost of living, and it's just a matter of visiting and seeing which one has the kind of vibe one prefers.

Thanks in advance!

[ahawes]

I am a fairly recent arrival to Omaha and have spent a little time in Lincoln for business but not much for recreation. That being said, my perception of the comparison of the two favors Omaha, hands down, in pretty much every category you're listing. A quick look on a popular job site shows 3,626 job postings in Lincoln as compared to Omaha's 11,227. Omaha metro population is less than 3x the size of Lincoln's so even by proportion to population there are more jobs in Omaha.

I don't in any way mean to disparage Lincoln as I am sure that it is a fine place to live - I just think Omaha is an extremely underrated city on the national level. Absolute worst case scenario, it's an easy 40 minute drive from one to the other.

There are a few threads on here comparing Omaha and Lincoln that many folks better versed in the two cities than I am do a good job of outlining the pro's and con's of each, it's definitely worth finding and reading through.

[citychik]

Yes, I've looked at a few threads that compare the two cities, but it seems that most people asking for info are looking for different things than I am. I'm not interested in school performance, tech or medical jobs, or buying a house, for example. So, I'm hoping to gather info here (and elsewhere as well) regarding rental rates, quality of apartments, administrative jobs (Exec. Asst., Office Mgr, etc.), the arts/cultural scene, and dating for the over 40 crowd. I also need reliable internet connectivity.

Many of the threads here aren't very recent. The Nebraska forum doesn't seem to be nearly as active as most of the other state forums. So I appreciate any feedback and suggestions!

Out of the two cities, I am leaning toward Omaha. But Columbus, Ohio has me intrigued now as well. The thing is, I want to go where I'd get the most return from my paycheck. So that means a city with lower cost of living, lower rents, yet higher pay. There are a lot of places that are cheap to live in but don't pay much. My goal is to be able to save money. In NYC, my basic living expenses ate up between 60-70% of my paycheck and I just can't build up any savings here.

[ahawes]

Bear in mind that the total population of Nebraska is only about 1.9 million people with roughly half of that number living in the greater Omaha metro area. The Columbus metro area has more residents than the whole of Nebraska, that may or may not matter to you but helps to explain why the forum is a bit slower here than some other locales.

Using this Cost of Living Calculator - Cost of Living Comparison Index Tool to compare Omaha and Columbus it looks like the difference in COL is pretty negligible, especially if you have no interest in buying a home (no idea how accurate that really is).

According to deptofnumbers.com, average per capita income in Columbus is $30,559, Omaha is $31,260, again, fairly negligible difference.

I would say that apartments here can vary in quality as much as anywhere but a high quality apartment can be had in the Old Market area that you previously expressed interest in around $1k/month +/- Old Market Lofts - Jones St. | Omaha, NE Apartments for Rent | Rent.com®

Reliable internet isn't an issue here. Can't testify too much on the art/culture scene other than "I know there is one here" haha. Same with the 40+ dating scene.

[Aredhel]

Originally Posted by citychik

i Which city would you say would be more fun for someone into the arts, history, and dining out?

Omaha, by a mile. Lincoln's a decent city for it's size, but in terms of art and culture it's no match for Omaha.

(But also take what ahawes says about the population size seriously. Omaha may be the biggest city in Nebraska, but on a national level that's not saying much. It punches above its weight class, but is not and never will be a cultural/artistic heavyweight.)

[citychik]

About arts and culture, it's not that I expect to check out galleries and museums or attend a concert every week. There are a gazillion things I could do in NYC but never do, mostly because I've had to work two jobs or long hours just to make ends meet or the ticket price is too high for me to afford. I used to see a Broadway show once a year, but I can't even remember the last time I did that. I just don't want to live in a place that is devoid of creative people, lacks respect for artistic endeavors, and doesn't encourage historical and cultural offerings. Of course I don't expect a smaller city like Omaha to have what NYC has, nor what it seems like Columbus, OH has, but even a small bit of that kind of artistic/creative energy is something that inspires me and makes a place seem alive to me. That's all.

[citychik]

Originally Posted by ahawes

I would say that apartments here can vary in quality as much as anywhere but a high quality apartment can be had in the Old Market area that you previously expressed interest in around $1k/month +/- .

I've been looking on craigslist at apartments and saw apartments going for $600 to $850 that looked nice, or at least decent. I don't want to go as high as $1k for rent. I'd like to find a clean place that is well-maintained but I don't need high-end. My goal is to find a place to live where my expenses are low enough that I could sock away some money, so I'd be fine with a bare bones basic studio as long as the place is clean (no roaches or rodents) and it gets a fair amount of light coming in.

[ahawes]

You can absolutely do fine for living arrangements at or below $850/month.

In regard to the mentions of music and artistic events to attend, I can tell you for sure that there is no lack of these things in Omaha, with a good number of them being very inexpensive or even free to attend.