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Old 11-19-2008, 07:43 AM
 
Location: Papillion
2,589 posts, read 10,536,476 times
Reputation: 916

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stacy From Cali View Post
Isn't downtown Benson getting a facelift soon? I think I read somewhere that it is.
Here is a link to the information I think you reference: Omaha by Design—Benson-Ames Alliance News (http://omahabydesign.org/Neighborhood_Omaha/BensonAlliance/BensonAllianceNews.html - broken link)
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Old 07-20-2012, 12:11 PM
 
4 posts, read 5,033 times
Reputation: 12
Default Omaha Likes to Annex

Quote:
Originally Posted by ehenningsen View Post
Omaha has recently annexed Elkhorn, and there is a major $450 million dollar multi-purpose development on 204th and Center in the process of getting started to being built.

Omaha has or will build 5-6 condo towers 12 stories or higher with one going to be built in downtown that is going to be 32 stories.. in the last few years.. and you never know, more may be on the way..

Bellevue is approaching 50,000 people Papillion is approaching 30,000 and Lavista should be about 20,000 now... Saunders county is starting to see developments as Omaha approaches and there is a freeway that starts at fremont that (is hwy 275 and w dodge) goes to I-680 to I-80 to I-480 to downtown without any traffic lights the whole way!!

Yes, Omaha LOVES to annex. Elkhorn, the previous suburb to the west, actually put up a good fight so as NOT to be annexed, but the city won. Omaha gets what it wants ... similar to a bully.
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Old 07-20-2012, 12:18 PM
 
4 posts, read 5,033 times
Reputation: 12
Quote:
Originally Posted by MattDen View Post
I will say something Omaha is very good at building parking garages!! I think the most interesting thing to do in Omaha is walk around and count all those boxy parking garages they put in. Better then sitting in the Old Market in a coffee shop when I am the only customer and seeing the nearly pedestrianless sidewalks unless its a special event.

I see alot more people walking in Denver along the 16th street mall, LoDo, Larimer Square, Auraria, Capitol Hill areas. I also see lots of people in Denver along 16th street waiting for tables in the cafe's and restaurants and people playing board games (they have tables with board games on them) and meeting new friends on the 16th street mall also.

Where are the pedestrians in Omaha? walking from the parking lot to the mall or on a rare occasion (judging by the amount of people down there or lack there of) from the street to one of the few restaurants in the Old Market.

I agree Omaha is very liveable if you live west of 72nd and a few very isolated east of 72nd but as far as downtown Omaha and the neighborhoods around downtown Omaha they depress me.

I prefer a west Omaha strip mall to Downtown Omaha. At least there is more selection.

16th street in Omaha is a street that was intended to be a near-replica of
16th street in Denver and Nicollet in Minneapolis unlike Minneapolis and Denver where the downtown malls were very successful. Omaha's pretty much turned into very little else then a place to catch a bus.

Correct, you are, Matt Den. Well ... for the most part. Omaha's buses, one of the only forms of public transport in the city, are really not that nice, so this is one city in which I would NOT want to catch a bus. Downtown Omaha is definitely depressing - and depressed. As much as the city has attempted to rejuvenate, Omaha has one of the largest records in the country for anti-preservation. I produced a documentary on this subject some years back and was astonished how poor this state has done (well, not really astonished). Where most American cities surged west, into the 'burbs, during the 60s and 70s, they did not take apart their downtowns ... except for Omaha. It has not - and likely will never be - the same, again. A very depressing city.
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Old 07-20-2012, 12:25 PM
 
4 posts, read 5,033 times
Reputation: 12
Quote:
Originally Posted by ehenningsen View Post
Here is my rebuttle to Mattdens (Omaha's lack of leadership, lack of neighborhoods, nothing to do in Omaha, poor people running around with knifes stabbing each other message he is posting here... just check this site out posted by the omaha chamber and tell me what you think)

[url=http://www.omahachamber.org/]Greater Omaha Chamber[/url]
I think its propaganda, Ehenningsen. I've lived in Omaha most of my life. The leadership is extremely poor here, the neighborhoods keep to themselves, and the crime rate has risen at a faster speed than most cities in the last couple decades. As far as nothing to do here? They've added more restaurants and cinemas and a sports complex and some music to the layout, which isn't too bad. However, that only occurred in the past several years. The city has a looonnggg way to go, though. It's getting cleaned up, but it has a really dirty downtown (not really a clean city, overall, though). So, where it's attempting to become something, "attractive" will not be a possible objective.
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Old 07-20-2012, 12:31 PM
 
4 posts, read 5,033 times
Reputation: 12
Quote:
Originally Posted by airwing View Post
Now I'm excited about returning to the Omaha area more than ever! It will be nice to have four seasons again instead of warm, hot, hot, and severely hot! Back in the 70's I was the nut who got excited at the first snow and enjoyed it all winter because I knew it was only for a few months. I love the coming of spring, green summers and orange fall. I remember the blue skies with white fluffy clouds. Southern California is mostly brown or gray haze. Very very crowded too. Gridlock at all hours on the freeways, not just the business hours anymore. The only decent place to live in Southern California is in the mountains, (which are crowded too) or at the beach (very expensive and crowded). Been there and done that and now ready to move on. Please post more pictures if you can. They are great! Do you have any of the Council Bluffs area?
Wow, I remember the white, fluffy clouds, as well. However, that was Omaha back in the 70s and 80s. With next to no public transport, the greenhouse gases dominate the city. It has become, as many have titled it, "Little Chicago". This is true with the crime, as well. Many Chicago gangs have left that city and come to Omaha. More and more locals have left. The only reason the numbers seem to be good is due to all the forced annexing (which is not well liked by those being annexed). The only Omahans who love Omaha are the ostriches, with their heads in the sand.
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Old 07-20-2012, 01:13 PM
 
18 posts, read 32,951 times
Reputation: 27
And a 4-year old thread is revived
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Old 07-20-2012, 01:24 PM
 
Location: Tampa (by way of Omaha)
14,561 posts, read 23,012,670 times
Reputation: 10356
Quote:
Originally Posted by Red Wood View Post
Yes, Omaha LOVES to annex. Elkhorn, the previous suburb to the west, actually put up a good fight so as NOT to be annexed, but the city won. Omaha gets what it wants ... similar to a bully.
I wouldn't describe what Elkhorn did as a "good fight". It was more like a giant temper tantrum.

The ironic part of your post is that you say Omaha is "like a bully" for annexing Elkhorn, but if you remember correctly, Omaha had no interest in annexing Elkhorn at that point in time and openly stated as such. What started the entire chain of events was Elkhorn beginning its OWN annexation plans, trying to reach the 10,000 population threshold that would have legally prevented Omaha from doing their annexation. Sure, it probably would have happened eventually, but Elkhorn forced Omaha's hand.
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Old 07-20-2012, 01:46 PM
 
59 posts, read 126,558 times
Reputation: 40
Quote:
Originally Posted by Red Wood View Post
Wow, I remember the white, fluffy clouds, as well. However, that was Omaha back in the 70s and 80s. With next to no public transport, the greenhouse gases dominate the city.
Right... Omaha no longer has fluffy coulds like the good ol days in the 70s and 80s.

You're right about non-existent public transport, but the city is taking steps to improve that. An 18 month study is currently under way to determine what the best options are. Bike lanes are also being added throughout the city. In fact, Omaha ranks pretty decently as far as bike-friendliness goes in the US.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Red Wood View Post
This is true with the crime, as well. Many Chicago gangs have left that city and come to Omaha. More and more locals have left.
Do you have evidence to back up this claim that gangs from Chicago have left to come to Omaha? I'd love to see some sort of link.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Red Wood View Post
The only reason the numbers seem to be good is due to all the forced annexing (which is not well liked by those being annexed).
The ONLY reason? Again, can you back these claims up? There are a lot of people who move to Omaha because of its good economy and affordable cost of living. Omaha ranks highly throughout many credible sources. I won't compile all of the high rankings Omaha has received, but they're not hard to find if you want to find them.


Omaha is NOT a perfect city. I'm not naive. But posts like this are far from an accurate description of the city.
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Old 07-21-2012, 04:02 PM
 
Location: Chicago
3,340 posts, read 9,671,201 times
Reputation: 1238
The crime rate in the city has also dropped very rapidly in the past several years, far from increasing. And I have numbers to back up my facts.
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Old 07-21-2012, 05:07 PM
 
1,069 posts, read 2,071,698 times
Reputation: 974
Quote:
Originally Posted by ehenningsen View Post
and please explain in detail...
Okay, well- you asked for MY opinion of the city that YOU treasure, so with that in mind....

The zoo is fantastic, really is. The neighborhoods over by Happy Hollow are great fun at Halloween, they are so much fun with their decorations and we took the kids there every year for the last three years. The unemployment rate is very low, one of the best- which is the main reason we came here to begin with. My husband found an excellent job here, that is allowing him to transfer to another state early next month. We were also happy with the lower COL.

I put those things up there because I do believe them, and they are "positives"- positives that I have hung on to for dear life, these last three years (which is the amount of time that we have lived in Omaha...and Nebraska itself).

Now for the rest of my opinion of Omaha (remember folks, this is just an opinion- my own opinion- not a knock down, not a jab, just an...opinion- so no need to beat me down, ok? The question was asked, and I'm going to answer it!)

Let's start with the weather- which at the moment isn't as horrible as what yahoo weather predicted for today (96 compared to the predicted 103...and I'm praying that they are wrong for the next two days, for which 106 is predicted..)-when it is humid, which it generally is, it's miserable. I have to remember I'm on the prairie, and when those prairie winds blow, they are generally hot..and chock full of dirt, dust, and whatever else is being sprayed wherever else it's being sprayed. Nasty hot in the summer, and very cold and snowy in the winter- you would think it would lean in the direction of one or the other....

Not in Omaha.

Hot hot hot, then sudden rain to cool things off, then what do you know....hail! And then....the dreaded tornado warnings/watch. I tried to grow a garden last year, and couldn't hardly do it due to the off-the-wall-change-at-the-drop-of-a-hat weather. And wind. So if it wasn't drowning the poor plants, it was blowing them away. Or cooking them. On the vine/branch. Or beating them to death with little chunks of ice. THEN cooking them. I miss good farmer's markets--where the vendors don't think that they are Trader Joe's or Whole Foods, and charge ridiculous prices for their produce. But then again, I would suppose that they don't have an easy time growing things either! Combat Pay for Produce, lol-

I am curious who did the road planning here- because whoever they are should be made to drive the streets of Omaha for 18 hours a day, with all of the insane road signs, no left turns, and on and on- and I could go on and on, but I won't- besides, I did it in another forum already. However, they could certainly use some green left-turn arrows- it would surely simplify things. And either stop letting people park on the side of a busy, main road because you practically have to pull out into the intersection before you can see if anything is coming, and if it is? You either zoom and pray, or throw your vehicle into reverse, back up quick, and pray no other car is behind you. And then there are the seriously narrow streets where you are weaving between parked cars as you drive, so that the person coming from the other direction can navigate the street as well- because there is not room for two cars on the road. The only thing missing are the little orange cones, so I can feel like I'm on some sort of driving course.

People here are for the most part very, very friendly and nice. I do like the people for the most part, of course you have your bad apples as well but that goes for anywhere. I do get the distinct impression, though, that the highlight of most people's social lives have to do with shopping, and eating out at restaurants. And Husker Football, which is ok. Although for me, I'm not into any of those things- and the restaurants that were suggested to us as being "fantastic"....weren't. Example; King Kong on Dodge. Relatively bland tasting stuff, and I am soooo curious to see the "King Kong Burger" that costs $15...just for the burger! It's either monstrously, "King Kong" huge, or else it's trimmed in edible gold or something...for that price, there should be music involved, and a person should have it hand-fed to them or something---along with someone holding a palm frond and fanning you with it. The spaghetti place, I can't recall the name (Spaghetti Factory?) downtown, the one in the old railroad place is pretty neat. The food? It's...ok. But the atmosphere is interesting.

But remember...this is JUST MY opinion.

Natural water- besides the river that separates Omaha from Council Bluffs----I would give my right arm for natural lakes, etc.- I want a campground that doesn't have a road leading into it with signs, and looks like it was manufactured there....something that looks like it belongs there to begin with, you know? Trees....even though there are quite a bit of them here, it - again - doesn't look like it's supposed to be here....and they are somewhat drab looking, probably from the extreme weather (you know..."baked", "pummeled", "whipped about by tornado", and "frozen")

In all fairness, the type of areas I like, others might not. And it's my prerogative to have an opinion concerning what I think about it, I'm not trying to be rude, mean, or nasty-honestly. It's just how I really feel about it. And there IS a forum here asking! I have tried to like it here because with my husband's job being here, I thought for sure we were going to have to stay here- and I was determined to make the best of it, and find the "good" (for me) in it. And now he has a transfer, to the very place we want to go. And I have to admit, when he told me? I screamed. Yep. I literally screamed, I was so happy.

I'm sorry to those of you that really love Omaha, and I'm glad that you are able to love where you are, and find things that really appeal to you. Me?

I detest this place.
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