[SitalATL]

My soon-to-be husband and I are moving to Omaha in June after living in Atlanta(me) and California(him). We came for a long weekend in April and were..well, not too thrilled with the people we met. We're a young, Indian couple...brought up in America, have lived in multi-cultural parts of the country...and for the first time ever in our lives felt "different" and that people noticed we were, too. Is my perception off, but, generally speaking, is Omaha culturally inept?

Spent a good amount of time around the city..in Old Market, in Aksarben Village, in West Omaha burbs...didn't see too many ethnic people, really. Is it really that white bread?

[jakebents]

Originally Posted by SitalATL

My soon-to-be husband and I are moving to Omaha in June after living in Atlanta(me) and California(him). We came for a long weekend in April and were..well, not too thrilled with the people we met. We're a young, Indian couple...brought up in America, have lived in multi-cultural parts of the country...and for the first time ever in our lives felt "different" and that people noticed we were, too. Is my perception off, but, generally speaking, is Omaha culturally inept?

Spent a good amount of time around the city..in Old Market, in Aksarben Village, in West Omaha burbs...didn't see too many ethnic people, really. Is it really that white bread?

A temporary job transfer brought us to Omaha from Denver late last year. What we noticed almost immediately is that Omaha seems to be segregated. DO NOT LET ANYONE TALK YOU INTO MOVING TO WEST OMAHA. We made the mistake of listening to the, "Elkhorn, Millard, schools are best" and made the mistake of renting a house on the west side.Take a look up North or maybe even look into Belview (sp) where the Air Force base is. That always adds some diversity. The reality is Omaha is a pretty standard small mid-western town. There are those on here who will try to paint it as being on par with Denver, Chicago, Phoenix or even Kansas City. It isn't, the good thing is the airport is small and easy to navigate which means you can get out of here for a quick weekend. Plus, Kansas City is a couple hours drive south and Chicago around 5 - 6 hours east.

[Stacy From Cali]

Yeah, Omaha is pretty insular, but not completely whitebread. It depends on where you live. West Omaha is very white, but Midtown is just mostly white...there is some diversity. I have never noticed a large Indian community though there are some folks.

I can't speak for Atlanta, but I moved here from the Bay Area and experienced HUGE culture shock. Huge. Winter will be a nasty shock for you as well...start stocking up on cold weather clothes now while they are on sale.

[Go Ne]

Originally Posted by jakebents

A temporary job transfer brought us to Omaha from Denver late last year. What we noticed almost immediately is that Omaha seems to be segregated. DO NOT LET ANYONE TALK YOU INTO MOVING TO WEST OMAHA. We made the mistake of listening to the, "Elkhorn, Millard, schools are best" and made the mistake of renting a house on the west side.Take a look up North or maybe even look into Belview (sp) where the Air Force base is. That always adds some diversity. The reality is Omaha is a pretty standard small mid-western town. There are those on here who will try to paint it as being on par with Denver, Chicago, Phoenix or even Kansas City. It isn't, the good thing is the airport is small and easy to navigate which means you can get out of here for a quick weekend. Plus, Kansas City is a couple hours drive south and Chicago around 5 - 6 hours east.

Its Bellevue. And Omaha's Small town? Is 600,000 people in the Urban Area and 840,000 in the Metro a "Small Town?" A Small Town is a city with less than 3,000 in my book.

The North East Side has the worst crime in the city however its only in a few pockets and isn't nearly as bad as Atlanta, and its true the Elkhorn and Millard Schools are the best, but your kids can transfer in from anywhere in the city.

And I always hate when people say Omaha's neighborhoods are segregated, people choose where they live, no one is forcing Blacks to live North, Hispanics south etc.

[DTO Luv]

I don't know how big of an indicator of an Indian population this is but Omaha does have a pretty opulent Hindu temple. I see many people of indian descent but I don't think they all live in one area of town if that's what you're looking for.

[Omaha Rocks]

Originally Posted by SitalATL

My soon-to-be husband and I are moving to Omaha in June after living in Atlanta(me) and California(him). We came for a long weekend in April and were..well, not too thrilled with the people we met. We're a young, Indian couple...brought up in America, have lived in multi-cultural parts of the country...and for the first time ever in our lives felt "different" and that people noticed we were, too. Is my perception off, but, generally speaking, is Omaha culturally inept?

Spent a good amount of time around the city..in Old Market, in Aksarben Village, in West Omaha burbs...didn't see too many ethnic people, really. Is it really that white bread?

Ummmm... If you didn't see many ethnic people, it must be where you were. Granted, West Omaha is almost completely white, but that's not true in any other part of the city. Also, the Old Market is where a lot of those white people from the West Omaha suburbs go to get their "downtown fix".

Here's a very broad-brushed stereotype of Omaha (so please pardon its generality): North Omaha is primarily black. South Omaha is primarily Hispanic. Midtown is extremely mixed. The further West you go, the more White Omaha becomes.

[Omaha Rocks]

Originally Posted by Go Ne

Its Bellevue. And Omaha's Small town? Is 600,000 people in the Urban Area and 840,000 in the Metro a "Small Town?" A Small Town is a city with less than 3,000 in my book.

The North East Side has the worst crime in the city however its only in a few pockets and isn't nearly as bad as Atlanta, and its true the Elkhorn and Millard Schools are the best, but your kids can transfer in from anywhere in the city.

And I always hate when people say Omaha's neighborhoods are segregated, people choose where they live, no one is forcing Blacks to live North, Hispanics south etc.

That's strictly a matter of opinion, and it comes mostly from the people who send their kids to the Elkhorn and Millard Schools.

I know for a fact that there are a LOT of kids from "out west" who drive to Omaha North High School because it's a Magnet School for Engineering, Chemistry and Technology. It is a FANTASTIC school.

[camping!]

I wouldn't advise moving out to West Omaha. Unless you like to drive

The neighborhoods I would recommend would be Midtown and Dundee....perhaps even downtown. Papillion, La Vista, Westside and Bellevue also seem to have a larger mix of races, but still white is predominant.

I don't know enough of North Omaha neighborhoods, my expertise is primarily south..

[Stacy From Cali]

Plus, Midtown has MUCH more interesting architecture than the westside.

[SitalATL]

No, definitely don't want to be in the same neighborhood that all of the 4 indian couples in Omaha live! We just crave diversity, culture, unusual restaurants and mostly, acceptance of difference--natural traits to living in bigger cities. I'm getting nervous that O will just be "boring" to us...