Memphis vs Omaha vs Tulsa vs Little Rock vs Des Moines (compared, places)
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I hear what you’re saying. But doing the math from December through April..using the weather links he provided..Omaha’s high temperature on average, is nearly 4 degrees warmer than both Chicago and Detroit.
We are trying to ascertain which is colder and for longer, so I am using the average low temperatures for the three cities. Omaha gets cold earlier, gets colder, and stays colder longer than either Chicago or Detroit, with the exception of March in Detroit.
Average low temperature:
Omaha: Nov 31°F Dec 20°F Jan 17°F Feb 21°F March 31°F
Detroit: Nov 36°F Dec 27°F Jan 21°F Feb 23°F March 30°F
Chicago: Nov 38°F Dec 27°F Jan 22°F Feb 25°F March 34°F
For 5 months of the year, the average low is below freezing in Omaha. This is true for only four months in Detroit, and only 3 months in Chicago.
To get back to the comparisons of the thread.
Des Moines and Omaha have long and cold winters, comparable to Detroit and Chicago and actually colder in terms of average low temperatures to those places. Tulsa has a shorter and milder winter and Memphis and Little Rock have significantly milder and shorter winters. . .
Sorry, you’re manipulating the numbers to work in your favor using average low temps. However, Using the average high temperature for each city, Dec through April, Omaha’s high temps are nearly 4 degrees warmer on average than both Chicago and Detroit. Plus, both Chicago and Detroit get more snow annually than Omaha. So considering the average high temps and annual snowfall, Omaha fares much better (and warmer) than Chicago and Detroit.
I live in Omaha, and I can assure people winters here are not that miserable at all- and other cities are at least as cold, if not colder, and snowier than Omaha.
In any case, I’m finished arguing a silly point about weather- any city, from northern Oklahoma through the Dakota’s and stretching to the Great Lakes area and east, all experience cold and snowy winters.
Omaha is winning this poll on its merits of having a diversified and stable economy, many and varied job opportunities, diverse population, lively core area, and amenities equal to a metro twice to 3 times as large..but without the extra inflation pain one would experience living in other cities on either coast, or Florida..not because somehow, it has the worst winter weather on planet Earth.
I'd say these analyses are pretty good. For me even Memphis' winter goes on for probably a month too long. Places like Des Moines have an extra three months with highs in the 30s. That's a major difference but in exchange they don't have as hot a summer.
Among these cities, it seems like Omaha is booming the most. At least that's the feeling I get from seeing the many modern office buildings along the interstate in western Omaha, for insurance and financial services companies, as well as downtown (and also how clean the downtown is).
I haven't been to Tulsa in a while. What I recall was liking the rolling terrain and elegant residential areas. However, I don't recall seeing anything that felt as bustling and growing like what you see in downtown Omaha or in suburban Omaha. Perhaps that has all changed though. I haven't been through Tulsa is probably 15 years so there's that.
Omaha gets a lot of ice in the winter. I don't know how the downtown is now, but people make a huge deal out of their Old Market. I haven't been there, but have seen videos, and it seems very nice. Other than that, though, it looks like downtown streets are pretty wide (not the best for pedestrians), and there is little foot traffic. Omaha used to have some nice stores downtown, but those disappeared long ago. I don't know what downtown shopping is like, but I'm guessing it's very minimal.
I've only lived in Omaha (many years ago), so crime, though not rampant at that time, existed. There have been racial issues and riots years ago, and there are definitely areas of the city one shouldn't go. Not sure if Des Moines has the same issue. Omaha definitely has a nice zoo, and though the city doesn't get a good walk rating, there are plenty of places one can walk. It's not a very dense city, and though it looked like the city had a great park with water downtown, that was torn down to build a new one. Not sure of the progress of that.
At any rate, I loved growing up in Omaha, and loved the city. It's not without problems, but I would choose Omaha. Lots of good high schools in the city, both private and public. Happy to see Omaha is finally growing, although I have read they are annex happy. That doesn't change the MSA population, though.
Tulsa is by far the most underrated among the group. On balance it stacks up quite well among these other cities across the given criteria. Someone mentioned that they hadn’t visited the city in 15 years. I would strongly encourage anyone to check out Tulsa today. Lots of creativity in the air. Very cool place indeed!
I'd say these analyses are pretty good. For me even Memphis' winter goes on for probably a month too long. Places like Des Moines have an extra three months with highs in the 30s. That's a major difference but in exchange they don't have as hot a summer.
Among these cities, it seems like Omaha is booming the most. At least that's the feeling I get from seeing the many modern office buildings along the interstate in western Omaha, for insurance and financial services companies, as well as downtown (and also how clean the downtown is).
I haven't been to Tulsa in a while. What I recall was liking the rolling terrain and elegant residential areas. However, I don't recall seeing anything that felt as bustling and growing like what you see in downtown Omaha or in suburban Omaha. Perhaps that has all changed though. I haven't been through Tulsa is probably 15 years so there's that.
Des Moines is a better overall metro as it is more centrally located in the Midwest, closer to the Great Lakes region, larger metros, and not as isolated. It also is greener compared to Omaha in terms of better quantity of trees and doesn't have quite as much wind as Omaha. Des Moines metro also doesn't have any coal power plants like Omaha by its river location.
Des Moines is a better overall metro as it is more centrally located in the Midwest, closer to the Great Lakes region, larger metros, and not as isolated. It also is greener compared to Omaha in terms of better quantity of trees and doesn't have quite as much wind as Omaha. Des Moines metro also doesn't have any coal power plants like Omaha by its river location.
I agree that Des Moines is a better overall location, but is the topography really that much better? I always figured they were similar.
I agree that Des Moines is a better overall location, but is the topography really that much better? I always figured they were similar.
As far as topography, I can't say about Des Moines, but Omaha is very hilly. People always seem to say it's flat, but they haven't been there...it's hilly.
I have only ever driven through Des Moines but have spent time in the other 4. They are all under-rated and quite surprising river cities. I like Tulsa the best, maybe because I know it the best, but it really is a surprising and interesting place. Its reputation as "buckle of the Bible Belt" is not undeserved, but it is so much more.
Walkability: None really: Omaha, Tulsa/Memphis, Little Rock
Coolest neighborhoods: all of them have great pockets. In ascending order: Little Rock has a few great historic neighborhoods in its core, but while gorgeous they are tiny. I love the Old Market district in Omaha. Beale street is by far the premiere entertainment district of the four, and there are quite a few great neighborhoods in Midtown, Memphis. And then there is Midtown Tulsa, which has one of the largest concentrations of 1920s mansions in the U.S., built by oil barons and mostly impeccably maintained, some very lively bar, restaurant strips in Cherry street, Brookside and Utica Square.
Best restaurant and bar vibe: Tulsa easily has the best fine dining - that legacy oil money ensures that- and there is interesting local food - the BBQ is varied,; we are where pig country meets cow country. There is also the weird institution of the Lebanese steakhouses which I have never seen anywhere else. But for everything besides fine-dining, I gotta go with Memphis, some of the best BBQ and soul food in the country. I would be very fat if I lived there. In my granted more limited experience, Little Rock and Omaha are fine, but nothing that really stands out food wise. Bars and nightlife: Memphis then Tulsa are a step above. Same for music - Memphis is a legendary music town and still is. Tulsa also has its own sound, plus the fantastic Woody Guthrie museum and the new Bob Dylan museum. Not the case for either Omaha or Little Rock.
Most intellectual: Tulsa. None of these cities have a Research 1 university, but in the Philbrook and the Gilcrease, Tulsa has 2 truly world class art museums. You have to drive to Crystal Bridges from Little Rock for that, and Crystal Bridges - which is extraordinary - is actually a fair bit closer to Tulsa. The Clinton library in Little Rock is also pretty cool. While the museums in Omaha and Memphis are interesting in their right, they are not in the same tier as those in Tulsa or Northwest Arkansas. I would also say the ballet, symphony and opera are better than their equivalents in the other cities, but not by a huge margin. Tulsa also invests in public art and cultural programming more than these peer cities. It is also an architectural buff's city - particularly for art Art Deco buildings. The other 3 are not particularly architecturally distinguished. Tulsa also feels more cosmopolitan to me. It has a prominent Jewish community, a larger Hispanic- mostly Mexican community than the other 3, a fair number of Arab-Americans, and many Native American nations make their home in the city.(Asian food mostly sucks in all of them).
They are all under-rated, but Tulsa was the biggest surprise to me. The other three cities are more squarely in their regions- though Memphis blends the mid-South and the Delta in fascinating ways. Tulsa is where the south meets the midwest meets Indian Country. It is the city in the U.S. with the highest percentage of Native American citizens, and most of the city is actually in Muskogee Creek territory.
I can see why Omaha is winning this poll. It is the most uniformly middle-class, and whitest of these cities. There is much less of the depressing stretches of poverty that you find in the other three and it feels "safer." Memphis is the worst for this, but there are sections of Little Rock and north Tulsa that are pretty bombed out. Memphis, Little Rock and Tulsa all have nasty histories of anti-Black racism, and to my mind Memphis and Little Rock have done a better job trying to address them, though the Greenwood Cultural Center in the heart of what was Black Wall Street in Tulsa is a good start.
You should check these cities out. I could happily spend a week in all of them. I would only consider living in Memphis or Tulsa. Omaha has long and very dreary winters, which is a deal-breaker for me, but weather preferences are highly subjective, and there is not quite enough going on in Little Rock. For natural environs, I would rate them - Little Rock, Tulsa, Des Moines, Memphis, though the Mississippi is majestic. They all show that people who use the term "flyover country" are missing out on some pretty great places.
Of these cities, I do like how hilly Little Rock is like. Although Memphis might have a few interesting neighborhoods, but I'd still be worried about crime spilling over into nicer areas. Maybe this issue isn't as bad in Memphis, as I worry?
I bet Omaha, Tulsa, and Des Moines would be nice as well. Omaha seems like a MAJORLY underappreciated city, from when I looked it up on Google Street View. Des Moines and Tulsa seem like they'd be interesting smaller cities, as well. And since Tulsa is close to Native American reservations, does that mean certain local Native American restaurants might serve fry bread? That was something I wish I had tried when I went to Glacier National Park(which is close to a few reservations out there) a few years ago, but sadly I didn't.
Do you have a favorite out of Memphis, Omaha, Tulsa, and Little Rock? My sister lived in North Little Rock and we still have friends there. Arkansas people are just warmer and nicer than most other places.
Which one is most walkable? I doubt any of these cities are really very walkable. Try to walk in Memphis and you'd probably be fearing for your life.
Has the coolest neighborhoods? I don't know if I call any of these cities cool. Memphis has some yuppie neighborhoods but they're close to the inner city. My niece and nephew moved to gated communities outside the city last year.
Best restaurant & bar vibe? That would be Memphis. Great barbeque restaurants.
Most intellectual? I don't consider any of these cities intellectual.
Totally underrated or unexpected? Little Rock is underrated. They have great hospitals, especially for children. They also have a very high level of investments with Stephens Company. The huge farming community is also big in commodity trading there. Little Rock is also is also a fine restaurant city.
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