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This! One of my sisters formerly lived in a far western suburban area of Omaha (she now lives in FL) and I was a bit shocked over how vast the sprawl was and how it seemed that the same developer with the same few uninspiring and repetitive house designs was granted the opportunity to carpet this former farmland with these homes. It just seemed to me to be the stereotypical "slap it together with cheap materials and cheap labor" type of development. I don't think the developer was required to place any trees on the lots, as I recall she had to buy her own trees and have them installed on her property. On my last visit to her, I actually pulled into the driveway of the wrong house because it was an exact replica of hers a little further down the street.
Ehh. I will say Omaha is sprawlier than I would have expected. I'm surprised the portion of Iowa bordering Omaha isn't more developed. As far as housing stock, I have seen worse than Omaha. Some suburban homes in Omaha aren't half bad.
There is very little climactic difference between Des Moines and Omaha. Des Moines isn't any greener, and neither one is particularly drought prone.
Precipitation does indeed gradually increase as one moves west to east from Omaha to Des Moines. Not a big difference but notable. Also, Omaha is more influenced by modified chinook downslope winds off the Rockies that can result in a bit more extreme temperature swings combined with more wind.
Precipitation does indeed gradually increase as one moves west to east from Omaha to Des Moines. Not a big difference but notable. Also, Omaha is more influenced by modified chinook downslope winds off the Rockies that can result in a bit more extreme temperature swings combined with more wind.
It's not noticeable at all. Have you ever spent time in these places or are you just looking at maps and stuff?
Omaha probably gets a couple inches less precip a year than Des Moines. Maybe. The effects of that are not visibly discernible and has no impact over what your QOL is. Both cities have cold winters, hot summers, intense springs and falls, and can have wild swings in temps and violent storms.
The impacts of the weather are almost identical if you're trying to choose between the two. It's the same climate, essentially.
I think that is associated more with western tribes such as the Navajo. Additionally, the Native American presence in Oklahoma tends to be (at least from an outside perspective) more assimilated and integrated with other residents than in most states. It's very different from places like Arizona or South Dakota where more of the Native American population is situated in isolated, impoverished reservations.
Yes, far more integrated. The city of Tulsa is literally "on the Rez", the north side is in the Cherokee Nation, the south side is Creek Nation and northwest of downtown is the Osage Nation. The whole one million population metro area is like this.
There are a couple of Native restaurants, one in the suburb of Owasso and another in Broken Arrow. The Cherokee tribe has a restaurant, but that is in the Cherokee capital of Tahlequah, about an hour from Tulsa. https://www.natvba.com
It should also be noted that Frybread in Oklahoma is not the same as Navajo fry bread. It's puffier and more like a donut with no hole. There are tribal variations to fry bread here too. Square vs round, the size of the fry bread, the density, what kind of milk is used, if it uses self rising flower or not. Navajo fry bread is much closer to a flour tortilla than what you see here.
Frybread is very available basically all summer, there are Tribal festivals and pow-wows basically every weekend in the summer in the Tulsa area, usually more than one. There are indoor pow-wows in the fall and winter months too, but not nearly as many. The biggest ones in the Tulsa are the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Festival in Okmulgee (the Muscogee Creek capital about 30 minutes from Tulsa) and Cherokee Holiday, again in Tahlequah. https://creekfestival.com https://thecherokeeholiday.com
Tulsa has a very unique culture in that more than 15% of the residents in the metro area are at least part Native.
Tulsa also has the fact that in the middle of the 20th century Tulsa was The Oil Capital of the World and had more millionaires per capita than anywhere else on earth. The old midtown neighborhoods and downtown art deco office buildings reflect all that wealth.
I've never felt the Native American presence was felt much in Tulsa proper. It's very prominent in the outlying smaller towns.
I lived in Des Moines for 5 years, and have spent a lot of time in Tulsa and Omaha due to having family and friends in those places. They all have an awful lot in common to their feel, options, and overall culture. All of them have a strong tie to Kansas City as the closest major metro, too.
The winter weather in Omaha simply sucks. And the city is too far from other cities that are enjoyable to visit.
That leaves Memphis, Little Rock and Tulsa.
I had neighbors from Bartlesville--just north of Tulsa. They liked the area. But it too is a little off the beaten path.
We lived in Memphis 18 years and left in 1987. I left a daughter, sister, niece and nephew behind.
Let me just say it's an unsafe city and a better place to leave than to live in. We go back about every 6 months, but seldom get any close than the edge of the county where the daughter lives. My sister and her kids live in exclusive gated communities.
The winter weather in Omaha simply sucks. And the city is too far from other cities that are enjoyable to visit.
That leaves Memphis, Little Rock and Tulsa.
I had neighbors from Bartlesville--just north of Tulsa. They liked the area. But it too is a little off the beaten path.
We lived in Memphis 18 years and left in 1987. I left a daughter, sister, niece and nephew behind.
Let me just say it's an unsafe city and a better place to leave than to live in. We go back about every 6 months, but seldom get any close than the edge of the county where the daughter lives. My sister and her kids live in exclusive gated communities.
Give me Little Rock any day.
How on earth is Tulsa more "off the beaten path" than Little Rock?
The only big cities close to Little Rock are Memphis (1.3 million, 2hrs) and Tulsa itself @ 1.0 million, 4hrs)
Tulsa has nearby cities in OKC (1.4 million, 1.5 hours), KC (2.2 million, 4hrs), DFW (7.8 million, 4hrs), and if you want to count them, NW Arkansas (.6 million, 2hrs), Wichita (.7 million, 2.5hrs) and of course, Little Rock (1.0 million, 4hrs)
How on earth is Tulsa more "off the beaten path" than Little Rock?
The only big cities close to Little Rock are Memphis (1.3 million, 2hrs) and Tulsa itself @ 1.0 million, 4hrs)
Tulsa has nearby cities in OKC (1.4 million, 1.5 hours), KC (2.2 million, 4hrs), DFW (7.8 million, 4hrs), and if you want to count them, NW Arkansas (.6 million, 2hrs), Wichita (.7 million, 2.5hrs) and of course, Little Rock (1.0 million, 4hrs)
You should also include Springfield, MO, for bigger cities within a few hours of Tulsa. If Fayetteville, AR and Wichita, KS are being counted, then you may as well also count Springfield. That particular Springfield city has about 170K residents, and 475K live in that metro.
I'd have to think long and hard, which of these cities I'd most want to live in. Des Moines and Omaha might be decent, but I'd have to consider the weather issue. My guess is the weather is probably similar, between both cities? Memphis I worry wouldn't be good to live in because of the crime issue, and that leaves Little Rock and Tulsa. Where I thought both cities are alright, but neither are the most interesting cities ever. Little Rock does have a streetcar between there and North Little Rock, and in Tulsa I don't think there's anything like a streetcar. And I do like how Little Rock does have an Amtrak station, and it's neighborhoods and pics I've seen of a few of it's local parks seem hilly. The downtown area of Little Rock doesn't look bad, and I know North Little Rock has been able to attract some investment as well.
Tulsa has a few areas, that look nice. And I know nearby Bartlesville seems like it has an alright downtown, and even a Frank Lloyd Wright building to boot. So I suspect either LR or Tulsa, would be nice to live in.
Last edited by SonySegaTendo617; 03-09-2023 at 04:45 PM..
I wouldn't prefer living in them, but I would choose Omaha.
Most entertainment, a large zoo, most walkable, and improving transit including a streetcar in the next few years.
Plus summers are not as excrutiating as Memphis
I agree. I was also impressed with Omaha's arts community.
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