Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Nebraska > Omaha
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 07-23-2010, 02:03 PM
BWJ BWJ started this thread
 
4 posts, read 6,831 times
Reputation: 10

Advertisements

I have the chance to take a good job in Omaha but we know nothing about the area. We have never been to Omaha nor do we know anyone that has lived there. We currently live in Oregon and so we know it will be a major change because of terrain, weather and so on. My wife and I are used to mild winters and warm dry summers. We currently live in an area that is surrounded by mountains up to 9,000' with fir and pine forests. Our town is fairly small at 65,000 people and not much diversity. We want to live in an area where we can go for walks, even to walk to dinner or to a movie or shopping. Any input or suggestions on what to expect or where to live?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 07-23-2010, 09:50 PM
 
1,295 posts, read 2,498,370 times
Reputation: 1307
Be prepared for a change of scenery and climate. Believe it or not, Omaha is one of the hilliest cities in the US, and does not have the flat, barren topography that you'd find in other Midwestern cities. Omaha also has natural old-growth deciduous forests on the northern and southern borders of the city along the Missouri River. To lessen the culture shock, you might want to look at housing in the subdivisions built into these forests in the suburbs of Bellevue (south), or in Ponca Hills (north). Summers are hot, Winters are cold, Spring and Fall are awesome. We don't have mountains, but nature makes up for that by providing us with regular psychedelic sunsets and surrealistic cloud formations. Omaha has many walkable neighborhoods. My faves are the Old Market (oldmarket.com), Dundee, Midtown Crossing, Aksarben Villiage. I no longer live there, but Omaha is the hidden gem of the Midwest.

Last edited by smithy77; 07-23-2010 at 10:24 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-24-2010, 12:04 AM
 
1,068 posts, read 2,066,213 times
Reputation: 964
We moved here last summer from California. The poster above who said "be prepared for a change of scenery and climate" wasn't kidding, it's a change, alright. If you think I sound a bit cynical, you would be right. Winter they had more snow here than they have had in a good long while, (according to the locals I've spoken with, both the winter and summer this year have been "unusual", not the norm, I guess) and the roads were an absolute mess. The hills in those conditions (and there are hills EVERYwhere here) were a nightmare to navigate, and side streets would just pile up with snow to the point that you couldn't use them. Mind you, I have lived in places that had over 200 inches of snow, and because they were really taking care of the roads, etc., it was fine- but they don't seem to do that, here. Summer...it has been rainy, hot, rainy, humid beyond belief, rainy, this isn't like any summer that I've ever seen. And the humidity here is just stifling- I'm used to hot and dry, this is hot and steamy..miserable, honestly. I don't know what part of Oregon you live in, but I would guess that you're used to some rain- but this rain, it's in the 90's while it's raining, and it doesn't seem to cool things off much, it just seems to make it steamier.

On the up side, there are jobs here- unemployment is very low (5% I believe), and there are enjoyable things to do here, the zoo is wonderful. However...what you describe in Oregon sounds really nice, and if you have it good...why fix it if it isn't broken? However...if the weather here is like this every year? It's hard to enjoy everything else that Omaha may offer, when the weather is just...dismal.

Of course, you may really love it here, I don't know- but I'm just giving my opinion, lol.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-24-2010, 01:25 AM
 
508 posts, read 1,081,823 times
Reputation: 593
^ Just to throw in a bit of info after Mostie's post - pretty much everywhere to the east/south/southeast of Omaha has more heat and more humidity than Omaha. That's about 1/3 to 1/2 of the country that has it worse in that regard. So in short, get over it. Places such as Southern California/eastern Oregon are very dry - but most of the U.S. is not like these places.

The winter on the other hand, can be rough.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-24-2010, 06:12 PM
 
1,068 posts, read 2,066,213 times
Reputation: 964
Well, it's not easy to "get over it" when you're completely not used to it- much like the dinosaurs must have felt when that meteor or whatever hit the earth eons ago, and one minute they were munching on vegetation in some rain forest, next minute they were frozen like a popsicle in Siberia
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-26-2010, 07:19 AM
 
2 posts, read 5,101 times
Reputation: 10
Default Great city, haven for children, ultra-high taxes

Hi BWJ-
I've lived here for about 20 years and have an open mind about 'my city.' Omaha is in many ways a best kept secret of the Midwest... Great schools (particularly Millard, Papillion, etc.). It's a city of hills, great churches, in-town lakes with bike trails (Omaha has a very developed bike trail network), wealth of restaurants, good nighlife, art galleries, the Old Market district, etc. It is no longer a "cow town" and actually a pretty wealthy city with beautiful upscale homes on the West Side, and growing continually. Shopping/eating is among the best of any US city I have traveled.

The downside -- taxes in this city continue to plague those who live here. As one who will be very sad to leave the green, beautiful neighborhoods in West Omaha, I can never retire here because the taxes on my property are as high as an additional mortgage, therefore I am having to put my house up for sale and moving South. The taxes aspect is the common thread of nearly all negative Omaha conversatoins-- great city, high taxes, expensive to license your car, etc. Winters/summers are brutal, but of course that is the Midwest. I still think the trade-off is far in Omaha's advantage (housing is still very affordable compared to the Coasts). Just be prepared to complain about taxation.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-26-2010, 12:09 PM
 
Location: Omaha, NE
175 posts, read 439,552 times
Reputation: 45
I always find it funny how when people who recently move here talk about Omaha they start off with the weather. Yes it gets cold in the winter and hot in the summer. I’ve seen worse though and like someone said, it has been a very unusual year. I’ve never seen so much snow pile up before and I think part of the reason the roads were slow on getting cleared was because we aren’t used to excess like we got last winter. The roads were terrible from the potholes and I’m still driving over some of them but for the most part they worked hard to fill the major ones. There’s really not much you can do about that to prevent it, unless we want to go back to gravel or brick streets.

For the most part, Omaha will have nearly anything your looking for and if we don’t you can find it within a few hours drive. The schools are excellent, unemployment is low, house prices are low although don’t be shocked at the property tax rate. From what you described your home sounds beautiful with lots of scenery. Compared to some places it can look a little dull but I always found it beautiful and sometimes when I’m driving on the outskirts of the city I get amazed at the scenery but that’s just me. I think a lot of people just never take the time to really look at it when they see it everyday.

Omaha is really a car city, if you want to do things you really need a car. There are developments that are close to shopping areas like Village Pointe that you could walk to and has all your described. If you want an older area of town with some more character (and my favorite) you can try Dundee or Benson, there’s some shopping there but it’s more specific.

You’ll find more diversity depending on what area you live in. As a general rule the more west you go in Omaha the less diverse it is.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-30-2010, 01:17 PM
 
Location: Prairie Village, KS
62 posts, read 120,540 times
Reputation: 19
i'm surprised anyone would not put weather/climate first because Omaha will be drastically different from a moutainous area in Oregon.
secondly, i am equally surprised no one has commented on the people of Omaha - their attitudes in general - because that would be the second biggest difference between where they live and Omaha. i don't know if where they live is as progressive as Oregon is often painted, but you have to admit Omaha has very conservative values. that could be a big change too.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-30-2010, 03:11 PM
BWJ BWJ started this thread
 
4 posts, read 6,831 times
Reputation: 10
MikeT1,

Thanks for the input on the people and values. We are living in Southern Oregon which is pretty conservative. In fact this past presidential election was the first time this county voted Democrat and that was only by a margin of 100 votes.

We appreciate everyone's input and if you have any other info, please pass it on. It is all a help in making up or minds.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-30-2010, 05:29 PM
 
Location: Tampa (by way of Omaha)
14,561 posts, read 22,953,748 times
Reputation: 10355
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeT1 View Post
but you have to admit Omaha has very conservative values. that could be a big change too.
That depends. Omaha is a center-left city, but it does get more conservative as you head out into the suburbs and neighboring counties.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Nebraska > Omaha

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top