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I just received a job offer at Offutt AFB and would like your opinion on a few matters. I literally combed through hundreds and hundreds of threads and found a wealth of information……both good and bad. However, my specific questions haven’t been answered….at least I don’t think. For starters my wife and I are African Americans (AA) in our early 30s. We both are high wage earners without kids although we hope to be blessed with one, two, or three soon. My making mention that we are high wage earners doesn’t define who we are but paints a picture of what we are looking for. Truthfully, we will probably end up in West Omaha due to its proximity to base. My wife and I are very cordial people. However, I tend to be wary of everyone and my wife has never met a stranger.
Here are my questions:
1. AAs in West Omaha? - My question isn't about safety but rather just fitting in and integrating with the community. We also lived in Southern Arizona and if we as AAs survived there, I feel we can survive almost anywhere. I could go a whole week without seeing a single black person…..seriously! We are all about diversity and inclusion but definitely don’t want to experience the isolation we felt in AZ. Please be brutally honest…..no holding back!
2. Attitudes towards AAs? - Again, I am not asking or suggesting that there exist a weekly hanging schedule…..unless of course that’s true. I am just wondering if the area is inclusive, standoffish, us vs them, hey and bye, snobbish, etc. Now I must say we were warned that Southern AZ would not be the most welcoming place for AA but we found this to be furthest from the truth. With the exception of everyone thinking I was the foremost expert on any and all of Obama’s policies and laws as if I knew the man personally, we found Arizonians to be the warmest most welcoming people we EVER encountered. Please be brutally honest…..no holding back!
3. Culture? – Although we are certainly interested in AA culture, we are also interested in ALL culture….especially food, music, and art. Based on the boards, we have concluded that in order to get our AA fix we will have to venture over to North Omaha…..no problem. But does that mean the rest of the area is desolate of AAs? Is it as bad as what we experienced in AZ….what about West Omaha?
4. Entertainment? – My wife and I have labeled ourselves as the most boring couple on earth!!! We are content with the title. What we like to do is simple…..We are big foodies so of course we love trying new restaurants or returning to our favorites. We also like working out, opera/symphony, movies, plays (local or national), festivals, wine tastings, etc. We enjoy volunteering and mentoring. We both also like to golf but think about the worst golfer you know and we are several rungs below him/her. One more thing, we have no interest in a night life in the traditional sense! Does Omaha fit the bill for what we enjoy doing?
5. Traffic? - How is the traffic from West Omaha to Offutt AFB?
6. Friends? - Do you think it will be easy to make friends in Omaha...West Omaha. I ask because the older I get the more I am convinced that people aren't interested in last friendships anymore. Most people seem to be content with the obligatory "hey & bye" type relationships. I am someone who BBQ's year round and would love to have friends and/or neighbors over but most people seem to just want to be left alone. Perhaps it's just a sign of the times.
7. Any advice or opinions you can offer up on Offutt AFB would be appreciated as well.
Thanks in advance for the time spent answering any/all of my questions.
We are really grappling with the decision to accept or not.
1. West Omaha is very much predominately white. I am sure there are AA families and people that live out there. The neighborhood I grew up in had two AA families, not what I call diversity. I would suspect the diversity would increase if you were closer to OPS schools than where I was closer to Millard schools.
2. I have never seen anyone have a poor attitude toward AAs. I would fully expect nothing different from the good experiences you had in AZ.
3. The AA culture is really centered in North Omaha. There is the historically important sites like the Malcolm X Birthplace Malcolm X Foundation | Official Web Pages of the Malcolm X Memorial Foundation. Then there are newer places like Love's Jazz and Art Center Home | Loves Jazz and Arts Center this is pretty much the center of it in Omaha. New things like a recent mural by a San Francisco artist and a new artist work space being worked on by Bemis Center(awesome art space downtown) and a Chicago artist are really giving North Omaha an artistic jump start.
4. There are a few key spots
Downtown in general is going to be where to find most of your plays and symphony performances. Also a good community theater in Omaha.
Old Market has lots of great restaurants, art choices and street musicians.
Dundee is smaller, but has a good vibe and some good restaurant options. Also a single screen movie theater than shows non main stream movies.
Benson is more of the "alternative" crowd. They do have so great restaurants, bars and live music.
North Downtown has a great live music venue and a two screen art house movie theater.
5. and 6. I am not really up to snuff on. Omaha claims to be a 20 min city, I don't really buy it, but I don't know the traffic patters to Offutt that well.
I just received a job offer at Offutt AFB and would like your opinion on a few matters. I literally combed through hundreds and hundreds of threads and found a wealth of information……both good and bad. However, my specific questions haven’t been answered….at least I don’t think. For starters my wife and I are African Americans (AA) in our early 30s. We both are high wage earners without kids although we hope to be blessed with one, two, or three soon. My making mention that we are high wage earners doesn’t define who we are but paints a picture of what we are looking for. Truthfully, we will probably end up in West Omaha due to its proximity to base. My wife and I are very cordial people. However, I tend to be wary of everyone and my wife has never met a stranger.
Here are my questions:
1. AAs in West Omaha? - My question isn't about safety but rather just fitting in and integrating with the community. We also lived in Southern Arizona and if we as AAs survived there, I feel we can survive almost anywhere. I could go a whole week without seeing a single black person…..seriously! We are all about diversity and inclusion but definitely don’t want to experience the isolation we felt in AZ. Please be brutally honest…..no holding back!
2. Attitudes towards AAs? - Again, I am not asking or suggesting that there exist a weekly hanging schedule…..unless of course that’s true. I am just wondering if the area is inclusive, standoffish, us vs them, hey and bye, snobbish, etc. Now I must say we were warned that Southern AZ would not be the most welcoming place for AA but we found this to be furthest from the truth. With the exception of everyone thinking I was the foremost expert on any and all of Obama’s policies and laws as if I knew the man personally, we found Arizonians to be the warmest most welcoming people we EVER encountered. Please be brutally honest…..no holding back!
3. Culture? – Although we are certainly interested in AA culture, we are also interested in ALL culture….especially food, music, and art. Based on the boards, we have concluded that in order to get our AA fix we will have to venture over to North Omaha…..no problem. But does that mean the rest of the area is desolate of AAs? Is it as bad as what we experienced in AZ….what about West Omaha?
4. Entertainment? – My wife and I have labeled ourselves as the most boring couple on earth!!! We are content with the title. What we like to do is simple…..We are big foodies so of course we love trying new restaurants or returning to our favorites. We also like working out, opera/symphony, movies, plays (local or national), festivals, wine tastings, etc. We enjoy volunteering and mentoring. We both also like to golf but think about the worst golfer you know and we are several rungs below him/her. One more thing, we have no interest in a night life in the traditional sense! Does Omaha fit the bill for what we enjoy doing?
5. Traffic? - How is the traffic from West Omaha to Offutt AFB?
6. Friends? - Do you think it will be easy to make friends in Omaha...West Omaha. I ask because the older I get the more I am convinced that people aren't interested in last friendships anymore. Most people seem to be content with the obligatory "hey & bye" type relationships. I am someone who BBQ's year round and would love to have friends and/or neighbors over but most people seem to just want to be left alone. Perhaps it's just a sign of the times.
7. Any advice or opinions you can offer up on Offutt AFB would be appreciated as well.
Thanks in advance for the time spent answering any/all of my questions.
We are really grappling with the decision to accept or not.
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I think as higher earners your biggest problem in where you locate is not going to be acceptance being AA but being resented by your neighbors because of your financial success? Living in one of the more middle class neighborhoods in Omaha will probably be better than living in an area with a lot of poverty. You may be surrounded by a lot of folks with lighter skin than yours but what is important to you for you and your family? Class envy is the new racism.
As for #6, Omaha is a place where "hey & bye" is probably the norm, unless you like to drink. Alcohol is a way for most people in Omaha to push through the awkward societal configurations we've set up. We idealize our big empty solitary houses in the middle of nowhere, we get in our solitary cars to go everywhere, and we work so hard and make ourselves so busy that developing the real community structure you talk about is practically non-existent.
************************************************** ***********************
You may be surrounded by a lot of folks with lighter skin than yours but what is important to you for you and your family? Class envy is the new racism.
GL2
I read your response to my wife and she said," how profound". I agree! Thanks for your insight.
As for #6, Omaha is a place where "hey & bye" is probably the norm, unless you like to drink. Alcohol is a way for most people in Omaha to push through the awkward societal configurations we've set up. We idealize our big empty solitary houses in the middle of nowhere, we get in our solitary cars to go everywhere, and we work so hard and make ourselves so busy that developing the real community structure you talk about is practically non-existent.
I was hoping you wouldn't say that but admittedly, this is the same mentality we encountered in just about every place we've lived......minus the drinking part. :-) We do live in a microwave society where we want it all yesterday. Unfortunately very few of us ever stop long enough to smell the roses....or at least the fruits of our labor.
1. West Omaha is very much predominately white. I am sure there are AA families and people that live out there. The neighborhood I grew up in had two AA families, not what I call diversity. I would suspect the diversity would increase if you were closer to OPS schools than where I was closer to Millard schools.
2. I have never seen anyone have a poor attitude toward AAs. I would fully expect nothing different from the good experiences you had in AZ.
3. The AA culture is really centered in North Omaha. There is the historically important sites like the Malcolm X Birthplace Malcolm X Foundation | Official Web Pages of the Malcolm X Memorial Foundation. Then there are newer places like Love's Jazz and Art Center Home | Loves Jazz and Arts Center this is pretty much the center of it in Omaha. New things like a recent mural by a San Francisco artist and a new artist work space being worked on by Bemis Center(awesome art space downtown) and a Chicago artist are really giving North Omaha an artistic jump start.
4. There are a few key spots
Downtown in general is going to be where to find most of your plays and symphony performances. Also a good community theater in Omaha.
Old Market has lots of great restaurants, art choices and street musicians.
Dundee is smaller, but has a good vibe and some good restaurant options. Also a single screen movie theater than shows non main stream movies.
Benson is more of the "alternative" crowd. They do have so great restaurants, bars and live music.
North Downtown has a great live music venue and a two screen art house movie theater.
5. and 6. I am not really up to snuff on. Omaha claims to be a 20 min city, I don't really buy it, but I don't know the traffic patters to Offutt that well.
Good luck with everything!
Very good information indeed! My wife found a movie theater that serve meals/cocktails and this is her
I'll address a couple of your questions since for the majority of them there's nothing for you to really worry about. Since west Omaha is homgenous, I would suggest you look into some of the higher income neighborhoods in eastern Omaha. These would include Fairachers, Dundee, Gold Coast, Happy Hollow, and Field Club.
If you are leaning towards west Omaha anyway, I would warn you that the commute will be rather long. If you're coming from the farther-west Omaha area, it will take 30 minutes without traffic. So if you're commuting during rush hour, it's not going to be fun. However, if you're careful to live near the interstate and you live on the eastern side of west Omaha, you might get away with approximately 25 minutes.
If I had to suggest one area for you to live in, it would be Field Club. It is close to Downtown, Offutt AFB, the interstate.. And a golf course!
I'll address a couple of your questions since for the majority of them there's nothing for you to really worry about. Since west Omaha is homgenous, I would suggest you look into some of the higher income neighborhoods in eastern Omaha. These would include Fairachers, Dundee, Gold Coast, Happy Hollow, and Field Club.
If you are leaning towards west Omaha anyway, I would warn you that the commute will be rather long. If you're coming from the farther-west Omaha area, it will take 30 minutes without traffic. So if you're commuting during rush hour, it's not going to be fun. However, if you're careful to live near the interstate and you live on the eastern side of west Omaha, you might get away with approximately 25 minutes.
If I had to suggest one area for you to live in, it would be Field Club. It is close to Downtown, Offutt AFB, the interstate.. And a golf course!
We only chose West Omaha because that area seems to be the general consensus of the board. Spending so many years in the DC metro area we've grown allergic to traffic. With that said, we will now look in Eastern Omaha....specifically the areas of Fairachers, Dundee, Gold Coast, Happy Hollow, and Field Club per your suggestion.
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