Forbes: America's Most Livable Cities (Omaha, Lincoln: how much, houses, school)

star_gazer · 05-04-2010, 08:37 AM

More accolades...

America's Most Livable Cities - Forbes.com

1. Pittsburgh
2. Ogden, UT
3. Provo, UT
4. Ann Arbor, MI
5. Harrisburg, PA
6. Omaha
7. Manchester, NH
8. Trenton, NJ
9. Bridgeport, CT (tie)
9. Lincoln (tie)

pheaton · 05-04-2010, 09:24 AM

Omaha and it's suburbs keep showing up on various lists as being good places to live. Having lived here all of my life, I guess I never realized how great it supposedly is. I will say I'm happy here though and don't really have any intention of leaving for the time being. I'm planning becoming a part timer when I retire though, but that's many many many years away.

Gunluvver2 · 05-04-2010, 10:15 AM

What amazes me about the list is the amount of improvement cities like Pittsburgh and Harrisburg would have had to make in the past thirty years to get on this list in 2010. In the 1970's the steel industry had turned the air above Pittsburgh and the waters in the rivers running through it into examples of pollution run amok. Remember the Three Mile Island incident from the 1970's? That is close to Harrisburg and as far as I know two of the three Nuclear power plants are still up and running. Living next to a Nuclear power plant used to be perceived as horrible. Something has changed in thirty five years.

GL2

pheaton · 05-04-2010, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gunluvver2

Three Mile Island incident from the 1970's? That is close to Harrisburg and as far as I know two of the three Nuclear power plants are still up and running. Living next to a Nuclear power plant used to be perceived as horrible. Something has changed in thirty five years.

GL2

Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station is about 16 miles away from Harrisburg. During the TMI incident a 5 mile radius was recommended evacuated for precautions. Mostly pregnant women and children were advised to leave. The actual release of harmful radiation into the environment was very little. There were no casualties as a direct result of the partial meltdown. There were scattered reports of cancer and death rates spiking downwind, but it's hard to determine if the incident is the cause.

The station has 2 nuclear reactors, TMI 1 remains in operation and is licensed to operate until 2034. TMI 2 has been shutdown since 1979 when it's core had a partial meltdown. The fuel and damaged core have been removed and any harmful radiation has been contained. TMI 2 has not been fully decomissioned yet.

Today, Nuclear power generation is very safe. There are soo many precautions and regulations in place now. For something like TMI to occur today, it would pretty much have to be on purpose. The possibility of such incidents have been made all but impossible. Safeguards and procedures for operation are light years beyond what they were. There are no shortcuts. The NRC will slap you so hard you wont see the light of day.

star_gazer · 05-04-2010, 03:04 PM

I can vouch for Pittsburgh... it's an absolutely gorgeous city.

InTheO! · 05-04-2010, 03:39 PM

We really need a thread of something for just these lists, it's cool we're always on the good ones.

Gunluvver2 · 05-05-2010, 08:26 AM

I remember the good old days in Omaha when the stockyards and packing houses were the biggest business in South Omaha. When the stockyards closed I remember some entrepreneur turned humongous piles of manure into money. After the manure and flies were gone that area was developed and new businesses came in to replace the former stinking industries. Is this an improvement or was it better when the stockyards were going full blast?

GL2

star_gazer · 05-05-2010, 04:01 PM

My grandfather always referred to South O's 'smell of money'. In today's society... I think we're better off heading away from the livestock industry (plus, there just isn't the demand today for the giant, centralized stockyard any longer... smaller, localized feedlots fulfill the same needs today). It would be nice to see a little more light manufacturing type business come to the area though.

JustMe_T3K · 05-05-2010, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by star_gazer

My grandfather always referred to South O's 'smell of money'. In today's society... I think we're better off heading away from the livestock industry (plus, there just isn't the demand today for the giant, centralized stockyard any longer... smaller, localized feedlots fulfill the same needs today). It would be nice to see a little more light manufacturing type business come to the area though.

It would be great to see any kind of manufacturing open up.

I am so tired of seeing "Made in China" on everything I buy.

But this will never happen because of the "keeping up with the Jones"
mentality of America which has raised the cost of living very high which requires workers to demand higher wages.

For something to be "Made in USA" the retail price is 2-100 times higher.

There is actually a niche market for "only Made in USA" stores.

JustMe_T3K · 05-05-2010, 11:54 PM

PS the phrase 'smell of money' is fun up here is NE Nebraska.

When its warm out and my son and I drive past a feed lot my son will compare the smell to a fart.
Then I use the 'smell of money' phrase and tell him how much each cow is worth.

Then he stops sniffing and starts counting the cows.

For u city folk.

Good and Choice Strs: todays market price [CENTER]$97.00 - $98.00

that means per 100 pounds with live slaughter or "butcher" weight at 1200+/- pounds
[/CENTER]