Omaha, Nebraska

Anonymous
Living in Omaha
2y ago
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Hello! Hiker here, and Omaha native! There are indeed a lot of state parks around the area, and Fontanelle Forest is among my favorites to explore. There are also a lot of prairies and loess hills. If you are looking for mountains to hike, and eight hour train ride West will drop you in Denver in the Rockies. The sandhills are gorgeous to hike as well.

Lincoln also offers a lot of hikeable parks, including wilderness park, though it is more flat than I prefer. However, if you are into gravel cycling, there is no limit to the adventurous back roads not thirty minutes from either city core.

The cons of living in Omaha, Nebraska is the current state of transit. It is rapidly improving though, which I am excited about. I am also not a fan of our current state government, as the governor is not a good person, but it is an election year, and hopefully that will change. I also hope that we will elect better state representatives.

I am a product of Omaha Public Schools, and they did okay. It is certainly the largest school district in the city, and there are alternative options as well if you have dependents.

jdbrew
Living in Omaha
2y ago
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Just moved from L.A. to Omaha a year and a half ago. Here’s my list:

Pros:

food scene is incredible. No joke, I have better meals here than I ever did in LA. Except for Mexican food. Everyone says go to South O and yes it’s better, but still doesn’t hold a candle.

cost of living. I was able to buy a house for my family. In L.A. i would be renting forever, and I would be in a neighborhood I didn’t want to be in, in a house that was too small for our needs. Gas is cheaper, but right now gas is insane everywhere.

people. I’ve made more friends as an adult in the 1.5 years I’ve lived here than I ever did as an adult in California. I have neighbors that I’ve met, parents from school, and just random people I’ve met standing in line. The people here are great. However, not so much in West O in my experience.

weather. Now hear me out; I hated CA weather. We had two types of weather nice-hot and hot-hot. We had two seasons, summer and fire-season. Yea, we have some days that aren’t pleasant while CA has more pleasant days, but CA was just monotonous. At least we get some variety here. And I’d argue the nicest day in Omaha is way nicer than the nicest day in LA, just the average day in LA is nicer than the average day in Omaha. Also, yeah, tornadoes, but they aren’t as common within city limits (blessed by the omadome!) but CA has earthquakes and insane wildfires. I’ll take tornado risk anyday. Plus the last time we had a tornado in the city was in the 70’s I think, so it really is pretty rare.

generous donors. Omaha has the highest concentration of billionaires per capita, and they do donate a lot to the city and projects that they’re interested in.

Nythoren
Lived in Omaha
7mo ago
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For me the cons boil down to: weather and politics. Even though Omaha is an island of blue in a deep red state, we are still governed by the backwards Nebraska laws and an Omaha mayor that doesn't even bother living in the state.

Pros are still the cost of living and the job market. Cost of living has been impacted by the spiking cost of rent and homes, but it's still leagues better than the other cities I've lived in over the years.

I-Make-Maps91
Living in Omaha
7mo ago
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Pros: I grew up here and generally like my hometown and aspects of the rest of the state. It's a "big" city, but it's cheaper than other similar cities (this part isn't as true as it used to be, but it's still true), and there's a decent job market.

Cons: The culture war has finally reached Nebraska in a way that it largely didn't in the past. It was always kind of a thing, but the majority of the state preferred to ignore the crazies. State and local politics are largely in the hands of a few wealthy families, which isn't unique to Nebraska but it does mean the state is trying to spend $1.5 billion on "infrastructure" that no one seems to think we need besides those with a financial incentive (like owning land near the giant lake).We also get the worst of both extremes weather-wise, so the urban sprawl of the 80s-00s has started catching up to city street maintenance budgets and we put off investing in a proper transit system until now (arguably we still haven't, but a more expansive rail system will cost billions). We also get the worst of both extremes weather-wise, so the urban sprawl of the 80s-00s has started catching up to city street maintenance budgets and we put off investing in a proper transit system until now (arguably we still haven't, but a more expansive rail system will cost billions).

Is Omaha, Nebraska The New BEST City in the USA??