[marska]

Originally Posted by Calvinist

Taxes are pretty high. Weather can be cold and snowy in the winter.

I wish we had a real major league sports team.

Other than that, it's really a pretty decent place to live.

Taxes are high???? HAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA oh my oh my ...I....cant....breathe....haaaaaahaaaaaa...try NY, MD, CT, MA, NJ, DC, VA, etc etc

[MountainMen]

In general (there are exceptions, as there are to anything), Omaha is a working person's city. Living in Omaha is about getting the job done, earning and saving money, so you can go retire and live a good life somewhere else. Omaha is not high on quality of life, and it doesn't try to be. People here don't wear Gucci, they wear Dickies. They don't drink Bordeaux wine, they drink cheap beer. They don't shop at boutique stores downtown, they shop at Walmart. They smoke and curse, they work 9-5 Monday-Friday, and they cheer loudly for the Huskers. If you can accept that and fit in with that type of zeitgeist, you'll do fine. By the way, I love that word ManontheMoon used - zeitgeist.

[iamjacobm]

I whole heartedly disagree with you MountainMen. Nearly every major music act and theater production comes through Omaha to some of the premier venues in the country and this city supports them. This city pulls many major sporting events as well for entertainment. Omaha has two highly respected museum's and a growing art scene and an incredible music scene for a city this size. Most people do not buy their clothes at Wal-Mart, at least people that carry themselves with some dignity in public.

I would say people live with in their means more in Omaha than many other cities, but to say Omaha is just a place to work until you save enough to move is not a feeling most of this city shares with you. I feel bad that you seem to be missing out on what Omaha has to offer.

Now on what I dislike most? Public transportation isn't very good and the lack of a major sports franchise are my two things I wish were better.

[Calvinist]

Originally Posted by marska

Taxes are high???? HAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA oh my oh my ...I....cant....breathe....haaaaaahaaaaaa...try NY, MD, CT, MA, NJ, DC, VA, etc etc

I listened to a real estate radio show the other day talking about how the average person, when checking housing prices in Omaha thinks they're great. They can buy a mansion for $400k here. They don't realize that they then have to pay the equivalent of a Subaru every year in taxes.

Other taxes are high here, as well. Why do you think they have to crack down on people who live in Omaha but claim to live in Iowa so they can license their car?

Don't get me wrong--I like it here. But I will likely be moving out of Omaha in the next couple years for work and I won't miss the $3000/year tax bill on my $120k home. Nor will I miss the wheel tax, and the overpriced car licensing fees.

[Bugaha]

Weather, lack of culture, and the boredom.

[Raphael07]

Originally Posted by MountainMen

In general (there are exceptions, as there are to anything), Omaha is a working person's city. Living in Omaha is about getting the job done, earning and saving money, so you can go retire and live a good life somewhere else. Omaha is not high on quality of life, and it doesn't try to be. People here don't wear Gucci, they wear Dickies. They don't drink Bordeaux wine, they drink cheap beer. They don't shop at boutique stores downtown, they shop at Walmart. They smoke and curse, they work 9-5 Monday-Friday, and they cheer loudly for the Huskers. If you can accept that and fit in with that type of zeitgeist, you'll do fine. By the way, I love that word ManontheMoon used - zeitgeist.

Huh.... no one in my family does that. Is this like your whole cigarette smoke pollution stuff you were going on about for months?

[nebr]

Lack of public transportation and suburban sprawl are major contributors to DUIs. I am pretty familiar with the cultural and arts scene and Omaha and it is very respectable for a city of its size. If you are looking for the culture that can be experienced in a Chicago or New York, you are going to be disappointed. As for dislikes, I think the support for the Huskers can be a bit annoying, the west side of town is probably the most boring place on the planet, there aren't many options for outdoor activities unless you like bass fishing or hunting, and the fact that Omaha is kind of isolated - Kansas City really doesn't impress me, so it's a 6 or 7 hour drive to Minneapolis or Chicago. Outside of those things, I think Omaha is a pretty nice medium sized city.

[ManOnTheMoon]

Originally Posted by Raphael07

Huh.... no one in my family does that. Is this like your whole cigarette smoke pollution stuff you were going on about for months?

I'll admit MountainMen's cigarette comments struck me as unusual. Not that I'm doubting the veracity of his (or her) experience, just that I've had a completely different experience in Omaha. However, I think he or she is on target with the post you're quoting, Raphael.

Part of the identity of Omaha is that you can be insulated if you want to. It's easy to avoid mixing with certain lifestyles. I've personally worked in retail my entire time in the city, and I can agree with the post fairly confidently. There is a definite lack of sophistication in certain parts of the Omaha populace. I don't think "sophistication" is the best word to use here, but it's the only one coming to mind. The other side of the coin is an over-correction of the wheel. People trying too hard to not put out the Podunk image. It's almost like they're overcompensating and doing everything they can to appear wordly and international, and decidedly not like the other part of the city.
Now, there's almost certainly a middle ground, but it's rather disproportionate, from what I've seen, to the two extremes.

[harshbarj]

Originally Posted by Calvinist

I listened to a real estate radio show the other day talking about how the average person, when checking housing prices in Omaha thinks they're great. They can buy a mansion for $400k here. They don't realize that they then have to pay the equivalent of a Subaru every year in taxes.

Other taxes are high here, as well. Why do you think they have to crack down on people who live in Omaha but claim to live in Iowa so they can license their car?

Don't get me wrong--I like it here. But I will likely be moving out of Omaha in the next couple years for work and I won't miss the $3000/year tax bill on my $120k home. Nor will I miss the wheel tax, and the overpriced car licensing fees.

But what your not getting is that that 120k home in almost any other major city would be 300k or more. Sure the actual rate is high, but with home prices so low they have to be to provide the same services here. Just try to find a house like yours in any other 400k+ sized city and I am willing to bet it will be at least double the vale of your Omaha home.

I know this because I have friends from all over the country and they all say this exact same thing. Housing is CHEAP here.

[JustMe_T3K]

I dislike the Omaha area people that look for bad things.
Depending on your view and attitude you can find bad things about any city.

The real way to decide about a place or area is to decide if it has enough good things to suit your lifestyle.