[ehenningsen]

Originally Posted by DTO Luv

I could show you pictures of where he's talking about and make him eat his words. There isn't any place in Omaha where there is a massive amount of blight. There aren't blocks and blocks of boarded up homes or buildings.

Plas that such a large area he listed that I couldn't show all if it. But trust me MattDen doesn't know what he's talking about.

LOL @ boarded up buildings!!!!! I dont see any!!! MattDen is just a character

[Steve-o]

Omaha is pretty decent. My short trips there were pretty cool, the place kinda reminded me of Oklahoma City in a strange way. The only thing Id disagree on is the golf course statement. Chicagoland has always held the title for most courses, we were even the first to invent a 18 hole course. Looks like the title still stands...

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/money...pten/golf.html

[DTO Luv]

I have lived in north Omaha for many years and it's not as bleak a picture as you would paint it.

Guess what. Omaha is a city and cities have more rund down areas. If I was recommending Chicago to people would I say," Drive all over the South Side and you'll see what Chicago is really about." Or LA. "Go to Watts and Compton and you'll see how terrible LA is." Or even Five Points in Denver. So by your logic I should go strolling through the ghettos to get a feel of how good a place is. That doesn't even make sense.

Of course I'm going to tell people about the good parts of Omaha like anyone would tell people to go the the better, more attractive parts of any city. I should be able to get some pictures of these "bilghted" areas today or tomorrow.

[btoverdrive]

I have been coming to Omaha since the mid 80's and had the pleasure of being transferred here (kidding) in 2004. I did not like coming here then and do not like living here now. It is my opinion and I am entitled to it. I have been with the same company for 36 years, can retire in 4 and have too much invested to quit and move elsewhere right now so I will tough it out. I hate cold weather so it is too cold here for me. The wind affects anything you want to do outside. My property taxes are $7000 per year. Omaha is now making me pay a $35 wheel tax even though I do not live in the city, tax, tax, tax. I moved to Elkhorn and somewhat like it there and now Omaha is going to gobble it up like a dog would table scraps and the citizens of Elkhorn have no recourse other than what they are doing now, spending tons of money on futile attempts to block the annexation. All the pictures on these posts are fine and dandy and for those of you who love it here, God love ya. You can stay and pay the high taxes and watch the Huskers. The first opportunity I have, I am outta here.

[laserdisque]

Originally Posted by MattDen

If Omaha isnt blighted then how come the property tax rate is 4 times higher then Denver and more then double the national average just to have basic services. The reason is Omaha requires a very high property tax rate because so many areas of the city have very, very low property values. When so much of the city has assessed home values at 50,000 or less because of the decades of population loss in these neighborhoods it has to made up in the suburban-like neighborhoods which Omaha has to continually annex to stay out of the red.

The high property taxes are also because they help pay for the public school system in the city, which is one of the best in the nation.

[WARNYOU]

Originally Posted by laserdisque

The high property taxes are also because they help pay for the public school system in the city, which is one of the best in the nation.

OMG

[frozintime]

Having just moved from Omaha(but still having a house in Dundee)....and having lived there from 1998-2005, I will express my opinion which falls right in between both scenarios presented by the two most outspoken.

I dont think it was that great....and it isnt as bad as presented.

It was a nice city, but not exciting by any means. I think things were changing with the Qwest center, the riverfront, and the other inner/mid city projects....

Something needed to change though....I agree. I agree with the dead downtown for the most part, but not the outright blight(some yes, but average compared to many cities this size).

Property taxes/vehicle taxation/registration is excessive for what and where it is, but overall cost of living is definitely way below average.

Westside/Millard/Bellevue seemed to have the best schools, and personally thought OPS(Omaha) was sub-standard....especially if compared with the others mentioned.

Crime is definitely worse than people think....and someone has been spit-shining the national statistics that get reported. The national numbers say one thing....reality says another.

I personally think the nicest parts of Omaha are east of 72nd....some of the older homes with great character. Lots of homes from the turn of the century, even late 1800's, through the 30s.....of course there are blighted areas that were mentioned, but they arent continuous. Most are along 16th and 30th street(North and South), and a lot of North Omaha and some of south too.

Seems all the McMansions are out west...all the malls, shopping, etc are West.

I think the downtown is very attractive...a great mall along 16th street---but it is deader than a doornail. This made no sense to me. A lot of money went into this area apparently in the 80's, but just died. No follow through or incentive for shops here. Seems to collect a rather unseemly crowd since they were dropping off the homeless at the library and had closed the Paxton. Oh yeah...lots of new condos downtown....maybe that will help. Yeah...right. There is a great antique shop down there...Starbucks....couple of sandwich shops. Seems like nothing sticks down there....no downtown action.

Finally got a little skyline help with the First National tower....50 stories maybe?...great building architecturally and surrounding bronzes/fountains and atrium. Otherwise drab...but I think this will change with time. Maybe they will start by imploding all the 60s and 70s square buildings and leaving anything pre-1940. Put up more new advanced stuff.....its happening....slowly.

The old market(the old warehouse/manufacturing area turned niche eclectic shopping/dining/etc)...a truly unique area...just a few blocks away is where the action is. Lots of restaurants/bars/hotels and unique shops...jewelry/antiques/tattoo and artist type enterprises. A very unique area with lots of character.

Ummm...mass transit....they have a bus system....sort of. But, there is a great road system. Traffic on Dodge or the occassional accident on I-80 was the worst of it. So no incentive for mass transit unless you dont have a car or gas is out of your league at 2.50.

There are some great sporting events.....Nebraska football and baseball, volleyball etc. Creighton baseball, basketball and soccer too. There are some good casinos just over the river....one with dang good poker. Theres a heckuva college world series...and womens volleyball championships at the Qwest. This is just the sports side.

The people I think are the best part of Omaha....albeit understandably conservative, and I mean that in not liking change. Very resistant to change. But this is just my opinion. On the same hand....they will help you....

So, as with any city, it has its struggles and bright sides. It is a city I think moving into a more modern area...even though I think it is 10 years behind the times....if that makes sense. It seems to take 5 or 10 years when it starts on the coasts to reach "the Heartland"....but I think this maybe changing.

Ive been around the block...and lived in a lot of places. I lived in Denver...and Omaha. Now I live here in New Hampshire....people complain about the taxes here too....and they are the same as in Omaha really. So...I think the moral of the story is.... It is some of what people tell you it is. Some of It is how you choose to see it. Some of it is your experience of it. But mostly, It is what you make of It. So there it is.

[ArrowThruTheMoon]

In the original post EHENNINGSEN gave a fairly good (and cautiously accurate) list of good things about Omaha. I only have one huge problem with it: "a world reknown zoo"...

...holy crap! Please don't believe your own hype! People in Kansas City have never heard of Omaha's Zoo. My shed has a more exciting lot of creatures than that sad ghastly collection of malnurished animals in Omaha.

I met a lot of born and bread Omahans who says they "bored out of their minds" living there, and I also know a lot of Omahans who have left . They are missing it badly, and can't stop yakkin about how great Omaha is.

[DTO Luv]

Our zoo is world reknown. And I HATE to use word like that even for Omaha. There have been a great many people praise our zoos offering.

I've been to KC's "zoo". If it was so great I don't know why they tossed tons of money to lure a Omaha Zoo empolyee down there to turn things around.

[ehenningsen]

Omaha keeps getting better, we have EVERYTHING, except a few things that a major major city has, the people that hate it here are usually the type of people that are all into hype... Omaha clearly is a known city across the US but not in a good way... alot of bad stereotypes and that is what feeds those attitudes, there is nothing here to ***** about except a few things, like a month of very very cold weather, no mountains, no ocean even though we have major camping grounds and whitewater rafting fairly close and alot of lakes around here... Omaha is alive and actually is more vibrant than usual for a city of its size, but thats because of lincoln and alot of other smaller cities around here that actually feed into it. Downtown Omaha will have a different look in the next 10 years, one tower is going to be built, and announcement in the next six months about a new highrise... how high and whether it will happen we will find out, many condos being built and many projects, one after another and it is a mix between buisiness, retail, living, and alot of entertainment, a new streetcar system maybe put into place amongst several other potential projects. DTOLuv can explain all of that too you, what Im trying to say is that if people say that negative things after leaving here, then they wont be happy anywhere they go.....