High quality city life
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8/5/2023
Many of the reviews say Omaha is good for family life - it is, but it also offers the best of quality urban living. I've lived here for 20 years, after living in Seattle, Washington DC and Boston, so I'm no stranger to vibrant urban life. When I first moved here, I immediately saw the downtown "Old Market" neighborhood as superior to Seattle's famed Pioneer Square, and adjacent is the new, spectacular Leahy Mall urban park and the Missouri riverwalk. Within a few miles of downtown are numerous interesting village-type neighborhoods, from funky to elegant to well-planned - notably Dundee, Benson, Aksarben, Blackstone, and "South O" (in which you might as well be south of the border). We have an endless supply of great restaurants of every cuisine, great concert venues, the magnificent Memorial Park and rose garden, and mostly safe neighborhoods. Further west we have, several sizable lakes surrounded by trails and parkland. The older neighborhoods have beautiful homes in every style, a hilly landscape, and a diverse tree canopy. Omaha runs about 15 miles to the west of downtown, and the western neighborhoods are more suburban, some of fine quality, also with plenty to do, day or night. "Nebraska Nice" is real, with daily interactions laced with random friendliness and humor from strangers - it sure beats the "Seattle Freeze". As for the weather - if you drew a line on the 41st parallel from Omaha to the east coast, Omaha might have the best weather on that line - drier in fall and winter, sunnier all year, with most of the rain coming in warm-season thunderstorms. City government is effective, criminality is not tolerated, and the needy are well cared for. Medical care is among the best in the nation. Traffic moves smoothly, but public transportation could be much better. The economy has always been strong, and housing is very reasonably priced. Omaha has been on a consistent trajectory of getting better over the last 20 years, while all the other places I've lived have gotten worse, and that brings an optimistic vibe to the whole city.
Jim | Omaha, NE