Not worth it
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6/3/2015
I only live in Omaha because my family moved here years ago and I want to be close to them. Otherwise, I would definitely not be here.
Omaha is too big to have the benefits of a small town (i.e. friendliness, sense of community, etc.) and too small, undiverse, and non-cosmopolitan to have the benefits of a real big city. Don't listen to anyone who tries to hype up the Old Market and tell you there's tons of singles downtown. Downtown Omaha seems dead compared to most other cities of similar population, and having a string of generic boutiques and bars along a handful of streets is not enough to make a city lively. Regardless of what any Omaha lover will desperately try to make of it, the truth is that Omaha is nothing more than an overgrown suburb for families who like to keep to themselves. The tech presence is growing and that may bring some more singles in, but it's still far behind other cities in that respect.
Very segregated city, and I believe some reports found it has one of the highest black poverty rates in the nation.
There is one dinky food co-op/year round farmer's market that operates on limited hours and with rather difficult ordering processes. The outdoor farmer's markets are seasonally limited. Pretty limited organic produce stores in the city and it's surprisingly hard to find grass-fed meat. Not a ton of homeopathic or naturopathic doctors. I have yet to find a doc who caters to my paleo/primal diet & lifestyle let alone know what that is. The bus transit routes are limited compared to cities of similar size, so you pretty much need a car to live comfortably in this city. Not a lot of interest groups and organizations going on for adults other than church and maybe some sports leagues, so you're limited on options for finding friends. Go look at the availability of social interest groups on Meetup.com for Omaha and you'll see it's lagging far behind in what other cities have going on. And this is definitely not the kind of place where strangers are keen on having big conversation with you in public.
This city supposedly has a low unemployment rate, but I have not been seeing an abundance of job postings for my field for a while (business operations, project management, etc.). I think the low unemployment rate figure only applies to professions such as nursing and IT jobs, so be careful how you rely on such statistics.
Customer service in general seems to be rather lazy and careless. I think a lot of businesses realize they don't have competition in their field, so they don't put much effort in giving good service or pleasing the customer. This includes car dealerships.
If you want recreation, go live in Denver. If you want a Midwestern city of similar size and COL with more social activity and culture, try St. Louis or Minneapolis. If you want upscale suburbia, go to Johnson County, KS. If you want cheap suburbia, you can easily find that in other metro regions where you won't be taxed as heavily. I simply see no appeal in a place like this when the climate is so bad, the taxes are so high, and there's just not a lot going on. Nearby Lincoln, NE is just a dumpy college town and you'd have to drive three hours to get to Kansas City, MO which quite frankly is not that much better.
Not worth it unless you have family here or a job that pays well and grants you enough PTO to take vacations. Omaha is a wasteland.
Jane | Beverly Hills, CA