Relocation to Omaha
Last week I accepted a job in Omaha (PBJ). I haven't spent much time there, so how's life in Omaha? I've read a lot of relocation stuff and Chamber of Commerce opinions, so I'm mostly looking for personal opinion/experience... if you live in Omaha, what do you like/dislike about it? How's the nightlife? Downtown? Qwest Center & surrounding area?
I've been looking for places in Southwest Omaha because I've heard it's a nice area; and I'm used to driving from Parkville to the Plaza or OP, so I don't care if I have to drive 20 minutes to get downtown. Is there anyplace I should avoid? I've read some bad things about North Omaha and Midtown, but it's hard to tell if they are legit complaints or if it's like when people say downtown KC has a lot of crime (I actually read "riddled with gangs" and "Omaha" in the same sentence on one message board ROFL). I don't care all that much, but the job is up to 100% travel after the first ~6 months (PBJ), so I probably should. I'm guessing my best answer to this will be the lack of answers, but how popular is UNO Hockey? I assume since the games are in the Qwest Center, I don't have to buy tickets in advance... are games televised? Is it easier to get tickets to events than the Sprint Center? (just kidding) ... speaking of, it sucks that I've seen the Sprint Center grow up, driving by twice a day ever since it was a hole... :deevee: There's only 3 people to go before the 1000th person tells me Omaha has a nice zoo, so good luck with that ;) |
I was there once as a child. My main memory is finding a used band-aid in the hotel swimming pool.
So yeah. Omaha blows. |
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Like any other place ya move too... its the people ya meet and get too know that make the whole living there worthwhile.
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What's the job?
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You want to talk to Bugeater.
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It's growing.....
It's not KC, but they have Rosenblatt, a new arena, the biggest zoo in the US and casinos.... You can party in the old market, or be in Lincoln in 30 minutes or Des Moines in a couple of hours..... Omaha has more fortune 500 companies HQ'ed there than KC does, they also have the 2nd or 3rd richest man in the world living there. Plenty of non chain places to eat, great Nebraska beef, and of course Nebraska football 24x7 What more could a man ask for? |
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Damn, Bearcat, who did you piss off?
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Be sure to catch a game with the Kansas City - Omaha Kings, I hear they are a new NBA team.
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Omaha is actually pretty cool, don't listen to the people dogging it here.
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Get Royals season tickets.
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Marlon Brando was born in Omaha. So was Warren Buffett.
They also have the College World Series every year. And there's a big baseball glove factory. That's about what I know of Omaha. |
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I'm on the Geek Squad at Best Buy I'll be travelling all over greater Omaha installing Windows Vista DT |
I would say get a job at Berkshire Hathaway. Then get as much Class A stock that you can.
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Best of luck
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UNO hockey has a small hardcore group of fans, but tickets are readily available. They don't even come close to selling out since they moved to the Qwest Center. No TV for them that I'm aware of. The only tickets for the QC that are hard to get are for the big name concerts because the brokers just snap them all up online. Oh, we have a nice zoo too! :) If you have any more questions feel free to PM me. I've lived here for all 39 yrs of my life so there's not much that I wouldn't be able to help you with. |
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Played in a few baseball tourneys up there. Really there's not much too exciting about it. Not really trying to dog the place, but there really isn't much there.
If I were you I would just look forward to the job itself rather than where it's located. |
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I'm sure I will become one... they play Michigan a couple of times the first weekend I'm there WooWoo Quote:
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I'm afraid to go to Omaha. I might fall off the edge of the earth.
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I live near Omaha. I'm retired Air Force and work at Offutt AFB. I spend about 11 years of my Air Force career at Offutt. It's a really nice and triving area. Tons of new houses and housing areas springing up all over the place.
As mentioned, you have the Cornhuskers and all things Nebraska, gymnastics, and the defending champion ladies volleyball. We're home of the College World Series. Actually Rosenblatt is in the process of being replaced with a new downtown stadium if the mayor has his way. They say it's going to happen, going to be built in the Qwest Center's North parking lot. That's a growth area. My biggest problem with Omaha is the tax base. Especially those areas you've mentioned. LaVista, Papillion, Bellevue. They all have high property taxes...compared to living across the Missouri River in Iowa. I have a new cabin, 3 story - nice place, on 5 acres in the Loess Hills south of Glenwood, Iowa. My house is approximately valued around 240,000. I pay 2750 per year in taxes. My co-worker has a brand new home in Omaha, worth about 125,000...he pays more property tax than I do, 2800! My boss's house is worth about 330,000 in Tregaron (an up-scale area in Bellevue) he pays over 6,000 and closer to 7,000!!! Omaha has a wheel tax that everyone in city limits has to pay. Also, vehicle registration. In Iowa if a pickup is brand new, or 40 years old, it costs 65.00 to register each year...with no annual, bi-annual or whatever safety inspection. A new car starts around 250, and goes down each year until it only costs 35.00 per year when it's 7 years old. In Nebraska, it's several hundred...year after year after year. I joke with my co-workers about I don't really know what Nebraska does with all the tax money. Lots of people have discovered Iowa and it's advantages. I could go on and on...but, it seems like I am. Russ |
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However on the flip side, in Nebraska you don't pay sales tax on food. Or at least you didn't when I was in college up there 10 years ago. |
The Upstream Brewery in the old market should be a regular hangout.
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I re-read some of your specific questions. North Omaha is horrible. Lots of crime, drive bys, and murders. Not a good area in the slightest. I don't know what that compares to, but I would NEVER go there.
The Qwest Center is nice. I'd say getting tickets to major events in no different that Sprint...it's a Ticketmaster outlet. UNO Hockey is pretty big. There's also minor-league Hockey being played in the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs. Lots of concerts there too. Bass-Pro shop in Council Bluffs, Cabellas in LaVista. If you're into hunting/fishing, it's a nice area too. |
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The wheel tax is only like $30, but tags will probably be at least a few hundred for my car every year, which is beyond ridiculous. With that kind of money, I hope the roads are flawless STFU |
They have a nice zoo, dude.
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The Niobrara is a fantastic lazy canoe trip. Sand bottom, so it should even be good in a tube.
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Congrats Bearcat!
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Okay I lurk here more than I post but I moved to Omaha just shy of a year ago from Kansas City and so I might be able to chime in with my 2 cents. Omaha is ............OMAHA. I came here for work which involves buying and selling investment properties (residential, commercial etc,etc) for a firm out in CA and so I have had to educate myself about all the pro's and con's of this place. I don't go out much but the old market seems like a pretty cool place, kind of a like westport. I live out on the westisde where all the growth is happening right now and I am still only 25 minutes from Downtown. I lived in the northland by Zona Rosa before the move and where I am now is very similar. My biggest beef with this place is taxes. Property taxes are downright ridiculous. The mill levy here is 2.3%-3% vs 1.25% in K.C. This equates to around $3,750 a year or $312.50 a month in taxes on a $150k house. I travel back to K.C every other week and the more I come back there the more I miss it. Gas is usually 5-10 cents more but other than that it is not that bad. They are as crazy about there Huskers here as we are with the Chiefs. Same vibe, same hospitality. Before I moved here I used to joke that the best thing to do in Omaha was Leave! It's not that bad and like you I travel to CA, UT and ID alot so it's o.k. If you need help with a place to stay, let me know. Rent or buy I can help you out. Good Luck and I hope it works out for you.
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Not sure what you drive, but for an example our '98 Camry was around $120 to renew this year including the wheel tax and my '94 Caravan was around $90. Oh and our roads suck and are constantly under construction. |
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Congrats on the new job! I hope you enjoy it! |
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But...workaholic? We have room in my company for workaholics. |
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The area isn't real far from downtown, and unlike Kansas City, it looks as if it's just as easy to get around without needing to jump on a highway (I'd much prefer getting somewhere fast, but when it comes to traffic, I'd rather keep moving). Thanks, I'll be renting for now. I've seen a few good deals... saw one last night that is in the middle of a golf course, which would be kind of cool... besides, you know, the flying golf balls. Quote:
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And no, even though I'd like to live in Denver, I'm not applying for a job ;) Quote:
Thanks :) It's only 2.5 hours though, so don't skip over me the next time you're looking to sell a ticket :p Quote:
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Stop by the "Green Onion" bar. Two drinks for the price of one. Its a hole in the wall but they make strong drinks.
After living in Wichita ...Omaha was a step down. |
i live about 20 minutes from dowtown omaha in a small town in iowa and i would say that u should live in iowa. Council Bluffs is growing and everything is cheaper in council bluffs, housing, gas, taxes everything. and if u live close enough to nebraska it would only be around a 5 to 10 min drive to downtown and u arnt to far away from night life. There are a few clubs in omaha plenty of bars and a couple of strip joints. THE best one is in CB called the PLAYHOUSE not like most strip joints it is right off the interstate. IOWA is the way to go it isnt too far from omaha but far enough away
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Looking for cable & broadband.... Qwest, Cox, Time Warner, or other?
I currently have Time Warner, so it would be easy to transfer. Their customer service is absolutely useless, but I'm not very high maintenance. Cox doesn't have prices on their website, which takes away from the whole "moving my life without actually having to talk to anyone" thing I have going on. Qwest looks like their cable/internet is about $10 less expensive than Time Warner. Recommendations? |
I use Qwest for cable because it's cheaper and I don't watch a lot of TV. They don't add channels too often though, so you get what you pay for. They don't have a digital package either. Cox has the fastest internet in the city and offer a lot more cable choices if you're willing to spend the money.
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Oh, and Qwest cable is only available west of I-680. Time Warner doesn't do business anywhere in Omaha that I'm aware of.
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I'm going to have to call Time Warner to be sure I can transfer cable and broadband.... I didn't think they were in Omaha because the options in all the relocation stuff shows Qwest or Cox. I filled out a transfer form on TWC's site, and it said they have service there :shrug: I have TMobile.... I've heard mixed comments about every provider, and I know TMobile doesn't provide 402 numbers. I love my phone though, so I'm going to have to ask them about roaming issues with my current number. |
Come see my band Headstrong play on November 2nd at The Rox on 108th and Q...
Heh. Seriously, Omaha's biggest problem (Nebraska in general) is the taxes. I live in Papillion, which is the number 6 city in the nation to live in, according to some recent magazine poll or something. The taxes suck, but everything else rules. I love it here. I've visited other places including KC. I think KC is very similar just bigger. |
Did anybody tell you about the zoo? It's pretty nice
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Sitting in my empty apartment waiting for my stuff to show up (wishing I had a tv for the KU/NU game :banghead: )... Went to the Qwest Center last night and it was a lot of fun. Only 9500 people, but a decent atmosphere. I'm the last person to complain about officiating, but Michigan brought their own last night. Paid $5 to park across the street from the arena, and $18 for 5th row seats (that I paid for a month ago).
After talking to a few people at work, I think we're going to go to Wheatfields for lunch/dinner, and then go to some zoo thing tomorrow. I hear it's okay. http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...at2002/UNO.jpg |
Single life is lacking, other then that it isn't to bad. When I was up there we were in the Av's coverage range for fox Sports, so you should love that.
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My daughter was at the hockey game last night. Once teh season gets going, I'll be up there selling beer at the Corona\Pacifico stand. If you go there alot, come and say hi...I'm the one with the goatee... Enjoy the big O! |
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