Here's what I said:
Here was the reply...notice he doesn't say anything about disagreeing with my picks.trailerkid wrote: Here's my list of which city I'd choose to live in if offered the choice...anyone want to argue with this?
Tulsa or Omaha Tulsa
Des Moines or Omaha Des Moines
Albuquerque or Omaha Albuquerque
Tucson or Omaha Tucson
Colorado Springs or Omaha Colorado Springs
Boise or Omaha Omaha
Here's what I said:eomaha.com wrote:Those last 4 are virtually a mirror image of one another, but thanks for your opinion. Sure you don't want to pick Wichita over us as well.
Let the fun begin:trailerkid wrote:If you have to use Wichita to make yourself feel good, that's your thing.
They are your peer cities...explain what is more attractive about Omaha if you disagree with any of my picks. I'm just really curious.
eomaha.com wrote:Okay for benefit of other folks (yes, I said earlier trailer... I think you have something personal against Omaha... past posts I have seen you make here and at the desmoines forum make this evident... I open myself up to more of your abuse nonetheless), in between 'compiles' here at work... I threw together a list of things which I think of as pluses for Omaha. Of course I realize there are going to be cities in this population range which out perform Omaha in a given category... but I believe (in my biased opinion ) that taken as a whole... Omaha out performs any of these cities (although admittedly, I don't know much about Tulsa).
Transportation
4 million passenger airport/very competitive fairs/many direct flights. Centrally located at intersection of I-29 and I-80... convenient travel anywhere. Metro circumnavigating interstate... something Tucson, Colorado Springs, Boise, and ABQ could REALLY use! Blame their situation on explosive growth I guess (another negative in my opinion... let's hear it for steady, reasonable midwestern growth )
Diverse corporate might
5 Fortune 500 HQ's, more than any metro under 1 million (even more than KC), Ameritrade, First National Bank, over 30 insurance companies, nations largest railroad, second largest trucking company, one of the largest food conglomerates, etc, etc... there are lots of jobs in many fields (one of nation's lowest unemployment rates)
Amenities
'Big city' retail/restaurant amenities... from Whole Foods to Dave & Busters, J. Crew to California Pizza Kitchen, etc, etc... not to speak of local legends like NFM, Borsheim's Jewelry, excellent local dining (yeah, that's getting into really subjective territory). Even for the rednecks... only metro under 1 million with both a Cabela's and Bass Pro Shops?
Culture
New $90 million performing arts center, highly regarded 'Indie' scene, nation's largest 'community playhouse', one of nation's largest dedicated children's theatres, Bemis Center... nation's largest urban resident artist colony
Entertainment/fun
Top 20 concert destination in the -world-, riverfront playground, over 10,000 acres of city parks, over 80 miles of city trails, half a dozen dam sites surrounding the city, numerous sporting events/travelling shows/already alluded to 'culture'.
Urban scene
Old Market district is unlike anything in these other cities, from Dundee to South Omaha, Omaha has an interesting urban atmosphere (these new western cities? anything?) Over 1,000 condos planned or under construction downtown!
Attractions
World Class zoo, Joslyn Museum, Strategic Air and Space Museum, Lauritzen Botanical Gardens, Durham Western Heritage Museum, strong collegiate/minor league sports atmosphere, and
much more
Schools
Public schools rank among the best in the nation with standardized (ACT) scores averaging consistently in the top 5... and we have the property taxes to 'prove it' . Creighton, consistently ranked at the top of midwestern schools
History
From the first transcontinental railroad (Union Pacific still headquartered here!), to Mormon Trail, Boystown, and more... Omaha has an interesting history.
Notoriety
Lots of famous and interesting people from Omaha
Some really exciting developments
From the riverfront pedestrian bridge and highrise condos... to North Downtown, Mutual of Omaha's campus, and Aksarben Village, and more. There's always something going on.
Healthcare
Two teaching hospitals (more than any other metro under 1 million),
UNMC a world wide leader in research
Lastly..
Most billionaires
And of course close proximity to KC
Quote
Quote from: DTO on Today at 04:48:41 PM
I would liken Omaha to other cities like Louisville or Oklahoma City.
naturally you'd want to think of metros that are 50% larger as Omaha's peers.
Actually chrizow... as funny as that seems, that's what I'm talking about as well. I firmly believe Omaha is outperforming it's 'piers' enough... that it has begun to stand among larger cities such as Louisville, Memphis, OKC, etc. I think the same can be said of KC.