Which City Would You Rather Live In?

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Sat Jun 12, 2004 12:47 am

If Omaha ceased to excist, where else would you live out of the listed cities?

I chose Minneapolis. But Chicago was a VERY close second.
I would never chose Denver.

StreetsOfOmaha · Post by **StreetsOfOmaha** » Sat Jun 12, 2004 2:29 pm

DTO, that was pretty much my reasoning, too. Minneapolis was a close second, and lost simply because of their chilling winters.

Of course, the only way I would leave Omaha would be if it "ceased to exist" ;) .

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Sat Jun 12, 2004 4:34 pm

(Hey DTO... are YOU copying off of the kcskyscrapers.com forum?

)

I like smaller cities... I chose Des Moines. Although I'd probably go to KC second.

sokkerdewd · Post by **sokkerdewd** » Sat Jun 12, 2004 4:45 pm

Chose Minneapolis here too because of the culture, educated populace, cleanliness, and natural surroundings...Milwaukee is a close second though. I like the lake, the climate, and it's proximity to everything Wisconsin and Chicago (which I'd visit, but wouldn't want to live in...too big & busy.)

nebport5 · Post by **nebport5** » Sat Jun 12, 2004 9:10 pm

hmmmm...

definitely between Minneapolis and Chicago.

(more cold weather vs. more pushy rude people)

the rest don't come close.

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Sat Jun 12, 2004 10:20 pm

Jeff,

To an extent. Omahans always talk about being like another city, so I thought it would be interesting to see what other city Omahans admire.

But Jeff. Des Moines. Well to each his own.

edsas · Post by **edsas** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 4:35 am

Chicago.

And it may actually be where I'm living in a couple of years, but we'll see.

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 10:47 am

I don't like big cities... that's why I live in Omaha. In the absence of Omaha... Des Moines would satisfy my needs. I don't think you realize just how progressive a city Des Moines is. They have 'per capita' as much or more development going on downtown than we do. They revitalized their riverfront long before we did (heck... I'm not sure they even screwed it up in the first place). They have always had a focus on their downtown... even if it was only in doing business... and like us... they're quickly fulfilling the promise of downtown residential development.
Great economy, high standard of living, entertainment galore... Des Moines is ALMOST as nice a city as Omaha.

(look out too... supported by 1 million more people in their state, who are increasingly looking to move from their rural setting ... I expect it may pass Omaha by in my lifetime... hopefully Omaha will pick up some of these people as well)

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 2:44 pm

Des Moines will never pass Omaha. As progressive as it may be, Omaha is much more appealing to those who would want city life. If Nebraska had as many people as Iowa we'd be Kansas City.

DMRyan · Post by **DMRyan** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 3:40 pm

Ha, the very fact that you constantly bring up Des Moines and compare it to Omaha in your posts shows your insecurity. I saw your thread on the KC skyscrapers forum. It seemed to me like you were needing some outside justification of Omaha being so much better than little old Des Moines. (the results were actually really suprising, especially considering that two Omaha forumers likely voted for their respective city, while I was the only DSM native to vote) Really dude, you'll spend some time on these forums, get a little older and these feelings of jealosy, contempt and insecurity will go away when you realize that both places are fine cities to call home.

Once again, provincialism at its finest. And I'll be interested in hearing more about Omaha being appealing with those who want city life. Sure there's a difference in size, but Omaha is still much closer to Des Moines in built environment than KC. I think part of your problem is miseducation/misinformation about a place you don't know much about. How can you slander a place that you obviously know nothing about?

And this has nothing to do with Des Moines "passing" or being better than Omaha. I'm not here to get into pissing contests on which city is better (i did that years ago and grew out of it), I'm saying this because I would like to see DSM get the respect that I and several other forumers feel it deserves.

That being said, I vote for Minneapolis in this poll.

Post by **Coyote** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 3:47 pm

Obviously you only chose to include midwestern cities.
If I had to chose a city to live in it would be Austin with Portland a close second.
But since it is your poll I would have to take Lincoln (staying in Nebraska) with KC in second.

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 3:57 pm

Ryan... I think as much as anything... this youngster could just stand to gain some inside knowledge on what makes Des Moines a great city. I simply don't think he knows much about it. In this situation... I think it's probably easy to hear that a city is smaller... and just assume that it is some how inferior.

DMRyan · Post by **DMRyan** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 4:17 pm

I'll actually take partial blame for that because I really don't do a great job of posting things about Des Moines on SSP. As several have echoed on the Omaha Chamber website, it isn't a site about DSM and I've tried to acknowledge that. In the future, if I do a photo/construction update, I'll probably leave a copy of that post in this section. Seems appropriate to me anyway and it might help to generate a little more traffic in the most unused subforum.

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 4:19 pm

I look forward to it! And of COURSE... any and all Des Moines updates are always welcome here!

EDIT: Wow... look how Des Moines has rocketed up in the poll.

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 4:20 pm

Yes, a 6'8'' child.

DMRyan,

I actually admire Des Moines. For a city of its size to have a skyline that rivals Omaha's is pretty amazing. I remember being blown away when I saw it for the first time at night. Omaha has a lot to learn from DM. You guys seem to have a deeper sense of community and your rural people understand that a strong Des Moines is also a strong Iowa. Of course in my youth and ignorrance I will say "Ha. Mine is better than yours." and things like that. As far as Omaha being compared to DM, I think in the next few years Omahans will want to be compared more to KC than DM.

I will always want my city to prevail no matter what, but I think Des Moines should be a model for what Omaha can do.

And Coyote,

I only did smaller midwest cities becuse I wonder what KCitians think of the smaller surrounding metros. I probably will do a west, east, and south poll but not for awhile.

DMRyan · Post by **DMRyan** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 5:03 pm

Omaha should look up to KC as a role model for what it wants to become. And that's precisley why I have a hard time understanding why so many Omahans have this complex about Des Moines because we're getting certain new developments and a goddamn Cheesecake Factory.
Maybe it's human nature because I noticed many people on the KC forum saying the same kind of things about Omaha's riverfront/new arena.

Omaha has the lead on Des Moines in many ways, as a city 250,000 more people should. I'm just set out to show that Des Moines shouldn't be discredited as insignificant when it is clearly a noteworthy competitor.

Thank you DTO for being reasonable. I wouldn't want to mess with a 6'8" guy after all. ;)

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 8:28 pm

StreetsOfOmaha · Post by **StreetsOfOmaha** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 12:03 am

jhuston wrote:I don't like big cities... that's why I live in Omaha.

That's funny, Jeff. I LOVE big cities, and that's why I live in and love Omaha.

What a perfect way of showing how Omaha is whatever you want it to be.

You bite the apple and think it's a little sour. I bite the apple and think it's a little sweet. Either way, we both like the taste and love the apple ;).

DMRyan · Post by **DMRyan** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 12:31 am

And either way, you leave me confused with your condundrum of a riddle. ;) I guess boxed wine with the ladyfriend and a couple of beers can do that.

Well guys, I'm off to Washington DC/Virginia to vacation for a week. Rob, I would've looked you up, but I'm on a pretty tight time schedule and I have to meet some people out that way. I don't know if you'll be on here at this time, but I'll check this before my flight tomorrow morning. Any last minute, incredible "I can't live without seeing" places to see in DC? I've been there once before to see the touristy things, but I'll be digging a little bit deeper this time.

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 11:09 am

I'd like to think of it more in terms of what each of our perceptions of sweet is.

Alot of people love Omaha for what it can be... I love it for what it is! (and of course I am excited to see where it goes from here)

StreetsOfOmaha · Post by **StreetsOfOmaha** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 10:52 pm

Me too, Jeff. Exactly!

Ryan, have an awesome time in DC. I just got back a month ago, and I tried to do as many non-touristy things as possible, and I think I was successful with Rob's help

. Washington really is an amazing city.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Wed Jun 16, 2004 10:52 am

DMRyan-

If its not too late...I updated my profile to include my email. I would love to see you again for at least a drink. Aaron and I had a blast when he was here. But in response to your question regarding "must-sees" in DC...definitely the WWII Memorial on the mall. Can't say enough about it from an Architectural standpoint. Just beautiful...and meaningful as my Grandfather (still alive) fought in WWII and was given a purple heart by Eisenhower in a public ceremony. I'm glad to see him recognized for his contribution to freedom.

Other than people watching (and about 2 months of vacation) you can never see it all. The Smithsonian has updated their exhibits on American History and Natural History...so hit them for sure. You gotta get to the neighboorhoods like Dupont Circle, Logan Circle, etc. to see the public life. DC is what all cities should be like. A mix of retail, residential and public space.

Back to the question at hand. I voted for Chicago. I love the windy city. My great-grandfather came from Germany as a stone mason to work on several of Chicagos earlier skyscrapers. He did the ornamental detail which graced many of the earlier buildings. Thus, Chicago is in my heart.

However, I do love Des Moines. I have fond memories of going to Des Moines to visit my Aunt. I remember driving into Des Moines on I-80 and thinking that Des Moines looked like such a huge city. It has never failed to surprise me.

Zephyr · Post by **Zephyr** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 5:33 pm

Considering I live in downtown Denver, I vote for the Queen City of the Plains.

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Which City Would You Rather Live In?

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