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Feeling Right at Home

Whether you are a native or a newcomer, Omaha is a wealth of extraordinary opportunities. While we’re big enough to offer a bit of everything, the metropolitan area has retained an accessibility that is attracting people from around the world. You can commute anywhere from here–across the city or across the country–and spend less time doing it.

Greater Omaha features include a safe environment, a wide array of affordable housing, great schools and universities, innovative hospitals, medical centers and healthcare professionals, quality child care and many places of worship. A new program, “Healthy Omaha–Top 10 in 10” aims to make metro Omaha one of the top 10 healthiest communities in the nation within 10 years.

We’re already making plenty of enviable lists. Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine ranked Omaha No. 3 on “Best Cities of 2008,” while Forbes ranked Omaha No. 8 on its 2008 list of the nation’s “Best Cities for Jobs.”

Others are helping to spread the news.

Omaha has been ranked fifth among the “Best Places to Start Over” by Business Week, 22nd for “Best Places to Live and Launch a Business” by Forbes Small Business, eighth for “Best Places to Live for Affordable Housing” by CNNMoney.com, number one on the list of midsize “Best Cities for Relocating Families” by Primacy and Worldwide ERC (Employment Relocation Council), fifth in the “Top 20 States for Education Climate” by Forbes, one of the “Top 20 Best Places to Raise a Family” by TODAY.msnbc.com, and is listed among the “Top 10 Fittest Cities in America” by Men’s Fitness.

People here know why. Omaha is attractive, affordable, accessible and artistic.

Greater Omaha Designated a SAFE Community

The United Nation’s World Health Organization (WHO) designated Greater Omaha an official Safe Community in 2007, making it only the fourth American community to receive such recognition. The designation includes Douglas, Sarpy, Cass and Washington counties in Nebraska and Pottawattamie County in Iowa. As of January 2009, the WHO had designated only 150 Safe Communities worldwide. “This puts Omaha in a very elite group of international communities,” said Kay Farrell, president and CEO of the National Safety Council, Greater Omaha Chapter.

The designation is recognition of a community’s efforts to work towards an overall climate that encourages, respects and rewards safety at work, at play, at home and every place in between. Among this tight group, Farrell said, Greater Omaha is one of the largest of all the Safe Communities.

Welcome to Our Neighborhoods

Whether it’s a spacious home in the suburbs or the excitement of living in a mixed-use urban development, Greater Omaha is adding to the options every day. From the 30-acre Estates at Coventry residential development or the stately homes in the city’s historic neighborhoods, to the new apartments and condos of Midtown Crossing at Turner Park and the Aksarben Village developments, no matter your taste and lifestyle, you’ll find schools, shopping, entertainment and recreation close by.

Greater Omaha has something for everyone. Live on an acreage in Blair, Plattsmouth or Gretna, a condo downtown overlooking the Missouri River, bustling west Omaha or thriving Bellevue.

Bringing Neighborhoods Together
Serving 150 neighborhoods and growing, The Neighborhood Center is a community-based, neighborhood-driven outreach program of the College of Public Affairs and Community Service administered by the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Ronald Abdouch, executive director for the Center, said “Our goal is to provide leadership, education and advocacy to ensure that everyone in every neighborhood can be part of a strong, vital and cohesive community.”

Beautifying Omaha’s Public Spaces
The nonprofit group Omaha By Design works to beautify Omaha’s public spaces through partnerships between the public and private sectors to improve natural and manmade environments throughout the metropolitan area.

Green Omaha, Civic Omaha and Neighborhood Omaha comprise the Urban Design Element of Omaha’s master plan, which establishes the city’s long-range policies, goals and standards as a guide for its physical development.

The organization recently expanded its efforts into the greening of the metropolitan area with a new focus on sustainable development practices.

“Environment Omaha!” intends to create an environmental element for the City of Omaha’s master plan.

Aksarben Village, A Dynamic Neighborhood
Jay Noddle, president of Noddle Companies, said the $300 million Aksarben Village neighborhood presents exciting living with a variety of retail and entertainment, a Courtyard by Marriott Hotel and a public park brings a new element to the concept of a mixed-use urban living and higher education.

The University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) College of Business Administration’s new building, Mammel Hall, will sit opposite Aksarben Village. The Peter Kiewit Institute with its two colleges, as well as the Scott Technology Center and the Scott Conference Center and residence halls, are all within walking distance.

“When we looked at how we could work UNO into this neighborhood project, we felt we might be able to facilitate the creation of a place that’s pretty special–one that could become the economic engine for the region for a long time,” said Noddle. “Projects that draw in the academic element are few and far between. We saw the opportunity here to really make some magic.

“With UNO, the College of Saint Mary and the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) nearby, there are only a handful of places in America that have the dynamics the Aksarben neighborhood has.”