People who expect a flat, sleepy Plains stop tend to be surprised by Omaha. It is a friendly, practical Midwestern city of about 490,000 people, the hometown of Berkshire Hathaway, and it feels easy to live in. Housing costs less than the national average, traffic is mild, and neighborhoods like Benson, Dundee and Blackstone have real character and good places to eat.
For a visit, the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium is the headliner, and it is a big one. The Old Market is the place for brick streets and restaurants, the Joslyn Art Museum and the Durham Museum in the old Union Station fill a rainy afternoon, and the pedestrian bridge over the Missouri River is a fun walk. June brings the College World Series. The weather is the catch: hot, humid summers, cold and snowy winters, and spring thunderstorms that can bring hail and tornadoes.
