Omaha was indeed impressive.
Recently, much has been mentioned locally about Jax needing a "brand" or "identity". As a visitor, what was the brand or identity of Omaha?
I visited Omaha for a few days this past summer. I stayed at the Hotel Deco XV, link below, which was impressive for a 4 diamond boutique rehab of a deco building in a small city.
http://hoteldecoomaha.com/And I would recommend it. There are other convenient and nice options, as well, however, the hotel will pick you up and take you to the airport in a limo, so that makes it even more convenient.
Omaha didn't seem to have a "brand" when I was there, because it's so small, however, it's definitely a prairie town with a very impressive warehouse building stock and lots of good meat offered up at all the restaurants. There was a farmer's market, breweries, restaurants, shops, and tons of bars all concentrated in outlying warehousy areas of downtown.
I rented a bike one day with some folks and we went around the waterfront and around downtown. It's a SUPER CLEAN city, one of the first things that struck me. Lots of new infill construction/renovations as well (anyone visiting from Jax would be very depressed).
Downtown seemed like a pretty large party, too. I saw pedal wagons going around town with folks playing drinking games on them, and I met up with a few Creighton students from Jax while I was there. My honest takeaway from Omaha was that I would MUCH rather live in DT or Midtown Omaha than in any particular neighborhood in Jax, however, Jax is larger and has better weather/more convenience to more things, so I would rather live in Jax overall.
I've had very surprisingly pleasant experiences in lots of Midwestern cities. Aside from having mom/family from Chicago and experience there, I have a good friend I visit in Milwaukee, which is easily one of my favorite cities in the country. I've added St. Louis and Omaha to the list of smaller favorites over the past few years.
