Relocation
Congratulations on your choice to move to Nebraska! Lincoln and Omaha are the state’s fastest growing cities. Omaha is Nebraska’s largest city and the 40th largest city in the United States. Its metro area population is close to 850,000. Land speculators founded Omaha in 1854 and it officially became a city in 1897. It’s named after an Indian tribe and its name means “those going against the wind or current.”
Many move to Omaha to work at one of its many Fortune 500 or 1,000 companies, including Berkshire Hathaway, Union Pacific Railroad, ConAgra Foods, Peter Kiewit Sons Construction, Mutual of Omaha insurance, TD Ameritrade, West Corporation, Werner Enterprises, or Valmont Industries. Omaha is a leader in the telecommunications and information services industries, with 1,000 companies employing more than 50,000 people. When you call to make a hotel reservation, there’s a good chance you’re calling Omaha: It’s home to Hyatt, Marriott, Radisson, and Omni reservation centers.
Lincoln is Nebraska’s state capital. The city has many big city amenities but offers a small town, affordable quality of life. It’s home to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and the campus draws visiting scholars and students to the city, both of whom add to Lincoln’s rich cultural fabric.
Both Lincoln and Omaha offer steady economies, low crime rates, costs of living that rank below the national averages, and low unemployment.
Lincoln and Omaha are both exciting, entertaining places to live with much to offer. Nebraskans are lucky enough to enjoy all four seasons: warm summers; temperate springs; cool falls; and cold, snowy (yet beautiful!) winters. West Omaha and South Lincoln are ever expanding neighborhoods and many people choose to live in these booming suburbs. Both cities have also enjoyed redevelopment in their downtown regions, like new living options such as condos and apartments and an ever growing list of entertainment and eating venues.
Overview
This chapter is divided into several sections designed to orient you when you first arrive in Omaha or Lincoln, as well as help you begin your search for a home, whether it be a house, apartment, or condominium. Listings for the respective Chambers of Commerce and Convention and Visitor’s Bureaus will give you a basic set of information about the city. Contact information for the local association of realtors can start you on the way to buying a home. Also included are the phone numbers and websites for utilities hookups, including water, gas, and electric, so that once you do move, you will be able to get easily connected. Descriptions are also included for Omaha and Lincoln’s neighborhoods. Information about vehicle licensing, applying for a local driver’s license, voter registration, and libraries is also here for your review.
1. Omaha Chamber Of Commerce
City: Omaha, NE
Category: Relocation
Telephone: (402) 346-5000
Address: 1301 Harney St.
2. Lincoln Chamber Of Commerce
City: Omaha, NE
Category: Relocation
Telephone: (402) 436-2350
Address: 1135 M St., Ste. 200
Description: The cities of Omaha and Lincoln both have extensive, mostly user-friendly websites divided into loads of sections, many of which have information that a new resident—or a new homeowner, for that matter—would probably want to know. The city of Omaha divides its site into sections for visitors, residents, and businesses. The city of Lincoln’s website isn’t quite as succinct, but the information is there in both cases: information on snow removal, taxes, employment, pet licensing, city council news and trash pickup, among many other topics.
3. City Of Omaha
City: Omaha, NE
Category: Relocation
Address: 1819 Farnam St.
Description: The Nebraska DMV has several locations throughout Omaha and Lincoln. License applicants must present two forms of identification for address verification. Licenses are then mailed within 7 working days, and applicants receive a temporary ID good for 30 days while the plastic card is being processed. New Nebraskans who want to drive in the state must get a license within 30 days of establishing residence. Licenses are valid for five years and are renewable up to 90 days before the expiration date if a driver is 21 years old or older.Omaha Locations:Omaha office locations are open from Mon to Fri from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
City: Omaha, NE
Category: Relocation
Address: 1819 Farnam St., Civic Center
5. Abrahams
City: Omaha, NE
Category: Relocation
Telephone: (402) 444-6284
Address: 5111 N. 90th St.
6. Bennett Martin Public Library
City: Omaha, NE
Category: Relocation
Telephone: (402) 441-8500
Description: Omaha and Lincoln are both listed on the major rental sites like Apartment Guide (www.apartmentguide.com), Apartment Finder (www.apartmentfinder.com) and apartments.com. These sites list long- and short-term rentals as well as more traditional rental opportunities for apartments in all parts of the city and of all sizes.Craigslist for Omaha and Lincoln is a good place to seek out real estate, as is Lincoln’s college newspaper, the Daily Nebraskan, which regularly lists apartments for rent and roommate openings. Both the Omaha World-Herald and the Lincoln Journal Star also have extensive listings of properties for rent.
7. Aarp Omaha Information Center
City: Omaha, NE
Category: Relocation
Telephone: (402) 398-9568
Address: 1941 S. 42nd St.
Description: The American Association of Retired People has been around for more than 50 years and has locations in all 50 states, Nebraska included. It’s the country’s biggest organization of its kind—directed at people 50 years and older—and gives its members discounts, information on health and wellness, and more. Contact the local office or visit the AARP website for membership information.
8. Eastern Nebraska Office On Aging
City: Omaha, NE
Category: Relocation
Telephone: (402) 444-6444
Address: 4223 Center St.
Description: The Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging provides a wealth of services for seniors based in Omaha. The agency works to inform its constituents about already existing services, and to make sure they’re taking advantage of all the available programs in their area. Programs include nutrition, case management, employment counseling, volunteer opportunities, and community services, among others. ENOA also has a monthly senior-focused newspaper called New Horizons. The ENOA is also an Omaha-based provider of Meals on Wheels, which delivers more than 850 meals a day to seniors and others around the metro area. Weekend meals are available and delivered on Thursday or Friday.
City: Omaha, NE
Category: Relocation
Address: 1400 R St.
City: Omaha, NE
Category: Relocation
Address: 6001 Dodge St.
11. University Of Nebraska Medical Center
City: Omaha, NE
Category: Relocation
Telephone: (402) 559-6468
Address: 600 S. 42nd St.
Description: The University of Nebraska Medical Center offers education to prospective health care providers and also acts as a busy hospital in the city center. It’s Nebraska’s only public academic health sciences institution, and has six colleges and two institutes with more than 3,000 students. UNMC is nationally recognized for its rural health medicine program and its primary care program; other top programs include nursing, physician’s assistant, physical therapy, and pharmacy.
City: Omaha, NE
Category: Relocation
Address: 2500 California Plaza
13. Clarkson College
City: Omaha, NE
Category: Relocation
Telephone: (402) 552-3100
Address: 101 S. 42nd St.
Description: Health care is the primary focus of study at Omaha’s Clarkson College. It offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in nursing, allied health, health care business management, and professional development—health care is the focus no matter what.
14. College Of St. Mary
City: Omaha, NE
Category: Relocation
Telephone: (402) 399-2405
Address: 7000 Mercy Rd.
Description: The College of St. Mary is the only Catholic all-women college in the five-state area. The school offers associate, bachelors, and masters degrees in nursing, education, engineering business, and a number of other topics. The environment is centered on faith, and the roughly 1,000 students at CSM can attend daily services and are required to take theology as part of the college’s core requirements. Prayer, retreats, and faith are a regular and important part of campus life. Some singular programs include a nursing program aimed specifically at creating bilingual English-Spanish speaking graduates, a masters program focused on strengthening women’s leadership qualities, and the region’s only four-year paralegal studies program approved by the American Bar Association.
City: Omaha, NE
Category: Relocation
Address: 1311 S. 9th St.