1. Everyone Knows Omaha Is Wildly Superior To Lincoln
In general, people from Omaha consider their city an infinitely better place to live than Lincoln, which they would delegate to the status of “college town,” “state capital” and, well, not much else. On matters of music, culture and style they generally consider themselves far superior to their neighboring city.
But Omaha is still part of Husker Nation, and Nebraska football games bond the two cities accordingly. Since the state isn’t home to a major sports franchise, the Huskers are pretty much the only game in town. On game day, folks from both cities storm the stadium and notoriously make it the third most populated “city” in the state.
2. The Difference Between North O, South O, East O, and West O
Omaha is a supremely compact city, packing it’s population of 420,000 in just about 100 square miles. It’s also incredibly easy to navigate, with a grid system even the most direction-averse person can easily master.
For locals, the grid system means giving directions using a form of shorthand that packages each area of the city into four neat and tidy quadrants, each of them a direction followed by O. Y’know, for Omaha. How easy is that?
3. Noshing On The Gustatory Delight That Is A Runza
For those unfamiliar, the runza lands somewhere in the middle of a sliding scale between a calzone and a sandwich —maybe even an adult hot pocket. They’re rectangular dough pastries filled with onions, cabbage and meats, and the people of Omaha eat them by the boatload, usually at one of the city’s fifteen Runza restaurant locations.
It’s a fast food favorite and a well-kept secret of the area. Since the Omaha area has a huge German populations, it’s not uncommon for Omahans to grow up eating homemade runzas, and to continue attempting to perfect their own family recipes when they come of runza-making age.
4. Being Endlessly Romanticized Through Song
Counting Crows have “Omaha,” their own ode to “middle America.” Minneapolis indie rockers Tapes ‘n Tapes have their take on Omaha’s “saddled streets.” Country hero Waylon Jennings has his “Omaha,” about a short lived trek out so San Francisco only to return to his beloved hometown which is “good enough for him.”
What is it about Omaha that seems to make it such good song fodder? Either way, Omahans are used to being a universal symbol for flyover states in song, but if the tune is good enough, they mostly don’t mind.
5. Folks In Omaha Know Their Music Scene Is The Best In The Midwest
While Brooklyn, Austin and Nashville suck up all the love for their music scenes, people from Omaha know that their town is secretly one of the premier spots for innovative, up-and-coming artists. Acts like Bright Eyes, The Faint and 311 got their start in the city and bigger acts like Jason Mraz have come to Omaha to record.
Omaha’s passionate music fans check out great local and national acts making their rounds at venues like The Orpheum, The Waiting Room Lounge and Sokol Auditorium. Local music institution Saddle Creek Records even has its own venue, Slowdown, and the city throws plenty of great music festivals such as MAHA and Hullabaloo. All this, combined with the historical heritage of African American music in the city’s Near North Side, makes for a music scene Omahans are hugely proud of—even if outsiders don’t know all that much about it.
6. There’s A Billionaire In The Backyard
Almost everyone knows Omaha is home to everyone’s favorite low key, pro-taxation, modest multi multi billionaire Warren Buffett, who regularly ranks as one of the richest people alive. Heck, he’s even known as the “Oracle of Omaha”—it’s right there in his title.
But only folks from Omaha know what it’s like seeing him around town. The Berkshire Hathaway Magnate still lives in the Dundee-Happy Hollow Historic District home he originally bought for just above $30,000 in 1958, and is known to frequent Gorat’s steakhouse and Piccolo Pete’s where he grabs chicken parm and root beer floats. Omahans know to always play it cool in his presence, even if he could buy and sell them without breaking a sweat.
7. Last Minute Gift Shopping At Homer’s Is A Tradition
Oh snap! It’s the day before Christmas and you’ve totally blanked on buying any of your loved ones a single thing.
For Omahans, the situation is no sweat. They know that one trip to Homer’s Music and Gifts in the Old Market is a quick bandaid to such a situation, where they can either grab some old vinyls to throw on the record player for mom, or, say, the complete “Band of Brothers” on DVD.
Plus, it’s the place to be on record store day, and if they time their trips correctly, they know they’ll catch some in-store music and entertainment to boot.
8. Beef Is A Way Of Life
A subpar cut of meat just won’t, well, cut it when placed in front of an Omahan. Because their state and city have been historically so central to cattle cultivation and beef production, they’ve been rewarded with great access to prime rib. Emphasis on “prime.”
This includes much-loved steak spots like Gorat’s, open since 1944, and newer restaurants like the 801 Chophouse. The locals’ beef traditional also includes Omaha Steaks, who distribute and mail-order the local gourmet beef goods. Suffice to say, folks from Omaha are a bit spoiled when it comes to stellar beef.
9. What Life Is Like On The Silicon Prairie
California gets most of the love from the press when it comes to tech incubators and innovation, and these days, even Texas is grabbing some of the tech innovation headlines. But Omahans know not to overlook their so-called flyover state when it comes to business development.
Great tech jobs are entering the area at a huge rate, with handheld game innovators SkyVu, technology merchandising company Direct Tech Inc. and smaller startups like the marketing strategy and design company Grain and Mortar and Secret Penguin making their home in the area.
The city also is home to the operational headquarters of the polling company Gallup, so all in all, there’s a good chance someone from Omaha is currently keeping tabs on you.
10. The Old Market Is Way More Fun Than It Sounds
Dating in Omaha is pretty easy, since its pretty much a foregone conclusion that you’ll end up in Old Market for dinner, drinks, gallery hopping and some solid strolling.
The historic downtown neighborhood is a hotbed of area culture, maintaining a old-timey artifice but still having plenty to do besides admiring historic buildings from a distance. The quirky district houses warehouses have been converted to artists lofts, and it’s common to find street performers and horse-drawn carriages at all hours of the night. Plus, there are great spots like M’s Pub and The Boiler Room to grab drinks.
Did we miss anything? Tell us what’s unique about Omaha in the comments below!
