Growing up in Southwest Iowa I had one primary goal growing up – to leave the Midwest for somewhere more exciting, and to never come back. Don’t get me wrong – I loved growing up in the Midwest. But I always viewed it as a bit of a boring place, with mundane career opportunities to go with it.
Flash forward about 8 years, one husband and two kids later, and my family and I were preparing for a move from Washington, D.C. to Colorado Springs, Colo. D.C. had been good to us – we both spent several years working in politics and then in the Department of Defense, ending up with interesting careers in defense contracting. We loved the excitement of the area but had grown sick of the commutes and the hassles. Colorado Springs had something for both my husband and I – mountains for him and a day’s drive away from my parents for me.
But when it came time to actually apply for jobs, one area kept calling our name – Omaha, Nebraska. The definition of a flyover city, Omaha is not nearly as sexy as either D.C. or Colorado. And the weather is absolutely worse. But the job market was strong, and at the end of the day we felt it was the best fit for our family. My parents are just an hour away, the value of every paycheck goes much farther, and the cliches about how nice people from the Midwest are – they’re all true. Here are the top eight reasons why we made Omaha home – and why you should consider it, too.
1. There’s a wealth of commercial/defense crossover.
Colorado Springs had a strong market in aerospace. But outside of tourism, the diversity in commercial business was a bit lacking for my IT consultant husband. If you have a security clearance you may be 100% positive you only want government or federal contracting work. Even if that’s your path, a diverse job market is a boom to everyone. Consider what the job market is in your lane, but also in parallel career areas. Your clearance remains current for a period of two years – you may benefit from a stint in the commercial sector. It’s good to at least have it as an option.
2. It flies under the radar.
You may or may not have heard of Offutt Air Force Base. You’ve probably heard of U.S. Strategic Command, one of nine unified commands in the Department of Defense. Offutt keeps a low profile but like most military installations, it’s a great facility. And because Omaha is growing as a tech hub and is already a telecom player, the base benefits from those assets – both in the quality of talent it attracts and the personnel it keeps.
3. It’s easy.
I have horror stories about trying to drive five miles in D.C. and still being in the same spot fifty minutes later. The joke in Omaha is that everything is less than 20 minutes away – and that’s pretty true.
4. The dining is great.
I’ve heard complaints before from friends who have moved from the coasts to the Midwest – the food stinks. But Omaha is a stand-out – you can get great sushi, Korean, and other ethnic faves. It may not be as authentic as NYC, but you can’t beat the price. Which leads to point 5…
5. It’s cheap.
Compared to the major metros, Omaha offers a great cost of living – which gives you plenty of extra money to dine out, which seems to be a key hobby of many Omahans. Your dollar goes farther, especially when it comes to real estate. Today’s market is competitive, but you can still get a 4,000 square foot house for less than half of what a townhouse would cost you in the District.
6. You can have a life outside of work.
This one is critical for me. I love my job. But in D.C. I never seemed to have the margin for hobbies – and I don’t remember a lot of friends having many, either. Those who did rarely had time to enjoy them. When you work a ten-hour day and add a commute on top of that, who would? In Omaha I’ve met people who are into the local music scene, amateur photographers, and renaissance history buffs (really, it’s a thing). For me, I’ve joined a gym that I actually have time to go to.
7. The world is a plane ride away.
I still love Washington, D.C., Chicago and Denver. But the great thing about those places is that they’re all a relatively cheap plane ride away from Omaha. And with a better work-life balance, you don’t have to feel guilty about using your vacation days to take that ski trip you’ve been thinking about.
8. It’s competing for talent.
When my husband began applying for jobs I was impressed by the diverse number of companies he interviewed with – from the defense contractor with an office right outside of Offutt AFB to the tech start-up that combines staff meetings with ping pong, there are a lot of options. And because there are options, and competition for the best talent, the salaries were much higher than you’d expect from the Midwest.
When people consider moving from the coasts I often hear concerns about lack of culture, 20 percent salary cuts, concern about a lack of job diversity, and more. From my experience, all of those fears proved unfounded. Omaha is a great place to launch a defense career, and an even better one to send it soaring with commercial crossover opportunities, a great military community and more.
What unlikely city could be the home of your next great career? Be willing to give one a try and you might be surprised.
