Moving To Omaha, NE — What It’s Like To Live In The Gateway To The West

Perched on the banks of the Missouri River and bordering Iowa, Omaha, Nebraska, is best known for great food, the farm-to-fork movement and billionaire residents. The city serves as the county seat for Douglas County, and with its central location, it has long been a major transportation hub. Steeped in history and boasting a rich culture, Omaha attracts a wide array of people.

1. How big is Omaha?

Omaha covers a total area of just under 145 square miles, making it the second-largest city in the Great Plains States and the second-largest city on the Missouri River. The city is the anchor for the Omaha metropolitan area, which covers over 4,400 square miles and stretches across eight counties in both Nebraska and Iowa.

The city proper is divided into six main districts: Downtown, Midtown, North Omaha, South Omaha, West Omaha and East Omaha. Each district comprises a diverse array of neighborhoods, with a good mix of historic and more modern areas.

2. What is the weather like in Omaha?

With a hot-summer humid continental climate, the weather in Omaha is characterized by warm, humid summers and cold, snowy winters. The city sees an average snowfall of around 27 inches a year and the heaviest snow tends to fall from December through February.

Creighton University Campus in Omaha, Nebraska on a snowy day

Renting a storage unit can be useful throughout the year when living in Omaha. Items such as photographs, important documents, musical instruments and collectibles can all be susceptible to damage from high humidity levels. However, when renting climate-controlled unit in Omaha, they can stay in prime condition for years to come. Meanwhile, in winter, your self storage is the perfect place for bicycles, scooters and other vehicles you want to keep safe from the cold and snow.

3. Omaha’s economy — major corporations and a tech haven

Omaha boasts an extremely diverse economy, providing a wide array of jobs for people from various backgrounds. The city is home to a large number of Fortune 500 companies with major industries, including finance, insurance, construction, architecture, tech and transportation. Around 30 of the largest architecture firms call Omaha home, while the city also frequently ranks among the top 10 tech havens in the U.S.

Businesses big and small can benefit from self storage in Omaha. A storage unit can be an ideal place to store large blueprints and technical drawings, while a climate-controlled unit is a great place for tech companies to keep their server banks running cool. Storage units can also be a good place to archive important documents and files.

4. Universities and college life in Omaha

There are two major public universities in Omaha: the University of Nebraska Omaha and the University of Nebraska Medical Center. In addition, there are nine private institutions as well as the Metropolitan Community College.

Student accommodations aren’t always the most spacious and dorms can easily begin to feel crowded. To save space, it’s worth renting a storage unit in Omaha. Ideal for storing bulky items such as seasonal clothes and coats, it helps keep even the smallest dorms and apartments clutter-free. Moreover, a storage unit can come in handy during the summer break too. Instead of moving all their belongings home, students can keep them in a storage unit until the new term resumes in the fall.

5. Outdoor recreation in Omaha — an outdoor paradise

Omaha is an outdoor enthusiast’s paradise! There are more than 80 miles of walking and cycling trails in and around the city, including sections of the American Discovery Trail and the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. Water sports such as kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding on the Missouri and Platte Rivers are also popular pastimes.

Boardwalk trail through lush trees in the Fontenelle Forest Nature Center in Bellevue, Nebraska near Omaha

If you need somewhere to keep your kayak, paddleboard or mountain bike, self storage in Omaha is a good idea when you’re not enjoying the outdoors. Putting them in storage can help to free up valuable space at home, and it also keeps your equipment safe and in great condition, ready to use whenever you like.

6. Moving to Omaha, NE — how can self storage help?

With its central location, great job opportunities and wealth of things to see and do, Omaha is a popular spot for those looking to relocate. If you’re planning to move to Omaha from out of state, it’ll cost you between $800 and $7,000 if you’re relocating here from Utah. You may be tempted to save money by taking care of it yourself, but this can be time-consuming, stressful and more difficult than you’d anticipated.

Either way, renting a self storage unit in Omaha is a fantastic way to make the moving process smoother. By sending your belongings to storage rather than directly to your new home, you gain a lot more flexibility when it comes to your move-in date. As such, you won’t need to worry about matching schedules with the seller and can move in at your own pace.

7. Discover the many housing options in Omaha

Omaha’s housing market is dominated by single-unit homes, although you will find plenty of multi-unit homes dotted across the city in the form of townhouses, condos and apartment buildings. If you’re going for apartment living in Omaha, you typically get less space than you would living in a house. To keep your home from getting cluttered, you can put some items in a storage unit. Bulky clothing, seasonal decorations and other types of items you don’t use frequently can sit in a storage unit until you need them again.

Urban sunset views from an apartment building in downtown Omaha, Nebraska

There’s a diverse array of styles across the city, with older neighborhoods such as Bemis Park boasting a few surviving examples of the stunning Eastlake-Stick homes. American Foursquare homes are perhaps the most common style, and alongside craftsman cottages, they’re particularly rife throughout North Omaha, and around neighborhoods such as Near North Side, Orchard Hill and Minne Lusa.

Once you’ve found your dream single family home, it’s worth considering self storage. You’ll discover that the service is useful beyond the traditional moving period. It’s the ideal solution for seasonal belongings such as bulky winter clothes and anything else that could clutter up your new home. Plus, during renovations or redecorating, your unit is the ideal place to keep the belongings from the area under construction for the duration of the project.

Welcoming other people from your immediate family into your home to form a multi-generational household can be another instance when self storage can help. Oftentimes, as two or more nuclear families join together under the same roof, excess furniture, appliances and more require additional space. You can put these extra items in storage until they can be used again to avoid cluttering your home.

8. Is Omaha a good place to live?

Omaha has many great perks, whether we’re talking affordability, safety or something else. Therefore, it’s not surprising that people are interested in moving here. Here are some of the common cities where newcomers come from:

Moving to Omaha from Boston

Omaha is a great place for people from all walks of life – in fact, it’s one of the best cities to live in the Midwest, which is why moving here from Boston doesn’t come as much of a surprise. While living in Boston can come with a higher price tag, Omaha offers a much more affordable option. Besides, you can still enjoy the perks of a big city – such as restaurants, museums and art galleries – while enjoying the small town atmosphere.

Moving to Omaha from Los Angeles

While LA comes with its perks, Omaha also has a few aces up its sleeve. Moving here from the City of Angels means you get to cut down on almost all expenses. For instance, Omaha housing is almost 60% cheaper in Omaha than in LA, which means you can make some hefty savings when you relocate here. You’d also spend much less time in traffic (about 18 minutes), as opposed to the typically longer LA commute time.

9. What are the self storage options in Omaha, NE?

The self storage market in Omaha is rich in options for locals, offering over 4.4M square feet of self storage space that translate to close to seven square feet of self storage per person. There are over 60 self storage facilities locally. With so many options, finding the ideal storage facility in Omaha storage unit near your home should be easy.

Finding your facility is the first step in renting an Omaha, NE, unit. Next, you need to decide on the unit size of your choice. Most people rent a 10’x10’ unit, which can fit a few pieces of furniture and appliances. If you have smaller items such as clothing, books or smaller outdoor gear, you can go for a 5’x5’ or a 5’x10’ unit. For the contents of a one-bedroom apartment, you can turn to a 10’x15’ unit when you’re moving. If you have a three- or four-bedroom home, a 10’x20’ or a 10’x30’ unit is probably your best bet, based on how many belongings you have. To get a better picture of what kind of unit size you need, this storage unit size guide can offer further information.

To find self storage listings in Omaha, NE, you can check out the StorageCafe portal.