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I lived in Omaha for 10 years and now live in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina where I started a company three years ago. Because of my Omaha ties

I lived in Omaha for 10 years and now live in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina where I started a company three years ago. Because of my Omaha ties we do some business there. Omaha is a great place to live. For startups as HN defines them, Omaha is not an ideal location. There are two big reasons for this: 1. Low cost of living. For a tech startup, Ramen and split-rent costs about the same everywhere. A low cost of living generally means that the people around you are used to paying less for things. Silicon Valley is nice because the population has money and is ready to spend it and founders can get by for dirt cheap just as they would anywhere else. 2. University System. SF, NYC, Boston (and RTP!) all have strong startup communities as well as great University systems nearby. This is not a coincidence. Omaha is an hour from the University of Nebraska. The next closest are the Iowa schools which are several hours away. A good part of Omaha that the OP mentions is the creative scene. I am continually impressed by it. Omaha has also been making some great business development decisions over the last 10 years so I do believe the situation will only get better.

tptacek 17y ago
I don't understand. It sounds like you're saying rent costs the same everywhere. It manifestly does not.
- JoelSutherland 17y ago
  If I'm going to quit my job for a full-time startup the difference between $500 on rent in Omaha and $1000 rent in SF is not large enough to optimize for. Those numbers are probably exaggerated as well. If you really wanted to live cheap you could do $300 and $600 I'm sure. The point is that the difference between the costs of living decreases in an absolute sense when you are living cheap. Paying double for Ramen is not a big deal if it means you are living in an area where there are investors.
branden 17y ago
The UNLincoln campus is an hour away, but the UNOmaha campus is square in the middle of the city and has developed some decent compsci, engineering, and MIS programs in the past few years. It's not yet the brain trust you'd get from a namebrand school; right now it's mostly a machine that creates new recruits for nearby businesses (Union Pacific, Con Agra, Lockheed, etc.) But I can see it becoming the sort of place that helps foster a startup community. They even have a business incubator for young tech companies (http://www.scott-technology.com/incubator.asp http://www.scott-technology.com/incubator.asp). Like you say, the situation will only get better.
- sachinag 17y ago
  I know nothing about Creighton (other than I am obligated to hate the school with a passion as a born-and-bred but non-attending Saluki), but it's also in the city.

tptacek 17y ago

I don't understand. It sounds like you're saying rent costs the same everywhere. It manifestly does not.

JoelSutherland 17y ago
If I'm going to quit my job for a full-time startup the difference between $500 on rent in Omaha and $1000 rent in SF is not large enough to optimize for. Those numbers are probably exaggerated as well. If you really wanted to live cheap you could do $300 and $600 I'm sure. The point is that the difference between the costs of living decreases in an absolute sense when you are living cheap. Paying double for Ramen is not a big deal if it means you are living in an area where there are investors.

branden 17y ago

The UNLincoln campus is an hour away, but the UNOmaha campus is square in the middle of the city and has developed some decent compsci, engineering, and MIS programs in the past few years. It's not yet the brain trust you'd get from a namebrand school; right now it's mostly a machine that creates new recruits for nearby businesses (Union Pacific, Con Agra, Lockheed, etc.) But I can see it becoming the sort of place that helps foster a startup community. They even have a business incubator for young tech companies (http://www.scott-technology.com/incubator.asp http://www.scott-technology.com/incubator.asp). Like you say, the situation will only get better.

sachinag 17y ago
I know nothing about Creighton (other than I am obligated to hate the school with a passion as a born-and-bred but non-attending Saluki), but it's also in the city.