The fact that rent is so high in Omaha (and in Lincoln?) can be blamed at least partially on illegal immigration. Landlords in Omaha do NOT want to rent to illegals. They have very strong feelings about this.
Someone I know had their landlord monologue AT LENGTH about the problems that Illegals (and immigrants in general) cause for Omaha landlords, and why they were trying to upgrade all of their properties to make them luxury rentals. My contact characterized the tone of the monologue as incredibly racist and bigoted, but... I don't know that it entirely was. I'm well aware, having grown up in a third world country myself, that the culture clash of American standards for rental property upkeep and third world standards for the same is capable all on its own of creating a great deal of landlord/renter friction.
Nevertheless, the resulting high motivation of landlords to raise the prices on their properties at all cost becomes seriously problematic on far too many levels. Cities NEED affordable housing. Without affordable housing, there is a whole swath of service industry jobs that become much more challenging to fill, because people who can't find affordable housing, who are forced out on the street, are just not going to be willing to stick around and do the jobs. And living on the street while working a job is absolutely not a reasonable expectation in Omaha, especially in winter.
So--in case it isn't brutally crystal clear to everyone who rents in Omaha: illegal immigration is WHY you're paying double or triple (or more!) what rental property is worth. (and this of course has a knock-on effect with the overall cost/value of real estate too). It's also why fast food joints and restaurants are having trouble attracting enough workers--as is retail.
Time for Stothert to move on!
The fact that rent is so high in Omaha (and in Lincoln?) can be blamed at least partially on illegal immigration. Landlords in Omaha do NOT want to rent to illegals. They have very strong feelings about this.
Someone I know had their landlord monologue AT LENGTH about the problems that Illegals (and immigrants in general) cause for Omaha landlords, and why they were trying to upgrade all of their properties to make them luxury rentals. My contact characterized the tone of the monologue as incredibly racist and bigoted, but... I don't know that it entirely was. I'm well aware, having grown up in a third world country myself, that the culture clash of American standards for rental property upkeep and third world standards for the same is capable all on its own of creating a great deal of landlord/renter friction.
Nevertheless, the resulting high motivation of landlords to raise the prices on their properties at all cost becomes seriously problematic on far too many levels. Cities NEED affordable housing. Without affordable housing, there is a whole swath of service industry jobs that become much more challenging to fill, because people who can't find affordable housing, who are forced out on the street, are just not going to be willing to stick around and do the jobs. And living on the street while working a job is absolutely not a reasonable expectation in Omaha, especially in winter.
So--in case it isn't brutally crystal clear to everyone who rents in Omaha: illegal immigration is WHY you're paying double or triple (or more!) what rental property is worth. (and this of course has a knock-on effect with the overall cost/value of real estate too). It's also why fast food joints and restaurants are having trouble attracting enough workers--as is retail.