Hey… AF dude here, and set to move to Omaha NE (well, Bellvue more like it) next spring. For a basis of reference, I’ve lived in Tallahassee, FL most of my life, save for my last year in Central California (Pacific Grove, on the Monterey Peninsula).
What is Omaha like? The weather, people, traffic, local culture, landscape, etc. How expensive is it to live there? Restaurants? Places nearby to which to travel, etc.
I dunno…but I like their steaks.
Neither do I, but as a kid I got the impression it was a Wild Kingdom
Hunh… the feelings Mutual
My sister lives in Bellevue!!!
Weather—hot right now, tornado country, lots of snow days in the winter. Corn country.
People—most of the ones I met are military/former military, but the rest didn’t seem too different from Ohio…perhaps a bit conservative.
Traffic—I was last there over 5 years ago. I seem to remember having to drive quite a ways to get places, but then we were shopping all over…no terrible traffic jams that I can remember, but when I talk to my sister I’ll see if that’s changed.
Landscape—it’s corn country, Air Force country, tornado alley. Fairly flat, but then there is Council Bluffs…
Local culture—my sister isn’t big on nightlife, but they have all the amenities…and a great Zoo.
Cost of living–she’s always trying to get me to move out there because the cost of living is better than Cleveland, where the cost of living is really great compared to just about everywhere you’ve lived. They can afford a nice modest three-bedroom on a Tech Sgt. (now retired) and teacher’s pay. She always tells me that unemployment is low–they are desperate to fill many jobs, apparently.
Travel—wouldn’t know, exactly…they do a lot of National Park stuff, but heck, it’s in the center of the country…you can go anywhere!
Sorry to be so vague about things. I realized as I type this how little I have paid attention to everything my sister has told me about oer the last 10 years! But they chose to stay there after retirement rather than come home to Ohio, so they must like it.
Oh, almost forgot…rent About Schmidt…it was filmed in Omaha last year. If I remember right, the opening credits have some good shots of downtown. And Offut is a good base…housing was not bad if I remember correctly.
The zoo is amazing! I’ve got family across the river in Council Bluffs, and when I visited we took the kids to the zoo. I was stunned – biggest, coolest zoo I’ve ever seen. Way cooler than San Diego’s. I haven’t been back since they built the indoor desert dome, I’d love to see that.
(Old Midwestern joke)
Omaha – It’s like Des Moines without the glitter.
A few years back, I visited a retired AF friend in Bellvue. I was only passing thru for a couple of days, but it seemed to be a nice area. We ate at some good restaurants, I got a tour of the base, and among other things, I learned that Omaha has a terrific system of bike trails. My friend is an avid cyclist and he raved about the paths.
If I wasn’t so dead set on living by a major body of water (like the Chesapeake Bay) I wouldn’t mind living in Omaha. Well, except for the snow. 
I’ve lived here for almost 6 years now. I also came here on the Air Force train and still work as a contractor on base. I’ll go in order of your questions.
Weather - HOT HOT HOT in the summer and COLD COLD FARKING COLD in the winter. Plenty of snow. If you are not used to it, it can be intimidating.
People - Very conservative. I lived in the south and the St.Louis area before moving here and the biggest shock to me is how “white” this city is. There is a strong Hispanic population to add some culture to the city. The people are generally polite and distant. And it is not surprisingly full of Husker fan, not the most rational person in the world.
Traffic - Pretty much non-existent except for a few city streets and an exit ramp or 2. It’s VERY easy to get around in. Numbered streets run north-south and east west streets are pretty easy to remember.
Landscape - Not as flat as you think, especially close to the river. You go east or west very far and its as flat as Kansas.
Its one of the cheapest places to live and the unemployment rate is one of the lowest in the country. The locals like to brag that it has the most restraints per capita as any big city in the world. I don’t know how true that is, but there are an ass ton of resteraunts. Lots of really good places to eat. If you like steak, you have been stationed at the right place. There are some pretty cool things a days drive away. Worlds of Fun/Oceans of Fun in KC is an adequate amuesement park. Chicago, St.Louis, Denver, Minneapolis are all 6-8 hours away (Denver maybe a bit further as I’ve never made that drive). Mt.Rushmore and Yellowstone are a long days drive away. The SAC museum and the Zoo (and the wildlife park which is next to the SAC museum halfway between here and Lincoln) are both excellent local attractions. We got a couple of casinos across the river in Council Tucky…I mean Bluffs. Overall, its a good place to live. A lot of people bitch about it, especially the cold in the winter and the supposed lack of things to do, but its really what you make of it. Its got most of the good things about a big city and few of the bad. There are certainly more “fun” places to live, but Omaha isn’t as bad as it sounds or some people will try lead you to believe.
Also, if I can ask, what is your AFSC(and is it still called that)?
I’m currently stationed at the Presidio of Monterey. Guess. 
Is the Purina plant still out there? Man, you’d get the smell of dog food hanging in the air for days at a time (which is worse than it sounds, believe me).
Guybud5 I’m going to guess a language guy? Nice field, why are you coming here?
Yes Beelzebubba, the plant still makes the air thick with puppy chow. You get used to it eventually 
Its much less painful than say a paper mill.
Aircrew linguist… all the aircrew billets for Hebrew are there
Well I did not know that. Well congratulations on your duty station and be thankful you didn’t get Tinker or Minot or any of the base’s in Texas(although I’ve heard good thinks about Lackland/Kelly, its just those first 6 weeks that are hell )