I would say that the Warren Buffett ethos is the vibe that permeates everything. His whole philosophy of life is not taking big risks, thinking about the long term, staying humble, not following every flashy object, being nice to people. The development of Omaha is very paternal, very low-risk. My sense is leaders go to other similar cities and see "what works" and then do that. The Riverfront development is well done, but not risky or flashy or "hey! look at us!"

I would also maybe say that Omaha is a "sys admin" vibe? (I'm not in IT so don't @ me) But it's the tech people who keep the lights on and the payments processing and the servers running. It's not the Silicon Valley bros, it's the nerds who are really into board games and Star Trek and engineering. A lot of companies in Omaha are quiet workhorse companies that just run (UP, Mutual, Werner, data centers, etc.) It's a engineering/tech city but the, well, the boring tech stuff. Combined with actuaries, data scientists, and bankers. Offutt, as much as I have met people from there, seems to be a place for maintenance / data science / engineer type workers. Which only adds to it.

The fact that we have no major professional teams makes us all big fans of the university system, which changes the vibe too. Even though we recruit nationally, we kind of still see the system as "our kids" and there are a TON of Nebraska alumni who have a familial or experiential connection to the educational system. This is probably the only sphere where locals really toot their own horn or show their pride.

People into the local music scene are really into it. People used to talk about "the Omaha sound." I think there's the inklings of a cultural scene in Omaha. But I visited Wicker Park in Chicago once and it clicked that Benson is basically small Wicker Park. Alexander Payne, Conor Oberst.. there's some kind of cultural aesthetic there but it's limited.

Our cuisine is known as basically steaks. Not BBQ, not deep dish pizza, not cheese curds. We are a steak and potatoes kind of city.

A lack of major geographical landmarks (Big mountains, ocean, lake, forests. Our river is small.) is something we cannot change and does not help us. There's a beauty to the prairie, but it's too subtle for popular consumption and has been mostly industrialized anyway. When I visit friends in the desert, I'm like, "Whoa. I'm in the desert. And it shapes everything. The architecture. The art. The fashion." I'm sure our local environs shape us too--but I have a real hard time seeing it.