half-way

[wondersofwine]

VH, I'm glad IK could answer some of your questions. I don't know Omaha that well although I did have a great aunt and uncle that lived there and also participated in Ak-Sar-Ben (Nebraska spelled backwards)festivities and stayed overnight with a sorority sister from Omaha. Omaha is along the Missouri river and is a hilly city for what is generally a flat state. It is known for steak but also has a few French bistro- type restaurants.
If you go for interviews and have some time for sight-seeing, the Henry Doorly Zoo is worthwhile and has a rain forest area (Lied Jungle is the largest indoor rain forest in the world) and an aquarium, and Joslyn Art Museum is worth a visit. I don't know if they do tours at Boys' Town but that would be another possibility.
Omaha has a symphony orchestra that does a lot of family-friendly pop music evenings but also classical (Itzhak Perlman is appearing in November.) Mendelssohn, Schubert, Haydn and Mozart are on the schedule for 2009-2010. It looks like they have concerts almost weekly during the season.
Real estate prices tend to be below the national average (that is probably true for Columbia, MO also.)
Good luck with everything!