My mother in law is also a realtor if you want that info as well.
From my experience living here for 6 years, you will want to live south of O st. Commuting in Lincoln is terrible no matter where you live, as there are no express streets or anything similar. Having said that, even if you lived in the complete opposite direction, commuting shouldn't take you more than 30 mins. In my opinion, I would rather live closer to things like grocery stores,movie theaters,etc and travel further for work. Most of the good things in lincoln are O st on south.
For education, the better high schools, East(best academic), Southeast and Southwest are south of O St.
I live in the College View neighborhood, which has affordable housing, 150k-200k range. I love the neighborhood as it is basically right in the middle of lincoln, easy access to anything.