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Oklahoma City, if I didn't know any better, feels and acts like a metro that is about the size of Des Moines. I would say OKC feels like a city of about 200,000 and a metro of 600,000-700,000, based on amenities offered and the general feel of the town. Little Rock is an excellent lateral comparison and Des Moines is a notch above Little Rock.
Des Moines on the other hand can hold its own against metros in the 800,000-1 million range. I would still place Omaha above Des Moines. If I had to rate Omaha, Des Moines, Tulsa, Little Rock, and OKC from the where offers most to where offers least, it would look like this.
1. Omaha
2. Tulsa
3. Des Moines
4. Oklahoma City
5. Little Rock (would be tied with OKC if OKC didn't have an NBA team)
I've never been to Tulsa. Would love to hear what elements about Tulsa put it ahead of Des Moines on your list. Not that I doubt you ( I have no basis never having been there/lived there) more curious for my own education given I assume they have a lot of similarities.
I've never been to Tulsa. Would love to hear what elements about Tulsa put it ahead of Des Moines on your list. Not that I doubt you ( I have no basis never having been there/lived there) more curious for my own education given I assume they have a lot of similarities.
Tulsa is a pretty good comparison with Omaha though is more Southern, with Tulsa being slightly below Omaha. Tulsa is very underrated because its in Oklahoma, but it is very different from OKC. If there was a mini-Austin in Oklahoma, its Tulsa, with a little bit of added Dallas glitz. A lot of culture there and some very walkable, charming urban neighborhoods. I have a saying that there is only one "city" in Oklahoma, and it isn't OKC.
Last edited by bawac34618; 07-13-2016 at 04:21 PM..
Tulsa is a pretty good comparison with Omaha though is more Southern, with Tulsa being slightly below Omaha. Tulsa is very underrated because its in Oklahoma, but it is very different from OKC. If there was a mini-Austin in Oklahoma, its Tulsa, with a little bit of added Dallas glitz. A lot of culture there and some very walkable, charming urban neighborhoods.
Speaking of, here's a nice blog post on those walk-able urban neighborhoods you mention in Tulsa:
Excellent blog post. Cherry St in Tulsa is a true jewel. The Blue Dome, Brady, and Pearl district in Tulsa are up and coming as well and in the coming years will be excellent places to live if you can stand living in a metro in the 1 million population range. It's unfortunate that the state of Oklahoma is so backwards that a great city like Tulsa doesn't get more attention. There is actually a saying that when you leave Tulsa, you enter Oklahoma. Unlike OKC, Tulsa and its culture stands in stark contrast to the rural parts of the state.
2) In relation to Dallas, that's to be expected because of it's sheer size and being relatively close. What does Tulsa offer, and any other similarly sized metro, in shopping that is absolutely missing in OKC? I have no need to go to Tulsa for shopping. '"Going shopping" in OKC many times entails a trip to Tulsa', that is grossly over-exaggerated.
3) OKC has over 26,000 acres of parks and parkland (over 80 parks within 5 miles of downtown) and 80 miles of trails. More trail mileage would be nice but we have a ton of parkland compared to other similarly sized cities.
4) True that this is currently taking place with like ~1,500 units under construction and another ~1,700 currently proposed. The affordability is hugely dictated by the demand for living downtown.
5) Again, this is currently taking place. I live near downtown and don't drive to the burbs for essential services.
Des Moines would be my choice over Oklahoma City. Des Moines, like Omaha, punches well above its weight while Oklahoma City punches well below its weight. Another great alternative city besides the ones mentioned is Grand Rapids.
People seriously just do not like OKC. There is no reason it should be losing to Des Moines in the poll. I'd chose it over DM any day
Last edited by Mezter; 07-14-2016 at 02:15 AM..
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