OKC area advice for one year rental. (Norman, Edmond: apartments, renters) - Oklahoma City - Oklahoma - City-Data Forum

TheJagMan · 08-29-2010, 06:33 AM

Appears the best job offer I received is at Tinker. In a few I'm going to fly to OKC and not leave until I find something and a lease is signed. This is the problem as I'm severely limited in my time window since I need to where I currently live for two more weeks and once I can leave here, have to start the job the following week. I have never been there and have done research. We're a couple in our late 20s, no kids and have a large dog. Due to the dog we want to be able to open the back door and let the dog loose in a fenced in yard. That pretty much eliminates all apartments and the majority of condos/town homes. Absolutely do not care about school districts.

What I have seen in my research is that SW and NE OKC have higher crime then other places. It would appear that my best bet would be between tinker and downtown which could be Del City. On the other hand, seems like Norman might be a fun area, even though I may have a 20-30 work commute, I could be within walking distance to a lot of cool Sooner places. Moore seems good as far as location. Can anyone offer any advice? Where else is a good place to look for house rentals besides craigslist?

CyberCop · 08-29-2010, 09:07 AM

Check out NW Moore. it's right next to Tinker, you'll have a quick commute and most places in Moore are CHEAP.

TheJagMan · 08-29-2010, 07:17 PM

Thanks. I figured the big renters boom would be over as most of the college folks are already settled. I actually cannot find many cheap place in Moore on Craigslist. I would love to pay around the $800 range but would go to around $1000 for the right place. Norman is also more expensive than Moore, seems like OKC significantly cheaper.

CyberCop · 08-30-2010, 01:54 PM

[quote=CyberCop;15671983]Check out NW Moore.quote]

Oops, I meant NE Moore. And yes OKC is much cheaper but to find something decent within reasonable driving distance to Tinker will be a challenge. I normally say stay away rom Midwest City but you also shouldn't count that out entirely. there are some nice pockets there and the city is very military friendly.

TheJagMan · 08-30-2010, 02:59 PM

[quote=CyberCop;15688742]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CyberCop

Check out NW Moore.quote]

Oops, I meant NE Moore. And yes OKC is much cheaper but to find something decent within reasonable driving distance to Tinker will be a challenge. I normally say stay away rom Midwest City but you also shouldn't count that out entirely. there are some nice pockets there and the city is very military friendly.

I am civilian, but understand that some folks consider anyone who works on the base as military. Why stay away from Midwest City, high crime? I'm finding Moore and Norman to cost the same which is several hundred more than OKC. Can I ask why you feel one would prefer Moore over Norman?

CyberCop · 09-03-2010, 06:10 PM

[quote=TheJagMan;15689698]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CyberCop

I am civilian, but understand that some folks consider anyone who works on the base as military. Why stay away from Midwest City, high crime? I'm finding Moore and Norman to cost the same which is several hundred more than OKC. Can I ask why you feel one would prefer Moore over Norman?

Oh civilian? okay well you're right, it doesn't really make much of a difference when living in a military town. To people who aren't from a military family or don't work on the base, the only difference to them is that civilians just don't were a uniform...off the subject.

Why I said that about MWC is well, hate to say it, but well, I lived in Edmond for a large portion of my mature life.

That city just has a different feel that i just couldn't put my finger on while I lived in the OKC Metro. I finally figured it out. MWC is a military town. Thats all. I grew up an Air Force brat and am now active duty AF. From when I was growing up, to everywhere I've been so far on AD, all towns/cities that are associated with any base are so similar, it's scary. I'm now in Rapid City SD and Oh my god, MWC and Rapid are so much alike. Really the only difference is rapid city isn't a 'suburb' of a 1,200,000+ person metropolis and has 7 months of hell-on-earth that the locals call "Winter".

My point is (for you) that yes, MWC is going to have highER crime than say Moore, Norman, and most parts of OKC but you have to remember, it's Central Oklahoma. compared to other places in the country, OKC metro's "crime rates" are laughable.

My point (for me) on the other hand, is that, I don't know about you but, I REALLY don't like driving more than 15 minutes or so to work. Cuts into my sleeping/gasoline budget/personal time. So if you lived in Norman, on a day with average traffic, you'd be looking at a 25+ minute commute just one way. Cost in fuel will start to add up. living on the east side of Moore, which is darn near directly south of Tinker, would cut at least 10 minutes off of that commute per day. that's why I prefer Moore. Overall I'd find a nice renovated home for rent or a decent apartment somewhere along I-240 East of I-35. I'd save time on my drive to work, and money on gas and rent.

These are just my preferences. Really, when I seperate from AD, I will be going back to Edmond. It's just beautiful there. buuuuut, If i get a job at Tinker and you end up living somewhere along I-240, we might be neighbors. Anyways, I've rambled on long enough, no one else has chimed in on this so you should probably do more research.

TheJagMan · 09-06-2010, 10:55 AM

Thanks. I still don't have a start date yet which I know is going to further shrink my small window of finding a place and starting the job.

I hear you on the commute, but I finding Moore to cost a lot MORE than OKC and even Norman. Most places in Moore are $1000/mo while I can find places in OKC for $600/mo. $400/month extra to shave 15 minutes off a commute isn't worth it to me. Again, it's just a matter of getting down there and checking it out.

Boxcar Overkill · 09-07-2010, 12:41 PM

Moore is a great place for families. But a lot of what makes it great would be irrelevant to people without kids. Still, you can rent a brand-new, just built 3bd, 2 bth house for about $1100 a month here.

Still, apples-to-apples, Moore is less expensive than Norman, for comparable housing. You can get inexpensive housing in both locations. OKC is probably the cheapest, unless you live by bricktown. That's my impression.