Relocate Sydney to OKC (Oklahoma City, Norman: fit in, apartment, rentals)
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Hello, opportunity has come up to relocate from Sydney to OKC (work). Just wondering any thoughts, or recommendations (27 year old male, with a girlfriend willing to move). Currently don't have a car license, which from what I have read may be an issue. Without going into detail on the company, on the map it seems slightly sE of Nichols Hills? Looking for rentals if it goes ahead, in the interim.
Happy to get a car license too, checked the DMV website though and seems even at this age you still need hours with a licensed driver.
As far as the drivers license goes, could you get one there in Sydney before you move? It might make getting one here easier. When you move from another state, if you have a valid drivers license they will usually waive all testing and just take your out of state license and give you a new Oklahoma one. It says on the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety website that for people with valid drivers licenses from other countries, they will waive the testing on a case by case basis. I would guess that would have a lot to do with what country someone is coming from. For example, they might be more willing to waive testing for someone such as yourself, coming from another English speaking country, where you can obviously read the signage and would have an easier understanding of our traffic laws, as opposed to someone say from China. When I took one of my sons to get his drivers license there was a Chinese Buddhist monk there taking his driving test. He had to have a translator with him. Plus, as an adult with a valid foreign drivers license, I'm not sure you would be held to the same rules as a new teenage driver. I would contact them and get some clarification on exactly what you need to do. I would ask them exactly what the rules would be for someone with a valid foreign license, and also what the rules were for a newly driving adult.
As for the part of town you mentioned. It's very nice. I can pretty much assume which company you are speaking of working for, since one company owns virtually that entire part of town. There's lots of things happening in that area. What specifically do you want to know?
Thanks for the response. If the move goes ahead, I should be able to obtain my provisional license in Australia, as I already have my Learners permit, and can drive reasonably well I just haven't had much of a need to. Not sure if that would be recognised, I've had a quick google, but it seems to vary from state to state. I'll contact them to find out.
More around things to do, best places to live (pay around 2k monthly for rent here, would be looking to pay less there as my partner probably wouldn't be working, depending on her VISA). By some of the rental sites, Nichols Hills seems a bit expensive for me, all though looks very nice. I've read Edmond is also quite nice?
Last edited by Althius; 03-08-2012 at 03:09 PM..
Reason: typo
Thanks for the response. If the move goes ahead, I should be able to obtain my provisional license in Australia, as I already have my Learners permit, and can drive reasonably well I just haven't had much of a need to. Not sure if that would be recognised, I've had a quick google, but it seems to vary from state to state. I'll contact them to find out.
More around things to do, best places to live (pay around 2k monthly for rent here, would be looking to pay less there as my partner probably wouldn't be working, depending on her VISA). By some of the rental sites, Nichols Hills seems a bit expensive for me, all though looks very nice. I've read Edmond is also quite nice?
Yes, each state has its own laws concerning things such as drivers licenses, and while they might be similar, they will not be exactly the same. Contact the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety. You really will need to get your license as our public transportation is quite limited. You can live here without a car, but it will not be easy, or fun.
Nichols Hills is one of them most expensive neighborhoods in town. It is actually its own separate city inside Oklahoma City. There are some smaller homes, but it might be difficult to find one for rent, and I have no idea what they would rent for. There are other areas nearby that are nice as well, but I have no idea what the rent would be in any of these areas, but I would think you could find something nice for less than $2,000. I'm just not that familiar with rental market. But there are others here that know much more than I do. Do you want a house or an apartment? Check out some neighborhoods like Mesta Park and Crown Heights. The both easy drives to your work location. Especially around Crown Heights, you will find lots of good restaurants, bars, shopping.
Edmond is very nice but you might find it to be a bit suburban. There are plenty of lovely homes but they are almost all very family oriented. Lots of young families in Edmond. Many people move to Edmond for the schools, as they are considered to be some of the best in the area. For young singles, it might be a bit boring. It's an easy drive from Edmond to the Nichols Hills area. I live in Edmond and drive to Nichols Hills all the time.
Thanks again, I'll have a look into the places you've mentioned. Not overly concerned on house or apartment, happy to live in either. Currently in an apartment, so might be nice to have something larger. Looking further, doesn't appear to be many rentals in Nichols Hills, and I think it would be too expensive anyway!! It just seemed the closet, and nicest.
From what I've read, Norman has had quite good reviews as well.
You will need a car here in OKC no matter where you live. The USA public transportation is bad compared to most westernized countries, but OKC is pretty much has the worst public transportation out of all major metros in the US.
Norman is nice, college/uni atmosphere, lot of younger folks, but is quite a drive up to your work. People do it all the time, but for what you may be used to, it's quite the drive. Remember that OKC is one of the, if not the, largest city by land area in the US. We are veeeerrry spread out which makes a car a must. There is little bus service in OKC.
Edmond is nice, closer to your work, but as debzkids said, very family orientated and very suburban. Good luck picking a place. I am rather new to the area as well and live in Norman.
You could find anything from a luxury highrise apartment to a fairly large home in your price range within a 10 minute drive of the company you will be working for. In general, the nicest "urban" neighborhoods are between Classen and Broadway from downtown to 63rd Street. There are really great restaurants and bars popping up throughout this area, a lively local beer scene, and a growing amount of high end national and local shopping.
More "suburban" nice neighborhoods are to the northwest, along the lake and Memorial Road. This area has a lot of development and again you can find anything from a highrise apartment to a large home and be within a fast drive of a lot of national chain restaurants and shopping (many of which would be new to an Aussie, I guess).
As for car issue... you can find neighborhoods along convenient bus routes, the most frequent service (every 20-30 minutes) is on 23rd Street (shopping and eating) and there are 30-60 minute frequency routes that go up Western and Classen (shopping and work). However, the bus does not run late or on Sundays. There are many nice streets for biking in this area as well, including Shartel and Walker. There is a shared car service at OCU campus where you can use a car when needed (timecar.com). So with biking, a limited bus service, and carefully chosen neighborhood, you can sort of limit how much you drive. But definitely, a car is just about mandatory.
The Chamber of Commerce has a resource for people who are about to move/recently moved to OKC since there are so many coming in. Has a lot of resources on what to expect, but puts a positive spin on everything obviously http://www.abetterlifeokc.com/
You'll fit in well here. I've met probably a dozen or so Aussies who have moved here over the last several years and the one's I stay in touch with love it alot. Ironically, most of the one's I've met are from Brisbane and one from Melbourne. Best of luck in your endeavours here in Oklahoma.
Ironically, most of the one's I've met are from Brisbane and one from Melbourne.
That isn't ironic.
Anyway, I was in Sydney a few years ago and loved it. However, I will say that I loved it because it's cosmopolitan, very urban, very walkable, diverse in people and amenities, has great public transit, beautiful surroundings, a great vibe to it, and much more. In all honesty, it has all the things I want in a living environment... at least as far as I noticed. Given the opportunity, I would live there in a heartbeat.
That being said, OKC isn't quite as established. The weather and climate are more extreme, mountains and beaches aren't close to town, and the city is probably the most car-reliant city in the US. I work with mostly foreign nationals and I've discovered that when they get vacation, the vast majority leave town. I would say part of that might be taking the opportunity to travel while they can, but a lot of them keep going back to Dallas. I presume that's because it has more to offer and is relatively close, but still they've already been and go back as soon as they get the chance.
Ultimately, I think it would be in your best interests to consider your priorities in a living environment and either post them here or research them independently. I say this out of experience, because I've moved to places without considering what is important to me and they turned out to be bad decisions on my part. I read an interesting book by Richard Florida, and he argued that it's astounding that people don't put the same thought into where they live as they do into the person they want to marry.
In the end, I'm just saying that OKC is a much different environment than Sydney (speaking from experience) and there's a lot to consider. I mean, one factor might be how long you would be working here. One place I lived I was working on contract for a year, and things weren't working out so well, so it felt like the longest year of my life.
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