Oklahoma City or Phoenix, AZ? (Harrah: 2010, cheap home, taxes)

[Nameless]

Originally Posted by TU 'cane

And they say in Phoenix you can get to So. Cal and Las Vegas.. etc. Well the good thing about OKC is it's central location, your're only 2 1/2 hours or so from DFW, an 1 1/2 from Tulsa, Kansas City is idk, i'm gonna say 7 hours, idk though. Little Rock is just east on I-40 from OKC.. Just continue to do your research that's all I can tell ya.

Kansas City is 5 hours away, 7 if you care to go 50 the whole way

[TU 'cane]

Originally Posted by Nameless

Kansas City is 5 hours away, 7 if you care to go 50 the whole way

Well thank you for clearing that up. Like I said, idk.

[vegaspilgrim]

I want to pesonally thank everybody for their great replies to my question. eddie gein, I think your post in particular was really good. You might be very right about Phoenix being run by the older generation. On the other hand, my friend there who's lived there for over 10 years says that it's mainly the retirement communities with a lot of old people-- that once you go outside of Sun City, and places that like, it's mainly younger people and families with kids. I'm starting to get more and more into golf (right now I suck, but I try to make it to the driving range whenever I can to practice), and Phoenix seems like a golf mecca, only problem is courses there are astronomically expensive. What good is having prestigious FBR open golf courses if I can't afford to play on them? Then again, golf is a pretty expensive sport in general, I realize. I'll be honest here, I think Phoenix is more of what I'm looking for, overall. I was actually pretty sure I was going to move to Phoenix, but then a week ago when I got the official job offer I was made aware that Oklahoma City was also an option so I wanted to do my research first. Even if I move to Phoenix, you guys have interested me in your city-- I want to take a trip to Oklahoma and see OKC, maybe then go down to Texas (I've never been there either) and make it a round trip loop. It could very well be that OKlahoma city is the better city, but the prospect of the palm trees in Phoenix sounds awfully appetizing. I want to thank you for all your time in posting here, and I'm sorry if I started any unintended arguments on this website.

[peggydavis]

No problem, midnight rambler.

I think the weather in Phoenix will be more to your liking.

Right now I have no phone, due to the floods, and no water for some other reason! The water service is out all over our area, and tonight is Nashville Now, a local musical event and potluck dinner in Lamar! SOS!

[Clint_Noname]

I don't like either city, but I'll make a couple of comparisons. I'll leave it to you to decide which one is better...

Weather: In my opinion, OKC has some of the worst weather in the country. Summers are extremely hot and humid, rain and flooding are very common, and the area is one of the worst tornado spots in the country. Phoenix has very low rain and humidity and is almost immune from natural disasters, but is much hotter temperature-wise during the summer.

Cost of Living: OKC has a much lower cost of living and housing than Phoenix.

Growth and Sprawl: Both cities are growing very rapidly, but OKC grows at a much slower rate than Phoenix. Phoenix is having a hard time keeping up with its growth.

Traffic: OKC traffic is much better than Phoenix traffic. Like I said, Phoenix is growing more rapidly and is also having a hard time keeping up with its growth.

Water Shortages: OKC was recently rated by Sperling's BestPlaces as having the lowest drought risk among U.S. cities. Phoenix has a terrible drought problem because...you guessed it...it's having a hard time keeping up with its growth.

Crime: Phoenix has lower crime than OKC, but both cities have high crime on a national scale. However, as with any large city, there are many good parts and bad parts in both cities. People in different parts of town go to different places for eating and shopping, so the criminals in the bad parts of town have no business at all being at any restaurant or store in the good parts of town.

Public Schools: This is probably not a concern to the original poster...but I'll post it anyways. Phoenix has better public schools than OKC, with better school test scores compared to state averages.

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by midnight rambler

I want to pesonally thank everybody for their great replies to my question. eddie gein, I think your post in particular was really good. You might be very right about Phoenix being run by the older generation. On the other hand, my friend there who's lived there for over 10 years says that it's mainly the retirement communities with a lot of old people-- that once you go outside of Sun City, and places that like, it's mainly younger people and families with kids. I'm starting to get more and more into golf (right now I suck, but I try to make it to the driving range whenever I can to practice), and Phoenix seems like a golf mecca, only problem is courses there are astronomically expensive. What good is having prestigious FBR open golf courses if I can't afford to play on them? Then again, golf is a pretty expensive sport in general, I realize. I'll be honest here, I think Phoenix is more of what I'm looking for, overall. I was actually pretty sure I was going to move to Phoenix, but then a week ago when I got the official job offer I was made aware that Oklahoma City was also an option so I wanted to do my research first. Even if I move to Phoenix, you guys have interested me in your city-- I want to take a trip to Oklahoma and see OKC, maybe then go down to Texas (I've never been there either) and make it a round trip loop. It could very well be that OKlahoma city is the better city, but the prospect of the palm trees in Phoenix sounds awfully appetizing. I want to thank you for all your time in posting here, and I'm sorry if I started any unintended arguments on this website.

Hey, you gotta go to where your heart draws you! I wish you the very best of luck in Phoenix if you end up there. You sound like a very nice person and you did the right thing by checking both places out as thoroughly as you have. Good luck wherever you end up!

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by Clint_Noname

I don't like either city, but I'll make a couple of comparisons. I'll leave it to you to decide which one is better...

Weather: In my opinion, OKC has some of the worst weather in the country. Summers are extremely hot and humid, rain and flooding are very common, and the area is one of the worst tornado spots in the country. Phoenix has very low rain and humidity and is almost immune from natural disasters, but is much hotter temperature-wise during the summer.

Cost of Living: OKC has a much lower cost of living and housing than Phoenix.

Growth and Sprawl: Both cities are growing very rapidly, but OKC grows at a much slower rate than Phoenix. Phoenix is having a hard time keeping up with its growth.

Traffic: OKC traffic is much better than Phoenix traffic. Like I said, Phoenix is growing more rapidly and is also having a hard time keeping up with its growth.

Water Shortages: OKC was recently rated by Sperling's BestPlaces as having the lowest drought risk among U.S. cities. Phoenix has a terrible drought problem because...you guessed it...it's having a hard time keeping up with its growth.

Crime: Phoenix has lower crime than OKC, but both cities have high crime on a national scale. However, as with any large city, there are many good parts and bad parts in both cities. People in different parts of town go to different places for eating and shopping, so the criminals in the bad parts of town have no business at all being at any restaurant or store in the good parts of town.

Public Schools: This is probably not a concern to the original poster...but I'll post it anyways. Phoenix has better public schools than OKC, with better school test scores compared to state averages.

The biggest problem with Phoenix is sustainability. That city, in the middle of the desert, and with water becoming more precious everyday will have some serious problems in the coming decade.. Cities like Las Vegas and Phoenix are growing at such a rapid pace that this has to be taken into consideration.

As for the rest of your post; you are certainly entitled to your opinion, and I DO like your eventual destination (El Paso is a GREAT city), but Oklahoma is just fine without hoards of people moving there. In fact, I LIKE it that way.

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by peggydavis

No problem, midnight rambler.
Right now I have no phone, due to the floods, and no water for some other reason! The water service is out all over our area. SOS!

We need to put this up on GIANT signboards for people coming to Oklahoma.. It will ensure there is more room for those of us who love our state, transplant or not.. Maybe a big STICKY on the homepage of City-Data?

[TU 'cane]

Not a problem at all midnight rambler, I wish you the best of luck with your job. I think the the overall geography and weather in Phoenix is for you, I hope you enjoy it.


I think the weather variety and severity of some of the seasons is what contributes to Oklahomas uniqueness (is that even a word?). Although so many look at it negatively, I look at it as a cool thing. And I don't see how Phoenix has less crime than OKC, but w/e. At least OKC doesn't have a constant abundance of illegals and annoying latino gangs (yet).

[peggydavis]

Personally, I think it would be boring to live where the weather was the same all the time. And I agree, OK really has the right population now, so I wouldn't want to see the kind of growth some other southern locations have seen.

You do have to be somewhat hardy to live here, along with having a sense of humor.