Another Californian moves to Oklahoma! (Oklahoma City, Granite: gated, move to, license plates)

[MrJester]

Just curious, what's the highest dew point you've seen in OKC?

I am longing for those warm, steamy nights on the Louisiana Gulf Coast where your glasses fog up when you step outside. 80 degree dew points.

Has that ever happened in OKC right after a summer thunderstorm?

I heard OKC is drier during the summer than Dallas and Tulsa. Is Tulsa as muggy as Dallas?

[StillwaterTownie]

Originally Posted by janellen

MrJester, I'll admit I'm not that familiar with OKC as I've only driven through it on my way toward Tulsa, but I'm curious. Where is the area in OKC that has the rolling hills? I did see some rolling land over around Pawhuska, but I didn't see much around OKC. Seems like the hills started east of Tulsa. I like Pushmataha county the most. It's quite pretty.

In the rural area of northeast Oklahoma County, like on Route 66 around Lake Arcadia. I think it first starts on the hill that National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum sits on.

Well east of OKC on I-40 more serious hills start near Henryetta.

[janellen]

Thanks guys. I'll go take a "Sunday drive" around there on Google street view.

[bawac34618]

Originally Posted by MrJester

Just curious, what's the highest dew point you've seen in OKC?

I am longing for those warm, steamy nights on the Louisiana Gulf Coast where your glasses fog up when you step outside. 80 degree dew points.

Has that ever happened in OKC right after a summer thunderstorm?

I heard OKC is drier during the summer than Dallas and Tulsa. Is Tulsa as muggy as Dallas?

OKC has very high dew points typically in May and June. Not quite 80 but upper 70s are pretty common. You can definitely feel the gulf moisture. The rest of the summer depends on how wet it is. OKC lately has had very wet summers but sometimes is bone dry. Tulsa is slightly wetter than OKC when it comes to climactic average, but the difference is not really noticeable in person in my opinion.

[eddie gein]

Originally Posted by janellen

MrJester, I'll admit I'm not that familiar with OKC as I've only driven through it on my way toward Tulsa, but I'm curious. Where is the area in OKC that has the rolling hills? I did see some rolling land over around Pawhuska, but I didn't see much around OKC. Seems like the hills started east of Tulsa. I like Pushmataha county the most. It's quite pretty.

The "rolling hills" are in the cross timbers part of OKC. Mostly eastern suburbs but the NE part of Oklahoma City is in it. Thick scrubby oak forest with rolling hills. But the hills are almost inverted. Meaning that the high spots are all about the same height and they descend into creek beds and then back up again.

[janellen]

OK I took my Sunday drive in the east/northeastern parts of OKC and found the areas you referred me to. It was pretty in a pastoral sort of way. However, I still prefer the further eastern parts of OK. Basically, from McAlester on over to Sallisaw and up highway 59 to Grove are the areas that I like. I know a guy from Stigler that I see when he comes to Bishop, CA for Mule Days. He raises donkeys. It's quite scenic where he lives.

[MrJester]

I just went to the Oklahoma History Center. Was I impressed! Much bigger than the California museum, for one. I'll have to go again--it was too big to get in one visit.

It's unfortunate that Oklahomans sometimes have an inferiority complex, about how overly conservative and provincial OKC is, or how boring OKC is in their minds. Fine, OKC is nowhere as exciting as Dallas or Atlanta. But that's an unfair comparison, when Dallas and Atlanta are four to five times the population of OKC. For a city of its size, though, OKC punches above its weight.

People here in OKC are surprised when I tell them I moved from Sacramento to OKC. "Isn't California much cooler than OKC?" What they don't get is that Sacramento really has none of the big ticket attractions California is known for. That Sacramento is much hotter than the touristy parts of California during the summer and can get very rainy and rather gloomy during the winter. They're very surprised when I tell them that Sacramento has many more rainy days during the winter than OKC. In their mind California is the land of perpetual sun. They're also surprised when I tell them that the Devon Tower is taller than any building in Sacramento by almost 400 feet. Or how OKC's museums by and far outshine museums in Sacramento. Or how Bricktown is livelier than Old Town Sacramento, how OU's campus is better kept and more impressive than UC Davis. Not to mention less traffic and cheaper gas in OKC.

[eddie gein]

Originally Posted by MrJester

I just went to the Oklahoma History Center. Was I impressed! Much bigger than the California museum, for one. I'll have to go again--it was too big to get in one visit.

It's unfortunate that Oklahomans sometimes have an inferiority complex, about how overly conservative and provincial OKC is, or how boring OKC is in their minds. Fine, OKC is nowhere as exciting as Dallas or Atlanta. But that's an unfair comparison, when Dallas and Atlanta are four to five times the population of OKC. For a city of its size, though, OKC punches above its weight.

People here in OKC are surprised when I tell them I moved from Sacramento to OKC. "Isn't California much cooler than OKC?" What they don't get is that Sacramento really has none of the big ticket attractions California is known for. That Sacramento is much hotter than the touristy parts of California during the summer and can get very rainy and rather gloomy during the winter. They're very surprised when I tell them that Sacramento has many more rainy days during the winter than OKC. In their mind California is the land of perpetual sun. They're also surprised when I tell them that the Devon Tower is taller than any building in Sacramento by almost 400 feet. Or how OKC's museums by and far outshine museums in Sacramento. Or how Bricktown is livelier than Old Town Sacramento, how OU's campus is better kept and more impressive than UC Davis. Not to mention less traffic and cheaper gas in OKC.

Because we are on the plains and not far from a much larger metro (DFW) we get beat up nationwide. Then throw in the tornadoes................

Most people have no clue about anything positive regarding OKC. They'll trash the museums because they aren't the Louvre or the Smithsonian.

[saibot]

I'm currently in Edmond, visiting from SoCal. I can't compare OKC to Sacramento, but I know the museums here are excellent and the people are very, very nice. Where OKC gets me down is the climate and the drab landscape. It's certainly true that in California it rains in the winter and in OK it rains more the rest of the year. But there is never a time in SoCal where absolutely everything is brown. If you irrigate, it's green all year round. I had never seen a brown golf course before coming here. It's weird that it's sunny and 60s but the plants are all dormant! Also, I get disoriented while driving because there are few to no natural landmarks like mountains. Of course if it's what you are used to, it's not a problem, but it would be a tough adjustment for most people from SoCal.

[Threestep2]

Originally Posted by saibot

I'm currently in Edmond, visiting from SoCal. I can't compare OKC to Sacramento, but I know the museums here are excellent and the people are very, very nice. Where OKC gets me down is the climate and the drab landscape. It's certainly true that in California it rains in the winter and in OK it rains more the rest of the year. But there is never a time in SoCal where absolutely everything is brown. If you irrigate, it's green all year round. I had never seen a brown golf course before coming here. It's weird that it's sunny and 60s but the plants are all dormant! Also, I get disoriented while driving because there are few to no natural landmarks like mountains. Of course if it's what you are used to, it's not a problem, but it would be a tough adjustment for most people from SoCal.

Of course its green when you irrigate and temperatures do not go past freezing. Glad to hear that there is no water shortage and irrigation restrictions in Cali.