OKC for a young family? (potential move) (Oklahoma City, Norman: real estate, 2015)

[Kluch]

My wife and I are considering a move out of state (from IL) and Oklahoma City has come up on our radar multiple times now due to Oklahoma's homeschooling policies (we have 2 young boys). Based on what I've read OKC has been growing substantially for a while now and has made good use of the downtown space (renovating, etc).
I'm in the IT field and would be interested in hearing from some locals about the city itself, its health, job growth (specifically in the tech sector), amenities in and around the suburbs and the overall feel of OKC currently.
Fwiw, my wife and I both grew up in the midwest (she's from Chicago, I grew up in Columbus, OH), we lived in Nashville for a number of years and then ended up moving back to the Chicago area to which we've decided long term it's not going to be the best fit. Any input is appreciated!

[Threestep2]

You are all over the map with your nirvana search:>)


IT is a wide field. What do you specialize in, how much experience do you have?


Why are you homeschooling?



As transplant of 4+ years I will gladly give you my personal five cents. It is not as cheap as it used to be. Yes, you get a starter home for 175 if that is what you want. Car tags ARE cheap, insurance is not. Utilities are low so are real estate taxes. Medical services are great depending on your insurance. You will need two cars. Groceries are expensive if you want anything beyond Aldi level. Booze got a lot cheaper last year. On my side of town CBT stores outnumber beauty shops:>) Vet bills are sky high. Population is very diverse and generally accepting outsiders/newcomers. There is always something going on and people drag their little folks with them everywhere. It does not get a humid as in Atlasnta.

[Kluch]

Originally Posted by Threestep2

You are all over the map with your nirvana search:>)


IT is a wide field. What do you specialize in, how much experience do you have?


Why are you homeschooling?



As transplant of 4+ years I will gladly give you my personal five cents. It is not as cheap as it used to be. Yes, you get a starter home for 175 if that is what you want. Car tags ARE cheap, insurance is not. Utilities are low so are real estate taxes. Medical services are great depending on your insurance. You will need two cars. Groceries are expensive if you want anything beyond Aldi level. Booze got a lot cheaper last year. On my side of town CBT stores outnumber beauty shops:>) Vet bills are sky high. Population is very diverse and generally accepting outsiders/newcomers. There is always something going on and people drag their little folks with them everywhere. It does not get a humid as in Atlasnta.

You're spot on, I'm all over the map! Makes it more interesting though, right?

As far as IT goes I'm in big data, reporting, analytics and BI development. Basically all things SQL and applications that integrate with sql programming. Been in a variety of roles for the past 8 plus years, so I have a decent amount of experience.

My wife really wants to home school and (if at all possible) find a good co-op that would allow my kids to have good social interaction with other kids for extra curricular stuff (sports, art, etc) while still having a curriculum that's faith based. Our boys are young, 2 and 4yrs old.


Thanks for the info above. We don't have any pets so that's not an issue. Lower humidity is always welcome! Cheaper anything is also very welcome considering most things here, ESPECIALLY the real estate taxes (near chicago) are sky high.

[Threestep2]

Originally Posted by Kluch

You're spot on, I'm all over the map! Makes it more interesting though, right?

As far as IT goes I'm in big data, reporting, analytics and BI development. Basically all things SQL and applications that integrate with sql programming. Been in a variety of roles for the past 8 plus years, so I have a decent amount of experience.

My wife really wants to home school and (if at all possible) find a good co-op that would allow my kids to have good social interaction with other kids for extra curricular stuff (sports, art, etc) while still having a curriculum that's faith based. Our boys are young, 2 and 4yrs old.


Thanks for the info above. We don't have any pets so that's not an issue. Lower humidity is always welcome! Cheaper anything is also very welcome considering most things here, ESPECIALLY the real estate taxes (near chicago) are sky high.

RE taxes for similar square footage are twice what they were in Birmingham, AL. Talk to your care/home insurance company.


Start going through your network as in LinkedIn, ... . Dell in OKC is always hiring. In-house recruiters are on LinkedIn based in Houston, TX.



Little people I can only give you third party info.

[chicagodude.1984]

Originally Posted by Kluch

My wife and I are considering a move out of state (from IL) and Oklahoma City has come up on our radar multiple times now due to Oklahoma's homeschooling policies (we have 2 young boys). Based on what I've read OKC has been growing substantially for a while now and has made good use of the downtown space (renovating, etc).
I'm in the IT field and would be interested in hearing from some locals about the city itself, its health, job growth (specifically in the tech sector), amenities in and around the suburbs and the overall feel of OKC currently.
Fwiw, my wife and I both grew up in the midwest (she's from Chicago, I grew up in Columbus, OH), we lived in Nashville for a number of years and then ended up moving back to the Chicago area to which we've decided long term it's not going to be the best fit. Any input is appreciated!

I lived in OKC for several years and DO NOT recommend it !!


It was so bad, I moved BACK to Chicago !! ESPECIALLY if you have kids !! I was going to mention Oklahoma is BOTTOM rank in Education, But since your homeschooling might not be a issue ?? Also Oklahoma is still a VERY racist area !!! Lived all over the US in my lifetime and Oklahoma was the ONLY state I had racial discrimination issues


Oklahoma has a VERY high drug abuse addiction epidemic( Look up KOCO TV "State of Addiction") and I would NEVER raise kids in that metro EVER !! Even if you offered me $1 million !!
Roads are crap and people in Oklahoma are VERY RUDE, Especially if your a "Outsider"


Think of OKC as a another Milwaukee, Joliet, Aurora. OKC metro has high # of drugs abuse, poverty and crime for per capita.


I have seen more crazy ***** in OKC than when I lived in Los Angleles, San Francisco, Chicago COMBINED
FACT !!

[StillwaterTownie]

Then why the hell has Chicago been losing people since at least 2015, while Oklahoma City has been gaining more people every year for a long time?

In Chicago the percentage of residents living in poverty in 2017 was 18.6%. In Oklahoma City: 15.8%.

And the citi-data crime index rate between Chicago and Oklahoma City is close to identical.

[chicagodude.1984]

Originally Posted by StillwaterTownie

Then why the hell has Chicago been losing people since at least 2015, while Oklahoma City has been gaining more people every year for a long time?

In Chicago the percentage of residents living in poverty in 2017 was 18.6%. In Oklahoma City: 15.8%.

And the citi-data crime index rate between Chicago and Oklahoma City is close to identical.

Oh man Chicago metro has same population rate as OKC ???

crime rate PER CAPITA PER CAPITA PER CAPITA !!!

[eddie gein]

Originally Posted by chicagodude.1984

I lived in OKC for several years and DO NOT recommend it !!


It was so bad, I moved BACK to Chicago !! ESPECIALLY if you have kids !! I was going to mention Oklahoma is BOTTOM rank in Education, But since your homeschooling might not be a issue ?? Also Oklahoma is still a VERY racist area !!! Lived all over the US in my lifetime and Oklahoma was the ONLY state I had racial discrimination issues


Oklahoma has a VERY high drug abuse addiction epidemic( Look up KOCO TV "State of Addiction") and I would NEVER raise kids in that metro EVER !! Even if you offered me $1 million !!
Roads are crap and people in Oklahoma are VERY RUDE, Especially if your a "Outsider"


Think of OKC as a another Milwaukee, Joliet, Aurora. OKC metro has high # of drugs abuse, poverty and crime for per capita.


I have seen more crazy ***** in OKC than when I lived in Los Angleles, San Francisco, Chicago COMBINED
FACT !!

The one thing about OKC is we run off a lot of people we don't like.

Kluch and his family seem like good people. We would keep them around.

[Kluch]

Originally Posted by eddie gein

The one thing about OKC is we run off a lot of people we don't like.

Kluch and his family seem like good people. We would keep them around.

LOL

[chicagodude.1984]

Originally Posted by eddie gein

The one thing about OKC is we run off a lot of people we don't like.

Kluch and his family seem like good people. We would keep them around.

Run off ?? I burned rubber in that Uhaul !!! OKC is a "3rd world" US city and I was SOOOOO happy to move out:


I was ready to kiss the ground when I arrived back in Chicago


I wish Kluch family the best and if OKC works out for them then AWESOME. But for MANY MANY people I have met in OKC/Edmond/Norman they regret moving from where they came from or they were from OK and wanted to get the @$%! out of the state !!