Liberal Atheist in Oklahoma City (Kansas, Okay: live in, centers, budget)

[Lillywhite]

Originally Posted by redbird4848

As far as being a small town dressed up as a city, I have to disagree. Oklahoma's small towns are nothing like OKC, and thank God for that. Although even Gary England refers to OKC as "the Big Town".

I'm sorry, but OKC is not a big city. I had some time off so this afternoon I took a walk around downtown, drank a coffee in an unnamed coffee shop, then went to Bricktown. The words that came to mind are 'bleak' and 'desolate'. It is absolutely lifeless.

Compared to big cities on the west coast, north east, and the rest of the world OKC is seriously lacking.

[karibear]

Originally Posted by Lillywhite

I'm sorry, but OKC is not a big city. I had some time off so this afternoon I took a walk around downtown, drank a coffee in an unnamed coffee shop, then went to Bricktown. The words that came to mind are 'bleak' and 'desolate'. It is absolutely lifeless.

Compared to big cities on the west coast, north east, and the rest of the world OKC is seriously lacking.

What do you consider a 'big' city? You certainly won't find a London or Paris in the US, not even on the east or west coasts. I've lived in big cities - grew up in one, in fact - and small towns, and I much prefer the small towns. As for the big cities on the coasts, you couldn't pay me enough to live in one. Forty years ago, I thought if I ever had to live in a city again, Seattle would be my first choice, but the Seattle I knew in the late '60s no longer exists anywhere outside memories. And while it's true that big cities do have some great things to offer, standing in line for hours waiting for a turn to see a botanical garden or get into an art museum is definitely not my idea of a good time, no matter how spectacular the garden is or the art on display.

[xavierob82]

Wow, from the way the OP described it, Oklahoma sounds like a real craphole.

[Lillywhite]

Originally Posted by karibear

What do you consider a 'big' city? You certainly won't find a London or Paris in the US, not even on the east or west coasts. I've lived in big cities - grew up in one, in fact - and small towns, and I much prefer the small towns. As for the big cities on the coasts, you couldn't pay me enough to live in one. Forty years ago, I thought if I ever had to live in a city again, Seattle would be my first choice, but the Seattle I knew in the late '60s no longer exists anywhere outside memories. And while it's true that big cities do have some great things to offer, standing in line for hours waiting for a turn to see a botanical garden or get into an art museum is definitely not my idea of a good time, no matter how spectacular the garden is or the art on display.

Ok, those are all bad aspects of big cities, and I wouldn't disagree with them. The point, however, is whether OKC can be considered, culturally, to be a big city. It is big geographically but culture wise it is a small town. I wouldn't say it is a 'craphole' but I think it is misleading to call it a big city.

[karibear]

Originally Posted by Lillywhite

Ok, those are all bad aspects of big cities, and I wouldn't disagree with them. The point, however, is whether OKC can be considered, culturally, to be a big city. It is big geographically but culture wise it is a small town. I wouldn't say it is a 'craphole' but I think it is misleading to call it a big city.

Hmm. Be glad you are in OKC, you might have ended up in Anchorage. While it's the biggest city in Alaska, the population is around 400K, and though there is a lot of cultural and ethnic diversity, there is slso a resident herd of moose inside the city as well.

[yes, RB, AK again!][but I have cut back a lot.]

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by xavierob82

Wow, from the way the OP described it, Oklahoma sounds like a real craphole.

Not really. We Okies like to promote it that way to keep others out.

[mjm572]

I don't know how popular it is in OKC, but I've found meetup.com to be a great way to find people to hangout with on the weekends. It's free (mostly) and it's an easy way to find people who have similar interests as you.

[Goodpasture]

Originally Posted by xavierob82

Wow, from the way the OP described it, Oklahoma sounds like a real craphole.

It is........we like it like that and we want to keep it that way.......vacation somewhere else.......move anywhere else......If you are driving from DC to San Diego, go by way of Omaha or Houston.........if you HAVE to cross Oklahoma, spend the night in Joplin and drive straight through to Amarillo.

[_redbird_]

Originally Posted by Lillywhite

I'm sorry, but OKC is not a big city. I had some time off so this afternoon I took a walk around downtown, drank a coffee in an unnamed coffee shop, then went to Bricktown. The words that came to mind are 'bleak' and 'desolate'. It is absolutely lifeless.

Compared to big cities on the west coast, north east, and the rest of the world OKC is seriously lacking.

I never said OKC was a big city. Read my post, I said OKC is not a small town dressed up as a big city. The small towns in Oklahoma are nothing like OKC or vice versa. And we like them to stay that way.

And since I am not one of the oh boy! let's visit a coffee-shop and stroll bricktown type person, I cannot comment on the bleakness of that activity, but it sure sounded funny the way you described it.

I guess it depends on where you go and what time you go as to how busy OKC gets. Every population has it's preferences as to where they go and what they do in OKC.

[_redbird_]

Originally Posted by xavierob82

Wow, from the way the OP described it, Oklahoma sounds like a real craphole.

Uh, no. That's only on the good days. Keep 'em coming, we ain't skeert of outsiders trying to p-p-put us down. Talking 'bout my r-r-reservation!