Relocating to Tinker AFB (Oklahoma City, Norman: middle-class, amusement parks, home)

[itsapinkthing4me]

Hello all!

My family will be relocating to OKC early next year and I need a question answered. First, let me start by saying how excited I am to be moving to this city! We have been near Hurlburt Field, FL for almost 3 years and have been wanting to get stationed somewhere with a city atmosphere - the beaches are great here but there isn't anything else to do, the job market sucks, and the housing market is undesirable.

We are definitely going to purchase a home but are looking for an area that isn't too far from the base (less than 30 mins.), good school district, and has decent malls/retail areas and activities. Does this exist, ?

Thanks for your help!

[okcpulse]

Originally Posted by itsapinkthing4me

Hello all!

My family will be relocating to OKC early next year and I need a question answered. First, let me start by saying how excited I am to be moving to this city! We have been near Hurlburt Field, FL for almost 3 years and have been wanting to get stationed somewhere with a city atmosphere - the beaches are great here but there isn't anything else to do, the job market sucks, and the housing market is undesirable.

We are definitely going to purchase a home but are looking for an area that isn't too far from the base (less than 30 mins.), good school district, and has decent malls/retail areas and activities. Does this exist, ?

Thanks for your help!

For a combination of decent shopping, good schools and nice neighborhoods within 30 minutes of the base, I would recommend Edmond, Moore or northwest OKC. Edmond is a suburb of 80,000 located just northeast of OKC that is 25 minutes from the base via I-35. Although the suburb is on the end of upperscale, there are a plethora of housing options in Edmond. The average household income is roughly $65,000 and more than half of the population has a bachelor's degree or greater, just to give you an idea of the type of populace in Edmond.

Edmond is just 10 minutes east of Oklahoma City's busiest shopping corridor located at Pennsylvania Avenue and Memorial Road, which includes Quail Springs Mall, Quail Springs Market Place, Memorial Square, SuperTarget, Wal-Mart Supercenter, Sam's Club, Best Buy, Toys R Us and Barnes & Noble.

Northwest OKC is rather large. If you choose the portion of Northwest OKC that is a part of the Edmond School District, you're closer to the shopping, but the housing options are pricier, just a heads up. The other portion of Northwest OKC surrounds Lake Hefner, which is in the Putnam City School District. Northwest OKC is a combination of middle class and upper class. From northwest OKC you can enjoy shopping along Northwest Expressway, Memorial Road and Penn Square Mall. Northwest OKC puts you closer to 30 minutes away.

Moore is more of a middle-class suburb, and is the closest to the base, but you'll have to travel further for shopping. Retail has expanded greatly along I-35 in Moore, but the options are somewhat limited compared to what Northwest OKC has to offer. The Westmoore school district is a decent school district as well.

As far as activities, here is what OKC has to offer, but it all hinges on what you enjoy:

Lake Hefner: Trails for rollerblading, running or biking, wind-surfing or kite-surfing, fishing, golf, sailing

Will Rogers Park: Tennis, arboretum

Lake Stanley Draper: Fishing, sailing, trails for hiking

Oklahoma River: Trails for running, biking, state's largest skate park

Sports: there are rec leagues for soccer, baseball and softball

Spectator sports: Oklahoma City NBA Thunder, Oklahoma City Yard Dawgs af2 arena football, Oklahoma City RedHawks Triple A baseball, OU sports in Norman (if college athletics is your thing) and soon an American Hockey League hockey team if all goes well this year.

Day trips: Arbuckle Mts., 90 minutes south of OKC, Wichita Mts Wildlife Refuge, 90 minutes southwest of OKC, the large lakes of eastern Oklahoma and southern Oklahoma, Little Sahara State park 2 hours northwest of OKC (if you're into dune buggies)

Amusement parks: Frontier City (4 roller coasters, about a dozen other rides); White Water Bay water park

Best festivals: Festival of the Arts in April (OKC), Bricktown 4th of July Festival (OKC), Downtown in December (OKC), deadCenter Film Festival in June (OKC), Bricktown Blues & Barbeque Festival in June (OKC), Renaissance Fair in April (Norman), St. Patrick's Day Festival in March (OKC), LibertyFest in July (Edmond), Oktoberfest at Frontier City, Ghouls Gone Wild in October (OKC), Deep Deuce Jazz Festival in June (OKC), Red Earth Festival in June (OKC) and the Oklahoma State Fair in September (OKC). There's more, but my lunch break is up. Hope this helps!

BTW, what type of retail do you like best?

[BlackMM]

OKC is great, but with good, comes not so good. Try to avoid NE and S OKC as there is where most of your gang problems are. Del City it tantalizingly close to the base, but its rather run down and MWC has its areas too.

[itsapinkthing4me]

OKCPulse: Thank you so much for the information...I'm even more excited to relocate! As far as retail goes, I prefer malls and boutiques (both are lacking at my current base) and it seems there are many options in OKC. How is the job market?

BlackMM: I will make sure to avoid those areas. Someone had mentioned about the gang and drug problems; is this a really big issue in OKC?

[okcpulse]

Originally Posted by itsapinkthing4me

OKCPulse: Thank you so much for the information...I'm even more excited to relocate! As far as retail goes, I prefer malls and boutiques (both are lacking at my current base) and it seems there are many options in OKC. How is the job market?

Unemployment is at 6.1% at this point, and is the second lowest in the nation behind Washington, D.C. and there are expansions in some areas and contractions in others, mostly manufacturing.

Quail Springs Mall has 140 stores plus Macy's, Dillards, JC Penny and Sears as anchor tennants.

Pen Square Mall is more upscale with 130 stores plus Macy's, JC Penny and a flagship Dillard's as anchor tennants. For boutiques, I believe Northpark Mall on May and 122nd might suit you. It is a single story low traffic mall that is on a much smaller scale than Penn Square and Quail Springs.

Don't bother with Crossroads Mall. It is in a bad area of town (south side) and much of its anchors have scattered to Moore or Norman.

Penn Square is my mall of choice. I also like to hit Bed Bath & Beyond on May & 63rd and Best Buy on May & 59th.

My favorite wine store is Cellar Wine & Spirits Super Store on May & Britton.

[Harley1953]

While I agree with most of what is posted here, I would offer a couple of additions. Don't rule out the areas to the East of Tinker AFB. i.e. newer areas of Midwest City, Choctaw, Nicoma Park or Harrah. Even as far out as Shawnee. I work at Tinker and a number of folks make the drive from Shawnee into Tinker everyday. I would agree that if the shopping is important then the Penn Square/Quail Creek observations are pretty well on..

Just my opinion but I personally would not want to make the drive from NW OKC or Edmond to Tinker but many do and like living in those areas. Nothing at all wrong with those areas. I grew up around this area, moved away when in the military and came back to live.... Have seen lots of changes....

A lot depends on what you want.......

[shellyblack]

Hello,
My family has been stationed @ Tinker for almost 6 years now. We lived on base up until last May when we finally purchased our first home here. We live in Moore, Oklahoma and love it! It is only a 10 mile commute to Tinker too. I have four boys, one with special needs, so education is very important to us. Moore has excellent schools that just keep getting better by the minute! It appears that more and more people are moving to Moore. Very popular area for military families or civilians that need to commute back and forth to Tinker. Hope this was helpful to you. Good luck!

[BlackMM]

Originally Posted by itsapinkthing4me

OKCPulse: Thank you so much for the information...I'm even more excited to relocate! As far as retail goes, I prefer malls and boutiques (both are lacking at my current base) and it seems there are many options in OKC. How is the job market?

BlackMM: I will make sure to avoid those areas. Someone had mentioned about the gang and drug problems; is this a really big issue in OKC?

[osugirl2]

I just left Tinker to go work at Hill AFB in Utah. Until now I have been a lifelong Oklahoman. I am a little biased towards Edmond myself. I prefer the shopping and neighborhoods, though it is a bit more pricey than the rest of the metro. I grew up in Eastern Oklahoma County and went to Harrah which has an awesome school system. Choctaw is growing and has a great school system as well. When I left I was living in Jones, and loved the rural small town atmosphere and it wasn't too far away from Edmond, OKC, or the base. A lot of people in my office live in the Moore and S. OKC areas, and really enjoy the area. Personally I am more of a N. side girl myself. If you're looking for boutiques and such, definitely put Edmond and parts of N. OKC at the top of your list.

[CyberCop]

Originally Posted by okcpulse

Edmond is just 10 minutes east of Oklahoma City's busiest shopping corridor located at Pennsylvania Avenue and Memorial Road, which includes Quail Springs Mall, Quail Springs Market Place, Memorial Square, SuperTarget, Wal-Mart Supercenter, Sam's Club, Best Buy, Toys R Us and Barnes & Noble.

Northwest OKC is rather large. If you choose the portion of Northwest OKC that is a part of the Edmond School District, you're closer to the shopping, but the housing options are pricier, just a heads up. The other portion of Northwest OKC surrounds Lake Hefner, which is in the Putnam City School District. Northwest OKC is a combination of middle class and upper class. From northwest OKC you can enjoy shopping along Northwest Expressway, Memorial Road and Penn Square Mall. Northwest OKC puts you closer to 30 minutes away.

Moore is more of a middle-class suburb, and is the closest to the base, but you'll have to travel further for shopping. Retail has expanded greatly along I-35 in Moore, but the options are somewhat limited compared to what Northwest OKC has to offer. The Westmoore school district is a decent school district as well.

As far as activities, here is what OKC has to offer, but it all hinges on what you enjoy:

Lake Hefner: Trails for rollerblading, running or biking, wind-surfing or kite-surfing, fishing, golf, sailing

Will Rogers Park: Tennis, arboretum

Lake Stanley Draper: Fishing, sailing, trails for hiking

Oklahoma River: Trails for running, biking, state's largest skate park

Don't forget Lake Arcadia! Just 10 miles north of Tinker on the far east side of Edmond, LOTS of campgrounds and beaches.