Best area of OKC (Edmond, Shawnee: fit in, leasing, motels)

[happytown]

Originally Posted by stiffnecked

Ok, I give. Since it rained and Lake Hefner has water in it, it no longers looks like a farmers muddy pond. The summer of 2006 most of those boats and boat houses were many, many feet from the water. My pet pevee is the fake lighthouse on the east side.

Ya- It functions. It produces a light for boats to see at night so it functions and helps people know where they are on the lake (so it has a purpose). You cant focus a beam of light on an actual boat like they would do out at sea for a boat in rough waters. You can actually enter and go up into the structure so its not that fake. I imagine if they really wanted to they could install an actual rotating beam and make it 100% real but the light would shock people driving on hefner pkwy or trying to have dinner at the restaurants. The lighthouse is really for aesthetics....Its kinda an issue of would you like to have it on lake Hefner or not. My choice would be to have it especially if it helps people at night....Not many lighthouses in Oklahoma. This info is kinda interesting...
US Coast Guard Auxiliary 8WR District, Division 16, Flotilla 16-6
Interesting story about a guy lost out at lake hefner in the fog...He relied on the lighthouse to get him home.
Lighthouses@Lighthouse Digest ... Sooner State Shines
pic-
http://www.jmbzine.com/graphics/051006-biking/4.jpg


My opinion about Lake Hefner is that it needs another 5-10 years of development. I like the fact that people cant swim in it! Keeping it clean of human waste (smells better than a lot of lakes I have been to including some of the best natural lakes that can become tainted from unkown waste). I also love the many sports that are constantly in motion on the lake. It offers twice the amount of docks and slips for sailboats than many large lakes in Oklahoma....So something good has to be going on there. Many beautiful sailboats/sail surfing/kite surfing are consistently on the lake offering lots of eye candy for many people while jogging, bicycling, rollerblading. During the summer months people lay around on the grass at Red Rock sipping on wine at night enjoying the boats that pass by (chicken pablano!). It really is a great 'urbanized lake'. OKC wins taste test...weird...
Clean, neutral Oklahoma City water wins taste test | U.S. | Reuters
I think it all depends on how you look at it. Everyone has different opinions and i just thought I would give my 2 cents.

[happytown]

Originally Posted by colleeng47

My family will be relocating from New Jersey to the Oklahoma City area at the end of January. Houses aren't selling too well here, so we may have to rent for a while before our house here sells and we can buy something in OK. Question: I have a 10th grade daughter who I would like to put into a school that she can stay in until she graduates. Therefore, we have to rent where we would eventually buy. From what I'm reading here, Edmond sounds like the place to be. How are rentals in Edmond? Are there a lot? Also I'm not too interested in being near a whole lot of college tenants, which a lot of the apartment complexes seem to cater to. Both my husband and I will be looking for jobs (I'm in taxation customer service and he's a system administrator for a pool company). Are there jobs in Edmond, or will we have to commute to OKC? I also have an 18 year old son who I hope to enroll in the community college. Any advise/suggestions/help anyone can give us would be very, very appreciated. This is a major move for us, but with prices (and taxes) the way they are here in New Jersey, we don't think our kids have much of a chance for a quality life. Thanks to anyone who responds.

- House market is good right now in OKC. Buyers market.
- 10th grade transfer...I would try to put her in a private school if the credits transfer. Only 2 years left and easy recognition for graduating from a private college prep school (could mean a scholarship for a university). Edmond has great public schools. I dont know if a rental property in Edmond gets you into its schools?
-UCO is a great 4 year school in Edmond...It has become a really nice university.
-most likely you will have to commute.

I would look around NW OKC as another possibility.

[colleeng47]

Thanks Happytown for the input. I've been looking online at the houses in OKC itself and they have much more style and charm than the cookie cutter houses in the developed suburbs, but I'm always reluctant about the schools in major cities. I didn't really think of a private school for my 10th grader. Can anyone give me info on private schools in the OKC area? Type of schools, tuition, etc.? Putting her in private school would certainly open up a lot more areas for us to look it for a home. Thanks again.

[case44]

I'd still say the Lake Hefner area and the Kilpatrick/Memorial/Quail Springs corridor. It's up and coming. Honorable mention goes to Yukon. It would not surprise me if the I-40 West corridor starts booming from MacArthur to just west of the Kilpatrick Turnpike.

[peggydavis]

Hi Colleeng47

I would look into renting a house in Edmond instead of an apartment. I would call a real estate company who could probably help you find a house.

There are jobs in Edmond. Are you looking to work for an accounting office? I used to work in tax accounting (Thank God I'm Free) and while there are a few firms in Edmond, most are in NW OKC or downtown. It is not a bad commute though.

The school in Edmond is not a community college, it is a university. Were you thinking of a different school? I am an alumni of UCO in Edmond, and it is a great school. It is just not a great football school. Most of the students there do not live on or near campus, they commute from OKC and elsewhere.

Hope this helps!

[Nameless]

Originally Posted by case44

I'd still say the Lake Hefner area and the Kilpatrick/Memorial/Quail Springs corridor. It's up and coming. Honorable mention goes to Yukon. It would not surprise me if the I-40 West corridor starts booming from MacArthur to just west of the Kilpatrick Turnpike.

Yukon is a nice area. However, they try to remain highly independent of the rest of the metro and pride themselves on being a small town in the middle of nowhere (which they aren't.) With that comes a general lack of vision for the future which I wouldn't like at all. Again, not saying it's a bad place...but I wouldn't recommend it to out-of-stater's. Edmond seems to be where most displaced people end up. Yukon has more natives.

[colleeng47]

Originally Posted by peggydavis

Hi Colleeng47

I would look into renting a house in Edmond instead of an apartment. I would call a real estate company who could probably help you find a house.

There are jobs in Edmond. Are you looking to work for an accounting office? I used to work in tax accounting (Thank God I'm Free) and while there are a few firms in Edmond, most are in NW OKC or downtown. It is not a bad commute though.

The school in Edmond is not a community college, it is a university. Were you thinking of a different school? I am an alumni of UCO in Edmond, and it is a great school. It is just not a great football school. Most of the students there do not live on or near campus, they commute from OKC and elsewhere.

Hope this helps!

No, not tax accounting (thank goodness), I work in the NJ State Division of Taxation's e-mail unit. Boring. I was in sales and education before this. I don't know what I will be looking for, but DH has put us both in touch with some headhunters in OKC. My 18 year old will actually be enrolling in either Edmond or Norman Technology school for carpentry. After that he wants to go to OKC community college for some film classes. I'm hoping my 16 year old daughter will attend OCU.

We will probably look to lease a house, unless we're lucky enough to sell ours here in New Jersey before we move in January (doubt it). Thanks for the advice/help/information.

[peggydavis]

I have heard it is possible to live in Edmond and never know you are in Oklahoma.

[Jess5]

Originally Posted by Griffis

Unh...must...try to...hold...tongue....

Don't hold back. They want advice. lols Mustang is terrible, completely drug ridden. I don't think Yukon is as bad. I live in Yukon, but Mustang schools. Hate them. They were good at one time. Now they are so crowded, and people continue to move here. If Mustang would only build a new High School. They have 5 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, 1 high school. If your child can't keep up, or has other issues, good luck. The teachers cannot handle that. I know a lot of teachers that just hate teaching here now, and are looking elsewhere for jobs. We can't wait to move, but we don't know where to.

[peggydavis]

Originally Posted by colleeng47

Thanks Happytown for the input. I've been looking online at the houses in OKC itself and they have much more style and charm than the cookie cutter houses in the developed suburbs, but I'm always reluctant about the schools in major cities. I didn't really think of a private school for my 10th grader. Can anyone give me info on private schools in the OKC area? Type of schools, tuition, etc.? Putting her in private school would certainly open up a lot more areas for us to look it for a home. Thanks again.

Bishop McGuiness, Heritage Hall, and Casady are the 3 private high schools I hear about. I'm not sure of the tuition. They must have websites online. It does open up new housing possibilities and if you work in the city you would shorten your commute and save money long into the future. It would not be worth it to me to live in the cookie cutter house areas just for 3 years of high school. Plus, the private schools are smaller and more personal for your daughter.