Grove, OK (Tahlequah, Long, May: trip , jobs, hospital)

[Kurt]

Hey, Jamie : I have been through several hurricanes--one really bad that took my roof off--and fought the long gas lines, too. Yuk! It is getting very crowed and congested throughout Florida. And I am afraid the state is in for a major fiscal crisis. Home insurance is sky-high down here. I know some who are moving--mostly to North Carolina--cause they can't afford it. Real Estate is a bit slow here. But people continue to move in. I will keep in touch. Grove is on my agenda for part of July and August. I am going to do Louisiana in June. Will teach a bit of Summer School in between. So you must wait unti you ar 62. Will you draw early S. S.? Don't wait too long to make your move. There will be work in Grove as that place grows. But prices will be going up. Family in Florida? Well, OK is closer than SD to them. Sort of a compromise. Besides, if you get established in OK your family may follow you there in a few years. Florida is just in for more congestion and money problems. All that said, there are some nice people in Pensacola.

[Jammie]

Which OK town would be the best choice~Grove, Ardmore, or Tahlequah?

[jessaka]

Jamie, Cherokee County has the fewest tornadoes. In the last 60 years we have only had 5. Ardmore is flat, more tornadoes. I am not sure about Grove.

Kurt, I lived in Pensacola too. Didn't last long. We almost bought a home there, but I am glad that we didn't. A hurricane was coming, so we drove inland and watched it on TV, when it looked like the eye was in New Orleans we headed home, not realizing that the tail end was just as dangerous, if not more so from tornado spinoffs. Well, it was exciting driving through it, but the wreckage was bad, and then after that I had a big fear of hurricanes. We left soon after.

[Jammie]

Kurt, hope you got my PM. You know, we were quite sure that we were going to move to Fla. because we have family there and it's so nice there. But all those issues keep coming up and we're wondering if we'd have a quality life there since we're not wealthy. Something that really bothers me is all the people who used to live there and have moved away. I know you still live there, but you're one among so many who were ready to leave.

Jessaka, my guess is that Grove would have nearly the same weather as where you live. You're just an hour southwest of Grove. I don't like tornadoes, of course, but I'm familiar with them because we have them in our area, too. I do think that you and Kansas NORMALLY have more powerful ones though because it's warmer and more humid down there, too. So are you happy with your decision? You've had a chance to live there for several months now and I'm wondering if you feel you made the right move.

[Kurt]

Jamie/Jessaka: Howdy to both of you. Tallequah is featured in a lot of retirement forums. It is larger than Grove and has a college--something alot of people like for the culture. It is really not too far south of Grove. It is one of the centers of the Cherokee Nation. It is not on a lake, but lakes are nearby. Ten Killer is very clear and deep. The shoreline appears to be devoted to public parkland and not developable for a homesite.

Ardmore is not in the "Green Country" and would be subject to some drought and tornadoes. Perhaps you were thinking of the Arbuckles in the area. Lake Texoma is very big but it appears to be mostly devoted to park land for public access. I also think it has a bit of a saline content.

Yes, Jessaka, tell us more about how you like it where you are. Glad you missed the hurricane. The worst part of hurricanes is the aftermath. And I sort of went into a panic after Rita--it did not come close to us--but we ran out of gas and I had to get up at 2AM to search for the stuff, praying I did not run out as I was searching. The gas lines are awful before and after a hurricane. People hoard it and get extra for their gas-powered electric generators. I have witnessed some nasty confrontations at the gas stations when people panic. I don't want to go through that again.

I also want to mention that I took a trip just south of Grand Lake to Eucha and Lake Spavinaw. Spavinaw is a smaller lake nestled in some hills. It is deep and clear and the water source for Tulsa. Development is restricted, but I did see some homes pretty close to the lake. It is generally cheaper to live here. I talked to a park ranger and I think he told me no power recreation boats are allowed on the lake--only fishing boats.

[Jammie]

Kurt, is there a beach area on Grand Lake? I seemed to think there was one. We actually didn't get to spend enough time in that area. We ended up spending too much time in Tulsa and then traveled to the southeastern part of the state (Poteau area) so by the time we got to Grove, we only got to spend a bit of time there. We were lucky we saved that area for last cause we probably wouldn't have gotten any further then that after we were there. Miami looks like it's a cute little town, too.

[Kurt]

The only public beach I know of is down by the dam near Disney. In front of my place there are lots of small limestone pebbles that the locals call "gravel" but it is not really sand. Grand Lake flooded out a limestone cliffed--probably some other rocks in there as well--river valley and that is why it is so clear when there are not big rains in Kansas that bring down some sediment on the Neosho River. Elk River feeds in from the Ozarks and is spring-fed.

But there is no real sand or gravel like you might see in Minnesota or Northern Iowa--i. e. Spirit Lake. Not sure what things are like in SE South Dakota. But you know the glaciers deposited the gravel and boulders and the lakes occupy the pits in these moraines in the Northern Plains.

People swim off of platforms in the lake. Oh, I forgot, there is a beach area at Bernice at midlake where people can wade in shallower water. Seems to me that is pretty pebbly and I would recommend some sort of boat shoes for the tender feeties. But I don't think there is any sugary sand to wiggle your toes in anywhere on the lake. I think they imported some sand at the Disney beach. But smooth pebbles are pretty much as beachy as you get.

I have a small terrace above my seawall and am contemplating bringing in some gravel just to have the experience of digging in my toes. But to swim I would have to go out to the swim platform in the lake. The pebbles on the beach hurt my feets.

Lack of big stretches of sand does cut down on the public access element. I mean no one walks in front of my place or picnics on the rocks in front of my place.

I admit, when I first noted that there was no real sandy beach like in Minnesota I was a bit disappointed. But the waves make a real neat lapping sound on the pebbles that is more amplified than if it was sand. I like to hear the lapping waves!

[jessaka]

Jammie and Kurt,

I love it here. I have always been a country girl at heart, but having lived in cities, I do miss the shopping (not malls) and nice restaurants. I will probably forever complain of that. But I found two good restaurants in Tahlequah--Kelly's Tea Room and Chili's. Have yet to visit many others. The others that I have been to were not what they were said to be. I gladly gave up restaurants for way less traffic.

When you travel around you can find some interesting stores, but most of what I found are great antique stores. I have yet to find a good nursery or stores with interesting items.

I was traveling up to Locust Grove the other day, 25 miles north, and when I stopped in their small 1 to 3 block town, I went to go into a grocery store, but it was shut down. I asked an older lady if they had another grocery store, and she told me it was up the block and asked if I needed a lift. I thought that shocking but wonderful, and maybe too trusting for her. She looked very okay to me, so I would not have been concerned. I went to the store and one lady was standing outside by her boat and smiled and said hello in a manner as if she knew me. Another woman came out of the store and smiled and said hello too. I thought, "This would be a nice town to live in, but I like Tahlequah so much better even without the hellos, but people here are friendly too. I noticed that they often say hello coming in and out of the library, etc.

I love the nature. When we drive out of town, which takes all of 3 minutes to do, it is all beautiful, green, and country with very little traffic. We took a trip to Tonitown, Arkansas the other day, and 5 minutes from our house is highway 10 which runs along the Illinois River, so for 30 minutes we enjoyed the scenery, and then came to 412, and it was all country with cows, goats, and horses.

Other than that, I love the people here. Everyone is so friendly and helpful. I walk into a store, and while they always want to help me, some will go get an item for you. If you stand in line, don't expect to get done soon, because sometimes the person in front of you will talk to the clerk about their family and other going ons, but no one cares, no one seems impatient.

They also have plays here, and the one I went to was in the afternoon and only 5 minutes from my home. I never sent to plays in the city because they were far away, and I hated the traffic.

What would l like to see in Tahlequah, some Thai, Vietnamese, and Greek restaurants, a good used book store. We do have a Starbucks now, but I seldom go there, but it is nice to have, if only they would have wrapped a Barnes and Noble's around it.

Most of all I enjoy my house, in spite of the fact that our soil is full of rocks, and I am busy pulling out honeysuckle and poison ivy along with something that almost looks like Virginia Creeper but may isn't.

I have enjoyed the winter because we had some snow but not enough to be a problem, and at least it stayed on the ground a week each time it snowed. The ice storm was interesting but left our yard a mess. The spring storms have been fun, although some days I wished for the sun. Still the gloom didn't last long, maybe a few days. In CA we had what you called June Gloom and Gray May, and it was horrible--two months without sun. The weather is nice now and somewhat humid, and I expect it to get worse. But I love these afternoon thunder showers.

I can't say that I have noticed that the college has brought in any culture. Depends upon what people mean by that. I often wonder what the college kids do here? Go to the river for a party? There is little to do here at night, but I understand that Roxie's has a live band on Sundays, and some other places may as well. You would at least think that the college kids would have needed a good bookstore as the campus bookstore is only for them and you need a slip to get a book, you can't browse.


We also have a neat drugstore with a soda fountain. While it is modern, it is still nice.

I go to the Unitarian Church here in town and have met some people. So that has been nice too.

[Jammie]

Jessaka, you should be a writer cause I found your post so interesting. You describe things so well. And I'm also glad to know that you feel you made the right move.

Have you noticed anything about the employment situation in the area? Does there seem to be jobs there? (full time with health insurance, of course) Does it seem like the clean and neat town that others said it was several months ago?

[jessaka]

hi Jammie,

Thanks for the compliment on my writing.

I don't think that there is a lot of employment here. The paper doesn't seem to list a lot. I know many work at Tyson Chicken place.

Yes, it is a clean and neat town. In some areas outside of town it can look trashy, but then I noticed that in other directions it is really clean.

While the town is neat, I wish that people wouldn't drive by our block and toss out beer bottles, can, paper cups, etc. I often walk and pick these things up, but I am living on the edge of town, and so I guess it is to be expected. Downtown is very clean.