Any good city in OK - raising a family... (Oklahoma City: environment, jobs)

[marizires]

Hello,

I was wondering if you can give me information on any good cities in OK. We have 3 school age children. We would like to find a good city or suburb, family oriented and close to hospitals or where my husband can find a job as an RN. Also, I would need a close by community or technical college that offer nursing programs.

We are moving from the Chicago area, we are tired and getting too old for the cold and long winters.

Thank you!

[Synopsis]

Both OkC and Tulsa are great places. There are smaller cities with hospitals scattered throughout the state. In Tulsa, there is Jenks, BA, Owasso (suburbs) or you could live in Tulsa proper. Winters are a lot milder in Oklahoma. Happytown could probably help you out with specific information on Oklahoma City. Really, both places have a lot to offer. Good luck!

[marizires]

Thank you for the info Synopsis. Do you know any specific suburbs not too far from where the jobs are in the city? If you could mention some that I can research would be of great help. We are looking somewhat urban life style but definately not in the big city. And as I mentioned before, I would also need to have access to a community college that offers a nursing program. Thank you so much for your info, it is of great help.

[Synopsis]

You're welcome. I hear that Broken Arrow is nice. Outside of Tulsa, but still with access to all of the amenities. I lived in BA twenty years ago, but it's grown since then. Still, it's not nearly as large as Tulsa. If you'll go to Google Maps and type in "Tulsa, Ok" you'll have a good view of the city and surrounding suburbs. The same for OkC. There are a lot of hospitals in Tulsa, and I believe that most of them are on the South Side, so you would probably want to live in Jenks or maybe even further South. There is one really notable hospital in Midtown (or Uptown). Traffic in Tulsa isn't bad at all. It has one of the lowest commute times for a large city in the nation.

[marizires]

Synopsis - I will research the area of Tulsa. What is the climate like? Is it hot and humid?

[Synopsis]

Tulsa is hot and somewhat humid during the summer months. Much more so than Chicago. But it's not stifling for so long like where I live in DFW (Texas). Think of Kansas City, but maybe a tad warmer and humid. That's the payoff for having milder winters. Tulsa has four distinct seasons though; that's one thing I like about the city. The Fall colors are spectacular.

[MrsSteel]

Marizires, here are links to a few nursing programs in the Tulsa area.
TCC : Nursing Division
OU College of Nursing -- Tulsa (broken link)
Oral Roberts University - Portal
College of Business Administration: Nursing
OSU also has a nursing school in Okmulgee which is close to Tulsa
Oklahoma State University - Okmulgee : Home

There may be more in the Tulsa area, but I'm not sure. I imagine there are tons in the Oklahoma City area, as well, because there are numerous universities in that area (UCO, OCU, OU, etc).

[Synopsis]

Yes, OkC would probably have more opportunities. You should look into both areas. Both are great places to raise kids.

[stwatt]

marizires, i have lived in the okc area for 25yrs. there are many bedroom communities that people move to here. if i were moving here, i would look at piedmont in nw okc. its still not too large, and close to 2 hospitals(mercy and baptist). edmond is a very large suburb in north okc. it was the area of choice 25yrs ago, and while it is still very popular, i find the traffic to be the worst. far south okc is really growing in the moore, norman area. if you wanted to be a ways out of town, there are several small towns within 30min of the city(purcell, blanchard, newcastle, noble to name a few). remember that okc will be more flat, windy, sprawled out and not as pretty as the eastern part of the state. about the weather, it was 103 here today. in fact that's why i'm on this message board--to find someplace cooler in the summer! it is probably slightly more humid in eastern oklahoma--but its humid in okc as well--you have to go into western oklahoma to get less humidity. really the climate here is not so bad except for the summer heat. as far as colleges, there are some in almost every area of the city

[valpoguy]

Originally Posted by Synopsis

Tulsa is hot and somewhat humid during the summer months. Much more so than Chicago.

Definitely hotter than Chicago, but not more humid. Chicago area is pretty humid.

As far as which suburbs are close to jobs.....ANY of them are compared to Chicagoland commute times.