PCSing to Ft sill...help?? (Lawton, Duncan: relocating, tornadoes, military)

[cowan85]

My husband and I will be relocating to ft. sill withing the next six months..I just dont know, after the comments people have made what would be good?

We would rather not live on post...any ideas on where the better neighborhoods are? We would like to get an apt.

what is available job wise without a degree?

Is the university the only school or is their a community college?

how far is the commute between lawton and the college?

I am from Tacoma, WA our crime rate is high and we have major gang activity and if possible i was really hoping to get away from it but by the sounds of it..its not looking to hot..I just would like to know where i am going, i am a major planner and as a new military spouse i am learning that its not a bonus!! Any information would be greatly appreciated!

[peggydavis]

Wow, you do have crime in Tacoma. I looked on this site which is kind of cool. You can compare cities, they just have to be as big as say, Lawton or Duncan, OK. Smaller towns like Cache, OK, don't show up.

Moderator cut: linking to competitors sites is not allowed

[/b]I have been through Tacoma, just on I-5 when we had to drive through morning traffic from Ocean Shores to Sea-Tac. We had to get up pretty early that morning to make our flight.

In doing your planning, you should know that in OK we don't have traffic. If you do a google map and ask for directions from place to place, there is no (up to so many hours in traffic) portion in the estimated drive time. So, I would look into the many smaller towns around Lawton where crime is much lower.You ask about the commute time between Lawton and Cameron University. Cameron is right in the middle of Lawton, so if you lived right in Lawton it would be from 5 to 15 minutes. Lawton is not big enough to have both a university and a community college. It does have a vo-tech center, but all you would be able to take as an adult would be computer courses.

Hope this helps!

[shelbylane]

Hi cowan85,

I just saw your post this morning and thought i might could help you.I live in Lawton and have spent a lot of time in the smaller towns around Lawton.I really love Elgin, Sterling, Fletcher.These towns are only a short drive from Lawton.

There are hardly any crimes, no bad traffic, no racism, no gangs (that i have heard of) and most of all just some very peaceful quiet time.It's good to chill out once in a while and slow down..lol It's like stepping back in time the people are so friendly and down to earth. The schools are all excellent.I haven't heard one bad thing about any of them yet.They all have apartments at reasonable prices, new houses being built.Very family friendly towns,very welcoming to new people and are looking to accomodate the BRAC families and others moving in.

Lawton has Cameron University, Great Plains Vo-tech--with lots of classes for all ages, and a Platt College, but I don't know much about it.You could google it and see what you think.I hope this may have helped you out in some way.Best of Luck !

[cowan85]

Thank you for replying to my post..the information has been helpful and i think i will be looking into a neighboring town..we have apartments.com to search for apartments in tacoma, is their a website i might beable to go to and see apartments for lawton or the other small surrounding towns?

[peggydavis]

There is a website apartmentratings.com. I went to it, but most of the apartments listed did not have ratings by residents.

You can also do a google map for, say Elgin, and then search for businesses such as apartments. This will not give you a rating on the apartment so you would have to rely on Shelby or someone else who lives in the area.

[Harry_T]

Hi cowan85,

My family and I will be arriving in the Ft Sill area in the next couple of weeks. Once I hit ground, I will post my experiences and share any and all information that I will be collecting about the surrounding area. I think threads about Ft Sill will become more common as BRAC transition and the new NLOS Plant (CONGRATULATIONS ELGIN!) will come into play.

[cowan85]

I am definitely gonna try to search those websites and see what I can find and will post what I find. Also Harry_T that would be great!!! Thank you so much!

[datazmom]

I grew up in Elgin , graduated from school there and it is a quiet little town . I live in another small town Walters and we have great schools and community pride and lots of caring people . The crime rate is very low . Elgin and Walters are both great towns . There is not enough money in the world to make me want to live in Lawton again . Both Elgin and Walters are about 20 miles from Lawton and the University ( Cameron ) there . So if you are looking for a great small town , take your pick . Fletcher is good too , did not live there but had family there and it is nice too .

[Robinmainerealestate]

Hello, I may also be making the transition to Ft. Sill with my husband within the next 6 months or so. I would like to know why anyone would not want to live on Post? Is it not safer? Would anyone be able to tell me about on Post housing? Is it nice? I too am a new spouse to Army life. Please tell me about the Tornados as that worries me, also about bugs or snake problems. Thank you

[peggydavis]

Here is a thread about tornadoes Tornadoes in Oklahoma?? ( 1 2 3 4 5)

Here is a thread about bugs and snakes Bugs and Other Scary Things in Oklahoma ( 1 2 3 4 5 6 ... Last Page) Oklahoma is a state with a lot of variation in terrain and climate. Lawton is in SW Oklahoma, and I think Eastern OK might have different bug problems than Western OK.

Well drat, those links don't work. Maybe you can search the forum for tornadoes and you will find both of these threads on the same page in your search results.