[MrsBee87]

Hi all!
I'm from Cleveland and I'll be moving to Oklahoma end of the year/beginning of next to live with my husband who is stationed at Tinker AFB. I'm hoping to get some insight on the cities/neighborhoods around base. Neither of us are very familiar with the surrounding areas, and we are looking to utilize our BAH and move off base. Hard part of this is we don't know what apartments or neighborhoods are any good! This is where you helpful folks come in

He's deployed and I'm not currently available to fly down and check them all out. So what I'm trying to do is (hopefully) narrow it down and not waste our time driving 30 minutes to a complex that looks and sounds nice but is actually in a dangerous or bad neighborhood.

Which neighborhoods are best? Any specific apartments you recommend? We are hoping for a decent apartment, covered parking, pets (not that big of a deal to have), not too far of a commute, and most utilities included. I really liked the sounds of Tuscany Village Apartments but we heard that its not in a good area and my husband is hesitant to have me be at home alone if what we have heard is true! I'm really looking forward to hearing some opinions and input, it would be so helpful! Thank you all in advance, it really means a lot.

[debzkidz]

Can you give us a better idea of your budget and what you consider a bad commute? Also are schools important?

[MrsBee87]

Hi debzkidz! Im sorry for being vague! Schools are not important. A bad commute would be over 30 minutes and/or considerable traffic on the way to base. I think the cap on budget would be $750 for rent alone, which is why I am hoping for most utilities paid. Thanks for your questions! I hope this helps clarify a little better. Feel free to ask more questions if more are needed!

[linicx]

I know nothing about Tinker but I do about military life. Generally speaking it is very hard to find any place off base to rent that is near the base because everyone wants the same thing. As far as housing, you have two great choices. OKC and Norman which at 100,000+ is about 1/10th the size of OKC. It is also home to a university population of 30,000. They say 80,000 attend home games. Norman and OKC are in Tornado Alley. OKC, Norman and Tinker AFB have all been visited by tornadoes. The 1995 tornado in OKC was an E-5; it was deadly and a did a lot of damage.

The problem is Oklahoma is two states. The Eastern half is very heavily treed with rolling hills. It is in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. Western Oklahoma is flat, open, prairie with red earth and many small communities. OK is home to many Native American tribes. It is the Native State, and a wonder place to live with a low COL. It has tons of amenities but not what you expect. It is always a culture shock to move from one region of the US to another. If you like big cities and big city amenities you will love OKC.

Typically tornadoes move in a SW to NE path, but that does not always apply here. I lived in Ok for many years. It is my observation that if you do not live near a major highway of any type or size, and if you do not live near any body of water of any size or type, the odds of not being in the direct path of a tornado are greatly reduced. In my opinion after watching tornadoes for 50 years, and being in a couple, that "not near" means 20 miles separates me from busy highways and lakes. I believe NOAA at Norman can provide you with data and maps as to where the most tornadic activity is normally located. It is no comfort to know the OKC Metropolitan Area that includes Norman has the most tornadoes in the United States - this is according to NOAA.

[debzkidz]

I would suggest looking in Moore, or possibly Norman. I'm not quite sure how long the commute would be from Norman though, but someone here can tell you. Traffic in OKC is not bad compared to most cities, so you really don't have to worry much about that.

[eddie gein]

Choctaw and Moore would be good options

[MrsBee87]

Thanks for the advice guys! I'm really happy I joined this forum, this is so helpful. I've kind of narrowed it down to an apartment called Tuscany Village (OKC) or another called the Villas at Countryside (Moore) that I am most curious about. Does anyone have any input or thoughts on these two complexes?

[#1soonerfan]

I searched Tuscany Village and got an apartment complex on Northwest Expressway. Not sure if you want to live way out that far. I had college friend who lived at the villas at Countryside and they thought it was adequate, but nothing special.

If you want to live in Moore, I would suggested the Greens/Links at Moore.

[debzkidz]

I looked at Tuscany Village on Google Maps at 8:00 am, and it shows in current traffic, the drive to Tinker would be 35 minutes. When I looked at the traffic, it shows no delays on the route.

Also, let me clear something up which confused me when I moved here, which may or may not be confusing to you. I'm not sure about where you are from, but where I'm originally from, an expressway meant a freeway. Here it does not. It's just a big road with lots of stop lights, intersections, shopping centers, etc. So just be aware, that if you think it's on a freeway, so it would be easy access, it might not be. Conversely, we have the Hefner Parkway, which is a freeway. Where I'm from, a parkway would be what the expressway is here. I had a bit of trouble with all this when I first moved here. I just wanted to point this out in case you were thinking he could just jump on the expressway and be there in no time.

[MrsBee87]

#1soonerfan- thanks for the advice I'll start looking into the greens at Moore!

Linicx-I moved all around when I was a kid and young adult, I'm actually really looking forward to this new experience as an adult! Western OK sounds right up my alley though, thanks for such a detailed post!

Debzkidz- whoa! See I didn't drive the last time I was in OK so I had no idea, when we were on the way to the zoo I was confused as to the way the roads were set up but I didn't realize that is what was going on! That is definitely some impor rant information. Thanks, that will really help me narrow the distance then.