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Old 12-15-2012, 11:56 AM
 
34,254 posts, read 20,459,392 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Griffis View Post
I do feel that I am 180 degrees apart from the politics and religious foundations of what is perhaps the majority of people in the state, but that doesn't make ME bright and THEM dim--it's just differing viewpoints and beliefs.

Hear, hear. Having lived in every corner of this nation, from small, rural towns to some of the most populous, major cities, I can guarantee you this is 100% accurate.
Same here, Griffis. My best friend here is a dyed-in-the-wool Obama-hating, Fox-news-parrot, ultra right wingnut. We get along because we are both human beings capable of overlooking our character defects. And I have more than my share~!

Besides, logically if Da Bronx man hasn't lived in ALL 50 states, how can he say okies are the dumbest?
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Old 12-15-2012, 12:24 PM
 
Location: Deep Dirty South
5,190 posts, read 5,310,217 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by _redbird_ View Post
Same here, Griffis. My best friend here is a dyed-in-the-wool Obama-hating, Fox-news-parrot, ultra right wingnut. We get along because we are both human beings capable of overlooking our character defects. And I have more than my share~!
I'm not a terribly political person for reasons I won't expound on here.

But, like you, I have friends whose beliefs and opinions on many subjects are essentially antithetical to mine.

What I've learned in my life and experiences is that--by and large--we human beings all want pretty much the same things. We want to feel secure. We want our children to be healthy and safe. We want companionship and interaction with others. We want to help and be helped, in turn. Basic things; both necessities and plain desires.

Obviously there are exceptions to these things...some people are antisocial or have psychological problems which preclude them from "the norm" of what the majority of people seek and require in life.

But the real disconnect for most people, I believe in my humble opinion, is not WHAT they want and need out of life, but how they feel is the "correct" way of going about getting it.

Take, for example, yesterday's heartbreaking tragedy at the school in Connecticut. There are those who argue that tighter gun control laws would help prevent such terrible happenings, while others claim that if more people were armed, there may well be fewer events like this.

The people arguing both sides of that are completely opposite of each other, but they both hope for the same outcome.
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Old 12-16-2012, 05:58 PM
 
34,254 posts, read 20,459,392 times
Reputation: 36244
As far as returning home to Oklahoma, a lot of people don't realize how many NDNs moved out of OK in the late 50s and 60s during the Indian Relocation years. The US Govt. in all their wisdom tried to acculturate natives by moving them off reservations and in to major metropolitans. Yeah, like that was going to make us white.

In L.A., we had 100 Native students in our high school. Most of those families have moved back to their tribal homelands. Oklahoma is and always has been referred to as "home" by my parents and many other NDNs, even while living in CA.

Those roots don't apply to people who move here from places like Da Bronx, so they will have a totally different reality here than we do. As they say, your mileage may vary.
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Old 12-16-2012, 07:22 PM
 
Location: Deep Dirty South
5,190 posts, read 5,310,217 times
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^^^

Well, our government's treatment of indigenous peoples is something I could rant about for days on here.

Make a treaty, break a treaty, move them here, move them there. It gets me pretty worked up.

My family on both sides has OK roots going back several generations. Lots of Choctaw and Cherokee blood.
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Old 12-16-2012, 08:50 PM
 
Location: plano
7,885 posts, read 11,325,368 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Griffis View Post
^^^

Well, our government's treatment of indigenous peoples is something I could rant about for days on here.

Make a treaty, break a treaty, move them here, move them there. It gets me pretty worked up.

My family on both sides has OK roots going back several generations. Lots of Choctaw and Cherokee blood.
As a native OKie I agree with you. An interesting legal case is in the courts about water rights. The state says it can control the water rights and prevent it from being sold to Texas cities. The tribe claims they have the right to decide not the state....I bet this one settles as the state may lose any control they think they have over water covered by treaty with the indigenous ones
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Old 12-16-2012, 09:16 PM
 
Location: Oklahoma City, OK
5,353 posts, read 5,769,130 times
Reputation: 6561
I just moved here to Oklahoma City a couple of months ago for a great job and I had never been here before. I moved from Atlanta. When people find that out, their first question is "why?" This kind of bothers me because its like I left a great city for a crappy one. I haven't made that judgment at all just yet, but here's my initial impressions

The good:

1. The people are extremely down to earth and friendly, even the millionaires.
2. Smaller city means traffic is easy, especially for someone from Atlanta. I live 3 miles from work and am there in 5 minutes.
3. Good economy and cheap cost of living (if you're a home owner, not a renter. Renting is insane).
4. Decent restaurants

The bad:

1. The weather. I mean, wow! Wild swings in temperature, extreme wind, blizzard like conditions in winter and 100 degrees in summer. Don't like this!
2. The dating scene. How do you meet people here? I have no clue.
3. No mountains (I had this in GA)
4. There is almost nothing to do here. There's a few bars which are just very average and a few lakes if you like boating.

As for the politics and religion, I don't care. The same is true of GA. Republican state (except in inner city) and bible belt. Not a big deal. I was involved in church for a while, but not very religious.

So I'm still deciding if I like Oklahoma City and Oklahoma in general. I don't think its the best place for me, but I love my job and the people I work with, so I feel like I have to stay for a while, maybe a long while. Maybe (hopefully) it grows on me. My thoughts from someone who's been here 2 months.
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Old 12-17-2012, 12:45 PM
 
Location: Stillwater, Oklahoma
30,976 posts, read 21,490,048 times
Reputation: 9675
1. Surely summers are just as brutal, or worse, in Atlanta from it being closer to moisture from the Gulf. By the way, last winter was kinda warm and free from blizzards in Oklahoma City. It tends to get windy, but the sunny days without much wind are beautiful and then the sunsets.
2. You can go to church to find someone to date. Oklahoma is very church oriented.
3. Try driving to the Wichita Mountains near Lawton for relief from no mountains.
4. Have you tried going to the Oklahoma City zoo? It's supposed to be one of the finest ones in the nation. There are other things to do near there such as a western art museum and a casino. IF you love basketball go see the Thunder play.

You make Oklahoma City sound too much like small town Oklahoma.
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Old 12-17-2012, 02:12 PM
 
Location: The Middle
125 posts, read 211,328 times
Reputation: 196
AtlGuy39,
Nice to meet you. I'm replying first as I lived in the OKC area for three years or so before heading out of state, and now I'm in Tulsa. I must say, I was thoroughly fed up with OKC when I left, yet strongly considered it when I was shopping to come back. I left in 1996, and at that time the metro had lost on yet another attempt to bring a major corporation to the area. The decision was between OKC and an area in Utah, if I remember. When interviewed, the company mentioned that its employees would be miserable there, and it would be hard to attract talent. It was one of the reasons I took a job out of state and finally gave up. There were a few bricktown businesses, but unless you liked some pretty sketchy spots (Valley brook or something, LOL) you were out of luck. I even waited tables in Moore, so I know boredom.
Anyway, I was on my way to Dallas a few months ago and drove through. Wow. What a difference! The city has changed so much I could barely recognize it. Norman, the same story. I'm planning on visiting again soon for a weekend just to sightsee and enjoy all the new things like the riverwalk. The OU campus bars and open area seem to be gone, replaced by big new retail businesses. The open areas north of town by the highway are all full now, so the economy must be really churning, as that much construction investment ain't cheap.
Having worked with people who went pale from talking about Atlanta commuting, I'm thinking you made a good choice.
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Old 12-17-2012, 02:45 PM
 
Location: The Middle
125 posts, read 211,328 times
Reputation: 196
Quote:
Originally Posted by Griffis View Post
I'm not a terribly political person for reasons I won't expound on here.

But, like you, I have friends whose beliefs and opinions on many subjects are essentially antithetical to mine.

What I've learned in my life and experiences is that--by and large--we human beings all want pretty much the same things. We want to feel secure. We want our children to be healthy and safe. We want companionship and interaction with others. We want to help and be helped, in turn. Basic things; both necessities and plain desires.
Griffis,
I'm back now for almost two years. It's folks like you (intentional "folksism") that make me glad to be back. Yes, I miss city diversity. No, I don't miss being chased through downtown entertainment districts by aggressive panhandlers, or the eye-rolling you get at any drive-through window, including your bank . Anyway, for the first few months I agreed with Webster, as the first job I took here was full of coworkers who had been there (and NOWHERE else) for more than 20 years. They had never met anyone different than themselves, and spent all day spouting off offensive comments. That's not to say that large cities don't have people with closed-minds, just that they weren't as vocal.

I am meeting more and more people in OK who have traveled as we have, and decided to come back. They sort of slowly expose a progressive attitude, more common-sense than anything else, and we find that we agree on so much. I'm not Liberal or Conservative, just in favor of common-sense, live and let live, and against one-sided bullying.

I do wish that the sheer number of churches here would spend their time pushing people to do good works rather than telling them how to vote. Many of them do, and they don't get credit at all. The Episcopalian church on 71st posted "It gets better" on their sign out front, and they probably took some flack, but it was a brave and thoughtful act.

Things here are getting better: the crime is really not that bad if you take out the small pockets around the apartments, the cost of living is fantastic, and climate-change (manmade or not) has pretty much eliminated the constant ice I remember as a kid (tounge-in-cheek, as I sit here a week before Christmas in Dallas temperatures).

I will agree I would NOT want to be single here, as it's just not that kind of city, really. And, it's a bit slow to meet people, as a lot of them made friends in school and pretty much have stopped expanding their circles, but if you're persistent and open-minded, it does start to happen. As a place to raise a family, and own a home, it's tough to beat.
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Old 12-17-2012, 07:32 PM
 
Location: Oklahoma City, OK
5,353 posts, read 5,769,130 times
Reputation: 6561
Quote:
Originally Posted by StillwaterTownie View Post
1. Surely summers are just as brutal, or worse, in Atlanta from it being closer to moisture from the Gulf. By the way, last winter was kinda warm and free from blizzards in Oklahoma City. It tends to get windy, but the sunny days without much wind are beautiful and then the sunsets.
2. You can go to church to find someone to date. Oklahoma is very church oriented.
3. Try driving to the Wichita Mountains near Lawton for relief from no mountains.
4. Have you tried going to the Oklahoma City zoo? It's supposed to be one of the finest ones in the nation. There are other things to do near there such as a western art museum and a casino. IF you love basketball go see the Thunder play.

You make Oklahoma City sound too much like small town Oklahoma.
I hope I didn't offend you, its just my first impressions. You have to consider that I also don't know anyone here, so exploring the city has been slow. No, the summers are not as brutal in Atlanta, nor are the winters, and the weather is much more predictable.

Thats funny that you say I should meet someone at church. How does that work exactly? I went to a mega church in Atlanta with tons of singles and still couldn't meet anyone. I'm an introvert, but still. I don't see it happening at church. Other ideas?

Every city's zoo is supposed to be one of the best. I've heard the same about Atlanta's zoo. Even the Atlanta Aquarium isn't all that great, and it was hyped. San Diego Zoo is the best, but I guess checking out OKC's would be a good way to spend a Saturday afternoon. I don't like basketball, but hard not to want to see the Thunder play given all the excitement over them.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Wyllyam View Post
AtlGuy39,
Nice to meet you. I'm replying first as I lived in the OKC area for three years or so before heading out of state, and now I'm in Tulsa. I must say, I was thoroughly fed up with OKC when I left, yet strongly considered it when I was shopping to come back. I left in 1996, and at that time the metro had lost on yet another attempt to bring a major corporation to the area. The decision was between OKC and an area in Utah, if I remember. When interviewed, the company mentioned that its employees would be miserable there, and it would be hard to attract talent. It was one of the reasons I took a job out of state and finally gave up. There were a few bricktown businesses, but unless you liked some pretty sketchy spots (Valley brook or something, LOL) you were out of luck. I even waited tables in Moore, so I know boredom.
Anyway, I was on my way to Dallas a few months ago and drove through. Wow. What a difference! The city has changed so much I could barely recognize it. Norman, the same story. I'm planning on visiting again soon for a weekend just to sightsee and enjoy all the new things like the riverwalk. The OU campus bars and open area seem to be gone, replaced by big new retail businesses. The open areas north of town by the highway are all full now, so the economy must be really churning, as that much construction investment ain't cheap.
Having worked with people who went pale from talking about Atlanta commuting, I'm thinking you made a good choice.
I felt the same way about West Palm Beach, FL when I left there for Atlanta in 1996. Over the years I grew to dislike Atlanta (aside from the sports and weather), which had more to do with my career situation than anything I guess. If I had this job in Atlanta, I'd be having a blast. All anyone says is that this city "grows on you". OK, I sure hope so because I'm kind of bored and the weather sucks. I think if I could meet a woman to settle down with, my view might change. Dating here is very tough though. Being here alone and not knowing anyone is just no fun. For whatever reason, when I moved to Atlanta and didn't know anyone in '96, I recall it being much easier to meet people. Maybe it was because I was young and now I'm old because people here are much friendlier than in Atlanta, thats for sure.
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