Is OK okay for us? (Oklahoma City, Tulsa: rental, jobs, home)

[TheComputerGuy]

Originally Posted by jessaka

I just checked on the map in order to find Bartlesville. That is really a nice area of Oklahoma. You would be in Green Country and Bartlesville is smaller than Tulsa, yet you still have it as a close by city. I read something nice about the city, but I only remember that after reading it I wanted to go visiting. Probably had either great shopping or great architecture. Actually, I thought it was something else that I was reading about it.

Yes, it does look nice, but judging from the photos, it's WAY TOO HUGE for us.
I would however, like to be within 20-30 minutes of it or so.

As much as my wife and I prefer totally rural areas, it's not good for business or employment opportunities, so our compromise will be to locate just outside of a bigger city. And Bartlesville looks pretty darn big to us.

I'm guessing you liked the architecture.

The search continues...
My wife informs me that there aren't that many places available outside of Bartlesville that meet our criteria, but that was after only a half hour of surfing.
I'm going to consult a map and pass her some alternatives.

I WOULD like to be just outside of that area in a smaller (more quiet) city or town
with a population under 30-50K, near someplace like B-ville.
Is it possible??? We're gonna find out.

I can't wait to get down there and see everything for myself.

Thanks,

M.

[peggydavis]

Have you looked at Nowata? That is 20 miles from Bartlesville, and 40 miles from Tulsa.

[Synopsis]

Actually, Bartlesville is only about 35,000 people. It looks much bigger than it is because of the many high rises. But that was mostly due to Phillips presence there.

[peggydavis]

Oklahoma work hours:

[colleeng47]

Originally Posted by TheComputerGuy

Don't undersell your son... My father was a General Contractor, and his best advice was work with your head, not your back...
And I worked for him, Summers and after school, then full-time until I was almost 22... Before I heeded his advice...
Yeah, the burn-out is sort of the same, but different... At least my back hurts less... MY brain may hurt more but, I'll get over it.

M.

I'm not underselling my son. I think a talented carpenter is worth his/her weight in gold. DH is a big time computer expert with so much stress he can't wait to leave his job and (hopefully) get something lower key. Scott (my son) loves to work with his hands and is extremely creative. He really wants to get into filmmaking, (which he's already done on a small scale), but since that's a REALLY difficult field to break into, we've convinced him to do this first so he can have a steady paycheck. He would never survive sitting in an office all day.

[Nameless]

Originally Posted by TheComputerGuy

Yes, it does look nice, but judging from the photos, it's WAY TOO HUGE for us.
I would however, like to be within 20-30 minutes of it or so.

As much as my wife and I prefer totally rural areas, it's not good for business or employment opportunities, so our compromise will be to locate just outside of a bigger city. And Bartlesville looks pretty darn big to us.

I'm guessing you liked the architecture.

The search continues...
My wife informs me that there aren't that many places available outside of Bartlesville that meet our criteria, but that was after only a half hour of surfing.
I'm going to consult a map and pass her some alternatives.

I WOULD like to be just outside of that area in a smaller (more quiet) city or town
with a population under 30-50K, near someplace like B-ville.
Is it possible??? We're gonna find out.

I can't wait to get down there and see everything for myself.

Thanks,

M.

You may look just north of Bartlesville in Dewey, it's almost attatched to the town but has a population of 3,000, and judging from the satellite photos there is a little land in between still.

Nowata is another possibility about 20 minutes east.

Then there is Skiatook which is benifiting some from Tulsa but remains highly rural. Half hour south of Bartlesville. There's a few tiny towns in between Bartlesville in Tulsa that I didn't list. But "tiny" means 500 people or so Doubt you'd find any listings.

[TheComputerGuy]

Originally Posted by peggydavis

Have you looked at Nowata? That is 20 miles from Bartlesville, and 40 miles from Tulsa.

My wife already had, and there are actually properties there in the teens...
(Which prompts an unknowing Yankee to ask... "What's wrong with the place?")
Not that I'm complaining about cheap properties, we LIKE "inexpensive".
(Even if they're tinier than we're used to.)

It also has a 3K population... That's only 1K more than I live with in my current town.

Anyone here care to enlighten me about Nowata?
(Sounds like "No Water" with an MA accent.... Which I've been losing by living in Northern NH... According to Synopsis anyway... He did me the compliment of saying that I didn't sound like Ted (The Keg) Kennedy.)

Thanks,

M.

[TheComputerGuy]

Originally Posted by Synopsis

Actually, Bartlesville is only about 35,000 people. It looks much bigger than it is because of the many high rises. But that was mostly due to Phillips presence there.

You're right, I checked out the stats...
But there's this GIANT (what looks like an) apartment complex... And I can only imagine all those folks coming home from work creating a world-class traffic jam:
http://pics4.city-data.com/cpicc/cfiles20941.jpg

Unless that's just the downtown area, but even then, it looks pretty busy and noisy there...

Then again, I live in a tiny rural, mountain town, and I have 2 neighbor who put the dogs out from 5:30am - 10pm and it's pretty noisy here.

Also, we've seen properties in Tulsa that look quiet... In the RE pictures.

Anyone care to set me straight?

M.

[TheComputerGuy]

Originally Posted by peggydavis

Oklahoma work hours:

And there's money working at a place like that?

That's better than my hours.... I have to work 32 hours each month to pay the bills here...
And I don't always get that many hours in this rural part of the world.

M.

[TheComputerGuy]

Originally Posted by colleeng47

I'm not underselling my son. I think a talented carpenter is worth his/her weight in gold. DH is a big time computer expert with so much stress he can't wait to leave his job and (hopefully) get something lower key. Scott (my son) loves to work with his hands and is extremely creative. He really wants to get into filmmaking, (which he's already done on a small scale), but since that's a REALLY difficult field to break into, we've convinced him to do this first so he can have a steady paycheck. He would never survive sitting in an office all day.

I should have phrased that better....

My first job was construction...
There was a LOT to be said for it... Too much to list here, but my father (The Boss) advised me differently. I guess he knew me better than I did back then.
(He was a LOT smarter than I am... God I miss him.)

When I was a teen, I wanted to make a living with music... I came close, but could never quit my day job and still make enough to support a family... Especially after we had children... At this point, I'm happier at what I do now than I ever would have been as a musician... Especially after reading all those "drug-addled rock star" biographies.
(Children will definitely change ones values and perspective.)
I don't imagine that the position of successful film maker is much easier to achieve.

And yes, carpentry skills are worth their weight in gold.
(Although mine have faded over the last 20 years...)

Your DH is correct, it can be a stressful job in a lot of situations....
If one has to support users, it can get... Shall we say interesting for lack of a more polite term... (I hear you laughing Synopsis!)

January is coming soon... Hope you have a laptop with you to keep us abreast of your adventures on your way to living in OK.

Looks like you'll be there "Sooner" than we will....
If you don't already recognize the choice of the word "Sooner", I'm sure one of the locals will be happy to explain.

M.