Is OK okay for us? (tornadoes, job, move)

[suthernharleyryder]

hey all, see alot of responses on this post, so thought id tailgate off it....lol. i grew up west of tulsa, very VERy rural...havent been there in 15 years, we are retired AF and hubby from michigan. we now live in east tennessee, he finally admits, he for sure loves the warmer climate in south(i got to prance around with : i told ya so's.....lol) anyways, he is a truck driver now,OTR, and is looken for more local driving. he can actually transfer with his company, and with them, heard good runs out of tulsa(east side of OK) and also in missouri(both sides there). he i thinken of doing the transfer so that he can more better slide into a local driveing job, there is nothen in TN anymore for jobs, and we cant afford to take huge cut in pay, and really prefer not only the warmer weather, but the lower cost of living, we have always spent about 900 mo for rent(we have 3 kids) but only pay 550 over here and have a nice place and electric bill is half of what it was up north. i loved OK, and have alot of good memories there(ok, not of snakes, trantulas and tornadoes(lived thru 2).....but...i still loved it. hubby and son had couple runs thru tulsa and said they liked what they saw, so they are open to idea of moving there. so we are weighing options, where i lived, not to many seemed to have basements, but what about surrounding tulsa? basements in homes???? missouri i swear has basement in every home mainly cuz of twisters, and i prefer that given my twister experiances. jobs look good in both, im leaning on OK, but basement issue might be deal breaker. any advice would be great. also, which sub of tulsa is recommended best now, in regards to no crime, very good schools, lower cost of living, etc????last i recall, south tulsa was still upper class, north was lower, any good middle???? we like everyone, dont care what they make, money dont make a friend, but after being over here in TN, we are about sick of the ways folks store years of trash in yards and on porches, we prefer nice clean neighborhoods, prefer country setting, but subs are fine to if yards have elbow room.....lol and oh, folks that enjoy weekend bbq's and get togethers....lol(gosh i miss those.....lol) have a good one all.

[peggydavis]

Some homes now have storm shelters built into the garage floor, or safe rooms as an alternative to basements. Usually only the older homes might have a basement.

We had a leaky basement in Wisconsin, and that was unpleasant.

[suthernharleyryder]

we to had leaky basement up in michigan, everyone on our road did, it was a design flaw in the homes built, all was basically same homes built back in 60's, thou everyone re-did them so they didnt match now, basements still leaked right under front porches....i hear, it was terriable!!! bad enough ya got to deal with mold/algae growen on everything up there(even inside window frames) add a leaky basement and it sucks. when we was stationed in south dakota, alot of basements, seemed likesolid ones to us, which was good. down here in TN, homes are left to rot, so if ya find a basement, usually its sometimes just as bad as the house, crumbling. i have told hubby that we relied on storm cellers when i lived in OK, he thought that would be worse then a basement, but i say, if built right, they are just as good as a good basement, of course, the downside, got to pay attention to weather and be sure to get to it ahead of storm. i swear some twister seasons where i was at in OK, we used the celler as our "vacation home"...lol!!!!seemed like we was always runnen to it. the twisters dont scare me as bad as they used to, weather is advanced no, sirens are more plentifull, and i still watch the weather reports like a hawk, out of habit, rather i live in tornado ally or not, so i dont fear moven back to OK and getten caught by surprise by one, id fear more of hubby or kids caught in one while at work/school or on way home. what brought ya down to OK if i may ask? glad ya moved there? anyways, thanks for reply, looken forward to hearing from folks there and hopefully..."coming home again".

[peggydavis]

Well, a long time ago my dad worked for the FBI. He got into some trouble in Wisconsin, and at the time, next to getting fired, being transferred to Oklahoma was the worst punishment the FBI could think of.

I always have a storm shelter, but I haven't needed to go in one since 1999. It gives me peace of mind, though, just to know it's there.

[colleeng47]

Originally Posted by peggydavis

Well, a long time ago my dad worked for the FBI. He got into some trouble in Wisconsin, and at the time, next to getting fired, being transferred to Oklahoma was the worst punishment the FBI could think of.

I always have a storm shelter, but I haven't needed to go in one since 1999. It gives me peace of mind, though, just to know it's there.

I agree. Our new house has a good sized shelter right outside the back door, which makes me feel very secure. Now if I could just get Anna to go into it instead of "chasing" any twisters we see, it will be great

[TheComputerGuy]

Originally Posted by colleeng47

I agree. Our new house has a good sized shelter right outside the back door, which makes me feel very secure. Now if I could just get Anna to go into it instead of "chasing" any twisters we see, it will be great

Has Anna actually seen a tornado close up and in person?

I believe she'll be quite happy to hop in the scaredy-hole once the debris starts flying in her direction.

[colleeng47]

Originally Posted by TheComputerGuy

Has Anna actually seen a tornado close up and in person?

I believe she'll be quite happy to hop in the scaredy-hole once the debris starts flying in her direction.

No, she hasn't ever seen a twister. However, I have to DRAG her inside when there's a severe thunder and lightening storm. And she's the only person I know who likes turbulence when flyng. I have to admit, though, there isn't a whole lot that I'm afraid of either. I could see myself barreling down the highway chasing storms with her. My sister and I used to chase fires when we were young mothers. Listened to the fire box, then put all the kids in the back seat of her car and took off. Sometimes the neighborhoods were questionable, but we went anyway.

[karibear]

Originally Posted by colleeng47

No, she hasn't ever seen a twister. However, I have to DRAG her inside when there's a severe thunder and lightening storm. And she's the only person I know who likes turbulence when flyng. I have to admit, though, there isn't a whole lot that I'm afraid of either. I could see myself barreling down the highway chasing storms with her. My sister and I used to chase fires when we were young mothers. Listened to the fire box, then put all the kids in the back seat of her car and took off. Sometimes the neighborhoods were questionable, but we went anyway.

I always liked thunder and lightning, until one trip I made down the Alcan with my kids. There was a wonderful ripping storm in Montana that we were really having fun chasing - it was ahead of us on the highway - until we went under an overpass and saw 2 gasoline tankers hiding under it, waiting out the storm. I sort of rethunk my attitude and I'd like to think that now I have a bit more common sense. I still like to watch them, though.

[colleeng47]

Originally Posted by karibear

I always liked thunder and lightning, until one trip I made down the Alcan with my kids. There was a wonderful ripping storm in Montana that we were really having fun chasing - it was ahead of us on the highway - until we went under an overpass and saw 2 gasoline tankers hiding under it, waiting out the storm. I sort of rethunk my attitude and I'd like to think that now I have a bit more common sense. I still like to watch them, though.

yikes, that would put me in a different frame a mind, also.

[TheComputerGuy]

I can only speak for myself, but when I see pickup trucks and barbecue grills flying past me at high speeds, I would tend to take cover.