[Johnhw2]

SE Oklahoma is like most places... living there is what you make of it. I grew up in Durant and can cite a large number of successful musicians, Julliard not country music although I have nothing against either. Executives of fortune 100 companies as well over the decades. Regular people who are smart enough to work hard and get a great education and motivated to move to the big city where the opportunities are better. One of the best known radicals at UT in Austin spent time in Durant growing up and was best friends with one who became an FBI agent based in SF and breaking cases of those whose political and social believes were more similar to his radical friend than most I know.

Since I left home however, I see people who have stayed in Durant and are successful there as the city has grown and changed over time.

To those whose comments painted a picture of people without teeth or couth or an IQ bigger than there shoe size, you painted an incomplete picture that represents what you can find it if you look for it in SE OK and any place for that matter.

There are ways to avoid those topics you prefer not to discuss and you can find those who share beliefs and interests and perhaps even intellect with you.

[teakboat]

I spend quite a bit of time driving around SE OK, I am in the stone business and that is where good building stone is located. I live in midtown Tulsa. I can tell you that for the most part I prefer the people in the country. They generally are not "hillbillys", but I have even liked most of the hillbillys that I have met. Some people just prefer staying in their big cities with their closed-minded prejudices based on what they have learned on TV or the Internet, too bad for them. The rural countryside is interesting in ways that they will never understand.

[ironhorseherb]

Originally Posted by Goodpasture

I think painting all the buildings lavender and orange would work as well.....

I like that part of the country and would be willing to move there in a heartbeat. I don't care much for people......the more people I meet the more I like dogs. I like country music, but I don't go out to hear it. I like beer, but not in taverns or bars. I like scotch but at $30 a bottle at home, not $7 for a single in a bar with loud music and obnoxious drunks. When people find themselves in church I can be found under a tree or in a meadow. I love to read but have Kindle on my computer and tablet. I like sitting on my front porch with a rifle.......amazing how many squirrels have sacrificed themselves for my dinner. I don't mind driving to get to a supermarket.......I only go every couple of weeks. Haven't seen the inside of a movie theater this century.

Tell me again why someone would not like SE Ok?

Amen Goodpasture

[AnthonyJ34]

Originally Posted by StillwaterTownie

There's nothing that can be done. Not many people like to locate in small towns that are a long drive to a major metro area, especially if there are no decent paying jobs to be found. But surely the bigger towns like Ada, Durant and McAlester aren't all that bad. At least they are not going downhill in population.

Poteau is a charming little town, and it's nestled in a very pretty river valley beneath the world's highest hill!

[debbie at bouontiful]

I am about 30 minutes west of McAlester on a ranch. Love being rural but I wish McAlester had a little more to offer than a super Walmart and a small JC Penny's We do have Atwoods and a few other farm feed type stores. Restaurants are Chilis and Petes. Other than that mostly fast food types. I a fine because I am not a shopper but if one was you would have to drive to Tulsa/OKCity or Sherman, TX. I generally will go to Sherman because of no tax on foods and shop at Sams Club. Plus the malls are easier to get to and the drive nicer than Tulsa or OKCity. With kids in OKCity I am there a lot but do not like that city. Anything is about a 2 and 1/2 hours (at least) each way.

[StillwaterTownie]

Originally Posted by AnthonyJ34

Poteau is a charming little town, and it's nestled in a very pretty river valley beneath the world's highest hill!

Yes, I've been to Poteau before and was glad it didn't look as run down as Idabel.

[Bass&Catfish2008]

Originally Posted by StillwaterTownie

Yes, I've been to Poteau before and was glad it didn't look as run down as Idabel.

I have a house in Le Flore County. One of my favorite spots on God's Green Earth by getting away from the city. It's a welcome escape from the hustle & bustle of the OKC area.

Poteau and Howe are nice little communities. Great fishing & hunting in those parts.

[johnspecial]

Originally Posted by 601halfdozen0theother

Well you know that it isn't the "small town" nature of the place that drove the OP away from wanting to settle there. Lots of people want to live rurally - just spend some time on the "rural and small town" forum on CD and you'll find many who long for that life. I myself would never live anywhere but a rural area.

It is the preponderance of extreme fundamentalist very poorly educated Christians combined with a high amount of drug abuse (interesting correlation, huh!) and a long history of social isolation (that's an important point) that makes SE OK a poor choice for most outsiders. As I said in a previous post, it's the sociocultural conditions there that are bad.

Rubi - I'm not a complainer, my life is pretty wonderful! I sincerely do pity the people who seem stuck in a certain kind of life in SE OK. Bless Their Hearts! At least they do live in a very beautiful place.

I really do think that bringing in a large number of people with different ethnic and religious backgrounds might be a good step towards improving life in SE OK.

I hate to say it, but it seems like the person who is poorly educated is you. If you were educated you would understand that that the culture in SE Okla may not be what you are used to, but the people are not inferior to you either. I find your condescension offensive and an indicator that you may be of low intelligence. BTW you are a complainer. SE Oklahoma is just fine the way it is. Suggesting that adding outside cultures and immigrants to change an area that you don't deem fit shows your bigotry.

[teakboat]

Originally Posted by johnspecial

I hate to say it, but it seems like the person who is poorly educated is you. If you were educated you would understand that that the culture in SE Okla may not be what you are used to, but the people are not inferior to you either. I find your condescension offensive and an indicator that you may be of low intelligence. BTW you are a complainer. SE Oklahoma is just fine the way it is. Suggesting that adding outside cultures and immigrants to change an area that you don't deem fit shows your bigotry.

Amen! here here!

"I sincerely do pity the people who seem stuck in a certain kind of life in SE OK. Bless Their Hearts! At least they do live in a very beautiful place."

I am sure that they appreciate your pity. I regret that you will probably never learn to abandon your suburban/urban bias. I am friends with quite a large number of intelligent and wealthy SE Oklahomans, who probably would upset your comfortable worldview if you met them. Some of these hillbilly's could afford to purchase your entire block of bland, suburban housing if they cared to.

[Bass&Catfish2008]

Originally Posted by johnspecial

I hate to say it, but it seems like the person who is poorly educated is you. If you were educated you would understand that that the culture in SE Okla may not be what you are used to, but the people are not inferior to you either. I find your condescension offensive and an indicator that you may be of low intelligence. BTW you are a complainer. SE Oklahoma is just fine the way it is. Suggesting that adding outside cultures and immigrants to change an area that you don't deem fit shows your bigotry.

Yep, to the bold.

Note to all high-toner transplants: move to somewhere else. We just don't do the negative here in the South-Central.