[mazikeen201]

Hello! I will be moving to the area soon and was trying to find which would be better for apartment living, Altus or Lawton. It is just me and my small dog so I don't need anything more than a one bedroom. I am in my 30's and like a quiet complex to go home to. I know that Altus is a very small town but I heard the crime rate there was really, REALLY bad. Lawton is supposedly bigger with lots more to do and closer to OKC, right? Are there tolls going into Texas at all? Thanks for all the help! If you know of any apartments that are good, please let me know. I heard the electric bills were crazy too.

[StillwaterTownie]

There is no advantage to living in Altus, which isn't a very small town as towns go in Oklahoma. I know, because I've been there before. But Altus has been slowly going downhill in population since the 1980s. Lawton has had a more stable population but has a worse crime rate than Altus. I've never heard of crime being bad in Altus.

Lawton has a toll road to Texas as well as Oklahoma City. The rocky hill scenery is bigger. If it was me, I'd easily pick Lawton. It's true it's much bigger. Altus is even more remote and isn't even big enough to have a Lowes.

[SluggoF16]

I live between Altus and Lawton; Altus is isolated, with little to offer. If the Air Force base wasn't there, Altus would be like Hollis or Gould or Frederick, just another dying small town. On weekends people drive the 50 miles from Altus to the Lawton area for shopping and entertainment.

Altus has a run-down look. A blog from a few years back, about "surviving Altus for military spouses" said when one arrives at Altus, "The first thing you do is cry." Crime is statistically better in Altus, but lately there have been a lot reported there.

[eddie gein]

Altus is about one fifth the size of Lawton and that's without the army base. Altus feels like a small town. Lawton feels like a town of 150-200K. In essence, Lawton feels a LOT bigger.

As people have said, Lawton is not as isolated and it has access to Wichita Falls and better access to Oklahoma City, but Altus isn't that bad. It has most things a town of 20K should have. The north half of Altus is actually quite nice. Probably about 75% of Lawton is run down. Lawton does have a lot of places to eat, but little old Altus has a few nice spots and there is a good steak place and Italian place about 5 miles north in Blair, OK.

I like small towns better so I'd pick Altus on that account. But from a location standpoint, Lawton is better.

[mazikeen201]

Okay so the other part of this is that I am vegan and know the closest Whole Foods is in OKC. Are there places to get organic or vegan groceries at Lawton or Altus? Do any of you know of nice apartments that aren't over $800/mo in either of those areas? Is there a toll pass for OK/TX? Or do you have to pay in cash?

Thanks for all the replies, I am moving in a couple weeks and desperately trying to figure out where to live and commute. Stressed is not even close to what I am feeling right now lol.

[StillwaterTownie]

Originally Posted by mazikeen201

Okay so the other part of this is that I am vegan and know the closest Whole Foods is in OKC. Are there places to get organic or vegan groceries at Lawton or Altus? Do any of you know of nice apartments that aren't over $800/mo in either of those areas? Is there a toll pass for OK/TX? Or do you have to pay in cash?

Thanks for all the replies, I am moving in a couple weeks and desperately trying to figure out where to live and commute. Stressed is not even close to what I am feeling right now lol.

Lawton doesn't have a Sprouts, so I don't know. It shouldn't be difficult to find a decent one or two bedroom apartment that isn't over $800 a month. There is a pike pass if you don't want to pay cash all the time.

I like big small towns no smaller than Stillwater, and Altus would be too small for me.

[SluggoF16]

Originally Posted by mazikeen201

Okay so the other part of this is that I am vegan and know the closest Whole Foods is in OKC. Are there places to get organic or vegan groceries at Lawton or Altus? Do any of you know of nice apartments that aren't over $800/mo in either of those areas? Is there a toll pass for OK/TX? Or do you have to pay in cash?

Thanks for all the replies, I am moving in a couple weeks and desperately trying to figure out where to live and commute. Stressed is not even close to what I am feeling right now lol.

There are limited organic/vegan options in Lawton. Country Mart, where my wife and I shop, part of the Homeland chain, has an area devoted to organic products. There are two of those, a third is now Cash Savers, part of the Cost Plus Food Outlet chain. Two Walmarts, a Target with some groceries, and a Walmart Neighborhood market which has a lot of higher-end items compared to its more plebian big-boxes. An Aldi as well, never been to it.

Altus has a Walmart and a United. I personally would rather be dragged through a room full of carpet tacks and then dipped in a tub of rubbing alcohol while listening to Tammy Faye Bakker sing Megadeth songs then go to Walmart.


Have you given Chickasha (pronounced CHICK-uh-SHAY) a look? Close to OKC (30-45 minutes) and small but with things nearby.

[Threestep2]

Originally Posted by mazikeen201

Okay so the other part of this is that I am vegan and know the closest Whole Foods is in OKC. Are there places to get organic or vegan groceries at Lawton or Altus? Do any of you know of nice apartments that aren't over $800/mo in either of those areas? Is there a toll pass for OK/TX? Or do you have to pay in cash?

Thanks for all the replies, I am moving in a couple weeks and desperately trying to figure out where to live and commute. Stressed is not even close to what I am feeling right now lol.

You pull up your work location and a decent street map. Local TV stations offer live traffic ticker. Waze is pretty good about real time directions and detours. That gives you an idea about commutes from A to wherever.

Google toll roads OK and it will bring you to the main website which goes into minute details. We opened our account at a visitor center and "feed" it on line.

Book into an extended stay accepting pets and check out your new area. Over 30 days and some of the hotel taxes do not apply. Check before committing.

Grocery stores are not the greatest as far as I can tell. Aldi is hit or miss, Cash Saver and local chains as well. There is always Sams and Costco. Your food cost will go up. What I miss are farmers markets. OKC has Little Saigon with one traditional Asian supermarket and one somewhat targeted towards the general population. Uptown is nice to browse for sales.

[StillwaterTownie]

Originally Posted by SluggoF16

Altus has a Walmart and a United. I personally would rather be dragged through a room full of carpet tacks and then dipped in a tub of rubbing alcohol while listening to Tammy Faye Bakker sing Megadeth songs then go to Walmart.

But Wal-Mart is about all small town people have for non-grocery items. Wal-Mart drove out of business everybody else long ago. Dollar stores, if any, are limited in what they have. Stillwater loves Wal-Mart so much that there are two super centers and one Neighborhood Market.

[mazikeen201]

Originally Posted by SluggoF16

There are limited organic/vegan options in Lawton. Country Mart, where my wife and I shop, part of the Homeland chain, has an area devoted to organic products. There are two of those, a third is now Cash Savers, part of the Cost Plus Food Outlet chain. Two Walmarts, a Target with some groceries, and a Walmart Neighborhood market which has a lot of higher-end items compared to its more plebian big-boxes. An Aldi as well, never been to it.

Altus has a Walmart and a United. I personally would rather be dragged through a room full of carpet tacks and then dipped in a tub of rubbing alcohol while listening to Tammy Faye Bakker sing Megadeth songs then go to Walmart.


Have you given Chickasha (pronounced CHICK-uh-SHAY) a look? Close to OKC (30-45 minutes) and small but with things nearby.

Actually, this post has been very informative! I did not know they had these many options for organic items there which is a huge plus. I do not like Wal-Mart either but I have also lived places where that is the only thing around...in that case I ordered everything off Amazon LOL! I have not looked at Chickasha yet but I am about to Google it and take a peek. Thanks for the feedback!