Choctaw verses Shawnee? (Midwest City, Ada, Seminole: relocation, real estate, travel)

[jadybug]

My husband is a native. He has family in both areas. We've considered both areas as well as other states in the US to move to. I was wondering about diversity, (we adopted two AA's and we are caucasians) crime, etc. His sister says Midwest City has a lot of gang activity. What about Choctaw?

Any info. would be wonderful-thanks in advance!

[redbird4848]

I'm surprised no one has answered this, so I will take a stab at it.

Shawnee has its share of gangsta problems, but Shawnee is spread out enough where you can live comfortably away from them. Also, Shawnee has a very large population that commutes into OKC for work. OKC is only 30 minutes away.

Choctaw is east of OKC, and I have always found Choctaw to be very nice. The homes are nicely spaced from each other, and it borders on Jones which is probably right on the verge of rural living.

We used to go through Choctaw on our way to Jones which is where our dog breeder lives. Lots of horses and open land north and east of Choctaw.

I would say a lot depends on how close you want to be to city living. Personally, the further you get from the "Big Town" the better. Shawnee is growing like crazy and is verging on getting that congested feel to it. Whereas Choctaw is pretty well situated and remains the same, which is above average.

[jadybug]

Originally Posted by redbird4848

I'm surprised no one has answered this, so I will take a stab at it.

Shawnee has its share of gangsta problems, but Shawnee is spread out enough where you can live comfortably away from them. Also, Shawnee has a very large population that commutes into OKC for work. OKC is only 30 minutes away.

Choctaw is east of OKC, and I have always found Choctaw to be very nice. The homes are nicely spaced from each other, and it borders on Jones which is probably right on the verge of rural living.

We used to go through Choctaw on our way to Jones which is where our dog breeder lives. Lots of horses and open land north and east of Choctaw.

I would say a lot depends on how close you want to be to city living. Personally, the further you get from the "Big Town" the better. Shawnee is growing like crazy and is verging on getting that congested feel to it. Whereas Choctaw is pretty well situated and remains the same, which is above average.

I appreciate the stab! LOL. It helps!!!!!

[redbird4848]

I forgot about the diversity question. Shawnee has a LOT of diversity. I believe there are 5 tribal headquarters there, so there are a lot of NDN's there.

As far as AA, I would consult the demographics on CDF's homepage.

+Races in Choctaw:

* White Non-Hispanic (87.2%)
* American Indian (7.2%)
* Two or more races (4.3%)
* Hispanic (2.8%)
* Black (1.6%)
* Other race (0.9%)
+From: Choctaw, Oklahoma (OK) Detailed Profile - relocation, real estate, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, news, sex offenders

and

++Races in Shawnee:

* White Non-Hispanic (75.8%)
* American Indian (16.3%)
* Two or more races (4.4%)
* Black (4.1%)
* Hispanic (2.7%)
* Other race (0.7%)

++Shawnee, Oklahoma (OK) Detailed Profile - relocation, real estate, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, news, sex offenders

[Goodpasture]

As I recall, the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Muscogee, and Seminoles all integrated with the AA's after the civil war. It was the Cherokee that had most of the prejudices.

When the civil war ended and slavery was abolished, the nations were given a choice. Full membership in the tribe for former slaves, or land and reparations without citizenship. the Cherokee chose the later. The other four of the five civilized tribes gave full citizenship to their former slaves, making them equal to the NDN. being AA in that area should be no problem.

Being Christian, though.........I bet there are corners in both towns where there isn't a church......not many, but there will be some.

[jadybug]

Originally Posted by Goodpasture

As I recall, the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Muscogee, and Seminoles all integrated with the AA's after the civil war. It was the Cherokee that had most of the prejudices.

When the civil war ended and slavery was abolished, the nations were given a choice. Full membership in the tribe for former slaves, or land and reparations without citizenship. the Cherokee chose the later. The other four of the five civilized tribes gave full citizenship to their former slaves, making them equal to the NDN. being AA in that area should be no problem.

Being Christian, though.........I bet there are corners in both towns where there isn't a church......not many, but there will be some.

Thanks I love to hear history. My husband is on the Cherokee role thanks to a few of his great grandparents. Believe it or not, Native Americans are highly revered (he was born in Fort Gibson and raised in MWC) by GA folks-which is strange (hypocritical). My best pal is originally from NM and is full-blood Shawnee/Nav. Her step-dad is caucasian and very racist against AA. Too crazy, but just illustrates my point about the human condition and need to follow God's code of conduct instead. Everyone please try to remember we are all from Grandpa Adam and Grandma Eve!!!

[ready2fly]

I grew up in Choctaw and it's great. My folks still live there, as does my brother & SIL (who also teach there). Convenience of being by the city (about 20 minutes to downtown OKC) but small-town feel. As for gangs, I Choctaw has little. Not sure about Shawnee.

I think the schools are about the same, academically and in size. You can check them out in detail at Oklahoma School Report Cards. According to it, Shawnee is a bit more diverse, but most minorities are Native American in both towns.

One thing to consider is that Shawnee is far enough away from OKC that it's self-supporting, i.e. its own mall, restaurants, etc. Whereas, Choctaw's close enough to OKC that we drive to Midwest City or OKC for retail & restaurants...more of a bedroom community. I'd say Choctaw is considered a suburb of OKC; Shawnee is not - it's a town on its own.

Also, Shawnee has two 4-year colleges in it (OK Baptist and St. Greg's), so I'd imagine that might effect its dynamic a bit.

Finally, may I suggest a moderator moves this thread to the OKC forum. I think you'll find more advice & interest there. Choctaw comes up occasionally in that forum.

Good luck!