[TimC2462]

Greetings, folks!

It's another hot day here in south Central Valley in California.

However, this post isn't about California or its weather. But I wanted to ask a few questions about Oklahoma in general. I am absolutely certain that Oklahoma is a great place to live in, from all the research I've done in the past several weeks.

Which begs the question.... Why is the cost of living so affordable in Oklahoma? I know Forbes ranked Oklahoma City as the top recession proof city in the nation and I know the Standard of Living is higher as well.

Tim C.

[colleeng47]

Originally Posted by TimC2462

Greetings, folks!

It's another hot day here in south Central Valley in California.

However, this post isn't about California or its weather. But I wanted to ask a few questions about Oklahoma in general. I am absolutely certain that Oklahoma is a great place to live in, from all the research I've done in the past several weeks.

Which begs the question.... Why is the cost of living so affordable in Oklahoma? I know Forbes ranked Oklahoma City as the top recession proof city in the nation and I know the Standard of Living is higher as well.

Tim C.

Probably the biggest difference for cost of living in OK is the cost of housing. Property taxes are also lower than other states (especially NJ where we came from). We also found the car insurance to be quite a bit less. Gas is a little bit lower than NJ (but NJ is supposed to be one of the lowest in the nation). Food is a tiny bit lower than NJ, but restaurant food is considerably less than NJ. The only thing we found higher was homeowners insurance. Added together, this can be a significant difference in COL. There was one website I was on that had the "average" COL in the US at 100. NJ was listed as 133, and OK as 79.

Wages seem to be a little different but nowhere near the difference compared to COL. My 16 year old got a summer job at the federal minimum wage, where NJ has their own (higher) minimum wage. However, she was offered two different jobs here in OK, and is working pretty much full time, and there are still signs all over the place for jobs. My 18 year old son is in NJ for the summer, and the only jobs available are at minimum wage, and there are several applicants for each job, so he's having a hard time. While he was here, he was making $10 an hour at Hobby Lobby for unskilled labor work. He sure wishes he had that now. No job he's applied for in NJ pays near that.

[karibear]

So far, just about everything I've seen remotely connected to the cost of living in OK is lower - sometimes a lot lower - than it was in WA. I heard the space rent in the trailer park I left was going up to 500.00/month Jan 1/09. And that didn't include anything - no utilities, no lawn service, no garbage pick up, nothing. That's higher even than where I lived in AK, I know some people who are living in a couple of the parks there now, and they are complaining because their space rent has gone up to nearly 400.00 - but that includes water/sewer/garbage, which is a biggie up there.

It's the groceries I find the biggest difference in here. The same brands are much lower here than WA. I can actually afford now to get what I want more often than just whatever's on sale. The most radical difference I found was in a microwave desert thingie - it was regularly priced at 7.99 in WA, rarely on sale for 5.99, and the same thing here is 1.69-1.99, depending on the store. The only things I've found that don't cost less are milk and eggs.

And taxes. By the time I have my double homestead exemption, my property taxes will be the same or a bit less than I was paying for a 1975 mobil home.. And there's no equity in a mobil home, it just gets older and older.

[Jammie]

IMHO it's called "Lack of Greed".

[StillwaterTownie]

Cost of living is low in Oklahoma because the average income is low. Also not a lot of people are moving into the state which keeps demands for everything down, unlike other states, such as Florida and California.

Oil and Gas is still a big industry in Oklahoma which is in lots of demand now while creating jobs, so that's why Oklahoma is recession resistant. Also the lack of wild property speculation from lack of people moving into Oklahoma helps out. A lot of people don't want the rough outdoor work of roughnecking, so that helps keep people out of Oklahoma, if they need a job. Besides, that Oklahoma pays less for a lot of jobs than in other states, so that causes lots of people to turn their noses up to Oklahoma and find some other state that pay more.

[#1soonerfan]

Townie, I will have to respectfully disagree with you. If the cost of living is so low in OK because nobody wants to live here, how do you explain the similarly low COL in Texas? Plus as posted in another thread, Okla. has seen a net in-migration of over 12,000 between 2005-2006, and I have a feeling it has probably stayed at least that high since then.

I'm not an expert, but my take is that Oklahoma has 3 things that are considerably lower than in most states: Housing, Taxes, and Energy/Utilities. There is lots of available land to build with little regulations. As a result, both OKC and Tulsa sprawl alot, but with a steady flow of new houses on the market, real estate prices are kept in check. Also, taxes here are pretty low. OK has an income tax, but it has been lowered considerably from a few years ago. Plus, sales tax is reasonable and property taxes here are practically non-existent. Energy costs here are also low. OKC and Tulsa almost always have some of the lowest fuel prices in the nation (although that is somewhat countered by all the big Suburbans and F250s lumbering about the state). Gas here has finally dipped below $3.70 in some parts of the state, nearly 30 cents cheaper than the national average. And electricity costs are usually very low here. I saw a stat that said Oklahoma has the 5th lowest electricity rate in the country.

Everything else outside those three things tend to be a wash cost wise. Food, clothing, and miscellaneous things tend to cost about the same here as anywhere else in the nation. At the most they may be a percent or two cheaper here. But those three things make up such a huge expense for most families that any reduction in one of them can be the difference between a family living comfortably and a family struggling.

Yes wages here are lower, but I know several people who have transferred from other states while their income dipped slightly or stayed they same and their standard of living increased greatly. It just depends on the person's situation.

[GraniteStater]

The "bad" weather tends to keep quite a few people away from the Plains. Many people do not enjoy having to worry about severe weather all the time or deal with the strong winds. The cold air is not bad at all, but the wind is generally unpleasant.

[briansgi]

Originally Posted by Plains10

The "bad" weather tends to keep quite a few people away from the Plains. Many people do not enjoy having to worry about severe weather all the time or deal with the strong winds. The cold air is not bad at all, but the wind is generally unpleasant.

Ah come on, if you live in the rust belt you deal with the frigid cold winters for 6 months out of the year. If you live on the east coast or gulf coast you have to worry about the insane humidity and hurricanes blowing your house away 4 months out of the year, and if you live on the west coast you have to worry about the ground opening up and swallowing you! Give me a few tornado warnings and a southerly wind any day! Oh, I forgot to mention, we have 4 seasons too!!

[mkfarnam]

Originally Posted by briansgi

Ah come on, if you live in the rust belt you deal with the frigid cold winters for 6 months out of the year. If you live on the east coast or gulf coast you have to worry about the insane humidity and hurricanes blowing your house away 4 months out of the year, and if you live on the west coast you have to worry about the ground opening up and swallowing you! Give me a few tornado warnings and a southerly wind any day! Oh, I forgot to mention, we have 4 seasons too!!

Don't forget to mention.......fresh, clean air, and little to no Illegal Immigrants . There are many states don't have either one and some people would kill for it! People would be(and some are) heading this way if they heard about either one.

[nocoldiron]

Let's be real-tornado alley scares people,100 temp with 95% humidity speaks for itself,bugs,bugs,bugs, and poisionous snakes!, and a true Oklahomian will tell you the ice storms are worse than all the rest!! Most people look at the red dirt (only in 33 counties out of 60 ? counties),muddy rivers and flat,flat,dry land(once again,not everywhere but a lot of OK) and don't want to live there.I like Oklahoma but I am planning on moving to the east side where it is mountainous,black dirt, and has 12 months of rain.Might move around Lake Tenkiller because I like clear water."Grapes of Wrath" still scares people about Oklahoma.I live in one of the most beautiful places (Oregon),at the foot hill of a mountain with a well known salmon river 3 blocks away and the ocean 14 miles away.The weather is so mild,heat in most houses is space heater and no one has air conditioning.I can drive 2 hours and go to the ski resorts but see snow only a couple of days a year at my house.I also only see the sun in the summer,I have 8 months of rain and clouds.I own a little home that might sell for 50,000 there but will go for 190,000 here.Can't wait to move back,I hate the cloudy winters,miss 4 seasons,and want a mortgage free house. Like the people better,friendlier and more polite in the Midwest.I've lived in Oklahoma and want to go back.