[kattygirl27]

My husband and I are trying to find someplace quiet yet located near enough to a city for me to find a decent job. We are looking at Wagoner because it is near Broken Arrow. How are the job options in the area? I am not fussy about what I do. I have done anything from milking cows to insurance. Also how is the cost of living? Finally when I watch Discovery they seem to always be focusing on a tornado in OK, are they really that bad?

[Goodpasture]

Originally Posted by kattygirl27

We are looking at Wagoner because it is near Broken Arrow.

About 30 minutes or so, depending on where in BA youa re trying to get to.

Originally Posted by kattygirl27

How are the job options in the area? I am not fussy about what I do.

There are a lot of not fussy jobs available.

Originally Posted by kattygirl27

I have done anything from milking cows to insurance.

how do you milk insurance?

Originally Posted by kattygirl27

Also how is the cost of living?

depends on what you are comparing it to.....its pretty close to what you will find in Oklahoma city and Wichita. A lot lower than Chicago or NYC, and higher than Juarez.

Originally Posted by kattygirl27

Finally when I watch Discovery they seem to always be focusing on a tornado in OK, are they really that bad?

Actually we like tornadoes. It keeps scared people away......we don't want the state to fill up too fast.

[tookey]

Originally Posted by kattygirl27

My husband and I are trying to find someplace quiet yet located near enough to a city for me to find a decent job. We are looking at Wagoner because it is near Broken Arrow. How are the job options in the area? I am not fussy about what I do. I have done anything from milking cows to insurance. Also how is the cost of living? Finally when I watch Discovery they seem to always be focusing on a tornado in OK, are they really that bad?

I can't answer for Wagoner but Broken Arrow is a nice little suburb of Tulsa. It is a stones throw from Tulsa and the job prospects may be a bit better in either city. You may have a better choice as far as housing, shopping etc in Broken Arrow. I have hear though that Wagoner is a nice community but I have several friends in Broken Arrow and they wouldn't live anywhere else. The tornados in my opinion are way overblown (pardon the pun!!) Yes we do have severe weather and yes some tornados are spotted but the likelyhood of one actually touching down is one in ten thousand. There are however other parts of OK that do have a propensity to have touchdowns but honestly that is few and far between and some years are worse than others. Usually we just have to deal with straight line winds that can get fierce but that is about all. That is not to say that you should just ignore the tornado warnings just don't be terrified of them usually that is all there is to it just a warning to let you know that the threat is possible.

[Guthrie Kid]

The whole "tornado alley" deal is really overblown for whatever reason? I am thinking a bunch of people are making good money with all of their documentaries and what not?

As God is my witness, I have lived here for almost fifty years and in that time I have only seen one killer tornado (Enid, Oklahoma) and that was back in '65 so I hardly remember it?

One tiny little twister did touch down and blow a few leaves off some blackjack trees and some post oaks back in the mid nineties here in Guthrie....It didn't amount to much, stood in my driveway and watched it pass and went back inside......

[VeraBlue]

Originally Posted by kattygirl27

Finally when I watch Discovery they seem to always be focusing on a tornado in OK, are they really that bad?

Ah, the tornadoes. I suppose it's better to be famous for them than giant radioactive sandworms.

No, the tornadoes aren't that bad. Yes, we get a lot of them relative to many other places, but the majority never touch down and/or they're small. (F3 or less) Someplace in the state will get some roof or outbuilding damage almost every year, but the really devastating ones like the 1999 outbreak that did so much damage in Moore and Stroud are rare.

There are two things to be prepared for about severe weather in Oklahoma. First are the tornado watches, which are issued whenever the conditions are right for a tornado to develop, which can be the entire state from April to July. It doesn't mean there will be a tornado. The second is the huge, spectacular, and frequent spring thunderstorms which, unlike a tornado, you are guaranteed to experience your first year in the state. They can look scary, the sky turns black, the air gets a greenish light and feels all charged up, there can be truly torrential rain, but as long as you stay away from tall trees, metal poles, or anything else that might attract lightning, you'll be fine. The thunderstorms are actually very beautiful to watch. The local TV stations have very good weather radar, and they will tell you in advance if anything big is heading your way.

[Jammie]

OK is famous for tornadoes, but I agree with Guthrie that some people are probably lining their own pockets by the documentaries on it. Here's a map of tornado alley~

http://www.tornadochaser.net/tornadoalley.jpg

It covers a huge area and the strange thing is that Ok is generally the state where people ask about tornadoes.

I was just glancing at a few of your other posts and wasn't sure where you live right now. That'd be important with helping on the cost of living difference.

[nightbird47]

Originally Posted by Jammie

OK is famous for tornadoes, but I agree with Guthrie that some people are probably lining their own pockets by the documentaries on it. Here's a map of tornado alley~

http://www.tornadochaser.net/tornadoalley.jpg

It covers a huge area and the strange thing is that Ok is generally the state where people ask about tornadoes.

I was just glancing at a few of your other posts and wasn't sure where you live right now. That'd be important with helping on the cost of living difference.

Before I moved here I was visiting NW Kansas. We were at as small tv convention. We did indeed have a tornado approaching and as regrestration person I had to sit at my post and be calm. But had been warned to have the cashbox locked and ready to go. We were within fifteen minutes of being evacuated through dark skies and torential rains and blowing wind. Lucky for us it turned away. But they were doing the map studying right next to me so I know they were genuinally worried.

It taught me something. Could be an emergency, but as an offical person I HAD to be calm. And thinking about it I decided there was no reason not to be. All that radar was at our service. And if it did turn into one, being calm was important.

So here I have listened to all the reports and all, but let my old earthquake mode slip in. Its all up to nauture afterall.

The thunderstroms here are amazing. After I got over the noise I will watch them once in a while. That "charged" feeling in the air is so strange. Only right next to the coast do I remember thunder so loud, and this has a "boom" which I have never heard before.

There is more weather here than some other places, but then it makes things a lot more real in a way. And as much as I wish the SNOW would melt right now, its nice knowing that the Christmas Eve blizzard of 09 is a rare thing. And I can say I experienced it too!

[kattygirl27]

Thank you all for your posts. I really appreciate it. Hopefully if all goes well within the next year or two my husband and I will be moving to OK. Thank you!