[alanap98]

Ok think I have narrowed it down to kingfisher or Tahlequah to relocate to. now just wanting to know what yall think about either place all the pros and cons of each.
We need good schools good clean air and good Drs close. I like the country life, and all that goes with it right now we live in small town of only 1800 and drive approx 15 miles for everything except luckily have a family dollar right around the corner woohooo.
Basically just wanting to know what kind of things are there to do in both places for both families and kids and just me and hubby when we need to escape like a night out 2 steppin.
Also hows the weather? them dang tornadoes have me scared to death! not looking forward to them at all lived in manhattan ks for awhile and hated hearing them sirens! yikes want info like on hows the wind? does it get to you day after day like it does here the dust is horrible for 3 months out of the yr drives me crazy! doesnt help with the needing clean air thing either. how about humidity? basically anything yall can tell me I will greatly appreciate! Thanks in advance!
Alana

[Mattie Jo]

Hope this helps:

Tahlequah-area historical tornado activity is near Oklahoma state average. It is 175% greater than the overall U.S. average.

On 5/10/1964, a category 3 (max. wind speeds 158-206 mph) tornado 3.3 miles away from the Tahlequah city center caused between $5000 and $50,000 in damages.

On 4/19/1981, a category 3 tornado 5.4 miles away from the city center caused between $500 and $5000 in damages.

Kingfisher-area historical tornado activity is slightly above Oklahoma state average. It is 283% greater than the overall U.S. average.

On 5/3/1999, a category 4 (max. wind speeds 207-260 mph) tornado 5.2 miles away from the Kingfisher city center killed one person and injured 11 people and caused $3 million in damages.

On 5/3/1999, a category 4 tornado 17.6 miles away from the city center killed 2 people and injured 26 people and caused $13 million in damages.

P.S. Tahlequah is in Cherokee Co, and we are not a dry county. You had asked elsewhere.

[StillwaterTownie]

From having lived in a much bigger town than Kingfisher for most of my life, I would have to go with Tahlequah.

And from the tornado info above you can see that the tornadoes near Kingfisher are stronger and have actually caused deaths and injuries. Indeed, Kingfisher seems a lot scarier place to live than Tahlequah.

Tahlequah would be a lot more scenic than Kingfisher. Kingfisher is really ruler flat.

[alanap98]

Thanks for the information! yeah them stats dont sound too good about kingfisher!
How about hennryetta? whats that area like? I dont want flat dusty area thats where I am now and cant wait to get out! I want to see green grass instead of tumbleweeds!

[Robyndar]

Well, I don't know about the tornados being in greater abundance in Kingfisher as I have lived in Oklahoma most all my life and have never seen one. With the doppler radar they have they can pretty much pin point the locations of the tornados. I don't worry about them too much. Kingfisher is a great town. I grew up in Oklahoma City, have lived in Lubbock and Houston, but came back to Oklahoma. Kingfisher has an indoor pool that is open all year, an 18 hole golf course, is in the process of getting a super sized Wal Mart and a McDonalds. I have been to Tahlequah, it is very senic and Kingfisher is pretty flat. The schools are great here, just had a new middle school built and a new hospital is being built and will open in 2009. We have a great soccer/baseball/softball complex and riding/walking trail. Every 4th of July there is a parade downtown, also at Chirstmas. Anyone can be in it. We also have a new 3 screen movie theatre. As far as fine dining, we have the best mexican, a newly remodeled pizza hut, a bar-b-que place. Also,we are 30 min from the City and 30 minutes from Enid. So everything else we need is right around the corner. The wind does blow, but not all the time and the dust isn't a big deal. You should come visit!

[Mattie Jo]

I don't noticed the wind much here. Today we have a light breeze. I guess some stormy days are more windy, and I remember a few winds last winter. But I hate wind, and I am not complaining here.

I understand your wanting to see green grass instead of tumbleweeds, but I love tumbleweeds too. When I lived in CA in the country, it was green in the winter and dry in the summer, and we had those wonderful tumbleweeds that I have loved since a child. Still, I prefer green. I wonder if I will ever seen one again in my life?

[SinCity]

Alanap98, if you talk to people who have lived in Ok their entire lives, most have never seen a tornado! So despite the much higher risks in tornado alley, it's nothing like the frequency of hurricanes in FL for instance. I hear many speak of the sirens going off in their town as warning but few actually experience the wrath. It's unfortunate for those who do and it could happen any day but there are risks everywhere you live for something. It is sinkholes and tornadoes in KY, hurricanes in the gulf, earhtquakes in CA, flooding in MN... and all these things affect most anyplace you could live. Hurricane Dean brought a lot of rain to NE OK while I was there. My only experience with an earthquake was in UT. We got hurricane warnings every year when I lived in FL. In OK, my choice of the higher hilly areas happens to also decrease tornado risks, which is a bonus! But it doesn't remove the risk entirely and it could be a massive flood instead! So in my opinion, compared to the every year hurricane warnings in FL, the frequency of tornadoes in OK just isn't a criteria worthy of a great deal of concern.

[Marsha Schroeder]

I grew up in Kingfisher.. and I always wanted to move to a big town
But as a parent, I know that my children would have been better off
in Kingfisher. It is even better now with all the new places to go and
things to do. I go back to Kingfisher every chance I get and my daughters think I grew up in Heaven.

[Annemieke Roell]

I was in Kingfisher on Monday and I think I could be very happy living there ......

[StillwaterTownie]

Yeah, but a big problem with Kingfisher is that's it's in the news at least once or twice every year over severe problem. Much of downtown is subject to flooding. Maybe Kingfisher is so flat that water has problems finding a place to drain to and go away promptly. If you can pick a high place to live, you probably will have the inconvenience of having to take the long cut to go around the flooding.