Oklahoma VS Texas (Houston, Dallas, San Antonio: find a job, neighborhoods, school)

[the_star_weavers]

We are relocating from Michigan very soon, but can't decide if we want to live in Texas or Oklahoma. We've been on several road trips, done lots of unofficial surveying, looked up neighborhoods on Google Earth, applied to jobs and housing in cities in both states. We have been planning this move for two years and even in this eleventh hour we still aren't sure. Both states seem to have what we're looking for. Which state has the edge?

[Back2TX]

Well my husband grew up in OK and I grew up in TX. He says he doesn't ever want to move back, he loves it here in TX. He got tired of the tornados (he grew up in Ardmore, right near where the last batch of tornados hit about 2-3 weeks ago). There is a 6% state income tax in OK where TX doesn't have an income tax. However... we do have a higher property tax, but that doesn't hurt us, personally, like an income tax would. My husband feels the education system is better in TX. And... he likes the people better here, not that there aren't good people in OK... just a higher average here. What cities in TX and OK were you interested in? It's hard to really be specific when TX is such a huge state and is so different in so many different ways.

[JohninAustin]

If you have to ask you might be destined for Oklahoma.

[Lakewooder]

They are really two different worlds, do you have any more specific questions?

[Matthaeus]

You can't really compare the two. Oklahoma is far "younger" and "poorer" a state, by that I mean that Oklahoma is barely 100 years old and lacks the massive marketable resources that exist within Texas... not to mention that vast discrepancies in land mass and population. It would be like asking which is better: Arizona or California?

For some, Oklahoma is better, for others it is Texas. You'd really have to sort out what you're looking for, before anyone could give a helpful assertion.

Oklahoma has the edge in that it's more inexpensive, on the whole, and the pace is very laid-back and rural... even in the cities.

Texas has the edge in its near-limitless variety and relative economic stability. Texas has several large metropolitan areas and even the "small cities" in Texas are big. See: Denton, Round Rock, El Paso, Amarillo.


Again... it's all in what you're looking for.

[AK123]

Unless perhaps you are looking for a rural area in the middle of nowhere (which is available in both OK and TX), I don't know why you would even question. It would seem obvious to me which offers more. Like someone else said, if you have to ask, you might be destined for OK.

[txsizzler]

I agree with both Lakewooder and Matthaeus. It really is hard to compare the 2 states, as the social and economic differences make for a huge gap between the two states. Here in Wichita Falls, we are in an area that is kind of the best of both worlds; you get the benefits of living here in Texas, yet are within 20 minutes of the Oklahoma border.


Ian

[TXSooner]

Of Course, it depends on what you want. I grew up in Texas but went to school at OU in Oklahoma.

Oklahoma is more sparsely populated, with 52.7 people per square mile (36th in nation) versus Texas with 79.6 people per square mile (26th in nation). The only major metros in OK are OKC and Tulsa. There are many more cities in Texas equal to the size of OKC or greater to include Houston, San Antonio, Dallas-Ft.Worth, and Austin. El Paso does not lag too far behind. If you want the more spacey feel, go with OK. OKC and Tulsa have a much more laid back, relaxed atmosphere than the Texas cities I just mentioned. Also, I have no data to back this up, but I believe the cost of living is lower in OK (despite the relatively low state income tax). Texas has no state income tax but in general higher property taxes. Do not get me wrong about there being no space to grow in Texas! There are plenty of small to medium sized towns with lots of room to grow in Texas--plenty of space here! You could look at Amarillo, Lubock, Abilene, Midland-Odessa, Waco, Huntsville, San Angelo, etc.

On the other hand, Texas has a better job atmosphere. When I graduated OU in 1999, the OU president made an appeal to the students to stay in OK and find a job there rather than take their talent to some other State (implying Texas!) We knew full well that professional salaries in Texas were almost always higher in TX in every field than OK. You really do have a lot of OU grads working in Texas. I would prefer to live in the OKC area than Amarillo but because of how my job panned out, the better opportunity was in Amarillo!

The two states are very alike in that they have a particular "cowboy" feel to them. It is a pride in their western heritage and ruggedness.
In general, as far as the friedliness of the two states, I would have to say OK has the slight edge.

As far as weather goes, OK is more dangerous considering the amount of tornadoes they get versus Texas. OK is in the dead center of Tornado alley. Sure, sure, Texas gets Hurricanes, but Hurricanes can be prepared for, tornadoes can't.

[WillysB]

If you have to ask then you really need to head for Oklahoma. OK?

Only then would you be able to comprehend how good a place it is.

[Matthaeus]

I would also point out that Tornadoes, though frequent in the rural outlying areas of Oklahoma, rarely occur in the cities. In fact, in the five years I lived in Norman Oklahoma, there was never a tornado that touched down inside the city limits.