Owasso vs. Broken Arrow (Tulsa, Sapulpa: rental, low crime, credit)

[heypc]

We are moving to the area and have narrowed it down to Owasso or Broken Arrow. I'm looking for more information on both... and the advantages and disadvantages of both places. Which would you choose and why?

Thanks in advance for your insight!

[Goodpasture]

they are both bedroom communities with good schools, good restaurants, good shopping, one main road into Tulsa, good sports programs, good churches, and lots of civic pride..........can't think of any advantages.

I like living out in the country where I can't see a neighbor and I don't have a home owners association telling me how many cows I can have.

[soul_flare]

I don't live in either city, but my brother lives in Broken Arrow,and I am in Owasso frequently. Broken Arrow is bigger and will have more choices for restaurants, and shopping. Owasso is still a very nice city, in my opinion. You couldn't go wrong with either choice.

[BAGuy]

I am in Broken Arrow and love it here. There is growth and the city is vibrant. The people are genuinely friendly here as well. I think you will feel at home here. There are new restaurants and stores entering the city all the time. A new Cinemark 12 theater is set to open in July.

Transportation in BA is a plus as well. The Broken Arrow Expressway (Highway 51) is the main expressway through town to take people in and out of Tulsa. The Creek Turnpike is another option. Plus, many of the city streets run right into Tulsa. So, there are multiple ways to get to Tulsa from Broken Arrow.

The crime rate is extremely low here!

Hope this helps out. Let me know if you have any additional questions about Broken Arrow.

[ohbugger]

I live in Broken Arrow as well. If you are in the right area, you can walk to quite a few places. I don't know if that matters to you or not.. But I like walking sometimes. Broken Arrow also has good schools. I don't really like the people, though.. In regards to eating out, Broken Arrow is kind-of weird. New restaurants pop up quite often, then fizzle out after a few months to a few years for no real reason. Most of the food here is fast food (burgers, fried chicken, tacos)... Most of the restaurants are Chinese, Mexican, Italian or BBQ... But that's the Tulsa area in general. lol

In regards to the people, I find them to be a bit snooty. Generally they are nice, but a lot of them are just very upity. While the schools are good, I have to say that I did *NOT* enjoy my time in the Broken Arrow public school system. The only school I liked was the Broken Arrow Academy, which is the "alternative" school. I never really got on with the kids in the public schools & either went to the Broken Arrow Academy or a private school in Tulsa. The teachers at the Broken Arrow Academy were great, though. They were teachers because they wanted to help people & they really loved their students. (don't know how many of them are still at the academy, though)... The other teachers, in the main schools, were very biased (for the most part). I had one teacher that always gave good grades to the athletes, just because they were athletes. We dissected baby pigs & the guy I was teamed up with was an athlete & got all the credit, just because he was on the football team, even though we were supposed to be a TEAM... That's just one example.

Depending on what you like to do, there may or may not be a lot for you to do in Broken Arrow. For me, there's really not much to do. I can walk around (or drive around) and get things to eat, but I don't really like living here. I would assume Owasso is much the same... Though Broken Arrow is constantly growing & there's more here than there.

Some things to consider: Property tax here is ridiculous. Home Owners Associations here are ridiculous. Utilities (for this area) are expensive. The best place to buy your fresh foods (that is nearby) would be at Reasors, Warehouse market generally has bad/old looking produce and Walmart's is sometimes good/sometimes bad. There are Farmer's markets, but they are very expensive. For example, my grandmother bought 1lb of "organic" new potatoes for 8.00 at a local Farmer's market.... You can buy a 20lb sack of regular potatoes for like 3.99. I bought some local meat (a brisket) and it was very poor quality and bad flavor. (not because of anything I did to it- I love cooking & have been cooking for many a year.. It was just bad, expensive meat).

Also, some areas are prone to flooding..

If I were to suggest a place to live that's near here, I would recommend Bixby--- In an area that doesn't get flooded. lol Much lower property taxes, still fairly close to Tulsa, you can qualify for rural development loan and the school system isn't bad.

[ohbugger]

I forgot to mention---

Broken Arrow & phone service/internet...

If you want a land line, you have Four options.

1.) Windstream

2.) Cox

3.) Cox internet with a Magic Jack

4.) Hellatiously Expensive Satellite

If you plan on using wireless (Sprint, Verizon, etc), then you're good to go.. But the only options for internet/land line phone service are Cox and Windstream. No AT&T- Windstream leases or bought all their lines in the area.

The faster option is Cox. Windstream tops out at 12 MB's, Cox is like 20... And with both service providers, you may or may not be able to get that speed in your area. If you do decide to bundle services, Windstream is cheaper & has a lifetime price guarantee.

In regards to the Satellite internet, I don't mean bundled with DishNetwork or DirecTV kind of Satellite internet.

Why I didn't say Windstream with a Magic Jack--- Windstream is DSL. To have DSL through Windstream, they require a phone line... So... You get a phone with all the bells & whistles & internet service (12 MBPS) for 59.95/mo.. Cox is like 20.00 just for a basic phone.. All the extras (caller ID, call waiting, etc) are $10+ more & your internet is 39.99-59.99 + TV, which you get fewer channels than with DirecTV..

To save a bit of money & to get the best deal (in my opinion), I recommend:

Whatever Cox internet package you can afford with phone service through Magic Jack, DirecTV's top 150 w/ DVR for your TV & local stations, & Netflix hooked to your video game console (or whatever) for your movies & TV shows like Dexter, Weeds, etc etc. Netflix posts the episodes soon after they air on regular TV & they have a huge video/TV selection available any time & is 20 bucks a month, including tax.. Where you'd pay 7 to 11.99 more or less per premium movie channel on cable or DirecTV/Dish Network.

[ERISAjunkie]

Your choice may come down to the shortest commute. Both communities are middle class suburbs. There is a lot of diversity of housing though the typical subdivision dominates. I tend to feel that good fences make good neighbors. Most of the subdivisions are on a third of an acre or less- too close to my neighbors for me. A little further out in both Owasso and Broken Arrow you can find more acreage. I don't know what your're looking at but both towns are afforable to a middle class earner.

Broken Arrow is certainly larger than Owasso. Depending on where you're locating from both are afforable in regard to average utilities and property taxes. Taxes are high or low depending on your experience. They are about 1% of the market value of your home. Property taxes in Tulsa may be lower and are lower if you settle beyond the Tulsa suburbs.

A contributor mentioned the lack of access and variety in food shopping in both areas. In my limited experience I can say they are right. I'm not talking about specialty items or anything like a Whole Foods or something. The Tulsa area in general seems to lack large food markets. Wal-Mart seems to be the default choice of most consumers. I wish there were more quality choices.

My understanding is that the school districts in both towns are excellent. There are many threads on this forum that talk about the pros and cons of Tulsa schools. Both Owasso and Broken Arrow seem to be wonderful places to raise a family. Good schools, community life, good churches and access to Tulsa.

I see you narrowed your choices and that's a good thing. Both towns are outstanding. If you're still unsure maybe you want to rent first. Living day to day in Tulsa will give you a real feel over time.

[GeauxOK]

We moved to Owasso last year and have been pleased. Like some of the others have said, I don't think you'll go wrong with either place. Good schools, low crime and a pretty nice climate. I'd look at your job location and commute, and go from there. I'd also hope that you have a job lined up, because the job market is rough, Everywhere. Good luck.

[georgiagin]

We are re-locating from Atlanta to Tulsa and I too am looking at both BA & Owasso...as well as one cool looking house in Sepulpa? (sp?) anyway...geesh, it's hard to find a rental house that is over 4 bedrooms and under 2,000.00 mo...but we're still trying.

[BAGuy]

Georgiagin, glad to hear you are looking at the Tulsa area. Broken Arrow is a great community. Sapulpa is too.