What Do You Think Of Tulsa? (Broken Arrow, Sapulpa: statistics, estate, rapes)

[poetrylover]

Thank you for this, Howest2008! I read someone's post that said that the cool thing with tulsa is that it's totally seperate, and that was so, so correct. Maybe if it wasn't so segregated certain parts of town wouldn't have such a stigma.

[kbarjae]

tulsa is agreat place to live,its close to alot of great weekend getaways,beaver dam in arkanasas,tablerock., robbers cave state park,lake olagah.cavalcade in pawhuska,not to mention one of the best fairs around .bluegrass in claremmore, the list is endless.soon as the house i live in fla is sold,i am coming home

[TulsaArtist]

" What do you think of Tulsa? " Well this is my first post on here, so here goes lol.

First off, as per my moniker, I am an artist. I am a 4th generation Tulsan, so I am going to be kind of biased. Yes, I love Tulsa. If anything its because I am so familiar with it, and its a very beautiful little city. Little city... I sometimes think this has been tough for Tulsa. Often a newcomer, or even the locals will look at all the skyscrapers and skyline and then expect more from Tulsa than they really should. People tend to compare Tulsa to much larger cities, when in reality they should compare us to some place like Tucson which has similar population counts. Compare what we have to what they have and there is no comparison. Tulsa blows them away. People sometimes compare Tulsa to much older cities like KC or Denver. KC was the BIG city back in the day. It was a big city when Tulsa was nothing but a dirt road and a few, small, ramshackle, wooden buildings. We came a long way in an incredibly short time, and dared to challenge cities much larger and older.

Then the oil faded away. Oil that was a good helping of blessing with a large side order of curse. Blessing that it gave us a lot of wonderful things that other cities our size and age could only dream of. Curse, in that when the oil was gone,,,, well its been a tough time shifting gears to grow into those big shoes we were left wearing. Lets look at universities for instance. When Tulsa was rich, we didnt bother much with getting a good university system going in our city. TU is nice, but doesnt want to be a large college. When Tulsa was wealthy, people just flowed in. We didnt have to work to bring people, jobs, companies, etc. here. They came for the oil and the money. Now though, we realize we are having to compete for people, for workers, for youth, the "Creative Class", the entrepreneurs, that companies need an educated workforce and a "source" for them nearby. So we have been plaing catch up. OKC for instance has Norman nearby and a large medical complex. Its about the same distance from the University in Norman to downtown OKC, as it is from NSU BA to downtown Tulsa. I watched for decades as friends moved away because they couldnt get an education nearby. Especially those who wanted to study in the medical field. People who, already had some college, but wanted to advance in a career, left as well in order to go to college. Companies left and or didnt move here for the same reasons.

Its interesting to note that TCC is one of the largest Community Colleges in the region. There is no where else local to go lol. And after your done there... Well thank goodness we finally got on the ball and have been growing fledgling universities in the city. Tulsa Vo-Tech, helps, OSU Tulsa downtown, OU Tulsa, NSU BA, and Langston. And even little TU has been expanding a bit and definitely improving their campus. This brings up an interesting point though. Instead of passing something like the MAPS in OKC and its neat canals and such. Tulsa went for getting some of its bricks and mortar, fundamentals taken care of. Namely we spent a lot of money with Vision 2025, and through other taxes and donations, on our Colleges. Not as flashy and fancy as a canal lol. But a good investment thats really important to our future none the less. "though I would say the new arena was a nice treat ;-P " I am 42years old. Its absolutely WONDERFUL to see these budding new universities in our city. I just cant express how important and exciting a development this is for someone of my age to FINALLY see happen in our city. I didnt have the options that the young people of today have.

What else.... Love Philbrook and Gilcrease of course. Philbrook and its gardens are imho, the most beautiful chunk of realestate in this region of the country bar none. Love Brookside and Cherry Streets. Good to see them both still trucking along, growing and improving. Was tough for a while at the beginning of this decade watching first one do well, then the other falter and businesses close, then switch as the other would take the lead and the former lose steam. Finally they both started hanging in there. Then, amazingly, they both started rolling right along and have kept at it. :-) Also good to see the Brady District, Blue Dome and now Greenwood starting to take off. Been a loooong time coming. But the next 4 years are gonna be exciting to watch as those areas merge into one larger, bustling district. There are lots of things in the works in those areas.

Conservative versus Liberal.... Have you ever noticed just how many liberals complain about how conservative it is here? Think about that for a moment lol.

Urban versus Suburban... We still have a long way to go to create the kind of urban areas that many of us want to see here. That will be attractive and competitive with other cities. But we are making progress. Tulsa will get there and though we are a little slow, I think we are building quality.

One thing I wish we did have... A real, flourishing, arts district. We have 3 or 4 different smaller areas with art galleries and such, but not one established area. Perhaps the Brady Arts District will become what its name says it is lol. Though the club and music scene is very good there.

River... underutilized, but already looking SO much better with the remodeled and improved trails and parks. Thank you Mr Kaiser lol.

All in all, I think Tulsa is doing quite well. We have made some mistakes, and have a ways to go. But I have no doubt that Tulsa will grow into the fine lady she has the potential to be lol. Its also great to see our big brother down the pike spiffying itself up and moving nicely along as well. I look forward to the time when both OKC and Tulsa can feel good about the cities they are. We both are a bit insecure still, and that shows in how we try to brag about ourselves and how we feel we must compete, and how defensive we can get lol. I think we will always be a bit competitive with each other, but I really think that in the next couple of decades, each will begin to evolve very different personalities, looks, feels, etc. I kind of liken OKC to Rome and Tulsa to Florence. Very different cities, but each wonderful in their own unique ways. With cities like this, Oklahoma is gonna be a great place to live.

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by TulsaArtist

" What do you think of Tulsa? " Well this is my first post on here, so here goes lol.

First off, as per my moniker, I am an artist. I am a 4th generation Tulsan, so I am going to be kind of biased. Yes, I love Tulsa. If anything its because I am so familiar with it, and its a very beautiful little city. Little city... I sometimes think this has been tough for Tulsa. Often a newcomer, or even the locals will look at all the skyscrapers and skyline and then expect more from Tulsa than they really should. People tend to compare Tulsa to much larger cities, when in reality they should compare us to some place like Tucson which has similar population counts. Compare what we have to what they have and there is no comparison. Tulsa blows them away. People sometimes compare Tulsa to much older cities like KC or Denver. KC was the BIG city back in the day. It was a big city when Tulsa was nothing but a dirt road and a few, small, ramshackle, wooden buildings. We came a long way in an incredibly short time, and dared to challenge cities much larger and older.

Then the oil faded away. Oil that was a good helping of blessing with a large side order of curse. Blessing that it gave us a lot of wonderful things that other cities our size and age could only dream of. Curse, in that when the oil was gone,,,, well its been a tough time shifting gears to grow into those big shoes we were left wearing. Lets look at universities for instance. When Tulsa was rich, we didnt bother much with getting a good university system going in our city. TU is nice, but doesnt want to be a large college. When Tulsa was wealthy, people just flowed in. We didnt have to work to bring people, jobs, companies, etc. here. They came for the oil and the money. Now though, we realize we are having to compete for people, for workers, for youth, the "Creative Class", the entrepreneurs, that companies need an educated workforce and a "source" for them nearby. So we have been plaing catch up. OKC for instance has Norman nearby and a large medical complex. Its about the same distance from the University in Norman to downtown OKC, as it is from NSU BA to downtown Tulsa. I watched for decades as friends moved away because they couldnt get an education nearby. Especially those who wanted to study in the medical field. People who, already had some college, but wanted to advance in a career, left as well in order to go to college. Companies left and or didnt move here for the same reasons.

Its interesting to note that TCC is one of the largest Community Colleges in the region. There is no where else local to go lol. And after your done there... Well thank goodness we finally got on the ball and have been growing fledgling universities in the city. Tulsa Vo-Tech, helps, OSU Tulsa downtown, OU Tulsa, NSU BA, and Langston. And even little TU has been expanding a bit and definitely improving their campus. This brings up an interesting point though. Instead of passing something like the MAPS in OKC and its neat canals and such. Tulsa went for getting some of its bricks and mortar, fundamentals taken care of. Namely we spent a lot of money with Vision 2025, and through other taxes and donations, on our Colleges. Not as flashy and fancy as a canal lol. But a good investment thats really important to our future none the less. "though I would say the new arena was a nice treat ;-P " I am 42years old. Its absolutely WONDERFUL to see these budding new universities in our city. I just cant express how important and exciting a development this is for someone of my age to FINALLY see happen in our city. I didnt have the options that the young people of today have.

What else.... Love Philbrook and Gilcrease of course. Philbrook and its gardens are imho, the most beautiful chunk of realestate in this region of the country bar none. Love Brookside and Cherry Streets. Good to see them both still trucking along, growing and improving. Was tough for a while at the beginning of this decade watching first one do well, then the other falter and businesses close, then switch as the other would take the lead and the former lose steam. Finally they both started hanging in there. Then, amazingly, they both started rolling right along and have kept at it. :-) Also good to see the Brady District, Blue Dome and now Greenwood starting to take off. Been a loooong time coming. But the next 4 years are gonna be exciting to watch as those areas merge into one larger, bustling district. There are lots of things in the works in those areas.

Conservative versus Liberal.... Have you ever noticed just how many liberals complain about how conservative it is here? Think about that for a moment lol.

Urban versus Suburban... We still have a long way to go to create the kind of urban areas that many of us want to see here. That will be attractive and competitive with other cities. But we are making progress. Tulsa will get there and though we are a little slow, I think we are building quality.

One thing I wish we did have... A real, flourishing, arts district. We have 3 or 4 different smaller areas with art galleries and such, but not one established area. Perhaps the Brady Arts District will become what its name says it is lol. Though the club and music scene is very good there.

River... underutilized, but already looking SO much better with the remodeled and improved trails and parks. Thank you Mr Kaiser lol.

All in all, I think Tulsa is doing quite well. We have made some mistakes, and have a ways to go. But I have no doubt that Tulsa will grow into the fine lady she has the potential to be lol. Its also great to see our big brother down the pike spiffying itself up and moving nicely along as well. I look forward to the time when both OKC and Tulsa can feel good about the cities they are. We both are a bit insecure still, and that shows in how we try to brag about ourselves and how we feel we must compete, and how defensive we can get lol. I think we will always be a bit competitive with each other, but I really think that in the next couple of decades, each will begin to evolve very different personalities, looks, feels, etc. I kind of liken OKC to Rome and Tulsa to Florence. Very different cities, but each wonderful in their own unique ways. With cities like this, Oklahoma is gonna be a great place to live.

Probably the best first post on the entire forum. I know of your work and you really are a true Artist, and a heck of a Writer as well.

BTW, you can link to your website in your profile so others can have the pleasure of viewing your work. It's not against the Terms of Service for this forum. If you need any help, just let me know.

Welcome to City-Data!

[Fairfielder]

Hey there TulsaArtist,

That was the most informative post I've read, yet. THAT is the kind of info I look for to get a feel for the City and its history. At first, the post was sooo long, I groaned a little , but I put down my copy of "War and Peace" to read your post and boy, am I glad I did. Thank you.

[sauerkraut145]

Tulsa has some nice jogging trails, The cost of living is low, and a little bit of money can buy a big house.

[Raelyn28]

Hi, I am also inquiring about Tulsa and have two boys. What is the best neighborhood and school system in the area. My boys love baseball so that is important as well. What High School rates the best in the athletic department?

Thanks,
Raelyn

[kbarjae]

do we just say nice things or can we tell the truth? tulsa is no better or no worse than most other places. if you truly want to know about tulsa you dont ask a real estate agent you ask the people who know tulsa better than anyone,the cops they have a crime map you can see just go to tulsa police web page

[mrcinch]

[quote][River... underutilized, but already looking SO much better with the remodeled and improved trails and parks. Thank you Mr Kaiser lol.
/QUOTE]

yeah the voters in Tulsa county said no,....who in there right minds whats to see a a refinery

[mrcinch]

Go to southwester BA. or north