Broken Arrow? A good place to live? (Oklahoma City, Tulsa: find a job, school district)

[Milleka]

Originally Posted by Goodpasture

Quite honestly, if you can't be part of the community you work in, if you can't be excited about the environment you are coming to, if you only see what it doesn't have, you should find work somewhere else. Hospitals around the world are looking for help. Let someone who would like Tahlequah take the job IN Tahlequah. Ann Arbor is a nice small city. If that is what makes you happy, there are hundreds of small cities like that around the country......find one.

I have to disagree. I prefer not to live where I work. I can keep the two separated and avoid a LOT of drama that way.

[Sarahsez]

I'm not a fan of BA. We lived there for a few years. The schools were one of the reasons why we decided to leave. We felt that the educational system was geared toward the slower students. Students with more academic ability just sort of sat and spun their wheels. The town itself was not a fit for us, but I did like that there were actual two parent families there and the town is oriented towards families.

I don't know if you have a requirement to live in Oklahoma, but if you don't northwest Arkansas has a lot going for it. You might check around over there. There might be some really good deals on houses.

[Goodpasture]

Originally Posted by Milleka

I have to disagree. I prefer not to live where I work. I can keep the two separated and avoid a LOT of drama that way.

Yeah, but if Tahlequah isn't all that attractive because it is too small, Hulbert, Peggs, or Cookson is really gonna suck.

[PNPGuy]

Originally Posted by Milleka

I have to disagree. I prefer not to live where I work. I can keep the two separated and avoid a LOT of drama that way.

Yes, I agree. I'm in health care and I really don't want to see patients everyday, every where I go. If you're not in health care, you may not get that. As far as the other comments regarding living in Tahlequah, the job is there. If I had an opportunity to find the job in Tulsa, Edmond, OKC...I would do so. Jobs are limited and this is the job that is looking at me. So don't judge my choice to look around and not live where I practice.

[okie1962]

I know of people who drive from Tahlequah to Tulsa for employment. And I know people who used to drive from Tulsa to NE State University. For Oklahoma standards it is a long commute but for other parts of the country it is not long of a commute. Tahlequah is a nice town and sits in the foothills of the Ozarks. I think you would be pleasantly surprised to see how pretty NE Oklahoma is.

[Ecovlke]

BA is a long commute to Tahlequah. Maybe you don't mind that? It just take hours out of you life. It's difficult to judge what others may like. Lots of people like BA, but it's not for me. It's too generic and benign for my taste.

I like Tahlequah, but if you don't, and want a larger town, and don't mind the commute consider Fayetteville, AR. It's a university town; it's in the Ozarks; open minded; has a great downtown with a very active farmers market in the warm season; lots of people involved in the community and lots of environmentally conscientious people; I hear that the schools are exceptional there, so you may want to consider Fayetteville.

I went to NSU, which is the university in Tahlequah and my zoo prof. commuted from Fayetteville.

[e_cuyler]

Fayetteville to Tahlequah would be a much tougher commute---lots of rural highway driving, and I believe it would be a good deal farther. Profs tend to be more amiable to longer commutes due to their work schedules.

I don't really consider Tahlequah that small, but I grew up in Stilwell.

[Ecovlke]

Originally Posted by e_cuyler

Fayetteville to Tahlequah would be a much tougher commute---lots of rural highway driving, and I believe it would be a good deal farther. Profs tend to be more amiable to longer commutes due to their work schedules.

I don't really consider Tahlequah that small, but I grew up in Stilwell.

Agreed. Plus, there were two professors in the biolgoy department that commuted from AR, and they car pooled. Also agree with you about Tahlequah.

Tahlequah has pretty decent schools. My kid went there for 7th and 8th grade when I was finishing college. Freaking kick azz band!

In the end, it's a personal decision. I commute to a small town about 40 miles from Tulsa, and when I bought my house I could have bought in that town, but didn't want to. Still, I hate the time involved in the 40 minute commute to and fro.

[Klguess]

We too are relocating soon back to Tulsa/ Broken Arrow. My high schooler will go to Bishop Kelley aand i'm looking at All Saints in broken Arrow for my son. Additionally there are other catholic schools such as St Mary's, St. Pious and Monte Cassino to consider. Good luck!

[Milleka]

Originally Posted by Goodpasture

Yeah, but if Tahlequah isn't all that attractive because it is too small, Hulbert, Peggs, or Cookson is really gonna suck.

True. It's a catch-22, really. Smaller communities suck because there isn't as much to do. But, on the other hand, it is a slower lifestyle.