How churchy/southern is Tulsa? (Oklahoma City, Cleveland: high school, living in, low cost)

[nep321]

Hi,

I am a 30 year old gay single, atheist, liberal male currently living in Connecticut. I will be moving out in May and did tons of research of cities/metros all over the entire country and Tulsa is on my list, in addition to Cleveland and Portland, Maine.

My question is...how southern is Tulsa in general? For reference, I spent a month in Charlotte, NC and felt it was too southern cultured for me. Do Tulsa people have southern accents? Is church and family culture very prevalent? How big is the gay scene/culture?

I know it seems odd to have Tulsa on my list compared to Cleveland and Portland, but in all honestly, it seems fascinating to me. The foothills of the Ozarks are beautiful, the cost of living is low and there are jobs in my field. The metro size is perfect for me, too, and the whole area just looks beautiful. It just seems like a hidden gem within our country.

I also prefer living in a liberal environment, but am still open minded enough to consider living in a conservative area, as long as a gay, atheist, liberal from the northeast can feel totally comfortable. Based on comments I read on the internet, other people say that it is rare to see 30-something single people in the workplace, because almost everyone in Tulsa is married with families, etc.

Thanks

[teakboat]

You will like midtown Tulsa. Well balanced and not overly churchy. Beware the ORU metroplex area down in south Tulsa. It is a cult zone and while rather fascinating, fairly bizarre. Lots of almost transient, pilgrim types in that area. Just my opinion.

[bawac34618]

Tulsa is a bit better than OKC in this regard but you are still in the buckle of the Bible Belt. The problem with Tulsa is its just so small so its more difficult to truly escape it than it is in a major metropolitan area like Dallas. People seem to be able to avoid it though if they want to. I am pretty sure Tulsa has a fairly large atheist community. In terms of family culture, Oklahoma as a whole is extremely family oriented. When I first moved to OKC it was a culture shock to discover that it was rare to still be single in your mid twenties. The culture here really pushes rushing to marriage. I am assuming Tulsa is similar for the most part. One good thing about Tulsa though is you have some excellent urban districts in the city core that have more of a progressive, "city" vibe to them.

I have lived in Charlotte and will say if you thought it was too churchy/southern you probably won't like Oklahoma. Not sure about Tulsa but OKC makes Charlotte seem liberal. If I was in your shoes and I wanted to live in this region, I would consider the DFW area or Kansas City, MO. Those cities also benefit from having a low cost of living but are a bit more open and culturally diverse.

[sheena12]

Originally Posted by teakboat

You will like midtown Tulsa. Well balanced and not overly churchy. Beware the ORU metroplex area down in south Tulsa. It is a cult zone and while rather fascinating, fairly bizarre. Lots of almost transient, pilgrim types in that area. Just my opinion.

I was there over 20 years ago for the graduation of a relative and again, last year for the graduation of their son. We went because we were fascinated by the strange fundamentalist culture of the place.

We are liberals and my background is in sociology. It's interesting to watch, but scary and surreal.

Midtown is fun. But "cult zone" is a brilliant way to describe that area.
When the daughter graduates, we'll be back.

[Rubi3]

Originally Posted by sheena12

I was there over 20 years ago for the graduation of a relative and again, last year for the graduation of their son. We went because we were fascinated by the strange fundamentalist culture of the place.

We are liberals and my background is in sociology. It's interesting to watch, but scary and surreal.

Midtown is fun. But "cult zone" is a brilliant way to describe that area.
When the daughter graduates, we'll be back.

I'm very curious to know how the strange fundamentalist culture manifests so an observer is aware of it. What is there to watch? I'm interested in knowing what exactly you are talking about because I don't know. Your words, scary and surreal, are fascinating. I don't know if you're talking about the Oral Roberts contingent or something else. He's Methodist, which I didn't know to be fundamentalist, but perhaps in some circles it is.

[teakboat]

It is probably nothing you will notice unless you spend some significant time around the people there. But a graduation becomes more or less a multimedia charismatic church service (the time I went to one).

[bawac34618]

There is a lot of strange right-wing fundamentalism in Oklahoma that is uncommon in big cities or on the coast. I think this organization in OKC is similar to what sheena12 is talking about.

townofloveokc | Home

Here is another that has quite a following in OKC.

Reclaiming America for Christ | Reclaiming America For Christ

[teakboat]

But in midtown Tulsa for the most part there is no element of this, you could be on the coast or in Austin. Very moderate, and as far as religion goes, live and let live / mind your own business.

[swake]

I’m a liberal in the Tulsa area and it’s fine. I even live in the “super conservative” suburbs. According to surveys less than half of people in the Tulsa area even attend church regularly and while there certainly are some big evangelical churches Tulsa also has the world’s largest Unitarian church and there are plenty of Atheists. The midtown area will be the most comfortable area for liberals. Parts of midtown that have a real hippy vibe and Tulsa is simply awash in hipsters in midtown and downtown. Living in midtown you would have more similar people around you but you really would be fine anywhere. Tulsa has a sizable gay community and I have gay friends and neighbors even out in the ‘burbs and I almost never hear about them having issues. Tulsa’s particular brand of conservatism tends to be libertarian and less socially conservative, even when compared to Oklahoma City.

I don't know what to say about graduations being a church service, my daughter just graduated from high school and I don't recall a prayer of any kind at any of the functions except for completely optional religious convocation, which was of course, a religious ceremony.

[nep321]

Do people in the Tulsa area have southern accents? Or do they sound similar to most mainstream American speech (kind of what you see on TV, etc.)? Do they use the word "y'all"?