Tulsa-Will I survive? (Yale, Kansas, Carmen: theater, university, living in)

[Synopsis]

Well, since the moderator seems fit to delete my responses, I just wanted to let you know that I will respond more in kind to your comments in due time to dispell your spin that Portland, Maine is such a cultural center of the country.

And it's my opinion that you did wish the thread to go this way or you wouldn't have made all of the comments about how Tulsa is such a hellish place in regards to strip malls and chain restaurants that offers nothing to keep someone of your "cultured" status around for more than a couple of years.

The good people of Tulsa just can't seem to get anything right, in your opinion. The dried up river (which isn't dried up at all), strip mall hell, chain restaurants everywhere; it's just such a horrible place and cannot compare to a port in the farthest nether regions of the country that has an occasional cruise ship stop by only to fill up with fuel and get out of there as fast as it can.

Portland Maine is forgotten in time, which is a good thing because I like to get away from civilization every once in awhile myself.

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by jridg

Have you ever been to Portland, ME? I lived there for three years - a fantastic little city - the largest in the state - no it's not a megalopolis, but there is, in fact far more to that place than there is here. The middle of nowhere?! Since when is 2 hours north of Boston the middle of nowhere? With Direct train and bus access to the entire eastern seaboard. Also Portland is a cruise ship destination with 2 of the top ten restaurants in the COUNTRY! (in that little berg of 60k people) How about the middle of the prairie being the middle of nowhere?

Far, far more to Portland, Maine than Tulsa? In what respect? And to claim that you are two hours away from a major metropolitan area is not something that I would say eliminates you from the prospect of being in the middle of nowhere. Two of the top ten restaurants in the COUNTRY huh? What pray tell are those two top restaurants of which you speak? According to the Gayot Restaurant Guide Portland is not listed on having even one of the top 40 restaurants in the country. And as for Tulsa being in the prairie, that might be true if you traveled a little farther to the West, but I’ll let you in on a little information; Tulsa is in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains, and has a large number of lakes and hills - the area is heavily forested. I thought you lived in Tulsa? Apparently you didn’t get out too much.

Originally Posted by jridg

As I stated that was my own opinion based upon my own experience - never claimed it was balanced.........Oh, and by the way, you forgot to mention that we do like some of the restaurants and areas of the city (I am sure I mentioned that as well - you seem to be very selective in your response) Also, we started a social club and I also seem to have mentioned making our own fun with our friends - also conveniently 'forgotten' by Synopsis..

Thank you so much for admitting that there is one or two saving graces about the city of Tulsa. None of the restaurants would make the mythical “2 of the top ten list” of which you spoke in a prior post though huh?

Originally Posted by jridg

Roots, well I guess I am just a shiftless loser, never staying anywhere more than three years or so......Something about serving your country does that, they actually order you and your family to move.....it's actually kind of tough on the family - having to pull up stakes (I won't use roots as apparently I have none) every two or three years - right when you get to know the people and the way of things, I suppose it's the sort of thing you have to do when you choose that career.

Again, what military base is in Tulsa? Serving your country is a fine thing. I too have served and if you are indeed serving in the military, I applaud you. As for not wanting to spend all of your time drinking in bars, that’s something to be applauded as well.

Originally Posted by jridg

By the way, never said I didn't like Maine, or any of the other areas, don't like Tulsa much, because, as I said, there is not much for two adults who don't want to spend all their time drinking in bars to do around here on a regular basis - sorry to offend, just trying to be honest - I think I said that as well........

How about the following?

-Visit the Philbrook Museum of Art, one of the top art museums in the United States?
-How about visiting one of Tulsa’s many beautiful parks, such as Mohawk Park, Woodward Park, the River Parks. Tulsa has one of the largest and most extensive park systems in the entire United States.
-How about the Tulsa Zoo, recently voted America’s favorite zoo?
-How about the Tulsa Air and Space Museum?
-How about the Tulsa Drillers AA baseball team. Catch a good game of baseball, America’s past-time.
-How about taking in some Hockey, watching a little Tulsa Oilers?
-Maybe a little Arena League Football with the Tulsa Talons?
-How about the Gilcrease Museum? A little more culture for ya.
-How about the Tulsa Ballet, which just finished celebrating its 50th anniversary?
-How about a college football game? The Tulsa Golden Hurricane, which won the Conference USA title and the Independence Bowl last year?
- How about catching some live music at one of the most historic venues in the country - Caines Ballroom?
-How about dinner and a movie?
-How about a play or visiting one of the many art shops in around the Blue Dome district?
-How about visiting some of the beautiful lakes in the region? Maybe scuba diving at lake tenkiller? One of the top destinations for scuba divers in the region.
-How about the Oktoberfest celebration, which was voted one of the best in the world?

Shall I go on to disprove how wrong you are to say that there is nothing to do in Tulsa? I could list dozens and dozens more, but if one doesn’t want to open their eyes to their surroundings, there is absolutely nothing one can do to persuade them otherwise. Notice I didn’t say take a trip hours away to Kansas City or Oklahoma City or Dallas/Fort Worth.

Originally Posted by jridg

You're going to lose this one....

Portland, ME
- Ranked #12 in the WORLD by Frommers (you know the travel people) for top travel destinations (2007).

I see it’s a good place to retire, and has a good jogging trail, and access to Boston so when the retirees want to leave, they have someplace to go..

Originally Posted by jridg

- Ranked #20 in INC magazine (2006) on the boomtown list for hottest cities for entrpreneurs.

I see on Inc. magazine’s list of the top overall cities for doing business IN 2007, that TULSA, OK comes in at 183 on the list; Portland, Maine is at 281. Hmmm..

Originally Posted by jridg

- Ranked #7 on the 2005 list of the 100 best art towns in America (Countryman press)

Countryman press; very im”press”ive. The Philbrook Art Museum is one of the most impressive in the nation, with some of the largest collections of art you will see in the nation. There is probably more worthwhile art contained in the Philbrook than the entire city of Portland, Maine.

Originally Posted by jridg

- Named #15 in medium-sized top US cities for doing business. (INC incorporated)

Synopsis: A repeat of your earlier claim, which I disproved.

Originally Posted by jridg

- Out of 25,000 cities examined - ranked #32 for doing business in the US. (same source).

Repetetive information which has already proven to be false. Do I sense a pattern here?

Originally Posted by jridg

- Recently voted the fourth most liveable city in the U.S. by Fine Living Magazine, clean air, a low crime rate, and solid schools have also gained Portland recognition as the number one city in America in which to raise children by The Children's Rights Council.

Tulsa was voted one of the most liveable cities in the US by Southern Magazine. There. My dad can beat up your dad..

Originally Posted by jridg

- #1 market in small business vitality - suggests Portland to be the strongest small-business sector of ANY large metro area in the US - ranked as the hottest small business market in which to develop a company. (american city business journals - Jan '05)

Aside from being one of the most ambiguous statements in this thread, Portland is large metro area? And here you go again with the best areas to do business claim, which was disproved in an earlier post.

Originally Posted by jridg

- Ranked #2 in SELF Magazine's 2006 healthiest cities for women.

Point out some statistics or provide a link - maybe I’ll give the little burg this much.

Originally Posted by jridg

- Portland Maine - ranked one of the ten great adventure towns by National Geographic Adventure Magazine.

I enjoy nature as much as anyone, so I could see that. Being so far from real civilization, I suppose that it is very much an adventure to go to Portland.

Originally Posted by jridg

- Named Bike-town USA by Bike-town magazine.

I did a search on the Internet and found about 20 other cities that boasted that same moniker. It may be a nice place to ride a bike.

Originally Posted by jridg

- #6 of 10 culturally most fascinating US cities from Travel Smart consumer newsletter.

"Culturally fascinating" is a term that one can draw a lot of conclusions from, and not all of them are good.

Originally Posted by jridg

-- Maine is the 2nd safest and 4th healthiest state in the US.

I wouldn't doubt that. With the absence of people comes cleaner air and less crime. Nothing wrong with that, but then again there's that absence of civilization thing.

Originally Posted by jridg

There is much more - but I think I've made my point.........

You’ve made some decent little attempts, but all those “points” are just your spin on things. Try again.

Originally Posted by jridg

I guess I am just all screwed up - my last "podunky little town" was the first stop on the Queen Mary II's US tour a couple of years ago - but hey, it's just a podunky little town, right?

Probably just stopped to fill up for fuel and move on to a warmer climate.

Originally Posted by jridg

Again, never meant this to go this route - I was just giving my honest opinion but I suppose even stating that makes you uncomfortable.....

Synopsis: I think you did, don't back-peddle now.

[jeffncandace]

Originally Posted by jridg

- Pretty? Not really - Woodward park is the ONLY decent park in town - the riverside is sad because usually the river is just a mud-bed

When did this happen? I lived in Tulsa altogether for 8 years and don't ever remember the river being a mud-bed, and for 3 years of that time I had 2 close friends who lived right on Riverside...???

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by jeffncandace

When did this happen? I lived in Tulsa altogether for 8 years and don't ever remember the river being a mud-bed, and for 3 years of that time I had 2 close friends who lived right on Riverside...???

It didn't happen jeffncandace. There may have been times when it was low because this whole part of the country was in a drought. I'll bet it's back up to its usual levels now, with all of the rain lately.

[jeffncandace]

Originally Posted by Synopsis

It didn't happen jeffncandace. There may have been times when it was low because this whole part of the country was in a drought. I'll bet it's back up to its usual levels now, with all of the rain lately.

Cool. Had me worried there!

[Magnulus]

The religious aspect in Tulsa is annoying but just keep in mind there are alot of closet, or not so closet, agnostics/atheists and irreligious people in Tulsa, some of them are even in my family there. The religious right just shouts pretty loud in Tulsa (Oklahoma in general) and they get sort of a megaphone. But generally if you don't make a big deal about it, people don't care, they just don't like to for people to make fun of stuff they hold very dear- religion is not just an opinion for them, something they hope for, it's what they ground their life in. For many people religion is sort of a social thing more than anything, a family tradition sort of thing (if you lived in a place with so many whopping big tornadoes, you'ld pray too), and going to church on sundays is a social event, especially as bars and nightclubbing just aren't done so much (social drinking in general is sort of frowned on, and you can't even buy real beer in a grocery store, or wine). Only for a minority of people in Tulsa do they get their kicks out of demonizing or prosletyzing others of different beliefs or no belief- Tulsans are generally tolerant people, as are alot of people in the midwest. Generally if they are uneasy about something, they tend to just avoid or ignore it rather than confronting it directly. So if a lack of religion were brought up, they might make a joke about it and not come back to the subject, sometihng like that.

[nofearfactor]

I heard more out of the 7thDayAdventists in Sonora,Ca when I lived there than I ever do out of the Baptists out here...

[peladac]

Originally Posted by jeffncandace

Cool. Had me worried there!

No need to worry. As of now, you cannot see the sand because the river is considerably higher.

As far as anyone continuing to badger Tulsa or Oklahoma, they obviously have nothing better to do. I'm originally from the Northeast and have lived in the deep South. What purpose would it serve me to get on a local website and badger the people of those cities that I DESPISE so much? No purpose what-so-ever. I would have to do it out of ignorance and just having a mean spirit.

Anyone that wants the "night life" so bad, then don't come here. Go to sin city Las Vegas and your never sleep at night cities. Tulsa is just the right size. We lived in Houston for a year and lived in a very small town for another year. Tulsa is in between and just what we wanted and what the people (the majority) of Tulsa want. I know I don't want to be around a sleepless city. I would move again if it came to that. Living and traveling throughout the United States over many years, I feel like I'm at home. I'm not an original Okie, but I support Tulsa and Oklahoma. It has wonderful history and for the most part, very nice people.

One thing I don't like are the storms with tornadoes.

[jeffncandace]

Originally Posted by peladac

No need to worry. As of now, you cannot see the sand because the river is considerably higher.

As far as anyone continuing to badger Tulsa or Oklahoma, they obviously have nothing better to do. I'm originally from the Northeast and have lived in the deep South. What purpose would it serve me to get on a local website and badger the people of those cities that I DESPISE so much? No purpose what-so-ever. I would have to do it out of ignorance and just having a mean spirit.

Anyone that wants the "night life" so bad, then don't come here. Go to sin city Las Vegas and your never sleep at night cities. Tulsa is just the right size. We lived in Houston for a year and lived in a very small town for another year. Tulsa is in between and just what we wanted and what the people (the majority) of Tulsa want. I know I don't want to be around a sleepless city. I would move again if it came to that. Living and traveling throughout the United States over many years, I feel like I'm at home. I'm not an original Okie, but I support Tulsa and Oklahoma. It has wonderful history and for the most part, very nice people.

One thing I don't like are the storms with tornadoes.

Well, I haven't lived in Tulsa since 1999 but have a TON of family and friends that live there still. I left Tulsa for alot of reasons, but have always had good memories of that town. Like this poster says, Tulsa is a city that is just big enough, but not too big. I've always said it is the perfect-sized city. I have nothing but good memories of Tulsa, and always will.
The only thing I don't miss is those hot summers!

[runderwo]

Originally Posted by Tulsaloha

3. Any place for good Vietnamese "pho", seafood restaurants; and, where to get fresh herbs and spice like Thai basil, galanga, lemon grass and kaiffer lime leaves? TulsaLawyr, we'll definitely try your recommendation restaurants.

There are international foods stores all over the place, probably the most important for your needs would be Nam Hai the Asian supermarket near 21st and Garnett Rd.