Relocating from Queen Creek AZ to Bixby Oklahoma and we have some questions! (Oklahoma City: cost of, assess)

[okie bird dog]

Have lived in Tulsa area many years. For perspective I have also lived in Atlanta and Houston and have spent time in other areas. I have loved living in Oklahoma and the Tulsa area. I raised a family here and have children who have chosen to stay here, others have moved for various reasons but stayed in Oklahoma. I can't speak to the current education but my oldest 2 children received a good education in Tulsa, one becoming a lawyer and one a sales manager. The younger 2 were homeschooled and are equally successful. There is a large biking (without motors) community here and it is growing. It is an area that is big on water sports since there are many very large lakes in close proximity to Tulsa. The fishing is great. Tornado threat is overblown but does exist. You will not find many basements but many are having "saferooms" installed that will withstand an F5. Oklahoma is gun friendly, although unlike Arizona, you do have to qualify for and obtain a permit to carry one. This is a humid area, not as bad as Louisiana but bad. Winters are ugly and usually wet cold, but cold spells don't last long. Spring is beautiful, summer is hot and fall is very pretty. They do call this "Green Country". Not a big shopper but most of what a person would want is here. Home owners insurance is higher here than Arizona because of Tornados, high winds at times, hail and ice storms. This area can get quite a bit of ice at times. None of these are consistent enough to keep me from moving here. All areas have their positives and negatives. The uptick in crime in Tulsa is concerning but I since I never experience it I don't know if it is a big issue unless you live in a bad area. I would not live in Tulsa again but have loved living in a smaller town adjacent to it and being able to have dog kennels and horses. There is a lot of night life here. Besides the casinos there are areas of Tulsa that are set up as entertainment areas that have many bars and restaurants. There are many "runs" like the 5 K this morning, and quite a few festivals. There are so many restaurants in the area and many are god to great. There are so many churches, many come from outside this region and are amazed, chose your flavor. We are getting ready to move to Prescott area for the drier climate for my wife but you should do well in Tulsa area, we did. Always visit first in different seasons. No water issues LOL! Good utilities. Bad roads. Turnpikes, if you chose to use them, YIKES. Pretty mountain areas to the east and south, tall grass prairies to the northeast and semi-arid to the west. Oklahoma has a lot of variety.

[Wyllyam]

Pretty fair assessment. Bixby seems ok, but I know that the Jenks school district is always number 1 or 2 in the state. Really, it's quite good. It is a shame what our smaller districts are going through, but suburbs like Owasso and Jenks are essentially built to support a school system. They were designed in recent decades to support top-rate band, sports, and in the case of Jenks at least, quality academics to go up against anyone. I wish all the districts could be that good.

I had to Google to find you were near Phoenix to answer the nightlife question. Really, there isn't much. As young as you are, there are some amazing bars and things happening in our downtown (Tulsa) area, but compared to a metro like Phoenix or Dallas or KC it's going to feel very small. That's not a negative for most people, but do consider it. Also, the alcohol laws are pretty restrictive, so don't do anything crazy like we did and ask for wine in a grocery store on a Sunday (or any day) as they literally might start having an intervention for you right there in the aisle. But, we come from Missouri where people have to sober up before their weekday morning commute...so to each his own.

As far as "Off-road" there are facilities but you may have to change your style. Oklahoma is more farm and ranch than AZ, so public-use land is less, but it does exist. You'll have to adjust to a more forest/rock/mud terrain rather than desert. We have one big sand park down south, so you'll have to load up and trailer for a couple hours (Little Sahara). We also have one of the best rock-crawling parks in the entire world (Disney) right east of Tulsa. If you don't have the Jeep bug yet it will hit shortly. Save up though, rocks are way harder on parts!

If you are conservative by nature, can handle more reserved people who are a little more slow to open up, but love the outdoors and can handle the minor things I mentioned and others have mentioned, you should enjoy it. I recently read we are the 3rd lowest cost of living in the U.S. (and will probably remain there) so your money goes a LONG way here. Rent first, you won't miss out as houses don't move in price here like they do in bigger cities so you won't miss out by trying out neighborhoods.

[StillwaterTownie]

On alcohol, Oklahoma was required to enter the union as a dry state in 1907 and has been trying to get over it ever since. Oklahoma will take big baby steps on Oct. 1 when grocery and convenience stores are allowed to sell strong beer and wine. 3.2% beer is supposed to go away, so get used to paying more for the stronger beer to take its place, since it will be taxed more. Liquor stores will be able to sell cold beer for the first time. Hard liquor still only allowed to be sold in liquor stores.

Outside of Tulsa you risk being embarrassed, if you are in a restaurant and ask for a drink on Sunday and/or on a holiday. It's not allowed. In Stillwater, from being in the bible belt, it's strange how liquor by the drink is legal on Sunday, the Lord's Day, but not if it's a holiday. If you venture too far outside of the metro areas you may run into a county where liquor by the drink is still illegal, even though counties have had the freedom to go that route since 1985. Any county has been allowed to have liquor stores since 1959.

[insanity1x]

Some of these responses are just plain dramatic. Jenks, Bixby and Broken Arrow are all very great places to live and highly rated. The public school systems tend to be rated in that order as well, while all 3 I believe to be good. Bixby is certainly good.

Crime will be less than Phoenix or majority surrounding areas. Not to mention just north of Bixby is the only Costco in the state. Produce is less expensive and so are utilities.

There’s a very decent nightlife. Cherry street is a pretty popular area for younger people or anyone who likes the urban vibe. Among other areas but it’s not hard to look up.

I have done a lot of reasearch comparing Tulsa to OKC and Dallas. A few things I found mentioned about Tulsa were things like America’s best kept secret, the most naturally beautiful area in Oklahoma, and one of the US’ most underestimated cities. Being familiar with the Phoenix metro, Dallas, OKC, and Tulsa, I’d choose Tulsa any day.

[kyle450rider]

Originally Posted by Hwolf

Hi! My husbands job might be moving us out to Oklahoma Tulsa area from AZ!

My questions are:

* Right now we are both early 20s and like nightlife occasionally, what is it like in Tulsa bixby area? (Clubs? Bars? Wine paint night? Dinner movie theaters? Etc?

Welcome to T TOWN. Tulsa has tons of nightlife but Bixby isn't a hot spot for it. You're only about 20 min away from anything here though so town choice doesn't really matter.

* we enjoy camping, off roading and we have a few atvs as well is that easily accessible in OK?

Yes. Plenty of Lakes, National Parks, and ATV areas are around. Keystone Lake has a designated riding area and Jandebeur's (SP?) in Okmulgee has the same. We are also a short drive to the Ozarks.

*what are some major hobbies people do out there?
Pretty much the same as everyone else. I hope you guy's like football.

* We eat pretty healthy right now, is produce reasonably priced? What are the main grocery stores used out there? Sprouts? Kroger’s? Aldis?

We got sprouts, aldi's , Whole Foods, Reasors, Warehouse Market, ETC.... Good farmers markets during the spring and summer also.

* we are looking to start a family soon and online the bixby schools have great ratings! Are they well structured? Are the class sizes okay? Teachers friendly but stern?

This is be some hot debate as people are really proud of certain schools. Jenks does get really HI ratings

* are there a lot of things to do around town with babies/ kiddos? (Splash pad, pools, parks, etc?)

Bout all the big housing area's have a neighborhood pool, splash pad, jungle gym, commons area. Plenty of parks, ponds, and free stuff too. Also Tulsa has the Aquarium and Zoo

*ive heard there a plenty of churches out there and were Non denominational Christian, do many of these churches have life groups or small groups? (Typically 4-8 couples meet once a week and talk about the Bible, hardships, and life together)

Plenty of churches and many options to find what you want. I'm not a Church goer but we got some big ones here

* living in AZ we don’t have a lot of weather issues and I know Tulsa is in “ tornado ally” but no houses we’ve seen online have basements, should we be concerned?

The soil here isn't good on basements from what I've always heard. Like someone else mentioned they do safe rooms now inside your home, garage, or you can have a cellar in the backyard. Live here for a while and you won't get too concerned with it.

* I read online that there was a gang problem in OK....how bad is this??? Should we be concerned??

Dont read about much gang related stuff except for North Tulsa and I don't go that way.

Thank you in advance!

No problemo

[Johnhw2]

Wonder what happened to OP was she scared off I wonder or other options popped up maybe. Wish more posters looking at a big change like this come back to tell us what happened

[Oklazona Bound]

Originally Posted by StillwaterTownie

Everyone in Oklahoma who isn't poor better count themselves well blessed. My single disabled friend says thanks to cuts that his food stamps have been cut from $16 a month to $8. I bet Republican legislators hope that new public food banks will pop up in response. Once again, outsiders who are poor should steer clear of Oklahoma.

Where in this country is a great place to be poor? The places that give more benefits also usually have a much higher cost of living so it tends to cancel that out. The goal would to stop being poor.

[teakboat]

Exactly! Who even thinks that way.

[StillwaterTownie]

Originally Posted by jackwinkelman

Where in this country is a great place to be poor? The places that give more benefits also usually have a much higher cost of living so it tends to cancel that out. The goal would to stop being poor.

It sure doesn't cancel out in Oklahoma. My disabled friend says his food stamps got reduced from $16 a month to $8. I bet in many other states the food stamps benefits for singles go over $100 a month and the overall cost of food there isn't much more than double, compared to Oklahoma City, if that much.

[teakboat]

If $8 a month would impact anyone's relocation decision, they probably should do us a favor and stay where they are at.