Relocating in 1 month (Tulsa, Broken Arrow, Sapulpa: appraiser, house, low crime)

[saintsfans]

I have accepted a position with a drilling company and will be relocating to Tulsa from Houston over the next month. My wife and I have 4 young children that will be attending public school. We have looked at Sand Springs, Owasso, Catoosa,etc. and found some pluses and minuses of all of them. I really want to get out of the city (and must avoid the cookie cutter homes) but my wife wants the convenience of Walmart, grocery stores, etc. We are religious and attend church regularly.

Could someone help me identify what the best area to look in. I currently commute for 1 hour so anything under 30 minutes would be awesome. I really would like people's opinions that live in these areas not just my realtor's who is trying to sell me a house.

[Goodpasture]

I'm a Realtor, but I am not going to sell you house........or even try.....mostly I appraise.

The cookie cutter homes are mostly in the big burb subdivisions......Jenks, Broken Arrow, and Union.

Other things to think about, are what DO you like. You will find some really nice areas south of the Arkansas River and just east and west of highway 97 between Sand Springs and Sapulpa. That area NORTH of Sand Springs in Osage County, towards Skiatook Lake is very attractive. Bixby has larger more isolated tracts south of the river and lying between Mounds, Liberty and Leonard Schools. South east of town you will find really nice acreages in the Coweta area. East of Tulsa you have Inola and Catoosa school districts/towns. Northeast and north central, look at Claremore, Oolagah, and Collinsville. All have good schools, medium to large tracts of land, areas of extreme privacy, and low crime rates. All areas support equestrian events and all the schools have great FFA clubs. Skiatook, Claremore, west of Sand Springs, and Oolagah have lake tracts available.

Like I said, I am an appraiser. I do original and review appraisals in all those towns and there is not one listed in this post that I would not live in......but I like the country.....walking out naked to check the cattle or chickens is a form of freedom few on here experience.

[Synopsis]

I'd take GP's advice anyday. He knows the area better than just about anyone. As for a commute, Tulsa has one of the lowest commute times for a good sized city, FAR from the horrible commute times in Houston.

[saintsfans]

thank you for your responses. We like to be outdoors, (hunting, fishing,etc.) but I want to ensure that the children have the opportunity to participate in organized sports, little league, soccer, etc.

[BAGuy]

I can tell you that organized sports is a big thing in Broken Arrow. You can check out the parks once you are here but the city puts a lot of money to make sure there are nice facilities. Plus....you should check out the Bass Pro Shops right off Highway 51 (Broken Arrow Expressway) and Elm. That is a nice area of town.

[urbanrancher]

like gp says West of Tulsa will be more to your liking, close to Skiatook and Keystone lakes, homes on 1 to 20 acres, but still 15 minutes to downtown