Help!! a possible job relocation to the Tulsa area.. need advise!! (Broken Arrow: crime, house)

[LadyRobyn]

Hi Raelyn!! Let me explain a couple of things and let you know about OUR experience moving here.


First: This is a HUGE forum and not all of the replies you see are coming from people who actually LIVE here.

Second: Some people are miserable no matter where they live.

Third: On a forum this large we occasionally get people called *trolls* who post nonsense just to stir up trouble.

Now, this is what WE found after moving to Oklahoma from CA 5 years ago. Oklahoma is VERY much into sports! So much so that some people complain about the lack of other possibilities. Even in the small town we live in there is NO lack of Cheer/Dance/Youth Sports available.

Our Daughter was a "Cali-girl" through and through, and she was terrified wondering how the kids would treat her...

The kids here accepted her with open arms, and for the most part were fascinated with the fact that she lived in CA her whole life. They did call her "Cali-girl" her first year here, but it was all in fun and not to be mean.

She made friends very quickly and has kept them in the 5 years since we arrived.

One thing that really shocked us when we enrolled her in school... In CA she was "on-track" to graduate with decent grades. When we got here we found out she was 3 YEARS behind on her Math requirements for Oklahoma standards!! Thankfully her guidance counselor was able to double-up her math classes and give her a little "slack" because she was a new student and it was her Senior year.

Where we lived in CA they had very strict rules in the schools, if your child turned 18 (regardless of grades) they were done. If they hadn't graduated, they were moved to "Adult/Continuation" school, because of over-crowding. Here it was completely different... They are allowed to finish their education into their early 20's if needed.

My ONLY regret about moving here?? I wish we had done it when our kids were MUCH younger!! IMO The educational system in CA is a nightmare!!

I wish I could help point you into the right direction in Tulsa, but we are much further south. Still... the people, and the schools are very similar no matter where you go in the state.

As a Mom and a Grandmom, I recommend calling the schools you are considering and asking about the requirements before you move! Just to give you an idea of what to expect.

Our Daughter was "assigned" a peer/helper to get her through her first few weeks at the High School.

I hope this calms your fears a little. Feel free to DM me if you have any "Mom" concerns.

[Raelyn28]

It is really hard for me to figure out why so many people have spoken so highly of Tulsa and now you are telling me this. Tulsa was rated as one of the top cities to live it did you know that? Just interested to know what school system you are in and what area you have lived in since you moved there. Where did you live before Tulsa if I may ask? Do you have kids or what kids have told you that it is Hicksville? And PLEASE no offense here but are you the partying type of person?? I have relized in my experience with people and their opinions... there are basically two types of people, 1) Those who party and jetset (and no offense cause I did it in my 20's too). 2) People who are more conservative, have kids and just want to settle down in a low key atmosphere. If you could honestly answer that question I would appreciate it.

For examply: I/we lived in southern California (Orange County) to be specific. Very cool place to live for the majority of people, right? Wrong, I hated it. It was too hectic, fast paced and the people were immoral and rude. I would prefer a more layed back atmosphere any day over the fast paced so-called "cool" place to live. My boys are into sports and academics. They aren't into the cool latest hairstyles and girls, etc. They don't watch very much TV and they are very laid back.

Just trying to let you know what type of person I am and my likes and dislikes along with the personalities of my family. You are only in your 20's so maybe Tulsa isn't your cup of tea. By the way, do you have a job, go to school? Let me know a little about your lifestyle. Again, no offense you just answered my post and bewildered me a little.. Just want to know where you are coming from that's all

Originally Posted by just being honest

okay first off i was born and raised here in oklahoma, and all i have wanted to do for the last 10 years is [mod cut] post without the profanity please [/mod cut] Not to be too harsh but i am 26 and my sister in law is 27 and everyone you have been talking to are old and set in their ways and most of which have retired and moved here! And yeeeees your kids will think its hicksville! Because it is, trust us we have traveled, and people here are closeminded and judgemental unlike other places we have visited. And the kids are the worst! Teens here are not open to new people and has anyone told you about our ridiculous drug problem, my sister in laws husband is a police officer, so we are know what we are talking about! Im not saying there isnt a good place to live in oklahoma...we just havent found it yet and trust us we are looking! We live 60mins from the metro area and its nothing like these people are talking about! So when we were reading these post that were misleading you, we knew we had to say something![/color][/b]

[BigOkie]

Originally Posted by Raelyn28

It is really hard for me to figure out why so many people have spoken so highly of Tulsa and now you are telling me this. Tulsa was rated as one of the top cities to live it did you know that? Just interested to know what school system you are in and what area you have lived in since you moved there. Where did you live before Tulsa if I may ask? Do you have kids or what kids have told you that it is Hicksville? And PLEASE no offense here but are you the partying type of person?? I have relized in my experience with people and their opinions... there are basically two types of people, 1) Those who party and jetset (and no offense cause I did it in my 20's too). 2) People who are more conservative, have kids and just want to settle down in a low key atmosphere. If you could honestly answer that question I would appreciate it.

For examply: I/we lived in southern California (Orange County) to be specific. Very cool place to live for the majority of people, right? Wrong, I hated it. It was too hectic, fast paced and the people were immoral and rude. I would prefer a more layed back atmosphere any day over the fast paced so-called "cool" place to live. My boys are into sports and academics. They aren't into the cool latest hairstyles and girls, etc. They don't watch very much TV and they are very laid back.

Just trying to let you know what type of person I am and my likes and dislikes along with the personalities of my family. You are only in your 20's so maybe Tulsa isn't your cup of tea. By the way, do you have a job, go to school? Let me know a little about your lifestyle. Again, no offense you just answered my post and bewildered me a little.. Just want to know where you are coming from that's all

Keep in mind this particular poster has a grand total of 4 posts on the forum. Only one on this one (Tulsa).

Some people will never be happy no matter where they end up. It's all a matter of disposition.

I think that living in Oregon, Tulsa, while not so Oregonian, is going to be closer than you think.

I can't help you with how your kids will adjust; I don't have any children and have lived 39 of my 42 years in Tulsa, which, admittedly, will make me a bit biased. But bias also has it's basis in fact, is that not correct? Most people would not give you advice (hopefully) to move somewhere they didn't think was a good place to live.

Good luck.

[Billtown]

I have 3 kids, 2 in school. They met friends instantly. I think a lot depends on the neighborhood. We live in a newer neighborhood in Owasso, one with people who have come from many different states. It's a good variety of people. My kids are younger than yours and are just getting into sports, but it seems there are many different programs for the kids.

[Jammie]

Originally Posted by Raelyn28

Exactly how far is that place from Tulsa? Very pretty...

Raelyn, that area is southeast of Tulsa. We left Tulsa and headed down that direction. It's between Tahlihini (???), Ok. and Mena, Ark. It's a beautiful area down that way. We didn't do the drive because we'd been driving around a very hilly area near there and I was getting car sick. Happens to me frequently. But it's a beautiful area.

Around Grand Lake~where Brian lives~that was our fave area of OK. We stayed in Tulsa and then headed south. On our way back, we drove along the OK/AR border and the very best part of our trip was around Grand Lake. it's a mini Paradise there.

We did spend several days in Tulsa and enjoyed that, too. There are so many nice things in that city, but we're really not city people. We've never lived there so we were outsiders, too and we thought everyone was so nice and friendly. I hope it calms your fears a bit and I just wanted to give you an outsider's point of view.

[Raelyn28]

Thank you for your wonderful comments and yes you did calm my fears. The one poster who spoke negatively about Tulsa has not responded to my questions. I do understand that certain places are not for everyone. Maybe that person had a really bad experience with Tulsa or was having a bad time in their life. And I do realize that no place is perfect. I have lived in four states: Nebraska, California, Oregon and Washington. They all have wonderful things about them and bad things about them. Oh... if I could only create a new state with all the great things about each... It would be a wonderful state. Hopefully the poster will find what they are looking for someday if their not happy. People need to be somewhere were they are happy.

[cobolt]

Raelyn,

Those negative people are called trolls. They have nothing nice to say and you don't see much of them once they've spewed their venom. If you did a search, you'd find their either new to the forum or have posted the same negativity on other threads.

Now....I was born and raised in Chicago and moved away when I was 18. I am now 42. I have lived in at least seven different states, to include CA and currently WA. I am working on getting back to OK or TX, as I love both. My best friend lives in Owasso and I used to work in Tulsa. I think I have a pretty broad experience when it comes to living in different areas and I would move back to the Tulsa area in a heartbeat. As I said, I'm working on getting back to that part of the country. You will love it.

[just being honest]

WOW! first of all...how childish are these people who like to name call! what are we 8?? last time i checked i have freedom of speech and can state MY opinion and others shouldn't JUDGE me...hmmm, sounds like something i mention in my previous statement! looks like being in oklahoma for as long as you were really got to you! anyways you obviously haven't been to tulsa in like forever and haven't watched OK news because everytime I turn on the news someone was either shot, robbed, beaten or stabbed all in good 'ol tulsa! we go to tulsa at least twice a month and it is just [in MY opinion!] a dirty run down place with hoodrats every where! and yes there are nice homes there but they are ridiculously over priced and the traffic is just plain stupid! i have 2 kids & my sis n law has 3 and we would never dream of moving our kids there! we are currently lookin to get out of oklahoma period! now to Raelyn, if you have no choice but to move here...i would look into moving to broken arrow. the crime rate there is very low...which is one of my main concerns when lookin to move [since my husband is a cop] as for the schools there, i'm not too sure. but i feel if the city is safe the schools have to be decent. all i can say is look into them.

[Raelyn28]

Ok, it sounds like you have had a bad experience and you need to move elsewhere. I'll give you the freedom to have your own opinion. What about Jenks? Is the neighborhood/schools bad there also?

Once again I can't believe that Tulsa was rated the number one city to live in (2007) and it is as bad as you say... I guess I will find out on my own once we get there. As far as crime, there is crime EVERYWHERE. Trust me as long as there are people there is crime. Don't get me started on the people now because I will start preachin and you don't want me to do that do you?

Anyway, I have lived in four states and many cities. A few of those cities have had a population under 14,000. I thought they would be nice little cities without crime, wrong.... they had more crime than the bigger ones. It's everywhere honey because people are everywhere. After the fourth state and the thirty some cities later my expectations have taken a back seat...

I remember a pastor once told me, you will never find a perfect church because you will never find perfect people... and so it goes with cities, states, countries, etc...

Best wishes to you where ever you go... I'll be praying for you.

Originally Posted by just being honest

WOW! first of all...how childish are these people who like to name call! what are we 8?? last time i checked i have freedom of speech and can state MY opinion and others shouldn't JUDGE me...hmmm, sounds like something i mention in my previous statement! looks like being in oklahoma for as long as you were really got to you! anyways you obviously haven't been to tulsa in like forever and haven't watched OK news because everytime I turn on the news someone was either shot, robbed, beaten or stabbed all in good 'ol tulsa! we go to tulsa at least twice a month and it is just [in MY opinion!] a dirty run down place with hoodrats every where! and yes there are nice homes there but they are ridiculously over priced and the traffic is just plain stupid! i have 2 kids & my sis n law has 3 and we would never dream of moving our kids there! we are currently lookin to get out of oklahoma period! now to Raelyn, if you have no choice but to move here...i would look into moving to broken arrow. the crime rate there is very low...which is one of my main concerns when lookin to move [since my husband is a cop] as for the schools there, i'm not too sure. but i feel if the city is safe the schools have to be decent. all i can say is look into them.

[lasomeday]

Raelyn28. I am from Oklahoma and live in the OKC area, but I have lived in Oregon and Tulsa both. Tulsa is as close to Portland as you will find. The city is compact compared to other sprawled cities. There are many things to do.

You are coming from a small town. I don't know if I would put your kids in the Jenks, Owasso, Tulsa Union, or Broken Arrow schools. These schools are massive! They recruit for sports, and it would be hard for your kids to make any of the sports teams. You might be better in a smaller district like Bixby or Coweta. These are smaller school districts. Also, if you want a place in a beautiful location in a smaller town Cowetta still has that atmosphere. You really need to come here and take a look around before you move in somewhere. Look at the schools and you will see what I am talking about. You are probably coming from a place where there are 50-80 people in a graduating class. The schools I mentioned have 800-1200 in a graduating class. That would be a massive culture shock for your kids. Because of the large schools they can be a little clicky.

As far as "just being honest" sounds like they are from a boring small town and they only see what is on TV. Of course with a metro area of million people, there will be problems. The Northside of Tulsa can be rough. Not Owasso, but in Tulsa. You have lived in California, Tulsa doesn't hold a candle to any of those places as far as crime and hood rats go. I have been all over California, so I know. Tulsa is a clean safe city. You just have to be aware of things in a few parts of it. None of which has been mentioned for you to live in.