Looks like my family is moving to Tulsa!:) (Broken Arrow, Owasso: high crime, houses)
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I have never heard of tulsa proper? And I am learning that south of tulsa is a very popular area. Right now, I am wide open for perspectives, opinions and information out there so a BIG THANK YOU ahead.
As a mother of three young children - I would recommend Bixby if you want to live South and Owasso if you want to live North. It all depends on where your hubby works. It also depends on how close you want to be to the city of Tulsa. Tulsa runs right into Bixby by way of Memorial Drive. You have to take 169 North about 10-15 minutes to get to Owasso and it is more suburb-like. Owasso is more separated from the city of Tulsa. Bixby is 10 minutes from the heart of south Tulsa and the largest mall. Owasso has strip mall shopping and has a quiet atmosphere.
BOTH have great schools!!! Bixby Schools are excellent and very family oriented. Owasso Schools are known to be good schools too. Owasso also has church schools if you are interested in that. Garth Brooks lives in Owasso - although he will be in Vegas a few days a week soon. He lives about a mile from in-laws and his daughters go to a private school there in Owasso. Anyway, I would personally shy away from Broken Arrow - my daughters went to school there for 2 years and it was so hard to get to know parents - they didn't want to get know someone new. We went to Bixby before that and made many friends and felt very welcomed. Jenks and Union are very large school districts and have their share of problem kids - not all the kids but some.
You should be able to find something to rent or buy easily in Owasso. Bixby is a little more upscale in housing but you should still be able to get a good deal!! Good luck and best wishes making the right decision for your family - it is hard - we have moved a couple of times just recently.
Thank you so much, for your opinion. We will be starting school for the first time (Kindy) and will be learning all about the in's and out's of school. I had at first been looking north of tulsa then started researching south. I do think I will keep owasso in perspective & bixby. We are excited about being close to a bigger city with things to do, and things for the kiddo's. We are excited to get into a burb with friendly neighbors & functions. FWIW, LOVE LOVE LOVE MR. GARTH BROOKS, should have never told me he lives there, now I will for sure wanna live around there. I am excited he is finally coming out of retirement. I do commend him for staying home with the girls though.
I want to stand up for Tulsa proper as well. Half my friends live in a suburb and I am glad I don't.
Bixby is almost entirely reliant on one street to get in & out. Their most prevalent shopping (WalMart, Target, etc) are really in Tulsa, not Bixby. Their East-West arterials off Memorial are all woefully undersized, with the exception of 121st.
Jenks was purposefully a small town which suddenly has huge growth and not the infrastructure for it. Check back with them in about 5 years to get their roads, intersections, etc. fixed.
I personally think getting around Owasso is a nightmare, especially the new shopping areas (granted 71st in Tulsa is no gem either). Ironically it's girls from Owasso who can't figure out the traffic circle in downtown Tulsa and keep driving into the fountain. Owasso also over-developed their shopping and I predict empty storefront to remain quite prevalent there. Like Bixby, Owasso is also too dependent on one road as was evidenced when it was shut down two weeks back due to loose horses and people tried finding alternate routes to pretty bad results. Keep in mind 169 will be under construction again in a few years, but it will be decades before it is widened all the way to Owasso.
Broken Arrow has multiple ways to get around, including two highways, but unless you are in older neighborhoods, you tend to have to go a pretty good distance to get to anything.
You could point at the big city having all the problems but for instance the only corruption issues currently being investigated are with the Broken Arrow city government and it involves no-bid contracts, arson, and their city manager as recently given an outrageous severance right before his contract expired. The first School district in trouble for playing ineligible players was Jenks, and they will be paying for that for a long time.
I too am trying to find a great place for a young family with three young kids near tulsa. My husband is currently taking online college courses at oru and he would to come on campus we have never lived outside of n.c. Broken arrow almost sounds to good to be true. We would definitely like to stay near parks and convenience but not too busy. Where are good job opportunities? How the weather b/c we are very spoiled? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated
I too am trying to find a great place for a young family with three young kids near tulsa. My husband is currently taking online college courses at oru and he would to come on campus we have never lived outside of n.c. Broken arrow almost sounds to good to be true. We would definitely like to stay near parks and convenience but not too busy. Where are good job opportunities? How the weather b/c we are very spoiled? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated
I lived in south Tulsa for about 5 yrs and loved it (minus traffic along 71st). There are beautiful neighborhoods full of mature trees & hills-pretty much any neighborhood south of 71st between ORU & 169 will be nice. Yes traffc around Memorial can be a nightmare but you find ways to avoid it.
You're convienent to both 75 and 169 (and 44 if you head a few miles north).
I can't say much about Broken Arrow as I only headed that way occasionally. If you're wanting newconstruction, BA & Owasso will have far more. If you want taller trees and almost a park-like feel, south Tulsa/Jenka is where it's at. Homes are older (1970's-90's) but most are updated.
I'm also a huge fan of the Woodward park area-there will you'll find beautfully restored historic homes (at a price though!). It's a more walkable area, very close to downtown.
Weather in Ok won't be a whole lot different than NC. Summers get hot (easily 100 for a week or so) but it's drier here and windy so it's better than a humid summer in the deep south. Winters are mild, some yrs we get 6" of snow, some just trace amounts. Wind chills make it feel much colder so big jackets are a must-have. Fall & spring are my favorite seasons here. I even love the severe weather-which isn't as bad as you'd think.
Not sure about job opportunities since I'm in Okc.
I've left this post elsewhere, but seems appropriate for you. Welcome to TulsaI am from out of state as well (Planet Utah - got kicked out for bad behavior) and have lived here in Owasso for 6 years. Nice, safe community and there are numerous church and non-church programs for pre-K kids.
I would rate Owasso schools as one of the best in Oklahoma. All K-5th grades are together as in traditional schools, but for 6th - 8th each year the students are in a center with only their own grade. Then 9th and 10th are together at Mid-High and 11th & 12th are together in High School. I've liked it since there is such a huge difference between each school year at that jr high age. All the schools have been remodeled and there are plenty of extra-curicular activities, both sports and non-sports. I've been very happy with the quality and options available for my 4 kids. My youngest is a Junior this year, and has been able to take tech classes towards a trade degree by the time he graduates, which will help him as he moves on to an engineering degree. Owasso is a growing community with two new hospitals, shopping, restaurants, etc, and its only 15 minutes to the airport and maybe 20 to downtown Tulsa.
I actually have my home on the market if you are looking for a place. 4 or 5 bd/2bath on 3 1/2 acres - horse property close to town. Feel free to contact me if you are interested. Otherwise, best of luck in your move and I hope you find a great new community.
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. I am excited he is finally coming out of retirement. I do commend him for staying home with the girls though. 
