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I'm 26, and just finishing my first year in CC. I have the option to transfer to Oklahoma U, U of Oregon or CU Boulder. I just wanted some people's opinion about what would be a good fit. I like to skateboard, watch movies, I am pretty social and want to make friends (a concern since I'm 26)
I am an International Business major and Japanese minor. I'm a little concerned about lack of Japanese population in all of these cities
I am aware these are all relatively smaller cities and college towns. And I want to say Oklahoma is probably best for my major and is most diverse in age and race. Oregon seems to be an area I would like, I visited Seattle, Wa and really loved it, but I know Oregon is a different beast. And Colorado provides other great stuff. I'm not a huge outdoors person but I do like to hike occasionally, I'm a huge broncos fan, and the campus looks beautiful.
I have lived in Eugene and Oklahoma City (just north of Norman), but never in Boulder, but know Denver, FWIT.
Weather:
Eugene: mild year round, lots of winter rain, nice summers. Boulder: extremely variable, cold to hot, sometimes in just days, thunderstorms, but extremely changeable. OKC, (Norman), hot stormy summers, can be humid, can also be cold and snowy at times in winter.
Fun/Nightlife:
Eugene: kind of dull. There are some clubs, but Eugene is not noted for them. Boulder: Yes. OKC: Yes, but tend to be country oriented, perhaps this has changed since I lived there.
Campus:
Eugene: Nice, very moderate as in the buildings are not extravagant, but functional. Boulder: more traditional, mixed with modern. Norman: same as Boulder. Nice campus overall.
Food:
This is difficult, as most food cultures tend to do well based on demand. I think this would be a three way tie.
Culture:
Again, difficult...depending on what type of culture you are looking for. Eugene is liberal, so is Boulder, and OU tends to be more conservative.
As for hiking, OU would be the outlier here. Eugene and Boulder with much better options.
I lived in the PNW for many years. I really don't like the weather. Too cloudy, even if it's not raining.
I have only ever been through Eugene, but had a friend who lived there and I remember her saying the fleas were horrible there. A weird thing to remember about Eugene, but anytime I think of Eugene, I picture fleas hopping around all over the place LOL. At least check it out. My friend had dogs. We used to live in a small mountain town in WA and she had moved away to Eugene. I lived from the bottom of WA to the top on the west side and in the mountains. I recently lived in Crescent City, CA on the OR border.
I've also only been through Boulder, CO, but I loved it. It was many years ago, though.
My first thought, though, was whether or not you think you may end up staying long-term in any of these cities? OK would probably be the most affordable - best bang for your buck long-term, as far as cost of living, cost of housing. I don't have first hand knowledge of that, but I have just heard that OK is affordable and their building codes are supposedly friendly to non-traditional housing. For instance, I'd heard you can build unusual houses on your own property there, that other more restrictive states wouldn't allow. Just something to keep in mind if you wanted to ever buy property and build your own affordable, non-traditional house - check it out to see if it's true you would have less problems with building permits, etc.
I can't stand humidity, which I dealt with living in TN for 5 years way back, and I really don't like snow or super cold winters. But, I would not choose Eugene, personally, based on not liking PNW weather. Too much cloudy weather and having to take vitamin D pills because of lack of sunshine - too depressing for me.
I think Boulder would probably be the most expensive, so if you fell in love with it, then realized you can't afford to buy a house there, it would be frustrating. I think Eugene would be next, as far as cost of living. Then OK.
And since OK sounds like your best choice for your degree, I'm kind of thinking OK might be your best bet. Especially since you're not super into outdoor activities. You could just stay inside or go to the gym on super humid or cold days.
So, not super scientific, but there you have it - for what it's worth. I'm old and I've moved a lot, and I now see young people living here in the SF Bay Area who can't afford to buy homes here and see their frustration. This is why I think you should consider if you think you'd want to stay where you graduate, and if there will be jobs and if you can afford to buy property there.
And for me, weather really is 2nd on my list of must-haves. #1 for me is for there to be lots of affordable things to do. But, weather is so important for me. When I try to explain to people what it was like for me living in the PNW (having grown up in the SF Bay Area), I'd say what do you feel like doing on a cloudy or rainy day? Now, imagine more than half the year (if not more) are days like that? How motivated are you going to feel every day? I learned to just go out and do stuff anyway, even in the rain. But, it was hard and nowhere near as much fun as waking up to a sunny day.
I lived in the PNW for many years. I really don't like the weather. Too cloudy, even if it's not raining.
I have only ever been through Eugene, but had a friend who lived there and I remember her saying the fleas were horrible there. A weird thing to remember about Eugene, but anytime I think of Eugene, I picture fleas hopping around all over the place LOL. At least check it out. My friend had dogs. We used to live in a small mountain town in WA and she had moved away to Eugene. I lived from the bottom of WA to the top on the west side and in the mountains. I recently lived in Crescent City, CA on the OR border.
I've also only been through Boulder, CO, but I loved it. It was many years ago, though.
My first thought, though, was whether or not you think you may end up staying long-term in any of these cities? OK would probably be the most affordable - best bang for your buck long-term, as far as cost of living, cost of housing. I don't have first hand knowledge of that, but I have just heard that OK is affordable and their building codes are supposedly friendly to non-traditional housing. For instance, I'd heard you can build unusual houses on your own property there, that other more restrictive states wouldn't allow. Just something to keep in mind if you wanted to ever buy property and build your own affordable, non-traditional house - check it out to see if it's true you would have less problems with building permits, etc.
I can't stand humidity, which I dealt with living in TN for 5 years way back, and I really don't like snow or super cold winters. But, I would not choose Eugene, personally, based on not liking PNW weather. Too much cloudy weather and having to take vitamin D pills because of lack of sunshine - too depressing for me.
I think Boulder would probably be the most expensive, so if you fell in love with it, then realized you can't afford to buy a house there, it would be frustrating. I think Eugene would be next, as far as cost of living. Then OK.
And since OK sounds like your best choice for your degree, I'm kind of thinking OK might be your best bet. Especially since you're not super into outdoor activities. You could just stay inside or go to the gym on super humid or cold days.
So, not super scientific, but there you have it - for what it's worth. I'm old and I've moved a lot, and I now see young people living here in the SF Bay Area who can't afford to buy homes here and see their frustration. This is why I think you should consider if you think you'd want to stay where you graduate, and if there will be jobs and if you can afford to buy property there.
And for me, weather really is 2nd on my list of must-haves. #1 for me is for there to be lots of affordable things to do. But, weather is so important for me. When I try to explain to people what it was like for me living in the PNW (having grown up in the SF Bay Area), I'd say what do you feel like doing on a cloudy or rainy day? Now, imagine more than half the year (if not more) are days like that? How motivated are you going to feel every day? I learned to just go out and do stuff anyway, even in the rain. But, it was hard and nowhere near as much fun as waking up to a sunny day.
Hey, I appreciate the awesome post. Very informative and very kind. I really appreciate you taking the time to help a newbie like me.
As for location. I am not exactly sure. I don't plan on staying in OK if I go to OK. Maybe I would stay in CO but I love Cali and I'm originally from the Northeast. My main goal is to work in Japan after graduating, even if I take a job as an English teacher, which is not a part of my major at all. I love traveling abroad and plan to study abroad for one year as well. So even if it is an Asian or European country I definitely plan to leave the USA after I graduate!
Hey, I appreciate the awesome post. Very informative and very kind. I really appreciate you taking the time to help a newbie like me.
As for location. I am not exactly sure. I don't plan on staying in OK if I go to OK. Maybe I would stay in CO but I love Cali and I'm originally from the Northeast. My main goal is to work in Japan after graduating, even if I take a job as an English teacher, which is not a part of my major at all. I love traveling abroad and plan to study abroad for one year as well. So even if it is an Asian or European country I definitely plan to leave the USA after I graduate!
Oh, how exciting for you. Well, then, I guess the world is your oyster, so to speak.
No experience with Eugene, but its proximity to Seattle means you may find more Japanese speaking opportunities nearby. WA is 3rd behind CA and HI for Japanese population. CO is 6th, OK hardly even rates. Boulder is mega expensive. Average home price is $1m.
FWIW, as pointed out CO weather is highly variable. It can snow from October to May, with intermittent days of sunburn because of the extreme sunshine. Blizzards, hail, tornados (small F1 not the big OK style F4s), wildfire and drought can all be encountered here.
Fun/nightlife Denver is just outside of Boulder so there is plenty. Lots of brewpubs and outdoor activities year round as well. Laid back and very casual atmosphere too.
CU campus, never been. Its in the middle of Boulder so its surrounded by the city.
Food, healthy oriented with occasional new stuff. Some local sourced items, some trendy. Boulder itself , due to its prices, tends to be pretty spendy and trendy and is severely anti-growth. So just outside the county you find a lot of suburban areas with more range of choices. And there is Denver down the road.
Culture, hard core outdoorsy and exercise oriented and extremely liberal leanings with interspersed trust fund hippies and mega rich executives.
I am really familiar with all three places. Had family in Boulder and Eugene. Went to OU and lived in Norman for 20 or so years. Still have a condo there.
Hands down of these three cities Boulder is the nicest. Not even close. Campus wise it is probably the nicest but all three are nice. Setting wise Boulder is easily the best again with Eugene being a close second. Boulder and Norman are similar in that there is a much larger capitol city within a half hour or so although Denver is much better than OKC. Eugene is by itself but Portland is a couple of hours and Eugene is a decent sized place.
Eugene is truly liberal in parts of town. Boulder is as well but it is more of a "fake" liberal rich people snow vibe. Norman is liberal around the campus but the rest of town is pretty to very conservative.
As has been mentioned. Living in Norman will be moderately cheaper than living in Eugene. Boulder is outrageous.
For a life experience I'd try for Boulder or Eugene as they are very unique college environs compared to most of the country. Your experience in Norman is going to be more typical of a southern/plains/Midwestern football school type of experience. However being 26 years old having OKC close helps quite a bit compared to the more isolated college towns in that area in that there is a lot of late 20s people working in OKC. Less than Denver but more than in Eugene.
I am really familiar with all three places. Had family in Boulder and Eugene. Went to OU and lived in Norman for 20 or so years. Still have a condo there.
Hands down of these three cities Boulder is the nicest. Not even close. Campus wise it is probably the nicest but all three are nice. Setting wise Boulder is easily the best again with Eugene being a close second. Boulder and Norman are similar in that there is a much larger capitol city within a half hour or so although Denver is much better than OKC. Eugene is by itself but Portland is a couple of hours and Eugene is a decent sized place.
Eugene is truly liberal in parts of town. Boulder is as well but it is more of a "fake" liberal rich people snow vibe. Norman is liberal around the campus but the rest of town is pretty to very conservative.
As has been mentioned. Living in Norman will be moderately cheaper than living in Eugene. Boulder is outrageous.
For a life experience I'd try for Boulder or Eugene as they are very unique college environs compared to most of the country. Your experience in Norman is going to be more typical of a southern/plains/Midwestern football school type of experience. However being 26 years old having OKC close helps quite a bit compared to the more isolated college towns in that area in that there is a lot of late 20s people working in OKC. Less than Denver but more than in Eugene.
Thanks for the response!
I just have a question. I saw somebody really trashing Eugene on reddit the other day. I could not tell if they were just very biased but they said it smelled like garbage and was very boring. Any thoughts?
Also for Norman, does it feel like it would ever get very boring there? It seemed to have the best age diversity, but to be honest I have never been landlocked besides working in Yellowstone but it was so easy to meet people there. Boulder I don't have the same feeling about because Denver is so close and there is a lot to love there. I am just worried that, even though Oklahoma might be the best fit academically, that I would get bored easily, especially if I can't make friends.
I just have a question. I saw somebody really trashing Eugene on reddit the other day. I could not tell if they were just very biased but they said it smelled like garbage and was very boring. Any thoughts?
Also for Norman, does it feel like it would ever get very boring there? It seemed to have the best age diversity, but to be honest I have never been landlocked besides working in Yellowstone but it was so easy to meet people there. Boulder I don't have the same feeling about because Denver is so close and there is a lot to love there. I am just worried that, even though Oklahoma might be the best fit academically, that I would get bored easily, especially if I can't make friends.
Those who trash Eugene tend to be conservative, as the city is quite liberal. But taking politics out of it, Eugene is nirvana! Beautiful location in the southern Willamette Valley, easy climate, (though a bit rainy in the winter), and both coastal and mountain access within about 90 minutes.
Those who trash Eugene tend to be conservative, as the city is quite liberal. But taking politics out of it, Eugene is nirvana! Beautiful location in the southern Willamette Valley, easy climate, (though a bit rainy in the winter), and both coastal and mountain access within about 90 minutes.
How do you feel about the food/culture? I'm worried that maybe a lack of Japanese presence might be a problem. Although I have heard Oregon's Japanese program is stellar and praised
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