Yukon vs Newcastle vs Moore vs Choctaw (Oklahoma City, Norman: new home, safe area)

[tld40]

My family will be moving to OK soon and we have been looking at housing on line. Have found houses in Yukon, Newcastle, Moore, and Choctaw. I would appreciate any info on the feel of the areas, opinions on the schools. My husband will be commuting and doesn't have a problem with anything under an hour, so we are more concerned with quality of life - education for kids, family life. We are moving to OK from overseas so we cannot visit ahead to get a feel for ourselves - any info/opinions would be appreciated

[flintysooner]

Moore is south of Oklahoma City and the largest of the 4 with about 50,000 residents. It is situated along south I-35 about 1/2 between Oklahoma City and Norman. There has been a dramatic amount of retail development in the last few years. It is served by the Moore School District which is very large and is now building a 3rd high school. The city government is very stable and orderly. I live in Moore and it is a good community. East Moore has more hills and trees and west Moore is flatter and fewer trees. The dividing line is the Interstate more or less.

Yukon is west of Oklahoma City about the same distance as Moore but has about 25,000 residents. Also undergoing a lot of development. It is on old Route 66 and I-40. I have friend who live in Yukon who very much like it. It is slightly less diverse than Moore and probably somewhat higher average income. The terrain is similar to west Moore and most of western Oklahoma City for that matter.

Choctaw is east of Oklahoma City and is about 10,000 population. It has to me a more rural feel and the terrain is more wooded. Probably higher income and larger homes than in Moore.

Newcastle is farther south than Moore and west about the same distance as Yukon. It is definitely more rural. I think the population is about 7,000.

I don't know about the schools really in any of these. The commute is not really bad from any of them but there are certain times that are worse. I think they are all pretty safe areas.

Best wishes.

[happytown]

Originally Posted by tld40

My family will be moving to OK soon and we have been looking at housing on line. Have found houses in Yukon, Newcastle, Moore, and Choctaw. I would appreciate any info on the feel of the areas, opinions on the schools. My husband will be commuting and doesn't have a problem with anything under an hour, so we are more concerned with quality of life - education for kids, family life. We are moving to OK from overseas so we cannot visit ahead to get a feel for ourselves - any info/opinions would be appreciated

Although many may feel differently. I would be careful about the stereotype of moving to Edmond; like it is the only sure bet for quality of life near OKC along with no consideration of actually living in OKC. There is such a boom in OKC that the urban areas are the best to invest because they are so near all the new projects...downtown/aalley/midtown/heritagehills/nh/crowne heights ect. 9 historic neighborhoods....the urban blight has switched and people are finding a MUCH MORE higher quality of life in the urban areas...old homes and a lot of character. Look it over...happytown

[eddie gein]

Choctaw is a lot bigger than 10k if you consider the school district. It is easily the prettiest country of the four towns. It is next to Midwest City and Spencer which are kind of rough. Choctaw started out as a town of a couple of thousand so there isn't much to the old part of town.

Moore is the biggest. It is definately a bedroom community and the west part of Moore is very suburban and full of very large cookie cutter homes. The east side of Moore is spotty as far as homes go. The good thing about Moore is that you are sandwiched between Oklahoma City and Norman and you can enjoy that convienance without living in Norman and having that much longer a commute.

Yukon is just west of OKC and is probably the town that has held on to it's old heritage of an old farming town. Compared to the others it has an old historic downtown which none of the others have and it just has the feel of being it's own community. It has just really started booming as a suburb in the last ten or fifteen years. They have a really nice new hospital (as does Moore).

Newcastle is just across the river west of Moore. It's on I44 instead of I35 but it's really not any further out. I don't care for Newcastle because it is one of those places that used to be a gas station a post office and a school that has basically been the landing place for a lot of people who wanted a double wide and a couple of acres. It is really not a place that has a lot of residential development. It would definately be last on my list but you may want that type of thing.

The choice between the other three is tough

Yukon- Feels like a real town.
Moore- Best access to OKC and particularly Norman
Choctaw- Easily the prettiest of the four. Rolling hills and forests

[peggydavis]

I like Choctaw the best. It is not close to the big highways which can be good (more peaceful) and bad (slow commute). Choctaw is a little hilly and doesn't have that flat flat look.

[flintysooner]

I just want to clear up one thing. There is a difference between the City of Moore and Moore School District. The City of Moore is rather small and landlocked on all sides. Its western boundary is Santa Fe Avenue more or less.

Moore School District is much larger and does extend to the west more or less to the river.

Moore School District map (PDF) 3 High Schools (http://www.mooreschools.com/793482112132618/lib/793482112132618/Maps/MooreSEC2008.pdf - broken link)

[new grama]

My husband and I researched the areas pretty well before relocating to Choctaw back in June. We like the area very much, although it's still a bigger town than the small town we moved from, it does have a smaller town feel. It's a growing community and the schools are very good.
We did feel that any of the places mentioned, the living would be good, and we checked out some places west of the city. My husband's commute into the city from Choctaw is only about twenty-five minutes.
Good luck.

[flintysooner]

Moore is the most densely populated at 2192 people per sq mile. Yukon is 854; Choctaw is 389; and, Newcastle is 126. (all taken from City-Data).

But Moore is just surrounded by Oklahoma City and Norman so the main difference is who provides services. That's not insignificant but not a deal maker.

You might want to try looking at the Oklahoma City profile on City-Data and then select zip codes that interest you. For instance, the 73170 zip code that is just west of Moore, is one of the highest income areas in the entire state.

[mattipatti]

I have lived in Moore for 12 years. The downtown area has a small town feel, but the other areas are booming with shopping and restaurants. I love living here because of the convenience of where everything is located. I am near 2 Super-Center Walmarts, a Walmart Neighborhood grocery, several convenience/gas stations, Walgreens etc. Commuting is easy. Norman is just about 6 miles south, and it is growing as well. Norman has some really good shopping too. It takes me about 15 min, usually no more to get to the downtown or north OKC area. 45 min in rush hour would be typical, but could be less.
Moore School District has about 21 elementary schools, 4 junior highs and 2 high schools (the 3rd high school to open in Fall of 2008.) We love Moore Schools. The teachers and staff are wonderful and the teacher to student ratio is about 1:20.
There are new homes popping up everywhere, starting in the low $100's in some areas, up to $500+ in other neighborhoods. Lots of quiet neighborhoods, even in some of the older parts.
Hope this was helpful.

[tld40]

Thank you for the information - just what I was looking for!