Moving from Texas to OKC - Maybe (Edmond: school, live)

[happytown]

Originally Posted by LakeTravisAlum

I just looked at a bunch of properties in Nichols Hills that were under $800K. I'm not too interested in that area though because I think I can get much more house for my money in Edmond. I even found some properties that I could buy in Gaillardia which is supposed to be pretty nice.

Thanks everyone for all of the useful information, and I'm glad to know there's not TOO much snow. I think a small snow storm every now and then will be exciting! I can't wait to move up to OKC, and I'm sure I will be able to find something very nice in a very nice area!!

Apples and Oranges when comparing NH to Edmond/Gallardia...yawn...

[LakeTravisAlum]

Originally Posted by Bass&Catfish2008

You'll be fine as long as you put away the Longhorn gear.

Welcome to the Great State of Oklahoma!

Haha.. I'm actually a Sooner that unfortunately happens to be living in Austin - so none of that hideous orange for me. If I decide to move up to OKC, it'll be great to be back in Sooner Nation!

[sbnsmo]

People speak highly of the Moore School District. I live in it and know some of its teachers. All my great-nieces and nephews attend classes in the district. Moore is between OKC and Norman. There are nice homes in your price range in Cascada Lakes and Rivendell...

There are more services,restaurants, etc., in Edmond and the north side of Okc than here on the south side, but there's a lot of building going on here and things are changing. FYI: the Moore isd includes parts of Okc as well as Moore.

I've got no beef with Edmond, but a woman who just moved into our neighborhood said she found Edmond to be "snooty" and I asked her why and she said she felt like she got the evil eye from people if she went to the grocery store in jeans and a t-shirt and flip-flops. Whatever. Maybe she cuckoo.....

Anyway, I like it here after spending most of my life in or around Houston. Good luck.

[BigDGeek]

So now we know what the Highland Park of OKC is...what is the Lakewood of OKC? ;-)

[sparkman75229]

From someone who knows Lakewood, I think the Paseo district is as close as you get in okc.

Maps & Directions. The Paseo Arts District

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by sparkman75229

From someone who knows Lakewood, I think the Paseo district is as close as you get in okc.

Maps & Directions. The Paseo Arts District

What's a nice residential area close to it?

[Bass&Catfish2008]

Originally Posted by LakeTravisAlum

Haha.. I'm actually a Sooner that unfortunately happens to be living in Austin - so none of that hideous orange for me. If I decide to move up to OKC, it'll be great to be back in Sooner Nation!

That's even better, you just come right on then.

[Zachj7]

I hope you don't buy a home immediately when you get up here. Maybe renting for a little bit so that you get accustomed to the area would be a better idea before settling down. I have heard good things about the Edmond area and if you want an upscale area, that would most likely be the place to go. There are lots of large houses with big lots up that way. Though that is nice, Edmond spreads out far away from any nearby supermarkets, shopping, ect but schools are top notch up there.

Norman is nice college town with some very nice neighborhoods. It's a little ways from downtown, then again so are areas of Edmond. Either way, it's worth it when looking at schools.

OKC is having its "happening time" and there is always something more to do. They are changin up downtown, we just got our tallest building, and so on. The weather is hit and miss. Usually some frozen precip in winter. The last few have been rough but snow doesn't stick around for long.

[debzkidz]

Originally Posted by LakeTravisAlum

I just looked at a bunch of properties in Nichols Hills that were under $800K. I'm not too interested in that area though because I think I can get much more house for my money in Edmond. I even found some properties that I could buy in Gaillardia which is supposed to be pretty nice.

Thanks everyone for all of the useful information, and I'm glad to know there's not TOO much snow. I think a small snow storm every now and then will be exciting! I can't wait to move up to OKC, and I'm sure I will be able to find something very nice in a very nice area!!

I'm not sure what website you were looking at but I just looked at the MLS website and there was one house in Gailardia for something like 559,900. all the other homes were anywhere from $1.2 to $4.5 million. There were quite a few lots for sale in $600,000 range.

[bornandraisedokie]

Originally Posted by LakeTravisAlum

Haha.. I'm actually a Sooner that unfortunately happens to be living in Austin - so none of that hideous orange for me. If I decide to move up to OKC, it'll be great to be back in Sooner Nation!

You'll need to work on that. OSU Cowboy fan here

Here's my take on the city. I was raised in OKC and know it quite well. Although I've lived mostly in the DFW metro for over twenty years, OKC is still home. My kids and grandkids live there, and my parents maintained our homestead in Northwest OKC until they both passed a few years ago.

In planning our future retirement, we bought a two year old house on a golf course about three years ago. It is in the Fairfax subdivision of North Edmond. Fairfax is a subdivision of homes mostly between 350k and 600k, and is all relatively newly built by upscale custom home builders. We selected this area because of its close proximity to I-35, its rolling hills and thick forestation (mostly oak trees), and its peace and quiet. Yet, it is only about three miles from the main drag in Edmond, which has most shopping that we need on a daily basis. The occasional mall trips are only about 15 minutes away.

In reality, Edmond is the only real "growth" area in the OKC metro area that has predominantly upscale residences. Sure, you can find newly built large custom homes in Norman, parts of Moore, far northwest and southwest OKC. But, these areas are generally small in scale, and are located either close to declining areas, or are so far out of the way that you'll need to carefully plan a trip to the grocery store.

I actually love Edmond, and Fairfax. However, we plan to sell the house soon so that we can downsize a bit. As I still work in the DFW area, it is becoming a pain to keep the house clean from this distance, as it is larger than we now need, and we're not getting any younger. It's really now just little more than our vacation home.

To give you an idea of Edmond prices, ours is a single story, four bedroom, 3 1/2 bath, three-car garage, with one large family room and two dining rooms. It's around 2740 sq. ft., and we will probably list it for around 380k. I will tell you that if you too are looking for a sizable one story house, they are hard to find.

If you do move and decide on Edmond, my advice is to seek a place in far North Edmond. The central and south parts have become somewhat rundown and are where most of the apartment complexes are. East of I-35 is great too, but most newly developed property there seems to be reserved for the uber-rich.