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Oklahoma City has a NBA team. What professional sports team does Memphis and Louisville have?
Latest 2016 estimate, Oklahoma City's metro ranks 41st. Its larger than the metro areas of Memphis, Raleigh, Richmond, New Orleans, Louisville, Hartford, Salt Lake City. Jacksonville is 40th. Milwaukee's 39th. Its not all that far behind Nashville, Indianapolis, Columbus and Austin. It's only gonna get bigger. Oklahoma City is in a popular neighborhood, being where the South, the Midwest and the West meet.
I think you all selling Oklahoma City short. Distance wise, the longer you live in a place, the smaller it seems to get. But somebody who doesn't live there or is from an actual small town, Oklahoma City can feel like a big busy, vibrant city, and the traffic can be nerve wracking..
Well, Memphis has the Grizzlies.
Louisville is a serious contender for NBA and MLS.
What you may not realize is that UofL sports ARE like an NBA team from an entertainment and arena perspective.
Louisville bests OKC in art, food, architecture, and overall culture. Until recently Louisville was bigger but OKC passed it in metro size largely due to a recent, oil fueled growth spurt. For all practical purposes the two metros are essentially the same size and OKC would be blessed to be as vibrant as Louisville. Nashville? That's a far off stretch.
Louisville is a serious contender for NBA and MLS.
What you may not realize is that UofL sports ARE like an NBA team from an entertainment and arena perspective.
Louisville bests OKC in art, food, architecture, and overall culture. Until recently Louisville was bigger but OKC passed it in metro size largely due to a recent, oil fueled growth spurt. For all practical purposes the two metros are essentially the same size and OKC would be blessed to be as vibrant as Louisville. Nashville? That's a far off stretch.
I agree with this.
Louisville and OKC are virtually identical in terms of not only metro size but per-capita income. However, Louisville is so far ahead of OKC they almost cannot be compared. It is the same for most other cities in that tier. I think OKC could possibly pass up Jacksonville if it hasn't already, but Jax has the beach and coastal geography so it will always have an advantage because of that alone. It will take OKC 30+ years to catch up with the likes of Nashville, Columbus, Austin, etc even under best circumstances.
To OKC's credit, I will say things have improved significantly in terms of overall vibrancy over the past few years. In 2013 or 2014, downtown OKC (including Bricktown) would be completely dead on weeknights. Today, the nightlife is becoming more 7-days per week.
I need to visit Louisville one of these days. I've always been a place that I've been somewhat curious about.
Louisville and OKC are virtually identical in terms of not only metro size but per-capita income. However, Louisville is so far ahead of OKC they almost cannot be compared. It is the same for most other cities in that tier. I think OKC could possibly pass up Jacksonville if it hasn't already, but Jax has the beach and coastal geography so it will always have an advantage because of that alone. It will take OKC 30+ years to catch up with the likes of Nashville, Columbus, Austin, etc even under best circumstances.
To OKC's credit, I will say things have improved significantly in terms of overall vibrancy over the past few years. In 2013 or 2014, downtown OKC (including Bricktown) would be completely dead on weeknights. Today, the nightlife is becoming more 7-days per week.
I need to visit Louisville one of these days. I've always been a place that I've been somewhat curious about.
The more I travel again to revisit metros I visited the first time around, the more I realize every downtown is honestly doing well, its just some are booming more than others. OKC is doing very well and is a nice town, but will take decades to really feel like a "big city." I'd be curious to see if it can poach more people tired of TX sprawl as an alternative. That will be its key.
If you could pick a single project/vision/neighborhood that is transformational in OKC, what would it be?
OKC really reminds me of Indianapolis 20 years ago. It takes a beating but its actually a nice place to live, particularly with kids and a growing job base, thus its growth.
To the point of the post....Nashville, Louisville, Richmond, heck, even Omaha and Grand Rapids feel more like an "austin like" vibe than OKC. Don't forget Austin was peers with these cities in 2000, and now is knocking on the door of the Portland and Cleveland's of the world.
The more I travel again to revisit metros I visited the first time around, the more I realize every downtown is honestly doing well, its just some are booming more than others. OKC is doing very well and is a nice town, but will take decades to really feel like a "big city." I'd be curious to see if it can poach more people tired of TX sprawl as an alternative. That will be its key.
If you could pick a single project/vision/neighborhood that is transformational in OKC, what would it be?
OKC really reminds me of Indianapolis 20 years ago. It takes a beating but its actually a nice place to live, particularly with kids and a growing job base, thus its growth.
To the point of the post....Nashville, Louisville, Richmond, heck, even Omaha and Grand Rapids feel more like an "austin like" vibe than OKC. Don't forget Austin was peers with these cities in 2000, and now is knocking on the door of the Portland and Cleveland's of the world.
Problem for Oklahoma when it comes to getting more companies like Austin is getting has to do with low education levels and low desirability. In terms of having a "big city" feel, most people would agree that Tulsa still has a leg up on OKC in terms of that. Tulsa seems a little more edgy and progressive than OKC and has pretty much all of the state's live music that isn't red dirt country.
I think the OKC streetcar, currently under construction, is probably the most transformational project currently happening, simply because it will lay the groundwork for the next phase of downtown development. Actually getting some housing downtown has made all the difference for OKC over the past five years. In 2010, the population of downtown OKC was only about 5,000 people. I wouldn't be surprised if it's at least 10,000 today.
I think OKC's conservatism is a big part of what holds the city back. Liberalism tends to breed urban vibrancy, culture, and diversity while conservatism breeds family values and quiet, high-quality-of-life suburban neighborhoods. Both are necessary in a thriving metro area but OKC leans a bit too far on the conservative side.
Problem for Oklahoma when it comes to getting more companies like Austin is getting has to do with low education levels and low desirability. In terms of having a "big city" feel, most people would agree that Tulsa still has a leg up on OKC in terms of that. Tulsa seems a little more edgy and progressive than OKC and has pretty much all of the state's live music that isn't red dirt country.
I think the OKC streetcar, currently under construction, is probably the most transformational project currently happening, simply because it will lay the groundwork for the next phase of downtown development. Actually getting some housing downtown has made all the difference for OKC over the past five years. In 2010, the population of downtown OKC was only about 5,000 people. I wouldn't be surprised if it's at least 10,000 today.
I think OKC's conservatism is a big part of what holds the city back. Liberalism tends to breed urban vibrancy, culture, and diversity while conservatism breeds family values and quiet, high-quality-of-life suburban neighborhoods. Both are necessary in a thriving metro area but OKC leans a bit too far on the conservative side.
That RedDirt stuff is really good though, and OK City has plenty of it.
Problem for Oklahoma when it comes to getting more companies like Austin is getting has to do with low education levels and low desirability. In terms of having a "big city" feel, most people would agree that Tulsa still has a leg up on OKC in terms of that. Tulsa seems a little more edgy and progressive than OKC and has pretty much all of the state's live music that isn't red dirt country.
I think the OKC streetcar, currently under construction, is probably the most transformational project currently happening, simply because it will lay the groundwork for the next phase of downtown development. Actually getting some housing downtown has made all the difference for OKC over the past five years. In 2010, the population of downtown OKC was only about 5,000 people. I wouldn't be surprised if it's at least 10,000 today.
I think OKC's conservatism is a big part of what holds the city back. Liberalism tends to breed urban vibrancy, culture, and diversity while conservatism breeds family values and quiet, high-quality-of-life suburban neighborhoods. Both are necessary in a thriving metro area but OKC leans a bit too far on the conservative side.
Totally unsurprised that a lot of the negative nancies that hang out on this board for whatever reason would be the first to respond. There is definitely a lot of great things going on in OKC and it is indeed growing very fast. I recently relocated but still own my condo as an investment property. I was very shocked at the number of out of staters who inquired about my property. Shows there's still quite a bit of in-migration coming into the city. As of last year OKC was 7th out of the top 50 metros in population growth, if that tells you anything.
With that in mind, is OKC the next Austin? Likely not, and I would be glad if it isn't. OKC has gotten some good press lately (the Mayor was on Meet the Press this weekend) but we are not on the recieving end of never ending hype like Austin, although given how much trouble they are having down there with traffic and affordablity, I kinda like how we fly under the radar.
OKC is no Nashville or Santa Fe, but there is a surprisingly vibrant arts scene here. The city politics are thankfully much more moderate than the state, but by big city standards it still leans right. Its completely silly, but I think the biggest check on any out of control growth is the rather violent climate in OKC. So many people think living in OK means certain death from some tornado. Of course these same people will then go live in a hurricane zone or fault line...go figure. But it is what it is.
I've lived in areas where all 3 of those disasters are possible to occur and even likely. I've never been in any imminent danger from a hurricane. I've never experienced a big earthquake or one that did any damage. I've had 3 separate instances where a tornado came within 1 mile or less of where I was. One of those times was a direct hit. Go figure, huh. Tornadoes are no joke.
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Originally Posted by flyingcat2k
Um, no. It is good though but not "top 10 of all time". Arguably, it is not even a top 10 city in the US. It's having a great run right now, no doubt.
It isn't even the top city in the state it's in. It's at best, the 3rd best city in Texas and realistically, it's probably the 4th best. So top 10 in the US? Lol. Hey Austin, get back to us when you actually have at least one big 4 professional sports team, when recreational cannabis is legal to complement your live music scene or when you're consistently listed as at least a Gamma city, let alone a Beta or an Alpha. Until then simmer down and learn to be more humble. Grandiose delusions much?
You ain't no Denver. They have a comparable urban population to Austin along with all the hipsters and food trucks one could desire. However, they also have 4 pro sports teams, legal recreational cannabis and truly world class outdoor recreational opportunities. You're over here bullying little old OKC, when you should be picking on someone your own size. Step up to your weight class and get knocked out by a real world city like Denver. I do feel sorry for Austin though, cause it doesn't really fit in well. Too small to hang with the big boys of the world, yet too big that it comes off as a bully when compared to cities like OKC, for example. Maybe that's exactly what Austin wants though, to be in a category all by itself.
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Originally Posted by azriverfan.
Oklahoma City has the potential to be much more than Austin. It really has the potential to be a Dallas. But it will never become that due to the culture. Oklahoma City is extremely conservative. People in OKC are not aware of how conservative they are. Gay marriage, interracial relationships (especially black and white), and non-Christians(Muslims, Hindus, Jews, Buddhists) are tolerated but not really embraced in the community. You can never become an Austin or any progressive major metropolitan are if you continue to adopt a conservative evangelical view of the world. Sorry, but you will have a difficult time luring and recruited educated professionals because they do not embrace conservative policies and culture. Forget race and religion, in OKC and Oklahoma in general, they have a difficult time accepting vegetarians and vegans. LOL It's almost insulting if you walk into a restaurant and tell them you are a vegetarian in Oklahoma.
It is unfortunate, because Oklahoma City is beautiful. It has so much potential to truly be a player in today's society. They are energy based economy with vast oil and natural gas resources. Like Dallas and Houston, you can use that to base to lure other industries. And you are already doing that but you would do this three times as fast if you adopted a more gloabl and dare I say "secular" view. If OKC really wants to compete with the big boys, then you need to abandon your right wing neo evangelical conservative politics and culture. In Austin, it is different. It is relatively liberal compared to it's surroundings and the South in general. They embrace different cultures, races, religions and sexual orientation. Austin, Dallas and Houston has desperately been trying to shed it's Bible Belt image and has been successful doing that in the past 10 years and OKC has to do the same.
I've been a Vegetarian for over a decade and a Vegan for several years now. I've also lived in several states and traveled to almost all of them. Texas is easily the least Vegetarian/Vegan friendly state that I've ever lived in/traveled in. It's not even close. The culture in Texas is so meat centric. Everything is BBQ this and steak that. Based on my experience I think that most Texans honestly get offended by it, either that or they are ignorant or just flat out insular. Some Texans seriously didn't even know what I was talking about when I would tell them I was Vegan. I'd get the old, "Oh I've never heard of that before. You're weird." Or something really similar.
As a current Austinite who used to live in OKC and comes back regularly...y'all are definitely contenders for the "Next Austin" title. Hopefully OKC can keep the rapid influx of Californians from moving into OKC, thereby driving the market for cookie-cutter condo buildings appearing all over the Plaza district and the demolition of the Paseo to make way for elitist chain stores and food trucks galore where Sauced and Picasso's currently are. Not to mention that OKC is still way more affordable than Austin while to my eyes the Downtown Broadway Strip is booming, Bricktown is diversifying whereas out Dirty Sixth is just getting worse and that area on Reno just west of Western is becoming what our East Austin should have been.
Should OKC become the "Next Austin"? Sure, but take warning from what happened here when it became an "it" town to live in. If OKC can keep its soul while embracing its own weirdness and adapting the development and business models that have been successful in Austin, I definitely see y'all as the ones to carry the torch.
Oklahoma City and let's take it a step further Tulsa Oklahoma will never be the next Austin .As long as the two before mention cities remain red cities "stick a fork in both of them" they are done. My friend they are(red cities ,)and another thought Oklahoma City will not become the next Austin because nobody out in California know a thing about Oklahoma City , whereas Austin will always be very popular in the golden state of California.
Last edited by Howest2008; 07-07-2017 at 01:59 PM..
Reason: format issues
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