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I agree. We are catholic and have been to Ada for mass. Sorry, no lynch mob there either.
I think eastern WA and eastern OR topography looks a lot like Oklahoma. I would miss the beauty of northern Idaho for sure. I worked a summer job up in Clearwater National Forest (north central Idaho) and that is one beautiful place!
Again, I hope everything works out for the OP should he choose to move to OK.
Yea, but at least the State of Washington has legalized marijuana and Oregon will be next.
I am here to do as I always do, ask the community for some feedback. As a prior military member, my family and I are no strangers to moving and acclimating to our surroundings, however, now that we are out, we are in the midst of our 4th move in 5 years. I am a california native, and my wife is a Bostonian. We find ourselves in a very difficult situation. We are currently in our 2 year of a house mortgage. After working for some contact companies, i have decided to go back to school. My wife and i have paid all of out bis and are just paying for a mortgage and our 2 cars.
This is where we stand:
-We have a house in IDAHO. We fear having to pay 2 rents/mortgages
-I've been offered a job in the $25+/hr job in OKC
-We have 3 kids
-im mixed (black and white) my wife is White. (what, if any, problems would might we have).
We are not sure how to go about making this decisions. OKC was never an option for us as we know nothing of OKLAHOMA. I would like to get some information from you all about what kind of things we should consider when moving to OKC and the surrounding areas. Some of the things we are concerned about are below. Any information good and bad would be greatly appreciated.
-cost of living
-crime rate
-school system (we currently home school, due to lack of education emphasis here)
-how far will 6k/month go in OKC and the surrounding areas. (i plan to be sole bread winner)
-Traffic in and out of okc and from and to surrounding areas.
-which ares should we research in terms of living in.
-Weather tendencies. Tornadoes are MY biggest fear.
-Gun Laws (very easy going here in IDAHO) we have many guns and would hate to part with any of them.
Again thank you to all that choose to answer. We would like ALL comments, and will take what we see here for what its worth, but will help in our research into making our decision.
Hello! I am a California native who relocated my family to the OKC area about two years ago. Here are my opinions based on our experiences in the Edmond area and things "I wish I would've known":
-Cost of living
Not very different from California when it comes to renting. We relocated to Edmond which is a "suburb" north of OKC. We are actually paying more to rent here than we did back home but it is pretty comparable. Buying is a totally different story though. You can purchase a larger house with more land for WAY less than you can in California. -Crime rate
Crime rates are higher from OKC down then they are from OKC up. The reason for this is poverty (among many other reasons), but I do believe this is why. -School system (we currently home school, due to lack of education emphasis here)
We moved to Edmond because it was supposed to have the best district around. Overall I am VERY disappointed with the school system in Oklahoma. My 6th grader has constantly tried to fit in only to be rejected from day 1 due to a lack of diversity. In addition, they truly do teach like they are teaching to ONE unit, no matter how much they try to tell you different. I cannot count the number of times I have been told that my child’s teachers cannot give him any 1 on 1 time, even just for help with organization, because they have too many students in their classroom. After two years of dealing with these issues and realizing that you either fit into their mold or be given another label, I have made the decision to teach him at home. They are VERY adamant about test scores in this district, in fact it seems to be the only thing they care about. I have heard GREAT things about Yukon and Mustang schools though. -How far will 6k/month go in OKC and the surrounding areas. (i plan to be sole bread winner)
To rent a 3 bedroom, 2 bath with a garage (which you will need if you care anything about your car as the hail here knocks house windows out), in a decent neighborhood, you're looking at $1300-$1500 per month. -Traffic in and out of okc and from and to surrounding areas.
Traffic is going to irritate you. It's not that it takes very long because as you know traffic in LA takes forever. A 30 minute drive could be a 2 hour commute depending on traffic and that is not the issue here. The issue is that people genuinely just don't use their vehicles properly. You will not see a blinker for any turns and when the weather gets bad, cars are all over the freeway. -Which ares should we research in terms of living in.
I'm still in the process of researching this myself. The Village area seems to be decently priced and there also seems to be a good mix of diversity. -Weather tendencies. Tornadoes are MY biggest fear.
Tornadoes are more likely to happen in certain areas. If you look at the path they've taken for the past 20+ years, they typically take the same paths. Weather in Central OK is much more stable than weather in the south or north. No matter what people say, you will hear tornado sirens and there will be threats of tornadoes. And over time, those people that say "I've lived here for 50 years and never seen a Tornado once!", will begin to irritate you as you hear stories of people hiding in their bathtubs when an F5 tornado is pummeling towards their house. People tend to get complacent about tornadoes here, which is fine, to each his own but I could never be complacent about a SCHEDULED season, its not a "bad guy" that comes around every couple of years, it's a guaranteed season in a place called "Tornado Alley", it is going to happen. The problem with this is that there are very few rentals with a storm shelter so if you do not purchase a house, you are left to figure out where to go when the sirens go off because there are NO community storm shelters and even worse, no shelters in the schools. Good luck trying to remove your kid from school if a tornado warning is in place... they will not let you leave with them until it's over. Weather is hot and humid all summer and cold during the winter. Summer days usually average 100-107 degrees and winter days usually average 10-30 degrees. It snows here and sleets. We typically see more black ice and sleet than we do snow. Insurance is a necessity even when you’re renting. -Gun Laws (very easy going here in IDAHO) we have many guns and would hate to part with any of them.
No issues with Gun laws here at all. Gun freedom is great.
As a couple of you who have relocated have mentioned, there is an issue with lack of diversity within the Edmond school districts. Yes. That is because Edmond is the suburb that all of the rich white people flocked to. Go somewhere other then Edmond and you will have a better experience.
As a couple of you who have relocated have mentioned, there is an issue with lack of diversity within the Edmond school districts. Yes. That is because Edmond is the suburb that all of the rich white people flocked to. Go somewhere other then Edmond and you will have a better experience.
Edmond on the North and Norman on the South. All white towns run by gestapo police departments where their behavior is condoned by Mary Fallin appointed judges.
Yea, but at least the State of Washington has legalized marijuana and Oregon will be next.
And Alaska. In Oklahoma, it's been harder to legalize just medical marijuana than beer. In the 1930's, the Oklahoma Legislature allowed people to vote on legalizing beer, and they voted yes. Legalizing liquor as well, like most of the rest of the states were quickly doing, was thought too wild and strong for Christian Oklahomans to handle until 1959. Back before then they must have thought the only reason why anyone in Oklahoma would want to get alcohol legalized was in order to get drunk. Now in 2014, they're saying the only reason why anyone in Oklahoman would want to legalize medical marijuana is to get high.
And Alaska. In Oklahoma, it's been harder to legalize just medical marijuana than beer. In the 1930's, the Oklahoma Legislature allowed people to vote on legalizing beer, and they voted yes. Legalizing liquor as well, like most of the rest of the states were quickly doing, was thought too wild and strong for Christian Oklahomans to handle until 1959. Back before then they must have thought the only reason why anyone in Oklahoma would want to get alcohol legalized was in order to get drunk. Now in 2014, they're saying the only reason why anyone in Oklahoman would want to legalize medical marijuana is to get high.
As long as you have incompetent individuals like Darrell Weaver at the OBN and a sitting governor like Mary Fallin who don't understand the difference between the two, you will never have legalized marijuana despite it's proven effects to alleviate pain.
Have you found a place to rent? We will be gone for 3 months starting the first week in Jan. We are in Moore. House is fully furnished. We could email about details.
We relocated from a cesspool city in central California in late 2006 and bought a house in the burbs 4/07. We lived in Edmond in a 2/2 apartment and it was fine. It's true about the "bless yer heart" folks who are nice to your face but very cliquish. We added an older internationally adopted child several years ago and the school system has been a NIGHTMARE. I thought the education in California was bad when I was teaching. It doesn't hold a candle to the incompetence and xenophobia we have encountered here. My child is a seat warmer. He's a very good athlete so he's in public school for the free athletics. As another poster said, there is a thriving homeschool community, both uber-Christian and secular. Here's something to put in your pipe - it took national outrage to bring this prick to justice at Norman High School and would this scenario have played out the same way at other schools? To me the administration aided and abetted =(. Why Were Three Teenage Rape Victims Bullied Out of School in Oklahoma?
We relocated from a cesspool city in central California in late 2006 and bought a house in the burbs 4/07. We lived in Edmond in a 2/2 apartment and it was fine. It's true about the "bless yer heart" folks who are nice to your face but very cliquish. We added an older internationally adopted child several years ago and the school system has been a NIGHTMARE. I thought the education in California was bad when I was teaching. It doesn't hold a candle to the incompetence and xenophobia we have encountered here. My child is a seat warmer. He's a very good athlete so he's in public school for the free athletics. As another poster said, there is a thriving homeschool community, both uber-Christian and secular. Here's something to put in your pipe - it took national outrage to bring this prick to justice at Norman High School and would this scenario have played out the same way at other schools? To me the administration aided and abetted =(. Why Were Three Teenage Rape Victims Bullied Out of School in Oklahoma?
Amen, brother . . . . you left a culturally diverse and educated state. Unfortunately, you've encountered many of the same problems my buddy from NYC had to deal with he lived there. Yes, they all attend church on Sunday and Wednesday nights and then the rest of the week . . . they talk behind your back, spread rumors and gossip about you . . . and all those "good Christians" there who just celebrate every time someone in McAlester gets a needle stuck in their arm.
There is more money in the state budget that is allotted to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections then to education. That pretty much sums it up.
Come up here to Colorado. Culturally diversity abounds and Jefferson and Douglas Counties have some of the best school systems in the country. No one will judge you on the basis of race and gender preference and they could care less about what church you attend.
As long as you have incompetent individuals like Darrell Weaver at the OBN and a sitting governor like Mary Fallin who don't understand the difference between the two, you will never have legalized marijuana despite it's proven effects to alleviate pain.
So profoundly true. They're so highly paranoid over someone getting high from the result of medical marijuana getting legalized in Oklahoma that's it's just totally pitiful. They quite passionately believe in operating from the Dark Ages of time when it comes to marijuana. Those two couldn't care less that 23 states have legalized medical marijuana and none have regretted doing so and gone back to prohibition of it.
Weaver is just a highly paid narc and not a doctor. I wouldn't be wrong and foolish enough to trust him to have anything useful to say about marijuana for society.
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