Dallas vs OKC (Tulsa, Edmond, Allen: real estate, 2013, crime)

[nolimits76]

Hey all, I have been fortunate enough to receive two job offers from two excellent companies. One will require a relocate to OKC and the other to Dallas. It's doubtful we would choose to live in the main city but probably neighboring towns like Edmond or Plano.

Currently I reside in Tulsa. For all practical purposes, we can assume money is equally balanced out for cost of living adjustments between the various cities so the ability to maintain a similar lifestyle in each city will remain constant.

This is our first move away from where we grew up so we are a little nervous, but looking forward to the change and opportunity of a new adventure.

So which do you choose and why? What special things should I be considering?

[bawac34618]

Dallas and OKC are two very different places with completely different cultures and attitudes. Dallas is a major urban city while OKC is more of a large small town.

The way I look at it is this; if living in a big city is something that appeals to you, I would choose Dallas. If you are more of a small town person, you will probably find OKC more to your liking.

[DWinTX]

I've lived in Dallas and OKC, as well as in both cities suburbs. Full disclosure though, even though I was born in OKC, I haven't lived there in a long time and I do know it's changed since then. I do have family there and go back for visits periodically.

If you're going to be living in the burbs, I don't think there's a whole lot of difference. The biggest might be your accessibility to shopping, entertainment and pro/semi-pro sports. I'm not really interested in the shopping or sports myself, but I am a life long music lover. There are tons of shows/concerts to go any pretty much any time. From local bands in small clubs to the top acts in the big venues. I'm sure OKC gets many of the top acts too, but I'm not sure it has the variety and volume of shows DFW gets.

If you're into sports, we have all four major sports pro teams and a couple of semi-pro teams (I think). There are also some suburbs that you'd think had pro teams based on their high school stadiums.

The biggest downside to DFW, in my opinion, is the traffic. It's brutal. You have to live near work or you spend half your day on the road. I don't know about OKC, maybe it's almost as bad, but I'd be surprised if it were. The metroplex is also physically larger. between that and the traffic, if you have to go from one end to the other and back, plan on a day trip.

Oklahoma has an income tax, Texas property tax. I think if you're a homeowner, it's probably somewhat of a wash, but that depends on what you make relative to what you buy. I think OKC real estate is probably cheaper. It has been historically to a small degree, but real estate in DFW has gone nuts in the last 3 or 4 years.

[nolimits76]

Any thoughts on the safety of each town? I've lived in the Tulsa area my entire life and know there are bad areas, etc. but have not necessarily felt unsafe. When I look at data reports, Tulsa is pretty much a crap town on overall safety, about double the US average. Per capita, Tulsa is worse than NYC.

That said, comparing Tulsa, OKC, Dallas, etc using City-Data statistics I revealed the following overall crime index ratings:

Tulsa = 580
US Average = 287.5

OKC = 537
Edmond = 127

Dallas = 437
Plano = 151
Carrollton = 146
Irving = 197
Lewisville = 191

A disclaimer is this data spans 2002 to 2013. The last 3 years was not presented. But across the board, it appears all locations are slightly to significantly better than Tulsa. It's about 20% safer in Dallas vs OKC metroplexes. Edmond appears to be the safest nearby community by slight margins.

As I said before, living in Tulsa most my life I don't feel endangered. Perhaps I have grown accustom to the violence. When walking the streets is there a noticeable difference in how the safety levels "feel"? Granted this is subjective, just trying to get a realistic gauge.

[bawac34618]

Originally Posted by DWinTX

I've lived in Dallas and OKC, as well as in both cities suburbs. Full disclosure though, even though I was born in OKC, I haven't lived there in a long time and I do know it's changed since then. I do have family there and go back for visits periodically.

If you're going to be living in the burbs, I don't think there's a whole lot of difference. The biggest might be your accessibility to shopping, entertainment and pro/semi-pro sports. I'm not really interested in the shopping or sports myself, but I am a life long music lover. There are tons of shows/concerts to go any pretty much any time. From local bands in small clubs to the top acts in the big venues. I'm sure OKC gets many of the top acts too, but I'm not sure it has the variety and volume of shows DFW gets.

If you're into sports, we have all four major sports pro teams and a couple of semi-pro teams (I think). There are also some suburbs that you'd think had pro teams based on their high school stadiums.

The biggest downside to DFW, in my opinion, is the traffic. It's brutal. You have to live near work or you spend half your day on the road. I don't know about OKC, maybe it's almost as bad, but I'd be surprised if it were. The metroplex is also physically larger. between that and the traffic, if you have to go from one end to the other and back, plan on a day trip.

Oklahoma has an income tax, Texas property tax. I think if you're a homeowner, it's probably somewhat of a wash, but that depends on what you make relative to what you buy. I think OKC real estate is probably cheaper. It has been historically to a small degree, but real estate in DFW has gone nuts in the last 3 or 4 years.

Good analysis.

OKC is a notch below Tulsa on the live music scene but Dallas has everything you can think of. Usually going to see a show when you live in OKC consists of making a trip to Dallas or Tulsa.

In my opinion if a person wants to live in the suburbs and they don't need access to high-end shopping or other amenities that go with living in a big city, OKC might be the better deal. Dallas has so much more to offer but getting to it from a place like Plano is a lot more stressful than getting to downtown OKC from Edmond because of the traffic. Plus, you can get more house for your money in OKC suburbs as opposed to Dallas suburbs, unless you live way out in a place like Lewisville or Denton and there is no way I would want to make that commute every day if I worked in Dallas. It all depends on what you want though.

However, if you want the "world at your fingertips" as they say and don't mind putting up with a bit of traffic to have access to it, its Dallas hands down. Also, Dallas has the DART station which is really nice because it's park and ride and services the suburbs, so if you want to go downtown for an evening, you can take that and not have to worry about traffic or driving intoxicated or paying for parking.

[Threestep2]

Which job has more potential for your future professional career and your family?

We moved from DFW to OKC not quite a year ago.

Housing in the non-starter range is considerably lower, so are utilities and car tags.
Groceries are about the same. Sprouts, Trader Joe's (have not been there yet), Whole Foods, some local stores along the line of Fresh Market and two awesome Vietnamese markets.
Traffic is pleasant.
It was not as blistering hot as during our summers in DFW.
There is a lot going on all over town. But that depends on what you consider recreation and entertainment. I personally have not yet found a match for Birmingham, AL as far as "big tickets" for nickels is concerned.
The pace is a bit slower but it is being pushed - food, breweries, art, ... .

For me the biggest difference was that people have time to say something pleasant and seem to mean it. Neighbors invited us for Christmas Eve, mail carrier brings packages to the door (I know you are home, no reason to leave it in the rain), the city waste coordinator came in her own truck to pick up a big cardboard box special delivery did not get, tag office has drive through, family physician gets us in the same day if necessary and gives feedback on MRI, ... by phone asap sometimes after 20:00, WallyWorld cashiers have a life and personality and I found some good contacts through them.

Overall our cost of living with actually upping the standards a bit is 2/3 of DFW.

It all depends on what your goal is.

[sparkman75229]

I live in Dallas, own investment property in OKC and have close relatives in Tulsa. Tulsa is a beautiful city more so than either OKC or Dallas. Now as far as Dallas, where the job is will dictate where you live. As was said before, traffic here is appropriate for a metro of over 7 million.

You can’t compare Edmond and Plano. Edmond is a true suburb, while Plano is a dynamic city.
The OKC metro and DFW are also vastly different. So, you need to think about what kind of environment you want to live in. Down here everything is changing at a rapid pace and that brings both good and bad. OKC is slower but is growing at a decent clip.

As far as COL, everyone’s situation is unique. If you are high income but live moderately you will most likely find DFW to cheaper. If you want a big house and make an average to slightly above average salary OKC is probably a better bet.
Housing is more expensive per square foot is DFW and property taxes will run over 2% of assessed value less the homestead exemption.

DFW would be more liberal but both states are governed from the crazy zone.

But as I said, with DFW it depends on where the job is. If the job is in Plano, you have other options like Frisco, McKinney and Allen that acceptable. You didn’t mention schools, but if you need them Plano has top notch schools (by far the best in Colin County).

As far as people, I would agree that people in OKC are probably more friendly but not so much more that it would be striking.

In regards to safety, I feel OKC and Dallas seem equal with any difference in Plano and Edmond attributable to size more than anything else.

[Threestep2]

Spark an - 2% are just one of the assessments for property taxes in Texas. School district did us in.

[sparkman75229]

That is valid. I live in Dallas and my tax rate is 2.1% of assessed value. It will vary depending on where you live. If you find a house that you like you can check it here, DCAD: Find Property By Street Address

One thing about property taxes, it is kind of a ritual here to protest them and as such the rate can vary quite a bit even on one block.

[sparkman75229]

Sorry, you said Colin County. CAD's are county specific, Collin CAD - Property Search