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I'm a conservative wanting to move out of California--wish I'd done it years ago. I've heard Norman is a good place, or perhaps Stillwater. I don't know much about which area would be best since I just started researching. The only thing I know is that my mother was from Soper. I am open to all areas that fit my criteria.
I'm in my mid-sixties, so safety is very important to me. Also, housing affordability is essential. My price range would probably top out at $200,000, max. A senior community might be nice since I don't drive much. I would like to be near amenities like grocery stores, and not too far from medical facilities.
The thought of tornadoes makes me somewhat nervous. How do you residents deal with that threat? Are some areas in OK worse than others for that?
Any information, suggestions, or advice would be much appreciated
Major college towns in Oklahoma, such as Norman and Stillwater are not as conservative as other towns. They voted YES for legalized medical marijuana and for expanded Medicaid. Home prices are higher in college towns. The counties that they are in voted for Trump, if that helps.
If you're really all that conservative, maybe you need to focus on other towns, such as Bartlesville. It's an interesting, unique old oil town that hasn't been steadily going down in population, unlike so many other towns in Oklahoma. Bartlesville is surely big enough to have good medical care for most needs. If not, it's a fairly short drive to Tulsa. If you want something more conservative than Bartlesville, than look for some town in western Oklahoma. Western Oklahoma is somewhat more conservative overall than the eastern half.
I deal with the tornado threat by living in a house since 2004 with a tornado shelter in it, a closet made up of reinforced concrete. I have yet to panic and rush in there, because I thought a tornado was about to come. Other people put in an underground shelter in their garage with entrance to it between the cars. Other people put a tornado shelter in their backyards, but I think they are eyesores and may get in the way of something else you may want to do in the backyard, such as put in a big garden. At any rate, having a storm shelter on your property gives you considerable peace of mind. I believe big hail storms and ice storms are more common bad weather nuisances in Oklahoma than tornadoes. Ice storms can put your power out for up to two weeks, though, I personally have never had power out from bad weather that lasted longer than overnight and well into the next afternoon, which was due to a couple of tornadoes on two different occasions that went through town. Fortunately, where I lived was not in the direct path of the tornadoes.
I'd say the western half of Oklahoma is a little worse for tornadoes and bad storms, along with the Oklahoma City area.
Your mother was from Soper? You mean Sulphur?
Last edited by StillwaterTownie; 07-12-2021 at 12:05 AM..
Major college towns in Oklahoma, such as Norman and Stillwater are not as conservative as other towns. They voted YES for legalized medical marijuana and for expanded Medicaid. Home prices are higher in college towns. The counties that they are in voted for Trump, if that helps.
If you're really all that conservative, maybe you need to focus on other towns, such as Bartlesville. It's an interesting, unique old oil town that hasn't been steadily going down in population, unlike so many other towns in Oklahoma. Bartlesville is surely big enough to have good medical care for most needs. If not, it's a fairly short drive to Tulsa. If you want something more conservative than Bartlesville, than look for some town in western Oklahoma. Western Oklahoma is somewhat more conservative overall than the eastern half.
I deal with the tornado threat by living in a house since 2004 with a tornado shelter in it, a closet made up of reinforced concrete. I have yet to panic and rush in there, because I thought a tornado was about to come. Other people put in an underground shelter in their garage with entrance to it between the cars. Other people put a tornado shelter in their backyards, but I think they are eyesores and may get in the way of something else you may want to do in the backyard, such as put in a big garden. At any rate, having a storm shelter on your property gives you considerable peace of mind. I believe big hail storms and ice storms are more common bad weather nuisances in Oklahoma than tornadoes. Ice storms can put your power out for up to two weeks, though, I personally have never had power out from bad weather that lasted longer than overnight and well into the next afternoon, which was due to a couple of tornadoes on two different occasions that went through town. Fortunately, where I lived was not in the direct path of the tornadoes.
I'd say the western half of Oklahoma is a little worse for tornadoes and bad storms, along with the Oklahoma City area.
Your mother was from Soper? You mean Sulphur?
There is a Soper, OK. It's a tiny town down by Durant/Hugo. It's weird how many people I've met from Soper through the years. None of them live there anymore but they were originally from there.
As for tornadoes, surprisingly, western Oklahoma isn't really any worse than most of the rest of the state and the dryline (the area where tornadoes form) is moving east under the current climate conditions. If the dry line stays east it will mean more tornadoes in eastern OK and in points east.
And my observations of Norman and Stillwater is that to a Californian they would still feel conservative even though they aren't by Oklahoma standards. I can't speak for Stillwater but in Norman, the central neighborhoods around the University are the liberal areas of town. Further away from OU you get the more conservative it gets. Lots of conservatives gripe about Norman's mayor though. And of course they complain about OU being liberal.
Major college towns in Oklahoma, such as Norman and Stillwater are not as conservative as other towns. They voted YES for legalized medical marijuana and for expanded Medicaid. Home prices are higher in college towns. The counties that they are in voted for Trump, if that helps.
If you're really all that conservative, maybe you need to focus on other towns, such as Bartlesville. It's an interesting, unique old oil town that hasn't been steadily going down in population, unlike so many other towns in Oklahoma. Bartlesville is surely big enough to have good medical care for most needs. If not, it's a fairly short drive to Tulsa. If you want something more conservative than Bartlesville, than look for some town in western Oklahoma. Western Oklahoma is somewhat more conservative overall than the eastern half.
I deal with the tornado threat by living in a house since 2004 with a tornado shelter in it, a closet made up of reinforced concrete. I have yet to panic and rush in there, because I thought a tornado was about to come. Other people put in an underground shelter in their garage with entrance to it between the cars. Other people put a tornado shelter in their backyards, but I think they are eyesores and may get in the way of something else you may want to do in the backyard, such as put in a big garden. At any rate, having a storm shelter on your property gives you considerable peace of mind. I believe big hail storms and ice storms are more common bad weather nuisances in Oklahoma than tornadoes. Ice storms can put your power out for up to two weeks, though, I personally have never had power out from bad weather that lasted longer than overnight and well into the next afternoon, which was due to a couple of tornadoes on two different occasions that went through town. Fortunately, where I lived was not in the direct path of the tornadoes.
I'd say the western half of Oklahoma is a little worse for tornadoes and bad storms, along with the Oklahoma City area.
Your mother was from Soper? You mean Sulphur?
Thank you for your great suggestions! That's very interesting abut the legalized medical marijuana. I guess I assumed that all of Oklahoma was super-conservative. I am going to check on Bartlesville home prices, as it sounds charming.
I'm most concerned about the COVID -19 mask/"vaccine" situation is in Oklahoma in general, as I am not in favor of either. Is your state strict about wearing masks or requiring people take the shot, etc.?
Yes, I believe my mother was from Soper. Her father owned a lot of land near there, as I recall.
eddie gein, thanks for your input. You're probably right, even a "liberal" area in OK would seem conservative to a Californian!
There are a lot of people who are like you in that they had roots here and they come back here from Cali. Cash in their house out there and have a great nest egg even after getting a place back here.
Most out of staters look down their nose at us but in reality it's not that bad here. It's actually as good or better in many respects than a lot of places that nose looker downers are from. LOL.
I’m very happy living on the SE side of Moore. I’m 5-10 minutes away from any shopping needs but just outside the suburbs enough to feel at peace with nature. I lived in Oklahoma for 3 years, moved away in 2017 and just got back last fall. Norman having stricter mask mandates than Moore played a small role in choosing my location. Being where I am now, central Norman is 15 minutes away. OKC and the airport are both about 20 minutes away without heavy traffic. I’ve had fantastic experienced at both medical facilities in Moore and Norman.
Anywhere you go in Oklahoma will be very conservative compared to California. Every county was red in the last presidential election (even downtown cities), but what happens is everyone gets lazy for the local elections so you have liberals in local school boards pushing critical race theory in some places *cough* Norman *cough*
You’re budget fits anywhere in Oklahoma. So the world is yours for the choosing, honestly. If you want quick access to things then Edmond would be a nice place to check out as well.
eddie gein, thanks for your input. You're probably right, even a "liberal" area in OK would seem conservative to a Californian!
I grew up in Los Angeles. Spent my first 30 years there. Spent much of the next 20 years in Arizona and now Oklahoma. My feeling is smaller towns tend to be more conservative. Exception college towns. And the cities more moderate. But it depends where you live. Living in Arizona and watching it go from red to purple or whatever it is now. Conservatives I knew in AZ and CA were more fiscal conservatives. Anti taxes and immigration being the big issues. Here they are more bible belt conservatives. More social issues. But even places like Stillwater which is a college town and less conservative than much of the state is more conservative than Arizona by far. And its the bible belt issues.
But Oklahoma is unique. Most people know someone who got busted for pot over the years. So medical marijuana got voted in. Near me there is a doctors office that calls itself a Christian medical clinic. they have the Jesus fish logo on their sign. About a year ago they were advertising a discount day for people to get medical marijuana prescriptions from them. I live in a town of about 8,000 people and there are probably 10 marijuana dispensaries here including one open 24/7.
Its a nice state with very nice people. My neighbors are great. Lots of nice gestures for me. And I return the favor.
Like the original reply went, yeah, Norman isn't as conservative as other towns/cities. However, Norman is a nice city, and it would certainly be conservative compared to the big cities of California. I would recommend it, or just about any of the cities in the OKC Metro area. Just stay away from Del City.
Thank you for your great suggestions! That's very interesting abut the legalized medical marijuana. I guess I assumed that all of Oklahoma was super-conservative. I am going to check on Bartlesville home prices, as it sounds charming.
I'm most concerned about the COVID -19 mask/"vaccine" situation is in Oklahoma in general, as I am not in favor of either. Is your state strict about wearing masks or requiring people take the shot, etc.?
Yes, I believe my mother was from Soper. Her father owned a lot of land near there, as I recall.
You're welcome. No, most towns in Oklahoma don't want to go back to requiring masks in public or shutting down anything. The Oklahoma governor is against doing that. As learned from 2020, it hurts the economy far too much.
Far right Republicans in Oklahoma want the state legislature to hold a special session to outlaw any businesses, such as hospitals, from requiring all their employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19. However, other Oklahoma Republicans, likely the majority, think the state government shouldn't have the right to tell what private businesses can't do.
Bartlesville is a wonderfully great and highly unique Oklahoma town. Hopefully, you are well impressed with it, if you don't want to be closer to the Oklahoma City or Tulsa metros.
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