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I've read over 3,500 posts here in the last few days and for the most part, OK seems to be almost ideal.
Especially the home prices and friendly people.
We're considering relocating there in the near future...
(After we actually see it in person of course)
I'm originally from MA, 30 mi. NE of Boston. We've lived in Southern NH for 7 years and then Northern NH for 7 years. I prefer rural living, but need to be about 30 minutes or so from areas that have a decent amount of small and medium businesses if I intend to stay self-employed. (And I'd REALLY like to, if possible.)
I'm an Information Technology professional (20 yrs.) and have run my own network service business for the last 10+ years.
The local economy and real estate market in this area have really taken a nose-dive in the last year. (Yeah, I know... It's the same everywhere.)
Our house is currently for sale, and we're going to take a beating in this market.
We want to be mortgage free, and we've seen a lot of properties there, that would be affordable to us. (As in less than $40K.)
Anywho...
I'll tell you about us and hopefully YOU will tell me if we're a good fit for OK, and which areas you think would suit us best. (Please?)
1. We're very conservative.
2. We have a 17 year old son and a 15 year old daughter that are both home schooled. (And OK has awesome homeschooling laws!)
Also need to be less than an hour from a good college...
Preferably OSU.
3. I LOVE my job and would like to do the same thing in our new place of residence.
4. I HATE bumper to bumper traffic and long commutes. (Left that in MA)
5. Amenities;
a.) I could care less about what a lot of folks consider "culture".
b.) Restaurants are unimportant to us.
c.) As far as shopping goes, if we have a few more choices than WallyWorld and more than 1 or 2 grocery stores, we'd consider it a plus.
d.) Broadband Internet is a MUST!
6. I'd never sleep again if I ever saw a scorpion in-doors. I'm not thrilled about spiders either!
(Don't like the idea of pesticides, but I know it will be required.)
7. I'm starting to get used the idea of tornadoes, gonna want a scaredy-hole though.
9. Prefer cold to heat, but will tolerate heat for a chance at a better life.
10. Absolutely want to be around people with good manners.
11. So far, it looks like I'd prefer to be in the Northern-middle to North-East part of the state. But I've never been there, so you tell me.
12. Absolutely NOT racist.
13. HATE huge cities, but would like to be about an hour from one.
14. A safe area to walk the streets goes without saying.
15. Would like some land / privacy, but can't afford it.
(I'd settle for QUIET though)
I could go on, but this post is turning into a book.
We'd truly appreciate any advice you could give us.
There are many areas that fit your criteria. In fact, Stillwater itself (home of OSU) may be a nice fit. I've never even been there but it's 35k people and should have enough shopping for you. It's one of the few "rural" areas of the state that's growing. OKC and Tulsa metros are an easy hour drive away.
Guthrie may be ok too: It's just 15 minutes from the OKC metro but you won't feel like you're in suburbia at all. I don't think it has much shopping, but 15 minutes away in Edmond is plenty. Stillwater and OSU are a 35-40 minute drive from there.
Enid is good too: Population about 45k. It should have enough shopping for you and is an hour from Stillwater and just over an hour to the OKC metro.
Ponca City is 45 minutes north of Stillwater (15 minutes from Kansas) Shopping should be fine there but the economy seems to be down there and not to many people seem to be happy with it right now. Metros are a bit farther from there. OKC: 1 hour 30 minutes, Tulsa: 1 hour 30 minutes, Wichita: 1 hour 15 minutes
Perkins is a smaller town 10 minutes south of Stillwater. I doubt it has much of any shopping but it's so close to Stillwater that shouldn't matter. There's even been some new housing going up lately. 40 minutes to OKC metro. 1 hour to Tulsa metro.
Cushing may work: It's a town of about 9k people 25 minutes southeast of Stillwater. I'm not sure about the shopping there so you may have to go into Stillwater for that. It's big enough thought that you won't feel like you're living in the boondocks. Tulsa metro is only 45 minutes away and OKC is 50 minutes away.
So, those are a few options within reasonable distance of OSU that sound fine to me. I haven't been to all these places and it's been a while for some. But, looking at the stats they seem fine. All in town areas should have broadband internet. At least I'd think so.
If you lived between Tulsa and OKC you would be able to have clients in both cities. I think you would find plenty of work in your field in either town. To the suggestions by nameless I would add Bristow as a possibility. To get to a huge city like Dallas would be about 4 hours.
I'm sure Stillwater has broadband internet, but you have to check in the smaller towns and rural areas. A realtor should know.
Oklahoma is very conservative. Many people home school. We don't have much traffic here, even in OKC and Tulsa. It does get hot here in the summer, but winters are generally mild. Tornadoes are really pretty rare, and warning systems are excellent.
I'm not an expert on scorpions, but it seems like some areas have a lot of them and some don't. I have only seen one scorpion in the area I live in now, and that was after we had some Sheetrock put in a building. I have only seen scorpions myself in areas with red dirt.
I have never been afraid to walk the street at night anywhere I have lived in OK.
Sounds to me like the biggest problem with OK for you will be the heat in summer. Just have a good A/C in your car and house and look forward to the fall.
Most here are. but even if you weren't there are people that would suit you.
2. We have a 17 year old son and a 15 year old daughter that are both home schooled. (And OK has awesome homeschooling laws!)
Also need to be less than an hour from a good college...
Preferably OSU.
Now Tahlequah has a nice college, but it is now OSU.
3. I LOVE my job and would like to do the same thing in our new place of residence.
This is the one I don't know about.
4. I HATE bumper to bumper traffic and long commutes. (Left that in MA)
If you chose Tahlequah you would not have traffic.
5. Amenities;
a.) I could care less about what a lot of folks consider "culture".
Maybe so, but Tahlequah puts on some nice plays.
b.) Restaurants are unimportant to us.
That is probably good, but I know that Tulsa has great restaurants and Tahlequah has a few really nice ones.
c.) As far as shopping goes, if we have a few more choices than WallyWorld and more than 1 or 2 grocery stores, we'd consider it a plus.
Tahlequah has Wallyworld and a great grocery store, Reasoners. You will find this grocery store in many OK towns. They even have organic food in the store as well as some imports.
d.) Broadband Internet is a MUST!
In town you can get dsl, but if you are out of town you end up with only dial up.
6. I'd never sleep again if I ever saw a scorpion in-doors. I'm not thrilled about spiders either!
I have not seen a scorpion, but we do have spiders. I am sure we have scorpions too, but I haven't seen one in the year that I have lived here.
(Don't like the idea of pesticides, but I know it will be required.)
I hate the idea of pesticides but I have to use them outside to kill ticks. Not all homes in town have to deal with ticks, just the country, and since I leave in a wooden area in town I have them. Not to mention chiggers, but those may not be in town, even though I have them since I am surrounded by a lot of acreage.
7. I'm starting to get used the idea of tornadoes, gonna want a scaredy-hole though.
I am not used to tornadoes, not that I have ever been in one. But I chose Tahlequah because, well, for many reasons, but also because they are in a valley and don't get tornadoes, knock on wood.
9. Prefer cold to heat, but will tolerate heat for a chance at a better life.
Well, it does get cold here, but it also gets very warm and humid, but the humidity is nothing like Florida, New Orleans, and so other areas.
10. Absolutely want to be around people with good manners.
We all have good manners here, and if we came without them we learn fast. I came from CA.
11. So far, it looks like I'd prefer to be in the Northern-middle to North-East part of the state. But I've never been there, so you tell me.
I preferred north east because of the many trees and foliage. Everything west of Muskogee tends to flatten out some and have fewer trees. We drove through Oklahoma from CA to get to here, and as soon as we got past Muskogee I fell in love with the area, although I admit, I liked all of OK.
12. Absolutely NOT racist.
A State that wasn't racist was important to me.
13. HATE huge cities, but would like to be about an hour from one.
Grove, in Northeast OK is maybe an hour from Tulsa and then close to Fayetteville, AR
Tahlequah is an hour and 20 minutes from either of those and same amount of distance from Ft. Smith, AR All of these are big cities. Grove may not have a college, but it is beautiful there with a large lake. Tahlequah has its rivers, creeks, and a large lake 30 minutes away.
14. A safe area to walk the streets goes without saying.
I feel very safe here.
15. Would like some land / privacy, but can't afford it.
(I'd settle for QUIET though)
If you choose land, you lose the ability to get dsl for internet. A quiet small town is the next best thing. I found Tahlequah to be cheaper than Grove.
Sapulpa, Sand Springs, Skiatook, Collinsville, Claremore all fit your criteria. If you live in the country, expect HughesNet or WildBlue to be your isp. In one of the towns I mentioned, Cox Cable provides excellent service.
I live half way between Tulsa and Stillwater, and use hughesnet.....and my livelihood depends on the internet. But I bought a bank repo three years ago with a 1100 foot house on 10 acres for under $20,000. Pretty good trade off.
First off... Thanks so much; nameless, peggy & jessaka.
I really appreciate your taking the time to reply...
We've been doing on-line research into OK for a while and we've been interested
in; Ponca City, Cushing, Stillwater and Blackwell... From the little we've seen on realtor.com...
Thanks to all your advice, we will also look into; Guthrie, Perkins, Enid, Bristow, Grove, and Tahlequah.
We have SO many questions, but I'll try to refrain from writing another book on this post. Besides, it's almost dinner-time.
Don't know where to begin, but...
Ponca City looked good from here, but:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nameless
Ponca City is 45 minutes north of Stillwater (15 minutes from Kansas) Shopping should be fine there but the economy seems to be down there and not to many people seem to be happy with it right now. Metros are a bit farther from there. OKC: 1 hour 30 minutes, Tulsa: 1 hour 30 minutes, Wichita: 1 hour 15 minutes
Which kind of scares me off the place. Can anyone elaborate?
I know the big oil co. left there, but does that signal the end of viable life there?
Are there not lots of small businesses that will survive?
I've also read here in the past that Blackwell was an "armpit".
Is it really that bad?
Traffic: I suppose that's a relative thing. In MA it took about an hour+ to make what should have been a 20 minute drive during non-commute time. Where I live now, I pass very few cars on the way to work most of the time.
Being a conservative:
Quote:
Originally Posted by peggydavis
Oklahoma is very conservative.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jessaka
I can only speak for Tahlequah, OK
Most here are. but even if you weren't there are people that would suit you.
A lot of my friends aren't all that conservative, and I work for a lot of far lefties,
and I get along fine, but if I had my druthers, I'd be most comfortable around conservatives. (This coming from a guy who was in a rock band in his teens...
Go figure? (Kids will do that to you!)
Heat and humidity:
The older I get (I'm 43) , the colder I get, but presently, the humidity drains my energy. AC is great, but we all have to go outside eventually... Especially if one likes to fish. (and I do!)
I imagine we'll get used to it in a couple of years as our blood thins out.
(I hope!)
Bugs:
Quote:
Originally Posted by jessaka
I can only speak for Tahlequah, OK
I have not seen a scorpion, but we do have spiders. I am sure we have scorpions too, but I haven't seen one in the year that I have lived here.
(Don't like the idea of pesticides, but I know it will be required.)
I hate the idea of pesticides but I have to use them outside to kill ticks. Not all homes in town have to deal with ticks, just the country, and since I leave in a wooden area in town I have them. Not to mention chiggers, but those may not be in town, even though I have them since I am surrounded by a lot of acreage. .
Quote:
Originally Posted by peggydavis
I'm not an expert on scorpions, but it seems like some areas have a lot of them and some don't. I have only seen one scorpion in the area I live in now, and that was after we had some Sheetrock put in a building. I have only seen scorpions myself in areas with red dirt.
If you folks tell me that bi-monthly spraying inside and out will deal with this problem,
I'll try to take your word for it.... Although I've seen in another thread that Jessaka has been bitten by a Brown Recluse (and her adventures with chiggers).
I've been bitten by one of their close relatives in the NorthEast, a Yellow Sac Spider... That wasn't very pleasant to put it mildly... Not worse than the jellyfish sting I got in FL though.
Shopping:
I grew up with giant malls in MA (read - "Mall Rat"), and now all we have is WalMart and 1 grocery store chain. We make do, but some competition and variety ain't a bad thing.
Restaurants: aren't a big deal because my wife is a fantastic cook. I eat better at home than even the good and expensive places. Although it's probably a good idea to take her out occasionally.
Work:
Quote:
Originally Posted by peggydavis
If you lived between Tulsa and OKC you would be able to have clients in both cities. I think you would find plenty of work in your field in either town.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nameless
Ponca City is 45 minutes north of Stillwater (15 minutes from Kansas) Shopping should be fine there but the economy seems to be down there and not to many people seem to be happy with it right now. Metros are a bit farther from there. OKC: 1 hour 30 minutes, Tulsa: 1 hour 30 minutes, Wichita: 1 hour 15 minutes
The middle would be about 90 minutes from either metro if I'm seeing the map correctly. That would make me less cost effective for companies that outsource their I.T. services.
I think Tulsa, overall may be the metro we'd want to be near...
At least as far as from what I've read here. I could be wrong...
All I really need is a location that will afford me a LOT of small to medium businesses that could use network services and computer repair within about an hour or less. My work speaks for itself and I have a lot of good references from up here. The idea of starting from scratch all over again is a bit daunting, but I'm not lazy and if it makes a better future for the kids, it's not a problem.
Culture:
We went from MA (read tons of culture) to Northern NH (read cultural wasteland)
and don't seem too much worse for the wear.
The only things we'll miss here in NH will be the scenery (we live on the border of the White Mountains & The Great North Woods) and some friends.
It sure does seem awfully flat there, but maybe we will appreciate "the Big Sky" in OK.
I also prefer the slower pace of life here, although it took a few years to get used to when we first came to NH. I believe it added years to my wife's and my life... My son's opinion may differ.
(He'll be reading this eventually.)
I'm sorry, it seems that I've made this post into a book again...
But where else can I get the knowledge I seek from real people who actually live in OK?
I learned a LONG time ago not to believe anything that comes out of a Chamber of Commerce... (Except one in Berlin, NH where the girl actually told me the truth about business there.)
If any of you have any further advice or wisdom regarding OK we'd be very grateful
if you shared it with us.
I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have that could help you steer us in the right direction.
We do plan to go there, but we'd like to narrow our choices down a bit before then.
There's so much more we want to learn about OK, but I'm out of time presently.
(Read - I've been called to dinner!)
If any of you feel like taking the time to share more, I'll be back often.
Once again, thanksverymuch for your time and DO know that we really appreciate it.
Sapulpa, Sand Springs, Skiatook, Collinsville, Claremore all fit your criteria.
Thanks! We'll add it to our list of places to research
Quote:
Originally Posted by Goodpasture
If you live in the country, expect HughesNet or WildBlue to be your isp. In one of the towns I mentioned, Cox Cable provides excellent service.
When I first moved to Northern NH, the only highspeed Internet choice was satellite
and it was AWFUL here. I'd go dial-up before I'd try that again. It was expensive and unreliable... At least in MY experience.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Goodpasture
I live half way between Tulsa and Stillwater, and use hughesnet.....and my livelihood depends on the internet. But I bought a bank repo three years ago with a 1100 foot house on 10 acres for under $20,000. Pretty good trade off.
WOW!!!!!!! 10acres for under 20K??? I suppose I could "suffer" with satellite for a deal like that.
The only thing I will say is the speed limit is 75mph on the turnpike between the cities. So travel is faster then you may think. Stroud is right in the middle of the cities and is within an hour drive to anywhere in either metro.
Just saw this after my last post...
(Was going to shutdown for dinner, but...)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nameless
The only thing I will say is the speed limit is 75mph on the turnpike between the cities. So travel is faster then you may think. Stroud is right in the middle of the cities and is within an hour drive to anywhere in either metro.
We'll add Stroud to the list now.
75MPH? The fastest we can legally go anywhere near here is 55MPH.
An hour you say? That makes a lot more places do-able.
Wow, you've gotten so many good, informative replies here computerguy that I don't feel I can add anything. It sounds like you would like Oklahoma quite a bit, and I hope that things work out for you. Exactly what kind of computer support do you provide, if you don't mind me asking? You may have already outlined that but I didn't read everything.
Good luck!
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