[Griffis]

Hello, All. I hope this finds everybody well and happy.

I did a search of the forum before posting this question, but I wondered if anyone might have the skinny on life in and around Ponca City?

There doesn't seem to be much discussion about the town specifically (and that could be for good reason I suppose...)

I am currently in Chickasha and work in Anadarko about 20 miles down the road. Enjoying life and I like my job a great deal BUT...

I have been keeping my eyes open for job opportunities that might afford me a higher salary. I'm just barely making it and have my wife and two daughters. It's been a struggle financially.

Anyhoo, a job came open in a field I have a great deal of experience in, and it pays far better than where I am right now. It's in (you guessed it) Ponca City. The stats for the town look okay overall (though the crime rate seems a bit high.)

I do like where Ponca is located. 90 mins from both OKC (where some of my wife's family is) and 90 mins from Tulsa (where some of my family is.)

Is there any nice outdoors stuff around there or any cool old diners/burger joints or a cool old theater or anything? We aren't big partiers and we don't need a ton of highbrow shopping or nightclubs or action and excitement or anything, but we do hope that if we end up moving (dear Lord I am so tired of moving) it's to a decent enough area with decent schools and some pretty scenery not too far away. Maybe a nice lake or some cabins to rent in a pretty area for a weekend getaway.

I kicked around Ponca City some many years ago since my mother's father lived there, but I don't have much memory of the place. Probably haven't been there in 25-30 years.

I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts, opinions, experiences, suggestions, etc. The yeas and nays of the town.

As always, much appreciate any knowledge of Ponca City or any discussion of it.

Thanks and take care!

[#1soonerfan]

Its been about 3 years since I've been to Ponca City, and to be honest I wasn't impressed. Maybe its just the areas off of the main highway but the city struck me as run down. I know they took a big hit in 2010 when they transferred all of the white collar ConocoPhillips employees to Bartlesville, and with it, a big portion of their tax base. I haven't checked in some time but PC's unemployment rate has been running above the state average for some time.

Speaking of, there is a huge refinery on the south side of town. You've probably been in OK long enough to know that prevailing winds come out of the south 75% of the year. So I can imagine there is quite the odor there.

It certainly isn't the worst place in the world. If you can swing it, I would try nearby cities like Tonkawa and Blackwell. Not a lot to do in that part of the state, but you are very close to Kaw Lake (my uncles loved fishing here) with Keystone and Skiatook lakes not too far off. Tallgrass Prairie, Great Salt Plains, and Little Sahara are close by as well. In addition to OKC and Tulsa, you are also within 90 minutes to Wichita as well.

At the end of the day, you have to pay your bills so take my advice with a grain of salt. If you are struggling I would say take the job and maybe look into an outlying city.

[eddie gein]

I grew up there. Ponca is a bit like Chickasha in that it was once a grand old town. Much like Chickasha there are some grand old homes in Chickasha. Old brick lined streets in parts of town and a pretty cool downtown area. AS #1 Sooner said, the white collar jobs at Conoco (that were there when I grew up) are all gone now, but IMO Ponca still is a special place. First of all, forget Tonkawa and Blackwell. Ponca is way better and the school system is light years better.

The refinery is no big deal unless you live on that side of town which obviously isn't the desirable side of town. The nicer parts of Ponca is basically north of Highland and east of 7th street although there are some nice neighborhoods south of that area around the catholic church and the Presbyterian church. Pretty much anything new in town is north of Hartford. The old downtown is on Grand and the main drag is 14th street. The coolest neighborhoods are east of the high school and north of the Pioneer Woman statue.

Ponca has a grand old Theatre "the Poncan" where they do plays and such now. They have a performing arts center by the high school. They have Wentz camp which has a beautiful pool overlooking Lake Ponca. The Golf course is out there as well. Lake Ponca Park is kind of neat as well. As mentioned Kaw Lake is out there as well.

Across the Arkansas river is Osage county and the tall grass prairie. There are some interesting places over there. Also, it's not far to Stillwater for the activities that they have down there. And people forget that Wichita is just over an hour and being the largest town in Kansas, Wichita has more things going on than you might expect.

Due to the legacy of Conoco, Ponca is much more cultured than you might expect although I'm sure that has dried up somewhat with the white collar presence gone. But I know they have a freethinker group there. The schools, again due to Conoco are pretty strong.

Eateries? Head Country is a world famous BBQ joint, and they have another one that has been there forever called the Blue Moon. Enrique's is famous across the state as a Mexican joint. The Dixie Dog (if it's still there) is an institution. Rusty Barrell Supper Club is another one.

Having lived in Ponca City and Chickasha I'd say that Ponca City would get the nod in every respect except for the fact that it doesn't have a college. Northern JUCO is 15 minutes away and OSU is about 40 minutes. The other thing that Chickasha might have is it is closer to Norman/OKC than Ponca is to anywhere but when you factor in that Ponca is close to Stillwater, and not far from Tulsa and Wichita and still only an hour and a half from OKC it isn't bad. And B'ville even has a few annual events that are worth attending and making the hour drive.

I think it might be a good move for you. You could do a lot worse. I loved growing up there (although we moved to Edmond when I was in HS). I am still a Ponca City Wildcat at heart.

[Griffis]

I appreciate the info. Please wish me luck-- I did get invited to interview for a position in Ponca City. The pay is close to $10K a year more than what I am making, but we are going to have to look at housing prices, the employee benefits, etc.

The job is technically a position with the city itself. I think it would be a great job, and there is some room to move up.

There is a lot to decide on, though. And that's assuming I actually get offered the job.

[Rubi3]

I hope it works out for you as sounds like a winning situation. My knowledge of Ponca City is limited to knowing Lew Wentz lived there. I only know of him because of being a Lew Wentz Scholar while attending OSU. He came to Oklahoma from back east and became very wealthy.

[rockyinyourradio]

One good thing about Ponca City.. the only Perkins Restaurant in the state of Oklahoma. Their pancakes are awesome!

[StillwaterTownie]

Originally Posted by rockyinyourradio

One good thing about Ponca City.. the only Perkins Restaurant in the state of Oklahoma. Their pancakes are awesome!

Surely their pancakes weren't awesome enough elsewhere. The Perkins Restaurant in Stillwater was torn down several years ago and replaced by CVS Pharmacy. CVS is good for having 18 pack of beer for $12.99. Everybody else in Stillwater charges $13.99, or more.

While I liked the food at Perkins okay, I think the opening of Texas Roadhouse explains, in part, why Perkins had to close. The Texas Roadhouse wipes out most every other place in town as a pretty good place to eat, unless you're in the mood for real Mexican food and Stillwater does that good as in Palomino's or El Vaquero.