[photon123]

Hello everybody,

It is nice to find such an active group of people participating in this group!

I am 29 year old single, male and I will soon start working in Ponca city. I feel that Ponca city has nothing much to offer for me and so I have decided to commute everyday. Stillwater, West Tulsa, Wichita(Derby area) and OKC (Edmond area) have travel times of less than 1.5 hours one way. Stillwater is the closest (50 mins, one way) and OKC has 1.5 hours one way.

I am not sure if I should give importance to the travel time and stay closer to Ponca city (i.e. Stillwater) or travel more everyday. Tulsa to Ponca city has a travel time of 1 hr 15 mins, one way. It will be of great help if you can tell me some of the pros and cons of living in Stillwater or Tulsa or OKC. I have zeroed down to Tulsa or Stillwater, however I am open to the other two places as well.

I currently live in upstate NY,in a collegetown similar to Stillwater. I am a researcher by profession, very liberal and prefer cosmopolitan environment. I always wanted to live in a city but I am not sure if it makes any sense to travel 3 hrs every day. How easy is it to find people for carpool if I stay in Stillwater or Tulsa? I guess, Tulsa should offer many more places to go out and meet people. Is it worthwhile to spend an extra hour everyday in travel just to live in Tulsa? How about places to eat out in Stillwater when compared to Tulsa?

Thanks for all your replies!

[StillwaterTownie]

I once knew of someone who lived in a housing addition on the far north side of Stillwater and worked in Ponca City with Conoco. He wanted to be close to OSU sports events. GO COWBOYS! On the far north side there is a huge apartment complex called the Links. From there it could reduce your travel time by at least 5 or 10 minutes. It features a golf course.

If there's not much going on in Stillwater, Tulsa and Oklahoma City are both an hour away.

The strip in Stillwater has a lot going for it for going out to party. There, Outlaws has two levels with an awesome country dance floor. Of course, it's mostly college students there. Downtown Stillwater has been redeveloping and is becoming a secondary place to dine and party and with surely a more diverse crowd. Another popular way to socialize in Stillwater is to go to church.

Stillwater has a fairly large variety of restaurants, such as Thai, Mediterranean, Japanese, Mexican, Italian, Chinese.

In my opinion, 3 hours on the highway every day takes up too much time. My friend used to drive to work every day from Stillwater to Oklahoma City for a year, or so, was growing tired of it and was glad to end it when she got a similar job in Stillwater.

[photon123]

Thanks StillwaterTownie!

Even I think that spending 3 hours everyday on the road will tire me. I have been to Ponca city but never visited Stillwater. Ponca city looks like a very small town with nothing much to do. If Stillwater has a relatively good social life, I might plan live there. I heard many good things about Tulsa. But I guess, I will stick to Stillwater and not strain myself everyday.

I will look into the links apartment complex. What is your opinion on Fiftyone at Tradan Height apartment complex? The photos look very beautiful! Any other apartment complexes that you think are good?

Thanks again!

[el gato bandito]

Originally Posted by photon123

Thanks StillwaterTownie!

Even I think that spending 3 hours everyday on the road will tire me. I have been to Ponca city but never visited Stillwater. Ponca city looks like a very small town with nothing much to do. If Stillwater has a relatively good social life, I might plan live there. I heard many good things about Tulsa. But I guess, I will stick to Stillwater and not strain myself everyday.

I will look into the links apartment complex. What is your opinion on Fiftyone at Tradan Height apartment complex? The photos look very beautiful! Any other apartment complexes that you think are good?

Thanks again!

I live in Stillwater as well, I can say I agree that driving from Ponca to Tulsa every day sound like a bad idea to me. I'm sure there are people who do it or have done it, but it just seems like it wouldn't be a very good arrangement.

Ponca to Stillwater isn't quite as bad, but it is still a commute. I have only been to Ponca City a handful of times so I am no expert or anything, but I have had a few friends from there who were elated to get away. It doesn't have a great reputation these days as some of the big oil industry has left the town hurting for money.

Fiftyone at Tradan is very nice, they were recently built. There are a number units that have been built lately. As for nightlife, there are options, but most of them are going to be younger college students. If you don't mind that then it is a blast, if you are looking for a slightly older crowd in town there are options, but fewer ones obviously.

[photon123]

Thanks el gato bandito!

I will mostly live in Stillwater now!

Are there any preferred places to live for graduate students and young working researchers/professionals? I may want to avoid places where there are predominantly undergraduate students. Also, where do the professors and their families live?

Both Fiftyone at Tradan and Links apartments look very good. I think I will choose one of the two.

Thanks everyone for all your suggestions! You guys were very helpful!! I will be in Stillwater in May, may be we can meet up if feasible.

Best,

[StillwaterTownie]

Originally Posted by photon123

I will look into the links apartment complex. What is your opinion on Fiftyone at Tradan Height apartment complex? The photos look very beautiful! Any other apartment complexes that you think are good?

Thanks again!

With Fiftyone you would be adding up to 10 minutes to your commute. Getting back to the north side, there's lot more apartments available. There's a nice new one just off N. Perkins Rd., probably the busiest street in Stillwater. I don't know the name of it. You could get going north from it and get up to speed and on out of town soon with hardly any traffic lights. And you wouldn't have to go through the most congested part of N. Perkins Rd. It is congested, because it contains Stillwater's biggest strip mall, its only movie theater complex and more apartment complexes. If you like chain sports bars, like Buffalo Wild Wings, it is there as well. Stillwater is easily one of the fastest growing towns in Oklahoma when not counting the suburbs of Tulsa and Oklahoma City. So there should be more development to come and adding to the congestion.

[linicx]

Western and Eastern Oklahoma are very different physically and visually. Eastern Oklahoma is green, leafy, and natural with large lakes and wildlife as it is in the fooothills of the Ozark mountain range. It is in the Central Flyway for migratory birds such as the White Pelican, Blue Heron and Hummingbird that winter in Mexico. The land gradually changes from high cliffs rolling hills to the flat plains and red earth as one moves thorough Tulsa and OKC to the Texas border. Where rolling hills are common on one side of the state, pumpjacks are just as common on the other.

The Tulsa and OKC metro areas are similar in size with a total population of over 2 million. It is safe to say nearly two-thirds of the state population lives in one or the other. There are seven other towns in the state larger than Stillwater yet smaller than Tulsa. Stillwater is a largest OSU campus with 24,000 students. Depending on who you ask, the distance from Stillwater to OKC or Tulsa is 65-75 miles. It will be longer in rush hour and foul weather. OK is a unique state with many opportunities to explore and learn. Enjoy it.

Please understand OKC and Tulsa are in Tornado Alley. Here are tornado stats for Stillwater and Ponca City. The thing to understand is the 1999 storm that hit OKC was historic for its strength, size, time on ground and distance covered. It is the standard against all other storms are measured. Because of this every yahoo with a cell phone wants to get as close to the storm as possible. This causes horrific traffic snarls and unintended consequences. If I was in Stillwater or Ponca City I would drive 100 miles southeast. If I was in Tulsa or OKC I would drive a 100 miles NW. I would not chase the storm. These storms usually spawn in the SW and move NE, but not always. Sometimes they change direction. Joplin, MO is a perfect example. That storm killed over 100.

Stillwater, Oklahoma Tornadoes (1875-Present) .

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/?n=torna...ity-ponca_city .












t

[601halfdozen0theother]

Why don't you just live in Ponca or in the countryside around it and drive into Tulsa or Stillwater for the restaurants and nightlife on the weekends? You'd save some money, save a lot of time, and might even enjoy being exposed to a new and different culture.

Don't go to Wichita, though, it is the armpit of America.

[StillwaterTownie]

Originally Posted by linicx

Please understand OKC and Tulsa are in Tornado Alley. Here are tornado stats for Stillwater and Ponca City. The thing to understand is the 1999 storm that hit OKC was historic for its strength, size, time on ground and distance covered. It is the standard against all other storms are measured. Because of this every yahoo with a cell phone wants to get as close to the storm as possible. This causes horrific traffic snarls and unintended consequences. If I was in Stillwater or Ponca City I would drive 100 miles southeast. If I was in Tulsa or OKC I would drive a 100 miles NW. I would not chase the storm. These storms usually spawn in the SW and move NE, but not always. Sometimes they change direction. Joplin, MO is a perfect example. That storm killed over 100.

Stillwater, Oklahoma Tornadoes (1875-Present) .

Ponca City, Oklahoma Tornadoes (1875-Present) .

Fortunately, on the list for Stillwater, most tornadoes listed merely passed close to Stillwater, without cutting threw town causing major damages. The 1975 and 1990 are the only exceptions since 1963. Stillwater lies in a valley and so in addition to the trees and buildings, it can be hard to see a tornado coming. But go to hilltop just outside of town on N. Country Club Rd. and people can get a great 360 degree view of the horizon to see the storms. So far, I haven't been crazy enough to do that.

I never thought it necessary to get scared and drive 100 miles when a tornado was coming and haven't taken a chance on trying to do anything near like that that ever since back when my folks and I loaded up in the car in a panic and ending up driving through one, because we left too late. Fortunately, the car while rocking, remained grounded and everybody survived. For peace of mind now, though, I live in a house with a safe room, which should be able to withstand a F5 tornado. But one might as will bear in mind as to why someone might say to drive away from the very strongest tornados, the F5 ones. It's because they will quite likely clear off down to the bare foundation of a home.

[photon123]

My current plan is to live in Stillwater for 6 months and weigh my options. If I feel that the journey is tiring, I might as well move to Ponca city. I can also do the other way (staying in Ponca for 6 months and then evaluating my options) but then I thought if I go to a new place, it is easier to socialize in a collegetown type environment.

Bartlesville also seems to have many young professionals. Also, I heard there are quite a few people who carpool from Bartlesville to Ponca.

My current dilemma stems from not knowing very much about Ponca. I never lived in a small town like that. I am not sure how easy it is to fit in.

I believe my next year will be transitory before I decide to settle down at a location. I dont really know much about tornadoes and their frequency impeding my daily travel to Ponca. Should I also consider this?

Thanks guys for your inputs!