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Old 03-08-2013, 04:48 PM
 
5 posts, read 24,578 times
Reputation: 19

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Hello all!!!
Ok, so! I have a few previous posts asking about diversity & race relations in Johnson City, TN... Ocala, FL... and Oklahoma City, OK.

Though I didn't ask about Tulsa, I've done some research so I'm ready to ask my next questions!
What are the differences between OKC &Tulsa?
Like racial tension, city life, age demographics, crime, economy! (mainly race, economy, age)
I've limited my choices to Florida & Oklahoma, but I'm leaning towards Oklahoma!

I'm a Black female, early 20's, with my first full time (long term) job. I'll be moving from Detroit so I'm a city girl (though I lived TN and OH) and though I love Detroit, I don't want to be here all my life!
For these above reasons, the following are all super important to me:
1) diversity & good race relations
2) good amount of ppl between 20 & 40
3) a surviving, if not growing economy

I have no desire to live uncomfortably - in fear of racism, not being able to meet anyone, or not being able to afford to live.

Please be honest with me ladies & guys !
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Old 03-12-2013, 05:31 PM
 
Location: Oklahoma City
242 posts, read 761,795 times
Reputation: 235
I think OKC has a better outlook than Tulsa when considering racial and ethnic diversity. Both cities have a history of isolated racial neighborhoods (like almost every city), but Tulsa's black population is extremely concentrated in North Tulsa, which is a rough part of town. OKC's black population is also heavily concentrated in Northeast OKC, also a rough area.

The inner northwest side of OKC is very diverse, with white, black, Asian, and Hispanic people dispersed throughout. This is between I-235, I-44, and I-40. There are many good neighborhoods and this is also where a lot of the young people 20-30 are located. This part of town is progressive and open to diversity.

Tulsa has a similar area stretching south just outside of downtown, but it is a lot less diverse.

You can use this great map to check out racial and ethnic diversity in cities if you zoom in close: Mapping the 2010 U.S. Census - NYTimes.com
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Old 03-13-2013, 11:16 AM
 
Location: Both sides of the Red River
778 posts, read 2,312,223 times
Reputation: 1121
I really don't think you would have a problem with either. However, I would have to give the edge to OKC as well.

As ou_norman stated, Tulsa is much more segregated than OKC. Admiral/244 is the dividing line and you might as well be in another town once you cross it. There also doesn't seem to be much of a black middle/professional class in Tulsa. Then there's that whole little thing of naming their up and coming bar district after a guy who was in the KKK.

I certainly don't think Tulsa is full of rabid bigots. I am AA and I go to Tulsa a lot on business. For the most part I am treated well. But I am definitely a lot more comfortable in OKC as far as day-to-day living is concerned.
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Old 03-13-2013, 01:49 PM
 
4,407 posts, read 9,088,044 times
Reputation: 4299
OKC is the home of Wayne Coyne! That is all the people need to know.
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Old 03-14-2013, 09:54 AM
 
Location: Deep Dirty South
5,190 posts, read 5,308,446 times
Reputation: 3863
Quote:
Originally Posted by loose cannon View Post
OKC is the home of Wayne Coyne! That is all the people need to know.
Ha! I like this. Wayne is probably the most creative, imaginative person I've ever met.

As far as yet another OKC vs. Tulsa sort of thread, I think some valid points have been made. However, in my experience, part of the reason for the more clearly delineated "bad areas" in Tulsa is because of the "patchwork" makeup of OKC neighborhoods which has been discussed here before.

I've lived all over the USA but have spent more cumulative time in Tulsa than anywhere else. But I also worked in OKC for years (while living in Norman) and have spent a lot of time in OKC over the years with family and friends, etc. I also live in OKC now and have been for the past several months.

Both OKC and Tulsa have their run down areas. In Tulsa, though, you KNOW what parts of town might be dangerous whereas in OKC you have really nice neighborhoods and business districts situated right in the middle of crime-ridden crack zones. I've never been in another town like it in this respect.

Everywhere, all across this sprawling metro you have a few square blocks of nice older homes surrounded by ghetto apartment complexes laid out in rabbit warrens, or a nice little shopping area surrounded by blocks of boarded-up, rotting neighborhoods and closed down strips of shops.

I honestly don't think racism is a big issue in either city, but Tulsa does have a very dark, shameful history with regards to race relations, even though we're talking about something that happened almost a century ago. But I don't think racism is something that most people encounter or have to contend with in either Tulsa or OKC any more than they would living just about anywhere else.

I've lived in the Deep South and I've lived in the Northeast. I've seen some racism everywhere, unfortunately. I was living in a nice little mountain town 90 miles north of NYC in New York state for a couple of years recently and there were quite a few Confederate flags waving outside peoples' homes and on bumper stickers and such. Really surprised me. I saw the same thing in parts of Oregon.

My overall feeling, trying to be as objective as possible, is that Tulsa has it all over OKC in a number of capacities. It is more compact and easier to travel around (although the traffic can be terrible), it has a number of easily accessible cool little areas with restaurants, boutiques, etc. It is far, far, far prettier with its lushness and rolling hills, and for the most part, thoughout the history of both towns, it has had much better cultural attractions (though OKC is catching up.)

Someone here once commented that Tulsa is more like an Eastern city since it was largely built by oil magnates from the East who built their homes and neighborhoods to echo homes and neighborhoods in Philadelphia, Boston,, etc. It has a more Eastern flavor with more culturally Southern attributes and overall look, whereas OKC was built on the back of the cattle trade. And because of the topography, OKC has more of a Western/Southwestern look and feel (without any of the scenery most of the West/SW has.)

This is a generalized oversimplification to a degree, but not without validity.

At any rate, Tulsa >>> OKC, and I'm not a huge fan of Tulsa either. I just find OKC to be probably on the bottom 5 places to live if you have to be in Oklahoma.
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Old 03-14-2013, 10:10 PM
 
Location: Charlotte, NC (in my mind)
7,943 posts, read 17,182,277 times
Reputation: 4680
Quote:
Originally Posted by Griffis View Post
Ha! I like this. Wayne is probably the most creative, imaginative person I've ever met.

As far as yet another OKC vs. Tulsa sort of thread, I think some valid points have been made. However, in my experience, part of the reason for the more clearly delineated "bad areas" in Tulsa is because of the "patchwork" makeup of OKC neighborhoods which has been discussed here before.

I've lived all over the USA but have spent more cumulative time in Tulsa than anywhere else. But I also worked in OKC for years (while living in Norman) and have spent a lot of time in OKC over the years with family and friends, etc. I also live in OKC now and have been for the past several months.

Both OKC and Tulsa have their run down areas. In Tulsa, though, you KNOW what parts of town might be dangerous whereas in OKC you have really nice neighborhoods and business districts situated right in the middle of crime-ridden crack zones. I've never been in another town like it in this respect.

Everywhere, all across this sprawling metro you have a few square blocks of nice older homes surrounded by ghetto apartment complexes laid out in rabbit warrens, or a nice little shopping area surrounded by blocks of boarded-up, rotting neighborhoods and closed down strips of shops.

I honestly don't think racism is a big issue in either city, but Tulsa does have a very dark, shameful history with regards to race relations, even though we're talking about something that happened almost a century ago. But I don't think racism is something that most people encounter or have to contend with in either Tulsa or OKC any more than they would living just about anywhere else.

I've lived in the Deep South and I've lived in the Northeast. I've seen some racism everywhere, unfortunately. I was living in a nice little mountain town 90 miles north of NYC in New York state for a couple of years recently and there were quite a few Confederate flags waving outside peoples' homes and on bumper stickers and such. Really surprised me. I saw the same thing in parts of Oregon.

My overall feeling, trying to be as objective as possible, is that Tulsa has it all over OKC in a number of capacities. It is more compact and easier to travel around (although the traffic can be terrible), it has a number of easily accessible cool little areas with restaurants, boutiques, etc. It is far, far, far prettier with its lushness and rolling hills, and for the most part, thoughout the history of both towns, it has had much better cultural attractions (though OKC is catching up.)

Someone here once commented that Tulsa is more like an Eastern city since it was largely built by oil magnates from the East who built their homes and neighborhoods to echo homes and neighborhoods in Philadelphia, Boston,, etc. It has a more Eastern flavor with more culturally Southern attributes and overall look, whereas OKC was built on the back of the cattle trade. And because of the topography, OKC has more of a Western/Southwestern look and feel (without any of the scenery most of the West/SW has.)

This is a generalized oversimplification to a degree, but not without validity.

At any rate, Tulsa >>> OKC, and I'm not a huge fan of Tulsa either. I just find OKC to be probably on the bottom 5 places to live if you have to be in Oklahoma.
A lot of people in OKC don't want to admit this, but I think you are right. In many ways, Tulsa is still ahead of OKC. One way you can easily tell is a lot more people from OKC take weekend trips up the turnpike to do stuff than vice versa. The only reason anybody from Tulsa would have to go to OKC is for a Thunder or Sooners game.

I do however think OKC and Tulsa are a much closer match now than they used to be.

Last edited by bchris02; 03-14-2013 at 11:05 PM..
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Old 03-15-2013, 12:09 PM
 
Location: Both sides of the Red River
778 posts, read 2,312,223 times
Reputation: 1121
Huh?

Lots of people take trips from Tulsa to OKC as well. Lots of people from both cities go to Dallas/Ft Worth. I'm not really sure that matters in the general discussion.

Some people prefer one city over another. Tulsa has some very nice attractions that are absent in OKC. I also know that people vote with their feet, and in that regard OKC has been growing at about double the rate of Tulsa for some time now.

In any event, I think we are getting off topic here.
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Old 03-15-2013, 07:46 PM
 
Location: Tulsa, OK
2,572 posts, read 4,228,386 times
Reputation: 2427
Quote:
Originally Posted by #1soonerfan View Post

Some people prefer one city over another. Tulsa has some very nice attractions that are absent in OKC. I also know that people vote with their feet, and in that regard OKC has been growing at about double the rate of Tulsa for some
OKC is a big Goverment town, both state and fed. Goverment towns fare better during economic down turns. I have lived in OKC but moved to Tulsa in the 80s. Would really be hard to move back to OKC.
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Old 03-16-2013, 01:51 AM
 
Location: Stillwater, Oklahoma
30,976 posts, read 21,477,869 times
Reputation: 9675
Quote:
Originally Posted by okie1962 View Post
OKC is a big Goverment town, both state and fed. Goverment towns fare better during economic down turns. I have lived in OKC but moved to Tulsa in the 80s. Would really be hard to move back to OKC.
So if people refused to vote to build bigger and bigger government every time, there would still just be one rather modest arena known as the Myriad Center.
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Old 03-16-2013, 12:20 PM
 
Location: Tulsa, OK
2,572 posts, read 4,228,386 times
Reputation: 2427
Quote:
Originally Posted by StillwaterTownie View Post
So if people refused to vote to build bigger and bigger government every time, there would still just be one rather modest arena known as the Myriad Center.
What I was talking about was all the Goverment jobs in OKC metro area. Tinker, FAA,State capital with all it's departments and agencies, OU university and medical center, Natinoal Severe Weather center, Veterans Hospital... There may otherness that I can't think if off the top of my head. But these type of jobs are less likely to see lay offs than private sector jobs. OKC Metro is very rich when it comes to government jobs.
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