[JadeyKay]

Hello all! I have recently been offered a job in Enid, but know nothing about the area or even Oklahoma, to be honest. My husband and I are in our 20's and have a young child in elementary school. We are considering a big move from Indiana, but would like some information on the area to weigh our options. We are moving this summer to either AZ or OK, due to my job opportunities. We live in a small town now and would prefer to keep our child in a small school system. My biggest concerns are the schools and safety of the area, so any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

[StillwaterTownie]

Since Enid is one of the biggest of the small towns in Oklahoma, it offers more. To do noticeably better in Oklahoma, you'd have to live in the Oklahoma City or Tulsa metro area. So don't worry much, you're starting off Oklahoma not bad at all.

[eddie gein]

My question is where in Arizona are you considering?

Enid is not a bad place at all even if a little on the mundane side. It isn't too far from OKC or Tulsa or Wichita which widen entertainment options. Try to settle on the west side of town and you are probably going to get they type of school you like. There is also an excellent school called Pioneer which is southeast of Enid a couple miles and includes a couple of nice subdivisions in SE Enid. It is much smaller than Enid and provides kids lots of opportunities without as much competition as Enid which is a reasonably large school.

[JadeyKay]

Thank you for your response, it was very helpful! In Arizona we are considering Surprise, but my job would be in Phoenix, so the commute would not be ideal.

[eddie gein]

Originally Posted by JadeyKay

Thank you for your response, it was very helpful! In Arizona we are considering Surprise, but my job would be in Phoenix, so the commute would not be ideal.

Having lived in Arizona I would say there are a couple of things to consider.

1) Enid would be much more similar to small town Indiana than would Phoenix metro. In my view the adjustment to Enid would be easier from that perspective.

2) Arizona would actually have more Midwesterners in it (mostly from Chicagoland) so you are going to have more people from your part of the country in Arizona. In Enid you have sort of a Kansan influence but not really many folks from the upper Midwest.

3) Arizona winters are wonderful where as Enid is going to bring you some wintery weather. In the summer, Enid is bad but Phoenix is worse. However in Phoenix you can drive a couple of hours and escape it into really comfortable weather (Flagstaff area)

4) While the west valley in Phoenix is not known to be as high fallutin' (Okie word there) as the east Valley, Surprise is a nice place and is on the edge of the monstrosity that Phoenix has become. It is a less pretentious place than the east valley and will be kind of a mix of retirees and working class people living in a rather non descript suburban environment.

My biggest issue with Phoenix area is that it doesn't have the sense of community that places like Oklahoma and Indiana have. Everybody is from someplace else. This is not necessarily a bad thing compared to a place like Enid where most everyone is from that area and have been for several generations, but I kind of prefer the latter to the former if I were raising kids.

[SluggoF16]

Originally Posted by eddie gein

Having lived in Arizona I would say there are a couple of things to consider.

1) Enid would be much more similar to small town Indiana than would Phoenix metro. In my view the adjustment to Enid would be easier from that perspective.

2) Arizona would actually have more Midwesterners in it (mostly from Chicagoland) so you are going to have more people from your part of the country in Arizona. In Enid you have sort of a Kansan influence but not really many folks from the upper Midwest.

3) Arizona winters are wonderful where as Enid is going to bring you some wintery weather. In the summer, Enid is bad but Phoenix is worse. However in Phoenix you can drive a couple of hours and escape it into really comfortable weather (Flagstaff area)

4) While the west valley in Phoenix is not known to be as high fallutin' (Okie word there) as the east Valley, Surprise is a nice place and is on the edge of the monstrosity that Phoenix has become. It is a less pretentious place than the east valley and will be kind of a mix of retirees and working class people living in a rather non descript suburban environment.

My biggest issue with Phoenix area is that it doesn't have the sense of community that places like Oklahoma and Indiana have. Everybody is from someplace else. This is not necessarily a bad thing compared to a place like Enid where most everyone is from that area and have been for several generations, but I kind of prefer the latter to the former if I were raising kids.

I moved from the Phoenix area (Scottsdale/Tempe) to Enid (specifically Vance AFB for pilot training) in the 80s. It was total culture shock. There were so many things I wasn't prepared for, especially as a recent-graduated hedonistic young twentysomething. OKC didn't have the diversions it does today, nor did Stillwater. When I heard there was a college there (Phillips University) I thought there was hope, but was wrong. Also, while I was associated with the Enid area, it went, as a lot of Oklahoma today, from a boom to a bust due to oil and natural gas. That said, I found a great deal of Enid to be appealing. For example, the commute from the Oakwood Mall area to the old Champlin refinery could be done in less than twenty minutes. The pace of life was slower. When my father in law was recently hospitalized in Enid I found the people to be just as pleasant as 30 years earlier.

The weather... it's not Napa Valley in either place. I personally enjoy 115 degrees, maybe I'm masochistic. Winters in Enid can be brutal... I was snowbound on base for a week in January/February when I was stationed at Vance.

Eddie properly cites the lack of belonging in Phoenix. I'm an oddity, a native of Phoenix born in the 60s. Most people come from somewhere else, and sometimes try to make the Valley like their old home. I made a lot of money as a teen mowing lawns in a desert city. Enid has a sense of history. There is continuity there. I just got back this Christmas from Scottsdale where my mom lives and was appalled at how many times the Scottsdale Fashion Square has completely changed... maybe 4 times in 40 years? I think there's a law in the Phoenix area that if something has been in one place for 25 years, saguaro cacti excepted, then it must be taken down and replaced with something shiny. Enid has a really neat downtown square, with a couple Irish pubs, a tapas restaurant, a nice convention center, and a small-town vibe that is very attractive for those who like that kind of thing.

[StillwaterTownie]

One thing about Enid that may need preparing for is the scenery around there. It's literally ruler flat with hardly any trees. For Oklahomans, who live east of I-35, it's quite a difference. But then a fairly short drive west of Enid rises the Glass Mountains which is interesting butte country, providing contrast from the surrounding plains.

[SluggoF16]

Originally Posted by StillwaterTownie

One thing about Enid that may need preparing for is the scenery around there. It's literally ruler flat with hardly any trees. For Oklahomans, who live east of I-35, it's quite a difference. But then a fairly short drive west of Enid rises the Glass Mountains which is interesting butte country, providing contrast from the surrounding plains.

Are they the Glass Mountains? Or the Gloss Mountains? Or maybe just the Gloss Hills? A cartographic mistake resulted in the name "Gloss". The state park says "Gloss Mountain", singular. (My inlaws live in Fairview, and my father-in-law calls it "Glass".) Great Salt Plains and Little Sahara are also worthwhile diversions.

It's not as flat out there near Enid as Amarillo. But if you climb up on a windmill you can see all the way to Kansas.