[future texan]

Hello! my husband and I are looking to leave california when he retires, and moving to Ok or KS..can you tell us if we would be welcomed in Norman? from what I have read, the people there sound so warm and friendly!..will we be looked down upon for being cali people? have ran into hostilities on other threads for just being from cali, but are leaving it because of all of the liberal policies, etc....we love severe weather, so are not afraid of tornadoes, also, how are the medical facilities and hospitals, as we ARE older!!!.and how are housing prices, for a 2-3 bedroom, 2 bath homes?....thanks for any help! will look forward to your replies!

[_redbird_]

Originally Posted by future texan

Hello! my husband and I are looking to leave california when he retires, and moving to Ok or KS..can you tell us if we would be welcomed in Norman? from what I have read, the people there sound so warm and friendly!..will we be looked down upon for being cali people?

Hello, a lot of okies went to California in the past and there are a lot of people from CA who now reside in OK.

IMO, if someone is going to look down on you simply because you are from <enter state here>, then they are a piece of , and I wouldn't worry about their opinion anyway.

Norman is a great place, but like any university locale, the housing close to OU is where I would NOT be living.

BTW, I have read in the cali forums where some posters get the scrunchies when someone says the word "cali".

[debzkidz]

Norman is a great town. I think you will find the cost of housing to be much less than California. I can't speak specificly about prices in Norman, because I've never looked at real estate there. We are in a suburb to the north of Oklahoma City, about 45 minutes from Norman. Homes in our area are probably priced in the $85-$100 per sqft range. It considered to be a very desireable area and is about on par with what you might find in Norman. You might find something less, but I'm not sure how good the area would be. Or you could spend more, if you wanted luxury.

There are good medical facilities in the area, and there are wonderful medical facilities located just a few minutes away in nearby in Oklahoma City, including the OU medical center. Very well respected.

I was much like you when I first moved here a few years ago from Texas. I heard that people here hated Texans. However, I have found the people here to be very warm and welcoming. Probably the friendliest people I've ever met. I've really only run across one or two people who had something nasty to say about me because I was from Texas. I guess there are a few grumpy people everywhere!

Just to plug my own area, check out Edmond OK as well. Very nice area on the north side of OKC.

[future texan]

thanks! will look into edmond as well! yea there are opinionated people in every area..my son in law is from florida, and he still has bias against "hippie tree hugger" californians! and once a man in TN said that they call cali people 'hippies', then he suggested we move to alabama, as the people are 'friendlier' there...it's crazy! another question, what would house insurance run, on say a 1300-1500 sq foot home per year? and is the norman and edmond area in a flood prone area? how is shopping there, as far as malls, grocery, costco, etc...as far as restaurants, if you have a crackerbarrel, we will be in heaven!

[debzkidz]

I can't say what insurance would be on a house that size, since that is all based on home value, construction etc. Our home is about 3200 sqft and I think ours runs around $1,500 yearly, but I could be off on that number. As for flood areas, I would say no, not really. There would be some areas of exception, such as low lying areas, creeks etc, but as a whole, I don't think so. That's something that could easily be checked out before you bought a home. Shopping's not bad. Edmond does not have a mall actually in the town, but there is one that is right on the border of OKC and Edmond, called Quail Springs Mall. It does have some nice local boutiques and some other very nice local shopping. There is one center that has stores such as Coldwater Creek, Talbots, Chicos, New Balance etc. There is a mall in Norman, Sooner Mall, but I think its a bit smaller. Both malls have stores such as Macys, Dillards, JCPenney etc. There is also a very nice mall, Penn Square Mall, in OKC that is actually not but a couple of miles further than Quail Springs from my house. It has Macys and Dillards as well as stores like Coach, Banana Repulic etc.

We don't have Costco in Oklahoma but we do have Sams Clubs. There is one by Quail Springs Mall in Edmond, as well as several others around town. Not sure about Norman, but my guess is that there is one there as well. They both have Super Targets (2 in Edmond) Super Walmarts (also 2 in Edmond), Walmart Neighborhood Markets, Home Depots, Lowes all the big box stores. As far as grocery stores, the only national chain stores in the greater OKC area are Walmart and Target. There a a couple of local chains, Homeland and Buy For Less. Just a couple of weeks ago Whole Foods announced they are building a store in OKC not far from Penn Square Mall.

There are tons of restaurants in both towns as well, both national chains, as well as some really great local places. Yes there is a Crackerbarrel just inside OKC from Edmond on I-35, and I'm sure there is one in Norman, probably on I-35 as well. Actually I'm almost certain I've seen one there.

[future texan]

thank you debzkidz for all the help and info! sam's club works when there is no costco, and glad to hear there are super targets and big box stores! as for the insurance, guess we will have to get a quote once we see what is out there as far as homes....we are looking for single story, newer construction, so will contact a realtor when the time comes...now onto the weather! what are winters like, as well as summer? what about bugs? how many T-storms do you average, as well at tornado warnings..also I see that OK city area does have earthquakes? is there any talk of a large one in the future?

[debzkidz]

Okay, so you have to understand that we moved here from Houston just under 4 years ago, so I'm not the best one to answer the weather questions. Maybe someone else can give better answers on that, or you could do a Google search for more accurate numbers. Coming from Houston where the weather in winter is warm, to me it seems really cold. We did have a bonafide blizzard this past Christmas Eve which kept everyone snow bound for a couple of days. We had a few snow falls this past winter, more than we've had since we've been here. Typically it seems that we've had one or two good snows every winter, but this winter was worse. Typically the snow is gone in a day or two. I believe the final snow total for the year was something like 20", which was like the 2nd or 3rd most snowfall in OK history. Summers are hot, but again not as hot as we were used to. Probably in the high 80's to 90's, with maybe a few days in the 100's. Springs and falls are glorious! Absolutely beautiful. I think that's what I've enjoyed most about it here. Yes, we do have some violent t-storms and tornados. Last week and this week have been a little dicey. Several tornados in central OK. Also, this past Sunday a massive hailstorm. We're talking about hail the size of softballs. Lots of totalled cars and roofs. Thank goodness our area didn't have any. Also, be aware that many homes have storm shelters built into them, usually in the floor of the garage. And if your house doesn't have one you can have one installed for $2,000 - $3,000. I think most new homes are built with them.

As for the earthquakes, yes we've had them, but I've never felt one. They are very small and they say that there is no threat of bigger ones. There are faults, but they are not like what you have in Calfornia. They are very small.

[future texan]

thank you debzkidz! all the info has helped so much!...will just have to make a trip out and see what is what...also, how are the property taxes there? and wow! with all that hail, are the car insurance rates high? what about metal roofs? does that help in a storm with softball sized hail? what is the heating used in homes? am used to natural gas here...

[debzkidz]

Property taxes are not nearly as high as we experienced in Texas. Property taxes on our home here are about $4,000 a year less than we were paying in Texas, but our home is valued at around $75,000 - $100,000 more than our house there was. We do have a state income tax here, which we're not used to, but it's not very high. Not like what I've heard about California. Sales tax will vary by municipality. Base state rate is 4.5% and by the time the various clounties and cities get through with them, they tend to be in the 7.5% to 8.5% range, with some being lower and some being higher. I believe Norman is 8.25%, Edmond is 7.75%, and I believe OKC is 8.375%, so this gives you an idea of what you can expect in the OKC metro area. One thing I wil mention, I don't know about California, but in Oklahoma, sales tax is charged on groceries. I was shocked the first time I bought groceries here. I'd never lived anywhere that actually taxed you on groceries. I still get angry every time I buy groceries.

As for car insurance rates, I don't know what you would consider high. I think its about what we were paying in Texas. Ours is outrageous, but we have college aged sons, each with their own cars, so would be outrageous no matter where we lived.

As for the hail storm I mentioned from last week, I did hear on a local news report that it was the biggest in our history. Yes, we go get hail relatively regualarly, that storm was not the norm. Most of them are not nearly that big. As for metal roofs, I drove through the part of town that got the brunt of the storm last week. I saw a couple of businesses with metal roofs. They were in pretty bad shape, at least appearance wise. They were so dimpled, they looked like giant golf balls. I think if you would be deaf if you'd been in a house with a metal roof during that storm.

As for heating, most homes here are either natural gas or electric. We use natural gas. I think many people living out in the country use propane.

[future texan]

wow! didn't know they could tax groceries! the taxable non food items yes, but actual food? our sales tax in our county is 8.25%, so it right in line with that, but in LA county it is 9.50%...I bet your car insurance would be high with the college boys! our girls are grown and married, so it's just us...hopefully it wouldn't be too high, but you would definitely have to park the car in a garage to protect it from the hail...have heard that in texas, if you file one too many claims with the home insurance, they will cancel you and no one else will pick you up? is this true in OK as well? glad to hear that they have natural gas, as propane is horribly expensive, and I don't care for electric appliances....will have to plan a trip out there to look around and get a good impression and feel for the area...