Moving To Greater Tulsa Area (Broken Arrow, Stillwater: appointed, to rent, crime)

[Abcimo]

Hi! My husband is thinking of taking a new job in the Tulsa area (We have been in STL for 6 years and I am originally from Connecticut and he is from South Bend, IN) we are looking at Broken Arrow/Owasso. We want to be in a golf community/devopment and prefer newer construction or recently built homes. Any suggestions? He likes The Patriot - any info? Also, any recommendations for really good Pediatricians in the greater Tulsa area? Public Schools would be an option but possibly private if we could find one that meets our son's needs (7 years old with ADHD). Are there any private ADHD schools in the area. Really any information or insight would be great. What is the overall quality of life like? Costco? Whole Foods? Thanks

[flyingcat2k]

My wife and I moved away from Tulsa two years ago when oil went bust. We still miss it but we don't miss The State of Oklahoma one bit! Considering we now live in Illinois, that tells you a lot.

The only two golf courses with newer construction are Battle Creek and The Patriot. The Golf Club of Oklahoma is a newer course but most of the homes were built 10 years ago rather than 5. The Patriot is kind of a cool golf course due to their one-day Memorial Day tourney. Its the only one I know of that gets PGA players to attend on a regular basis even though its not a sanctioned tourney. Battle Creek is in Broken Arrow schools while The Patriot appears to be Owasso schools.

You won't find any ADHD private schools in the Tulsa area. There are some special needs private schools but they focus on low functioning special needs students rather than ADHD. If your son gets put into special education in either Owasso or BA, you may be disappointed. Many special needs middle class parents move out of Tulsa Public to other school districts for their student. As a result, these districts are overwhelmed with the number of special needs students compared to the size of the district. My wife was in Union for 2 years. I am certain my autistic step-son and hearing impaired step-daughter "lost" a year because of the lackadaisical attitude of the elementary principal and teacher. They were labeled and thus, not important, even though my wife would march down and personally resolve any poor behavior personally. I highly recommend interviewing teachers and principals at both schools before choosing. You may want to rent before buying in case you get a "lemon" as neither suburb has much for private schools. The large private schools are in Tulsa.

Tulsa now has Costco, Trader Joe's, Aldi and Whole Foods so all the upper end food stores are covered. Utica Square is the "fancy" mall in town but the Apple Store is at Woodland Hills. Owasso and BA don't have much other than chain stores. Most of the good independent restaurants and stores are Downtown and the Midtown Tulsa areas.

There are two major hospital networks in town, St. Francis (Catholic) and St. Johns (Lutheran). There is Hillcrest (Civic) but that network is smaller and not as exclusive as the other two. Most docs will be in one or the other. It will largely depend on which one you find most convenient as they have multiple locations.

[swake]

The St John system of hospitals is actually also Catholic. Hillcrest also has a whole system of metro area hospitals, but is for profit. Tulsa’s only public hospital is the OSU Medical Center downtown.

The two hospitals in Owasso (Where Patriot is located) are Bailey Medical Center (Hillcrest system) and St John Owasso. I have no idea about schools or pediatricians up there.

The only Costco is in far south Tulsa near Bixby. Whole Foods has locations in midtown Tulsa and south Tulsa. Trader Joes is in midtown. None are particularly close to Owasso but I would expect a Costco up there before too long.

[GoodHombre]

I moved to Tulsa last month and I can't wait to leave!

And yes, the state of Oklahoma sucks. Costco in Tulsa doesn't have optical department because the state law prohibits it. Otherwise it's a fine Costco. There are two whole foods that If frequent, they are okay.

The state doesn't spend much money on education(2nd lowest in the nation), you can't really count on public schools these days.

[StillwaterTownie]

Originally Posted by GoodHombre

I moved to Tulsa last month and I can't wait to leave!

And yes, the state of Oklahoma sucks. Costco in Tulsa doesn't have optical department because the state law prohibits it. Otherwise it's a fine Costco. There are two whole foods that If frequent, they are okay.

The state doesn't spend much money on education(2nd lowest in the nation), you can't really count on public schools these days.

I'm sure a lot of people don't like it, either, because Costco doesn't have a wine department. But that is suppose to change late next year when Costco and grocery stores can sell wine, if voters statewide approve of it.

Yeah, it's pretty bad how opticians are treated special in Oklahoma, so they can make lots of money by not worrying about discounters taking a big cut of the market. I think only funeral homes can sell caskets. But those issues rate about 99 on a scale of 1 to 10 for issues that most concern Oklahomans and wanting something done to fix them. Also you can't buy a car on Sunday, but I bet most Oklahomans, most of all car dealers, don't want that law repealed.

Oklahomans simply don't have the willpower to vote for legislators who will support education better. Instead, they keep voting to keep legislators in office who govern public education as if they send their children and/or grandchildren to private schools and universities. Really, if you got kids in public college and was a legislator, would you cut funding for higher ed by nearly 16% two years ago? I know I sure wouldn't. In my town, higher ed is the major industry. With the Oklahoma Legislature being of such low ill repute, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of good, decent people don't want anything to do with running for a seat in 2018.

For an another example of a bad law in Oklahoma, in my county it's legal to order for a drink on the Lord's Day, but, strangely enough, not so if it's a holiday. Yet, this is the belt buckle of the Bible Belt. Restaurant customers don't know that, or forget, and end up getting embarrassed on a holiday by the waiter.

I'm sorry you're not all together happy in Tulsa, but Tulsa is as good as modern day life gets in Oklahoma.

[GoodHombre]

Originally Posted by StillwaterTownie

I'm sure a lot of people don't like it, either, because Costco doesn't have a wine department. But that is suppose to change late next year when Costco and grocery stores can sell wine, if voters statewide approve of it.

Yeah, it's pretty bad how opticians are treated special in Oklahoma, so they can make lots of money by not worrying about discounters taking a big cut of the market. I think only funeral homes can sell caskets. But those issues rate about 99 on a scale of 1 to 10 for issues that most concern Oklahomans and wanting something done to fix them. Also you can't buy a car on Sunday, but I bet most Oklahomans, most of all car dealers, don't want that law repealed.

Oklahomans simply don't have the willpower to vote for legislators who will support education better. Instead, they keep voting to keep legislators in office who govern public education as if they send their children and/or grandchildren to private schools and universities. Really, if you got kids in public college and was a legislator, would you cut funding for higher ed by nearly 16% two years ago? I know I sure wouldn't. In my town, higher ed is the major industry. With the Oklahoma Legislature being of such low ill repute, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of good, decent people don't want anything to do with running for a seat in 2018.

For an another example of a bad law in Oklahoma, in my county it's legal to order for a drink on the Lord's Day, but, strangely enough, not so if it's a holiday. Yet, this is the belt buckle of the Bible Belt. Restaurant customers don't know that, or forget, and end up getting embarrassed on a holiday by the waiter.

I'm sorry you're not all together happy in Tulsa, but Tulsa is as good as modern day life gets in Oklahoma.

Actually, I drove to Dallas last weekend. Rural Oklahoma turned out to be worse than I expected, third world feel. In contrast, Tulsa is pretty decent.

Personally, I'm not really affected by the poverty rate and poor public education system, but it's just depressing.

[skyblu]

Cannot recommend Oklahoma if you have school age children. Lack of funding for education is shameful and not a priority. Teachers are being forced to move out of state to make a salary they can actually live on; lowest paid teachers in the country. I grew up in Tulsa in the 70's, it was a very different city than it is now. We moved back a few years ago to be closer to family and after two years were very disappointed. We saw the writing on the wall for the state's future and returned to TX. Family who've lived there 40 plus years said it has always been a poorly run state. However, one positive recent development for Tulsa is the new progressive mayor, GT Bynum, grandson of a former sucessful and popular mayor, Robert LaFortune.

[photomakerjohn]

When visiting Tulsa be sure and take him nightlife at the Brady arts District which includes the Guthrie green which is the hub for art and music festival many find restaurants and Cubs can be found there. Everything is within walking distance including the performing arts Center and The BOK event center. In particular the Guthrie green in the summertime he’s a very Family friendly place to place to visit there are many free events.

[photomakerjohn]

ring place will be completed in 2018. A view of the Tulsa skyline looking north This is one of my favorite views of the Tulsa downtown skyline. This picture can be printed very very larger It has been printed 8' x 15'. I think the colors are just spectacular If you are traveling On Route 66 This picture was taken Just west of Peoria from 15th St.

[DougStark]

Just for fun (I lead a dull life) I was looking on Realtor.com for houses in central Tulsa. I was hoping to see some classic mid-century modern ranch homes or an art deco style single family home. I didn't see any in the zip codes I was looking under. And I put $200K as a maximum price.

A lot of homes came up with my search criteria, but none looking like the classic styling I thought I'd found. Another thing I noticed is how INEXPENSIVE homes are in Tulsa. It kind of made me think there must be something wrong I'm not recognizing (crime areas, poor schools, ??) I don't know. I was looking around 31st and west closer to the river. Any recommendations on desirable central Tulsa neighborhoods (and zip codes?)