Relocating to Tulsa (young professionals) (Norman, Stillwater: apartments, loft, how much)

[umgrad2011]

Hello,

My friend and I are considering moving down to Tulsa from Michigan and I have quite a few questions!

I've lived in a college town (Ann Arbor) my entire life, so I'm sure that Tulsa is going to be quite a change.

If I do end up moving there, I will not have the chance to visit beforehand, so I'd appreciate any input.

We are both single males (20-25 years old) and we are are wondering how Tulsa is for people in our age group? Is there a lot to do (nightlife, sporting events, lots of young professionals, ect)?

Also, are there particular neighborhoods that cater to people in our age group? We are looking for a two bedroom apartment, and we are somewhat flexible with prices, although cheaper is better.

[okie1962]

I would look in the Midtown area especially around Cherry Street (15th St between Peoria and Utica) Trendy part of town and lots of apartments.

Side note, I was in Ann Arbor last month and really enjoyed it. Midtown Tulsa looks a lot like the area around the University of Michigan. I ate at Blimpy's Burgers and have never been treated so rudely, next time in Ann Arbor I will not make the mistake of eating there again.

[flyingcat2k]

I think it depends on how much you want to pay. I know that the rents in the Cherry Street area are a bit high compared to the rest of town. They are cheaper than the Brady District where rents are in the 1.5-2.0k per month. I just about choked when I was shown a 2 bd/2bth with cement floors (modern loft look) for 2k/mo. Cheaper areas you may want to consider would be in Brookside and around South Boston Street between 15th and 21st.

There are more and more younger professionals moving to Tulsa and OKC. There are two YP groups in town. The Tulsa YP is a general group that runs the gammut of professions but has more entrepreneurs than YPE (YP in Energy) which is soley for those in the energy business. They both offer pub meetings and sponsor group events for people to participate in. Tulsa YP is very public and openly recruits new members. I'm a now-non-YP in the energy business (I'm 35) and have yet to meet anyone who is in YPE but I know they exist.

Most of the YP nightlife in Tulsa is in the Blue Dome and Brady Districts. Cherry Street does have a few local bars which are fun for meeting up with people to hang out but I really would only consider The Grey Snail to be a nightclub. Clubs were never my scene even when I was your age. The other clubs tend to be interspersed in mini-malls around the city so it really isn't conducive to barhopping. BA, Owasso and Jenks are dead for single YPs. Very nice but most of those suburbs are full of married folks and single moms. There are three casinos "in town" and most of the YP go to the Hard Rock Casino in Catoosa, which is on I-44 east of Tulsa. It is pretty nice with restaurants, a remodeled poker room and its own golf course.

The Tulsa Drillers (AA) games are fun but it can remain sweltering hot in the evenings so you may need to adjust. There are also minor league hockey, WNBA, D-league and TU games to attend. TU football games are pretty fun and most of them are at night so you can avoid hot September day temperatures. You also don't have to fight hordes of traffic to get to and from the game like you would in Stillwater or Norman but you don't have nationally ranked football teams either.

[umgrad2011]

Thanks for the replies everyone! Could you please let me know how traffic is going east on 244 (away from downtown) during rush hour?

[swake]

Originally Posted by umgrad2011

Thanks for the replies everyone! Could you please let me know how traffic is going east on 244 (away from downtown) during rush hour?

Non existant