Transferring--is Brookside safe for little kids? (Tulsa, Broken Arrow: foreclosed, rentals, houses)

[tuffpirate]

My husband has a great opportunity in Tulsa, but I'm a little nervous at the crime/school info I've seen discussed on this forum. He has traveled there many times for business and says people are really friendly, and it didn't strike him as unsafe.

On one hand, the homes are affordable enough that I could quit work and stay home with my 2 preschoolers (nice!) but on the other hand, I'm not sure if the lifestyle is a fit for us. We are agnostic and not interested in joining any church, but we're not bothered by anyone's beliefs, either (I live in Utah now with no problems).

We've been pointed toward Owasso, Broken Arrow and Jenks in our research...which seem safe and nice, but those communities seem to have a (to me) bizarre focus on competitive childhood athletics and the schools just seem giant. Also--and I might be entirely mistaken--they seem a little bland, even for suburbs.

The alternative to this seems to be a neighborhood called Brookside that keeps popping up. I see that the houses are smaller/older, but with some character. However, is it walkable? Are there sidewalks? Parks? Could I put my kids in the wagon and pull them around the neighborhood, or would I get mugged/hit up by creepy panhandlers, etc.? Is it family-friendly at all, or do you have to move to the suburbs? Would my kids by outcasts for not being Christian? The schools around Brookside look pretty abysmal, and if I quit work, I couldn't afford the private options, but I wouldn't mind homeschooling. Would there be other moderately-liberal fun-type moms around? I'm not a super-vegan-intense-hipster type, but I do like reasonable access to the occasional independent film and/or restaurant that isn't Chili's/Applebee's. I'm not a big club/bar person; my big night out is typically discussing a book over a bottle of wine with some other moms, or taking my kids to the zoo, etc.

Sorry for the long post--I just want a good quality of life for my family.

[swake]

Brookside is perfectly safe, mostly liberal and the elementary for the area, Eliot, is excellent. There are lots of parks and from what you describe you would fit right in. It is walkable but mostly does not have sidewalks on the side streets. The core of Brookside is a shopping and nightlife district with bars, mostly non chain restaurants, coffee shops, art galleries and upscale shops. South Brookside is cheaper but the area is not as nice but still not dangerous. Also look at the Cherry St area.

[tuffpirate]

Thanks a ton!

That is exactly the sort of neighborhood I want...what is the dividing line between Brookside and South Brookside? Also, if I end up quitting my job, we'd be on the low end of the prices for those areas (230-ish)--would there be a lot of snobbery from wealthier midtowners? Or still pretty friendly?

[flyingcat2k]

I would say 36th street is the division line as the Quik Trip gas station makes an easy division. I will second another poster and say that Brookside is probably the most laid back area of Tulsa from a religious standpoint. I agree that Jenks/BA/Union spend too much time and money focusing on foo'ball and not enough on academics. Given that the latest proficiency percentiles made Union looked a lot more like BA/Catoosa than Jenks academically, maybe they will change this year. Likely not but maybe.

The Midtown area sends kids to Edison HS for public schools but there are two catholic high schools in Midtown that get most of the "snobs". The elementary schools in Midtown are on par with the ones in Jenks (Lee and Eliot specifically) but I feel the school results are tied to the parents willingness to work with their child on learning. I will say that I have seen little snobbery between Midtowners. I think a part of this is because there is so much price disparity within Midtown AND the snobs in Jenks make a huge stink about life in Jenks being SO good. In Midtown, you are 20 minutes from just about anywhere in the Tulsa area.

According to our realtor, Midtown is very difficult to price as one house may sell for 300k and the one next to it go for 450k or 200k. It is very individualized but most of Midtown has a lot of one-off or custom housing and is not the cookie-cutter development that has been prevalent since 1990. So I would recommend using more seasoned realtors for pricing as they are accustomed to having to work off of what you the customer have/want rather than some "upgrade" option the builder installed. Even neighborhoods/additions have a wide varieties of pricing within them.

I will admit that Jenks is at the top right now but understand what you are buying into. Lots of upscale cookie cutter developments that are not walkable and chain restaurants galore. I would also say that the retail in Jenks is marginal as the largest strip mall in the town, Riverwalk, got foreclosed and had been sitting about half full for the three years I have lived here. Also, Jenks is a bedroom suburb with most of the high income earners working in Tulsa or BA. It reminds me of Parker, CO which I hated living in and was very happy to get out of. Most of the Denver Broncos, Colorado Avalanche, and Colorado Rockies love it though.


Good luck in your search.

[tuffpirate]

Hmmm...Jenks sounds like Stepford, but with lots of Jesus and football. Which probably does keep it safe and pretty, but I think I'll focus in on that Brookside and Cherry Street area. I've seen a few listings for an area called Florence Park--anyone know anything about it?

I'm getting kind of excited. Tulsa sounds so much better than I would have (unfairly) assumed.

[cherylcardano]

Hi,

Florence Park is a Historic part of town with homes from the late 1920's, and early 1930's of which many have been updated. it's a quaint neighborhood with bungalows, and it is within walking distance to many area's and Utica Square.

It's a safe area and you can look up any area on crimereports.com.

[swake]

Florence Park is a great area but be aware that The University of Tulsa is right next door. I would stay in the area between 15th Street and 21st St. The closer to 11th you get the more TU students live in the houses with all the noise and such you can get with college students.

[tuffpirate]

Thanks for the helpful info!

[tuffpirate]

one last question...

My husband would like to at least look at some other areas before narrowing our search to just midtown. After looking at nearby towns, the one with the best scenery seems to be a little place called Sand Springs. I'm wondering why it's cheaper than the 3 suburbs we keep hearing about (jenks, broken arrow, owasso). Is is run-down or filled with trashy people or what?

[flyingcat2k]

Sand Springs is looked down upon by the local snobs in Tulsa. Some of it is fair, some is not. Sand Springs was founded as a home for widows and orphans but grew to be a mix of industrial and residential areas. Many people in Tulsa think that Sand Springs is poor but it actually has a lower poverty percentile (9%) than Tulsa (15%). The poorer areas between Sand Springs and Downtown Tulsa are actually in Tulsa but because people perceive the boundary line to be just past the old city jail, they don't realize that this poor part of town is actually in Tulsa.

If you are looking at Sand Springs, I would recommend the portion of town that is south of the Arkansas river known as Pratville. There are nicer homes in old Sand Springs just outside of its downtown but some of them are rundown and owned by residents that can't manage the upkeep on the homes, or are rentals with absent minded landlords. In old Sand Springs on a given block, you can have 3 very nice homes in a row and then one that has a busted garage door and bad roof. There are cookie cutter developments but the homes are nicer and they are attracting new retail and grocery stores to the area.

If you are expanding your search, Sapulpa is another town that could be nice as well. It has a very old downtown but is a bit rundown (maintained buildings but empty storefronts) and I don't know if the nearby housing is nice and safe or not. The poverty percentile is the same as Tulsa (15%) and has a mix of industrial and residential areas. There are nicer parts of town but I don't know where they are exactly. You are also NOT in Tulsa County but in Creek County so the taxes are a bit different. I think Sapulpa has a lot of charm to it but someone else would have to give the particulars.