Tulsa vs. Oklahoma City, which is the best place to live?

[swake]

Cool. My kids are Native (I'm not), they dance and do lots of traditional activities. I have a niece at IAI right now.

[leasmom]

I still have friends from IAIA. We still talk on Facebook.

[Howest2008]

Originally Posted by leasmom

Hi. I'm trying to figure out where I will be moving once my daughter has graduated from college. I thought I was going to move to Tacoma but recently ruled that out. I have health issues and I need a warmer climate but that's not too hot or too cold. I would like to drag my adult daughter with me but there's no guarantee. I like living in smaller cities. I am currently in a larger city, Louisville, KY and I don't really like it. You have to drive 18 miles to get to the stores. Who would like that?

I'm also an artist who had some success in Fort Wayne, IN but I really haven't been able to get into the arts scene here in Louisville. With the weather, I swell and have severe arthritis in cold weather and being a little older-(40)-I can't move back to snow and shovel any snow. If there's a small amount of snow, that's fine. Louisville has very little snow but I don't want to live here permanently.

I'm trying to decide between Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Diversity is very important to me. I am mixed race and my daughter looks/is mostly white. We have lived in places where we stood out like a sore thumb and I'm tired of that. Ugh, mixed people exist! My daughter is probably going into the medical field but she still doesn't know. But, I am searching for something that is right for me and hopefully for her. I know someone that lives in Norman, OK but I don't want to live right where they are. I want to find what's right for myself.

This isn't right away. I have time to decide. I just would like to have some place in mind. A goal. So, which would be a better fit for me? Tulsa or Oklahoma City?

Take two weeks off and head out for a Oklahoma Vacation with one week to see the sights of OKC and
the second week to see the sights of Tulsa OK.

While in Tulsa connect with other NDN's at this location Home - American Indian Resource Center - ResearchGuides at Tulsa City-County Library

[Griffis]

I thinnk it depends what you want and are looking for.

In a nutshell, OKC is in a more flat, plains-like region. Tulsa is far more hilly and lush.

OKC is over 600 square miles and very spread out in a way I personally do not like. Tulsa is about 1/4 or 1/5 the size of OKC I believe.

If you are into sports and modern country music, OKC wins hands down. If you prefer arts and pretty parks and so on, Tulsa by a mile.

To me the main differences (and I have lived extensively in both) between the two cities is that OKC is like a patchwork quilt. You'll hit some nice residential neighborhood or little business district and think "this is pretty cool!" but then the next block you enter some ghetto wasteland of ugly industrial blah or boarded up streets. You can wander into a high crime area very quickly and easily without intending to.

In Tulsa, things are a little more clear cut. You KNOW where you don't want to be after dark. North of Admiral (the street that divides S. Tulsa from N. Tulsa) can be sketchy. The far Eastern part is not very appealing in some ways. The airport is out that way and there are lots of transient people, hotels, it's just not the prettiest area.

The area South of the Brookside District has gotten pretty bad (though Brookside itself is still cool.)

But really, anywhere else in a huge swath of the center of town is fine. Safe. Nice residential neighborhoods, etc...

I've lived and traveled all over and consider OKC about the ugliest city I have ever spent time in (aside from a few small areas.) I think of Tulsa as, overall, being relatively pretty, and the prettiness is sustained through far larger sections of town than you'll find in most of OKC. In my experience.

[leasmom]

Griffs, thanks! I'm thinking Tulsa looks really, really good!