Thinking of moving to beautiful Oklahoma

[mgssamn]

Born and raised in Watertown, baptized at 9th Ave Methodist, went to both Cornerstone and Four Square and graduated from Castlewood High School. Been in SF for about 5 years now. I'm glad to find another SD native!

raised in west central Minnesota, lived in SE South Dakota for 12 years or so, live in Broken Arrow for last 21 years. Being an avid fisherman and hunter etc, thought I would miss it more. But I don't miss it much other than the fishing I had where I was from.
I would suggest the eastern side of Oklahoma for sure.. summers are hot is only draw back.

 

[Parks 788]

For the OP. I've been on this forum for 12 years or so and a great group of people here. My wife is born and raised in Sapulpa which is just SW of Tulsa. We met at OK State Univ and married shortly after college. We just moved to OK (wife back to hometown) last August. I have spent a lot of time in OK over the last 25 years considering I'm not from this state. I love it here and couldn't be happier. We just bought acreage in Bristow, OK about 35-40 minutes SW of Tulsa. I was born and raised at the beach in Southern California. Completely different that where I spent most of the 50 years I've spent on this planet. We chose this part of OK because we wanted to be near my wife's parents. I'd still prefer this area over jsut about any other place in OK due to the greener part of the state, more hills and varied terrain, many more larger lakes for fishing and water sports and IMO, prettier. Not a big fan of OKC as it's much flatter and tends to have constant wind, especially west of OKC. If the trees tend to grow with the tips leaning/pointing to the North then it is a fairly windy area all year long.

I work in McAlester, OK and spend a lot of time in the S/E OK area. It is a really beautiful place but is, IMO, very isolated if your wife's work depends upon being somewhat close to a larger town/metropolitan area. McAlester is nearly two hours or more from any larger city in OK. Go a bit further S/E in OK and you better have a way to earn a living if it's not from farming or cattle. Absolutely beautiful but a tough way to earn a living.

One area that can give you a good balance of what you're looking for may be Stillwater, OK. College town and home to OK State University. It is actually a fairly "red" town considering it has a major university. Has every amenity you would want or need in a town of its size. Also has an airport that connects you by jet to anywhere in the country. You can also live 15 minutes outside of town and feel WAY in the sticks but still about 75 minutes from Tulsa or OKC.

In the end from what you described, I would think you'd enjoy OK as your new state. I love the three seasons. Summer are rough as I'm not acclimated to the humidity yet plus I'm a sweaty guy by nature.

 

[dennishoddy]

Who drives to Shidler on purpose???

Me! The One armed Bandit's rodeo shows daughter has a restaurant there. Friday night's and he cooks ribeyes on Friday nights when not on the road.
Nice little fishing lake there too but don't tell anybody.
I've known John for many years. He has a storied history. Called the one armed bandit because he has only one arm and does all this.

 

[Snattlerake]

Oh I've been there, who drives to Grainola on purpose???? When I was kid we used to hunt prairie chickens in that area lol.

My cousin has a ranch up there. I actually had lunch with them and then went on to Cedar Vale Locker.

 

[Poke78]

When I lived in Ponca City, we would go to Grainola to hunt prairie chickens and slip over to the roller rink in Fairfax for one of those big steaks. Probably long gone now.

Jump's Roller Inn has been gone for over 10 years now -- maybe approaching 20 years. I moved to Fairfax in 1972 just before my senior year of high school. I worked at the Tastee-Freeze and was amazed at the parade of hunters coming through town on the Friday night before prairie chicken season opened. Some stopped where I worked and I'm sure others went to Jump's.

My cousin has a ranch up there. I actually had lunch with them and then went on to Cedar Vale Locker.

I've seen you mention the Cedar Vale Locker previously. I need to check that out for my freezer needs. An uncle operated a locker plant in Burden KS from the 1950s - 1970s when he retired and sold it. It continued for a while but wasn't able to keep the customers so I'm glad to hear of one still operating up there.

 

[Mos Eisley]

I haven't read all the replies but here's mine: THE worst ice storm I've been a part of was when I was in OK as a wireless tech. Check these pics out:

Collapsed tower from ice in Lawton:

Enjoy!

 

[EhlerDave]

When I lived in Ponca City, we would go to Grainola to hunt prairie chickens and slip over to the roller rink in Fairfax for one of those big steaks. Probably long gone now.

Yes long gone, replaced with a dollar store. I am in Burbank. Heck we dont even have a dollar store, but at town hall they have a pop machine, it even works.

 

[EhlerDave]

Jump's Roller Inn has been gone for over 10 years now -- maybe approaching 20 years. I moved to Fairfax in 1972 just before my senior year of high school. I worked at the Tastee-Freeze and was amazed at the parade of hunters coming through town on the Friday night before prairie chicken season opened. Some stopped where I worked and I'm sure others went to Jump's.


I've seen you mention the Cedar Vale Locker previously. I need to check that out for my freezer needs. An uncle operated a locker plant in Burden KS from the 1950s - 1970s when he retired and sold it. It continued for a while but wasn't able to keep the customers so I'm glad to hear of one still operating up there.

I moved to Fairfax in 76, but not even close to high school. After I graduated my family ran the Silver Moon Cafe for a while.

 

[96A1]

I get so mad sometimes. I’m reading reviews on bestplaces.net and these leftists get on and bash the state for not being more “tolerant”…yet they’re the most intolerant people ever.

I noticed OKC went 49% for Biden in 2020, is that palatable? Or do the leftists shut up around there? I don’t need pride flags or abortion baby killing billboards, or yard signs saying “tRuSt tHe sCiEnCe durr” all over the place. Makes me want to get out and rip em down because it’s killing our nation (the satanic belief systems - not the free speech).

Sorry but those things trigger me. I’ve had so much internet abuse from liberals that I have legitimate PTSD and I’m ready for a civil war. Though arguably we are in one and they’re winning with technology. Their father is satan.
Sigh.
Sorry for the attitude.

 

[Fredkrueger100]

I will suggest living where I do. I live about 30 minutes east of OKC in Shawnee. We have about 40,000 people but it’s a nice place to live. I actually live in the country east of Shawnee in a community called South Rock Creek. It’s the most desirable place to live around Shawnee. We have a mall and are having more and more storefronts being developed. We have some good congregations as well. I go to a Church of Christ and it is Bible based. It’s right off I40 so getting to the city is easy. I think you will love living here.