Im originally from California. I moved here back in 1999 and I love it here. Life is fast in CA. This is a great state to raise kids, buy a little nest and have some good friends. One thing I will warn you about, there's a saying going around, you come to Oklahoma on vacation and you leave on probation...lol.
I was born and raised in Portland OR. You want nature and beauty, go to the NW! Oklahoma has beauty too, but it's the plains and open country, with hills and mountains scattered about.
I've been in Oklahoma for 34 years, came here by way of the USAF. Stayed by choice. All the previous comments about Oklahoma have been right on, but here's a point that summarizes a lot about this place. When my wife and I were having our home built, the contractor and I would make minor changes from time to time. It was nice that we would shake hands on the change, and the work would be done, and the paperwork would follow in a few days.
My oldest stepson lives in Seattle and came to visit us a coupla yrs back. Too him to a Denny's for breakfast. When the waitress dropped off the ticket, she said something along the lines of "Ya'll have a good day!" or such. My son remarked that people in Oklahoma were so friendly compared to Seattle! And he was raised here!
Living here by choice, I could not go back to the NW. I like to visit Portland and see the family and enjoy the outdoors, but I am an Okie now.
Unbiased?
I didn't grow up here, grew up in New England. I was moved here by Uncle Sam. Spent 6 years here and then left for three years. Uncle Sam then gave me a choice to come back here or go to Georgia....I chose to come back and stayed after retiring.
Positives:
Small town feel with big city amenities close by.
Dramatically cheaper cost of living than many places.
Decent hunting if you don't mind driving for a few hours, great fishing.
Incredible people
Politically more conservative than many other places
Diverse landscape
Negatives:
Asphalt-melting summer heat
Meth-heads (not unique to OK of course)
Crappy economy
Ice storms
Twisters
No realmountains, no ocean.
I didn't grow up here, grew up in New England. I was moved here by Uncle Sam. Spent 6 years here and then left for three years. Uncle Sam then gave me a choice to come back here or go to Georgia....I chose to come back and stayed after retiring.
Positives:
Small town feel with big city amenities close by.
Dramatically cheaper cost of living than many places.
Decent hunting if you don't mind driving for a few hours, great fishing.
Incredible people
Politically more conservative than many other places
Diverse landscape
Negatives:
Asphalt-melting summer heat
Meth-heads (not unique to OK of course)
Crappy economy
Ice storms
Twisters
No realmountains, no ocean.
I have only lived in Texas and Oklahoma so not sure if its unbiased but here are some
Pros:
Not overcrowded
common sense and conservative folks
cost of living low
no bad traffic(i guess?)
Cons:
state income tax(not high but still exists)
no ocean
fishing is not near as good as where you are coming from for sure
nepotism here is rampant
Pros:
Not overcrowded
common sense and conservative folks
cost of living low
no bad traffic(i guess?)
Cons:
state income tax(not high but still exists)
no ocean
fishing is not near as good as where you are coming from for sure
nepotism here is rampant
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Wow I am afraid to post my opinion afraid I might get run out of town on a rail.
The major metropolitan aeas want to be big cities but maintain a small town attitude, in trying to do so they fail, housing is cheap though.
The Tulsa area has several good school districts to choose from depending on where you want to live. Union, Jenk's, BA.
It's a good place to raise kids, the cost of living is relatively low but so is the wage scale.
As soon as my son is grown we intend to sell and move.
The major metropolitan aeas want to be big cities but maintain a small town attitude, in trying to do so they fail, housing is cheap though.
The Tulsa area has several good school districts to choose from depending on where you want to live. Union, Jenk's, BA.
It's a good place to raise kids, the cost of living is relatively low but so is the wage scale.
As soon as my son is grown we intend to sell and move.
eW era ton sdrawkcab ni amohalkO.
didn't see it mentioned but the lakes, rivers, etc. are dirty as hell - not like where you can actually see into em - they are red and brown and gross. You look at em and go wtf. Makes you not wanna go near em but they are okay to swim in.
Come on out
Come on out
This may be anecdotal, but I know a lot of Florida transplants who love it here. We do have a fairly low cost of living. We're pretty hunter and fisher friendly. Forbes rates OKC very highly for recession resistance. You're legally allowed to spank your kids. We huge on homeschooling. Those are some stuff off the top of my head. I can go find some articles outline the great economic aspects of Oklahoma later.
No they are not ... remember this?? http://www.news9.com/Global/story.asp?S=10424502
But I still love it here ... I was born here, raised here, lived here all my life (except for a couple of adventures to Corpus Christie and another to New Orleans), and God willing I will die here.
