anyone move recently from California and is happy with the...

Greetings Oklahomans,

I am 31 and have lived in Southern California all my life and I am looking for a change of life and looking and OK to move to, either Tulsa or OKC.

I am single and will be looking for work once I am there.

So I guess i am looking for any type of advice you great OK people can give about what part of OK to move to and the opinions from any past Californians that recently moved there.

Thanks,

Dustin

anyone move recently from California and is happy with the...

What kind of work? What do you like to do? I think your answers to those two questions can help us suggest a plan for you.

anyone move recently from California and is happy with the...

Dustin, I agree with Radio that if you work for a certain industry, one city might be better than the other. We actually do have a transplanted Californian post here sometimes in the OKC forum. She might be able to give you some insights, and I think she%26#39;s become a fan of Oklahoma and OKC.

I think you%26#39;ll find a great place to live in either Tulsa or OKC. I think it really depends on what your tastes are. Both Tulsa and OKC will offer better housing alternatives for the dollar than any place Southern Cal; $800/month or $150K will get you a very nice place to live in either city. The cost of living as a whole is much lower. People in both cities are laid-back and friendly.

Since I live in OKC, let me speak of some of its virtues. You can get to anywhere in 30 minutes or less, thanks to our highway network. There are housing options of every stripe – gated communities, suburban subdivisions and apartment communities, urban lofts, historic homes, brownstones, and highrise living.

Wherever singles live, there are plenty of restaurants and nightlife nearby. They congregate in north OKC on Memorial, inner OKC around 23rd and Western, and downtown and Midtown. Memorial Rd features a mall and other big box retail as well as several quality chain restaurants (some unique to the metro). Those who live around NW 23rd or Western enjoy the area’s funkiest or best local establishments, respectively. In this area you’ll find a university, a Little Saigon neighborhood, arts district, and the state capitol.

In downtown and Midtown, you have happenings, restaurants, clubs, and movies. The downtown arts district is home to our upstart art museum, main library, performing arts hall, small theatre complex, botanical gardens, National Memorial, and some terrific local restaurants. The art museum features an astounding Dale Chihuly collection and brings in blockbuster exhibits (including one from the British Museum later this year and the Louvre in 2008. It plays independent/classic/foreign films Thursdays to Sundays. Its Thursday night cocktails on the rooftop are the place to see and be seen.

Bricktown, a section of downtown, is a neighborhood of restaurants, clubs, and shops housed in brick warehouses. You also have a nicely-designed baseball park, cineplex, and a Bass Pro Shop. Water taxis run through its canal.

We host of the country’s top up-and-coming film festivals in June, called the deadCENTER Film Festival. Underway is the establishment of a working film district. Our Festival of the Arts is a favorite of artists. Our Red Earth festival is the pre-eminent Native American gathering in the country. Our state fair is one of the country’s best.

If you like live music, we have some country, jazz and rock clubs that have introduced such acts as the Flaming Lips, All-American Rejects, and Toby Keith. Go to The Conservatory, VZDs, Blue Door, Bricktown Brewery, and Bricktown Live for rock, Wormy Dog, Club Rodeo, or Toby Keith’s for country, and Maker’s, Mickey Mantle’s, or the UCO Jazz Lab for jazz. These are near Western or in Bricktown. Galileo, in the Paseo Arts District hosts poetry readings, an open mic night, and acoustic/folk music. It is the center of the bohemian population in OKC. There are several karaoke clubs and coffeehouses.

There are several trails completed or in the works. The Lake Hefner trail is the most popular, and on any given day, you’ll see dozens of rollerbladers, bikers, and runners working it. At four restaurants on the shore you can enjoy the sunset and replenish yourself. The Oklahoma River trail, just south of downtown, adds rowing activity from the Chesapeake Boathouse and an extreme sports at the Mat Hoffman Extreme Sports Park.

The city is mad with sports. OU/OSU sports have a religious following here, and there are seemingly hundreds of sports bars. The city’s parks have water spraygrounds, tennis courts, soccer fields, three disc golf courses, gardens, and nature center. Our Bluff Creek mountain biking trail is a favorite among enthusiasts. We have several golf courses, and one hosts PGA championships from time to time (Oak Tree); this year it hosts the Senior PGA championship. There lots of horse shows and running events. We host the national championship for women’s softball. NCAA basketball regionals come here, as well as Big 12 championships in baseball and basketball. Remington Park is a premier racetrack (and casino). We have three minor league sports teams, including the most successful sub-NHL ice hockey team in North America, a triple-A baseball team, and an arena football team. There’s even a women’s full-contact football team here!

And for at least next year, we have the NBA’s Hornets, who have taken the city by storm.

Industries that favor OKC are oil and gas, health care, education, telecommunications, biosciences/biotech, customer service, government, logistics, and aerospace. But no matter what you do, you’ll find opportunities if you do the requisite networking.

As for intangibles…the male-female ratio favors the guys, and from what I’ve heard, the ladies are better looking than those in southern Cal. There’s a social and networking group called the Alliance of Emerging Professionals (AEP) that hosts some cool events and can give you a home away from home. Gays and lesbians have a well-known presence here, and they live it up at some clubs and a resort on NW 39th. You get lots of sunshine, but definitely four seasons, and the weather can change in an instant. The politics are conservative, but in OKC and Norman, you have the most progressive parts of the state. We are a diverse city, with a healthy representation of all groups: Caucasians, plus African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and Native Americans. You can see their imprints in cultural groups, institutions, events, media and innercity ethnic enclaves. And finally, if you should meet that right person, OKC is a fun and safe place to raise a family, with some topnotch school districts.

Some resources:

City Parks and Trails - http://www.okc.gov/

Downtown Housing, Retail, Restaurants, Clubs, and Events – http://www.downtownokc.com

Bricktown – http://www.bricktownokc.com/

OKC Live Music – http://www.okclive.com/

Western Avenue Establishments - http://www.visitwesternavenue.com/

Asian District - http://www.asiandistrictokc.com/index.php

Chesapeake Boathouse – www.chesapeakeboathouse.org/index2.html

Sports Event Hosting - http://www.okcallsports.org/

OKC news and resources – http://www.okcchamber.com/

More links:

Good Wikipedia entry - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City

OKC Museum of Art - http://www.http://www.okcmoa.com/

Norman - http://www.ncvb.org/index.asp

Edmond - http://www.visitedmondok.com/

University of Oklahoma, 20 mi. south - http://www.ou.edu/

Alliance of Emerging Pros - http://www.aepoklahoma.com/

Some cool housing options:

http://www.theclassen.com/Intro.aspx

http://www.deepdeuceapts.com/s/homepage

http://www.themontgomeryokc.com/index.asp

www.apartmentguide.com/Property/property.asp…

http://www.block42.com/

North Oklahoma City options:

apartmentcities.com/Oklahoma-City-Apartments…

Hi Dustin...I%26#39;m in LA and looking to go back to OK City area with my husband who has family there. We are researching the crime levels on the net because I am tired of protecting everything we own (we have lived all over the city, Marina del Rey, Glendale, Santa Monica, Torrance, San Pedro)...and I think we are settled that Tulsa is more of a crime risk than Ok City...and the outlying areas are better than the city per se. My husband%26#39;s family says that alot of business is moving into the city...especially those in need of computer related services (his business). It sounds like this is a good year to do the move. If you move to the downtown area or any area that is close to the university you can expect the same risk/entertainment factors you find here in California. The ratio of money needed to survive there as relative to what it takes to survive in LA is about a third less than what you need in LA. Of course, you might not get the same salary there as you get here also...so it is possible that it comes out about the same ratio of money earned/money spent. There seems to be a high availability of housing period...you just have to get out and pick something. My husband tells me to be prepared for the heat wave in the summer...it is NOT desert heat. He claims the heat there makes the San Fernando Valley look mild. Good luck to you...and who knows, Los Angeles is not as big as people think...neither is Oklahoma City...see you?

I%26#39;ve known several Californians that have lived/still live in OKC. Some didn%26#39;t like it and some love it. A lot of it depends on what you are expecting. Most of the other posters have laid out specifics and tangibles, but it is the intangibles that really determine whether you like to live somewhere or not - and those depend in large part on attitude.

If you come here expecting little LA, then you will be disappointed and not like what you find. If you come here expecting a small town attitude and large town desire, then you will have a much better chance of liking what you find. If you expect big city action, speed and glitz, once again you will be disappointed. But if you are looking for fresh(er) air, less traffic with shorter commute times (if longer commute distances), and a more liesurely lifestyle with a slower pace, you will be more likely to like what you find.

In other words: are you ready to leave the bright lights and big city?

If the answer to that is %26#39;yes%26#39; then you may like it here.

I attended University in Stillwater, Oklahoma after growing up in NYC about 36 years ago. The slower pace, more leisurely lifestyle and open spaces suited me. So much so that a year after graduation (after being back in NYC for that time) I moved back to Oklahoma and to OKC. That was 31 years ago anf I was ready for the change. Oklahoma may not be NYC or LA or Chicago, but it%26#39;s a darned fine place to live and/or raise a family.

I moved from SOCAL in 2000, and didn%26#39;t move to the city..I came to OK to live in rural surroundings, and live in a small town with a pop under 3,000 and love it! Don%26#39;t forget that besides the major cities of OKC (a three hour drive for me, and I love the city!) and Tulsa (a two hour drive, and I like it all right), there are mid sized towns like Muskogee and McAlester, etc to check out. Keep in mind that depending upon the occupation you have, one doesn%26#39;t have to go %26#39;big%26#39; to come to the OK state. ;-)