Housing Questions/ Weather

Thank you to those that responded to my earlier question. We are looking for the suburbs. What suburb is ideal for families with 3 children under 11?

Key question: Why do your homes only have a slab and no basement? I know tornados touch down, as they do here in Michigan, how do you protect yourselves during the warnings? It does not seem many houses have ';hidy holes'; We have a very large walkout basement currrently, where do you store all your holiday stuff etc etc?

Does the subs have good work out facilities with child care?

Housing Questions/ Weather

The most popular suburbs are Edmond and Norman; both seem to have good schools, as do some of the suburbs of those places (Deer Creek, for example). The western suburbs (Yukon and Mustang, for example) have started to grow recently. Far northwest OKC has a separate school district from the rest of the City, Putnam City schools; those seem to be good schools as well. Since I don%26#39;t live in any of those places, I don%26#39;t have first-hand information, but my daughter-in-law teaches first grade in the Putnam City district and reports good things about the schools and the administration of them. As a college professor, I see students from many different school districts and have come to the conclusion that a child%26#39;s success and education depends more on the quality of the parents than on the quality of the schools.

Because of Oklahoma%26#39;s dirt, bedrock, and streaky weather (tons of rain one month and then none for 60 days), the ground is subject to unusual shifting. Apparently you can build basements here (you will find them in some older homes) but it%26#39;s expensive and tricky to build them well. Lots of folks install prefabricated, underground storm rooms in their backyard or under their garage floors for tornados, though after you live here a while you will find that most people pretty much ignore tornado warnings; they%26#39;re just part of life.

For storage, you%26#39;ll find lots of backyard storage buildings, lots of storage rental facilities, and lots of garages which owners can no longer fit a car into.

Suburbs are suburbs whever you go, I think. You%26#39;ll find all the usual amenities, including gyms with day care, miles and miles of chain stores, tract homes with big yards, and parent-chauffeurs who live in their cars. Like any life, suburban life has its trade offs.

Housing Questions/ Weather

By the way, the slab houses can shift too. You%26#39;ll see lots of foundation damage when house shopping in Oklahoma. Be sure to be aware of sloping floors and large vertical cracks in the bricks or along side windows and doors. This can be repaired, but it is pricey to do; you%26#39;ll want to include repairs in any contracts you offer on houses like this. And if you%26#39;re looking at a new house, you might ask to see older homes by the same builder to see if they were put up right.

For scientific reasons I can%26#39;t ably explain, tornadoes have a way of dying out as they reach the urban areas. Something about building structures has an impact on air accumulation that lowers their propensity to spin off twisters and gain speed. My point is, most Oklahoma Citians have yet to incur any damage from a tornado.

To feel more comfortable, some build safe rooms their houses that can withstand wind forces. Otherwise, we are always advised to choose the inner most room to take shelter in, usually a closet.

Anyway, I concur what radio said above about PC, Norman and Edmond. Moore schools are good too. If I was starting a family with no inclination to a specific place, I%26#39;d probably live in Norman, because of the University of Oklahoma. Edmond does have the University of Central Oklahoma, but I prefer living near OU for a number of reasons. Its campus is very walkable and beautiful, one of the best-looking in the country. Its museums are first rate. The academics seem to be more intellectually eclectic. Because the president is a former senator, world-impacting speakers regularly visit. And of course, the sports are tough to beat.

Edmond is known in the region for its excellence, but Norman is much more a collegetown. Its people bear a psychological separation from the rest of the metro the way Austin is its own character in Texas. This independence is why I%26#39;d like my kids growing up in Norman. It seems to value independent thought much more. To be honest with you, I don%26#39;t know if it is reflected in the schools, but it seems to be that way to me. Hope some Edmondites don%26#39;t get angry with me -- but I can add that Edmond has more and better shopping options than Norman has!

But because I am a city loyalist, I%26#39;ll say this for the Putnam City school district: if your family intends to be a part of the city community, live somewhere in the PC district. Your neighbors will be among those who are shaping the city (and know it better than most). Especially if you come from the north, I think you will appreciate the architecture in the PC district than the cookie cutter subdivisions being developed in the %26#39;burbs.

Let me say these are my values, and yours may be different. Besides good schools, what else do you value?

I apologize I do not know an answer to that last question.

Since your children are young check out the Oklahoma Department of Education Website and click on Report Cards. You can look at all the schools, individually, and by District to see where each school ranks. Edmond and Deer Creek are the highest I think. Almost all the school districts in the area are good but some individual schools are better than others. I think this is because of the family involvement. Family Values are big around here. You can even ask the Principals of each school what percentage of parents show up for paretn/teacher conferences and that will tell you alot. I know at our school it is around 98%. Also, during tornado warnings we go to a safe public place or my Mom and Dad%26#39;s, they have a basement room. Almost all the work-out facilities have child care and indoor pools with swimming lessons available. I hope your move goes well.

OKC has a high water table and is the dried site of an ancient lake. We are on clay, which causes shifting. There are several areas around OKC where some homes can have basements/cellars without any issues, Edmond has some spots like that, but overall you won%26#39;t find one.

As for tornadoes, safe rooms (I have one) and pre-fab storm cellars (both under the garage and in the yard) are available. But in the 30 years I%26#39;ve lived in OKC I%26#39;ve only seen 7 or 8 touch down.

The rest of the posters did a good job with the places you can live.

I live in one of the historical districts and do in fact have a basement with a clubroom. They are here, just few and far between. As a Realtor, I have had lots of clients interested in Oakdale schools as well. They are k-8th grade, then Memorial high in Edmond for high school.

Can%26#39;t help with the suburb question (I really prefer the city), but my historical home also has a basement game room. You can always have a safe room installed.

I relocated to Norman, OK from California and asked myself the same questions. Mostly I was worried about the severe weather. Severe weather could be anything from hail to tornados. It wasn%26#39;t until I realized that I was surrounded by some serious weather professionals that I began to relax. Just off the top of my head, Norman has

The National Severe Storms Laboratory, National Weather Service, NOAA, and Weathernews. On top of that there are plenty of storm chasers at the University of Oklahoma. Tornado sirens are tested every Friday at noon. Also there are plenty of advance warning systems that let you know what is going on. If you want to read up on some recent weather events check out www.kfor.com and www.9online.com.

On everyone%26#39;s mind this year has been the extreme drought. We have been under a burn ban for quite some time; it was actually just lifted a couple of days ago.

Edmond and Norman are about equal in amenities if you will. Both subs are about equal distance to Oklahoma City. I prefer Norman though. The Norman Convention and Visitors Bureau has all the information you could ask for about this town.

Hope this helps

D

My children went to Oakdale and are now in Edmond schools including Memorial High School. Oakdale school is pretty small but may be just what you are looking for. It was too small for us and did not offer some classes my son needed because he has learning disabilities. I do know most of the kids are pretty ready to get out of there by 8th grade but the parents seem happy with the school. It is a fairly tight bunch of parents and kids. Comparing Oakdale to Edmond: We love Edmond because it provides a little more economic and social diversity than Oakdale does. Oakdale tends to lean to the Upper Social Class demographically more than Edmond schools. This demographic skew attributes to the high test scores Oakdale tends to have even though I think for the most part the teachers are excellent. I feel the Edmond schools are better in the sense that I find the teachers use all of the learning styles children need to reach their full potential. Oakdale is a little behind in this area. However, Oakdale provides a more controlled and protected environment. Oakdale is the next best thing to homeschooling if you are a homeschool advocate. I hope this helps with your school choices.