Relocation to Oklahoma

Hi, I am so glad I found this VERY active forum........

I just started researching Oklahoma this past week and found the cost of living affordable for me, and now I am ON to it......LOL!!!!

I am single, 49 and have no children, and like to walk and bike to neighborhood stores, and shopping. Love the downtown life, but t into bars. I visit bookstores/coffee shops/and libraries on a regular basis, plus have a passion for bicycling, as well as my need for developing my ';christian'; faith.

Looking at the websites on Oklahoma, I haven%26#39;t found much info on the ';bicycling'; aspect of the area. Now, i can tell you, I am into road biking as well as path biking and enjoy flowering/shade trees as well as water......

So, as far as what I am looking for? Bicycle friendly, good churches, good library system, and bookstores/coffeeshops galore, what areas would u recommend of Oklahoma?

I am going to plan a vacation there this year so I can check things out for myself. Employment isn%26#39;t really a factor because I can transfer thru my job.

I haven%26#39;t really heard or read too much about areas other than Oklhoma City, and Tulsa area. Guess looking at my map, those are pretty much the most populated areas.

Also, I heard that Grove is nice....?

Thank you so much and looking forward to hearing from any of you!

K

Relocation to Oklahoma

K:

I%26#39;m a biker, too. The most avid biking populations are going to be Tulsa and Norman, though OKC has a sizable number as well.

The further west and south you go in Oklahoma, the more the environment is dry and high plains. Eastern Oklahoma gets much more rain than west and is commonly called the ';green country.'; So Tulsa and northeastern Oklahoma are going to be greener and hillier than Oklahoma City and central Oklahoma; southwest OK is flatter and dryer still.

Churches abound everywhere in Oklahoma; that%26#39;s not an issue.

My mother lives in Grove, which is small but growing; the population there is mostly retired, mostly older. It%26#39;s right on a very large recreational lake. They have a couple of coffee shops, a small bookstore, and at least one nice restaurant, but it%26#39;s a very small town with a very old median age.

Given your tastes, I%26#39;d recommend you look at Tulsa. Look at the area between 15th and 21st between Peoria and Harvard.

Relocation to Oklahoma

It sounds like you are describing Norman, OK. It is what I would call a mature college town. Oklahoma City and Tulsa are the two largest cities in Oklahoma, but Norman is third. Norman has charm because of its history and continuing willingness to grow. It is just south of Oklahoma City by about 20 minutes, so you are close to the capital...but not too close. Because of the weather in Oklahoma, bicycling is a popular hobby. In Norman I know they have a lot of rides. Check out the Norman Convention and Visitors Bureau website to find out what dates.

As far as living locations, I would stay to the west side of Norman. Brookhaven village area has a lot of unique shops and outdoor eating areas. Also worth looking into are the relocating options, there are plenty of apartments (as can be expected in a college town) as well as a Residence Inn. Once settled in, you can explore a bit before making your final decision. From Norman you can easily access Oklahoma City and points south. Tulsa is only a 2 hour drive north on the Turnpike (note that it does cost $3.50).

I would check out the University of Oklahoma%26#39;s website to see calendars of events and happennings through the University. Also they have a world famous history of science collection in their main library. I think they have 10 libraries altogether. They also house the Western History collection, some of which can be viewed online. As far as public libraries go, the Pioneer library website is worthwhile looking into.

I think if given a chance you would really enjoy Norman:)

Hello, thank you for your post. I just happened to be online when u wrote this. I am now checking into Norman, Edmond, and Grand Lake regions....Like Grove, Bartlesville area......Not sure if they are too small for me. I am 49, but not dead yet and like to still do things....LOL.

What do u think of those areas as far as my needs and concerns go...????

Thank you for your help

Tulsa is a great town for bicycling, lots of paved trails %26amp; many more under construction. Major bike/running trails include River Parks, Katy Railroad Trail from Tulsa to Sand Springs, %26amp; the Creek Turnpike Trail--all those get you off the roads away from cars. The Tulsa Bicycle Club is very active, lots of rides @ lots of different fitness levels; if you%26#39;re a racer, check out the Tulsa Wheelmen. The Tulsa World (daily paper) sponsors a cross-state bike ride every June--7 days across OK from South to North. (I met my wife on that ride one year.)

Tulsa has a lot of great churches, very active faith community. There are major churches of each denomination.

Tulsa is working on its live-able downtown; right now have to give OKC Bricktown area the nod. Tulsa has a downtown arena under construction, %26amp; has been making grants to support more housing options downtown, especially higher income. A California investor purchased about 1/2 the available buildings in the downtown area (over 20) %26amp; is committing his considerable resources to building up downtown as a place to live. Downtown Tulsa is chock-full of 20%26#39;s style architecture, too.

Tulsa has several of the major chain bookstores; for something less ';chain-like'; check out Steve%26#39;s Sundries, complete with an old fashioned soda fountain.

Hi Art, Thank you for the wonderfully informative post.....I loved it. Especially the biking part.....LOL.

Many years ago when I was more of an avid biker, I tried to do most of the rails to trails in the midwest while I was living there. They are abundant up there, I had read about the Katydid trail that they were constructing in Missouri, is that the same trail? Does it run thru Ok as well? One of my future dreams was to ride that trail and I will accomplish that before I get too old and rickety. I heard it was supposed to be completed in 2006? is this correct?

Also, sounds like the area is pretty bicycle friendly, I appreciate hearing that! I cannot wait to visit. That is so neat that u met your wife on a bicycle race, do u guys still ride alot? sounds like it.

Anyhow, I haven%26#39;t ridden long distance in about 12yrs now, but working on getting back up to par. Never too late!

Do u know anything about Norman, and Edmond areas?

Thank you for your reply,

K

The Katy Trail in Missouri does not connect to the one in Tulsa. The Missouri trail runs from just outside of St. Louis to just east of Kansas City. As you can see, that%26#39;s no where close to Oklahoma ;)

As I said before, from what you stated in your original post, you seem to be a better match with Tulsa or Norman to me. Place preference is very personal, of course, but Edmond seems like just another suburb to me. Tulsa and Norman are real cities on their own, with real personalities. Edmond once was, I think, but I think they%26#39;ve lost all of their personality. Just my opinion.

Edmond has a lot to offer. The Mac has many activities and the park has excellent biking, walking path. Shakespeare (sp) in the Park and concerts during the spring %26amp; summer at Hafer Park - walking biking here too, The UCO Jazz lab, excellent shopping, activities at Lake Arcadia including biking trails, swimming, and classes put on by the Army Corps. My husband spent some time road biking. The main meeting place of the club was around Lake Hefner in OKC. Just a few miles from Edmond. It is definately a subburb, but technically Norman is as well. It%26#39;s all personal preference. That%26#39;s the beauty of our country!! You can probably get a lot of information about any city your%26#39;re looking at by checking with the Chamber of Commerce for that area. Good luck and welcome!

Sillygal,

I noticed that you had received several informative posts about some of Oklahoma%26#39;s larger towns and I think you may be missing out if you over look some of the smaller areas. I would like to suggest that you look into Eastern Oklahoma as well, particulary in the Ada area.

Having grown up in Oklahoma City and then relocated to Ada for college, there is no way I would move back to the crowds of Oklahoma City. Ada%26#39;s population is 15,691. We have a good university (East Central University), wonderful coffee house, several book stores both new and used, more churchs than you can shake a stick at, and a great downtown area with lots of localy owned restaurants that are delicious. We are about a 2 hour drive from Oklahoma City, 3 hours to Dallas, and 2 and a half hours from Tulsa.

The cost of living is great here with a median housing cost of $55,000 in Ada as compared to a national median of $90,000. After my first 2 years of college, we decided that we loved the town so much that we bought a sturdy little house for less than a trailer house would cost in Edmond. Now I am working as a Realtor and fall more and more in love with this town every day.

I would encourage you to look into the Ada area and see how sweet life can be in a smaller town. Some good resources on Ada are my office%26#39;s website at http://premierpropertiesofoklahoma.com/ or the city website at http://www.adaok.com. Where ever you decide to settle, I hope you can find as much joy and peace as we have.

Good luck,

Jessica