Tulsa, OK?

[twohopes]

Does anyone on here live there now or has lived there in the past?

[peppapig]

No, but I hear Tulsa is the Paris of Oklahoma 😬

[cherrytomato]

We actually just went up there for the weekend and have lived in OKC for the last 2 years, so I may be able to answer some general questions for you.

[twohopes]

We are considering a fairly attractive job offer, but we currenrly live in a large progressive city on the East Coast amd it feels like such a big change.
How is life with kids there?

[cherrytomato]

We are originally from California and spent 3 years in Arkansas before moving here. Dh and I are very much “those liberal Californians.” That is really our biggest issue with the state, it is very conservative and the oil and gun lobbies are strong here. Now, I have heard that tulsa is more liberal than OKC, so you may have a different experience.

Life with kids here is good. There are tons of programs and camps available, many free. There are lots of museums and parks to explore. Not much in the way of hiking if you’re into that. But plenty of lakes to fish or boat on. I am a SAHM and I could literally have the kids to a different class or program or park every day of the week within about a 20 minute drive. Tulsa appears to be about the same. We ran all over that city this weekend and had a blast.

The schools are hit and miss by district. Overall the state is ranked among the lowest in per pupil spending and around the midline for overall academic performance. We truly lucked out and are in a district that bends over backwards for special needs kids but our speech path told me that if we had moved into the neighboring district, we wouldn’t have qualified for anything.

Housing prices are low to buy but rent is higher here than in AR, gas and grocery prices are average but our car insurance went up $30 a month moving here.

I wouldn’t be concerned with tornadoes so much. Many homes have shelters as well as safe spaces at business. We have had to take shelter a few times (nothing hit us) and both kids are fine with it. The thunder storms are amazing and I will miss them if we ever leave.

You may want to check out the Tulsa Reddit page, the OKC one is very active and has lots of bookmarked pages for people that are considering moving here and looking for info. There is also a general Oklahoma page but that is mostly political info.

I’m happy to answer any more questions or go into more detail, just let me know!

[spacecadet]

I have not been to Tulsa but I have lived in OKC for about 5 years. We moved here from Texas. The political stuff is annoying, especially because I work for a state agency and H is in education but in general it isn't bad. Things are pretty affordable and it is pretty easy to get around town without a huge headache. I have heard some good things about Tulsa. Sorry I'm not much help probably. cherrytomato explained some of my general thoughts pretty well lol.

[smiley]

I’m also in okc. Tulsa is great. I agree with all of the above- politics can get annoying, schools can be hit or miss. I believe actual Tulsa neighborhoods can be hit or miss but surrounding suburbs are good. Jenks. Broken arrow. They have good public schools too. I know Tulsa has good private schools as well.

Don’t worry too much about tornadoes, get a tornado shelter. I’m 30 years old and have never had to truly take cover *KNOCKING ON WOOD*.

Overall, I think it’s a great place to raise kids. Tons of activities and sports and plenty of family friendly places to live and visit.

[twohopes]

Thank you, cherrytomato, spacecadet and smiley

You were all super helpful. I guess one of my biggest concerns is, in fact, the political climate and how much more liberal we would be than the average. The weather is a bit concerning too, but it seems more overblown from afar.

How is healthcare there, generally speaking?

[cherrytomato]

We have insurance through DH’s work and the company is based out of CA so we actually have a Blue Shield of CA policy because it is cheaper than a BSBC of Oklahoma policy ( it was the same way in Arkansas). The price seems reasonable to me. As far as seeing Drs goes, Dh, Ds1 and I just mainly go in for routine checkups and the occasional sick visit. DS2 sees a behavioral pediatrician that we have to drive about 30 minutes for, and a speech, OT and PT that we get locally. We have been happy with the quality of care we receive from everyone. We did drive past the Children's Hospital in Tulsa on our way to the aquarium and it is massive looking. So should your kids need more extensive care that is really close for you.

[spacecadet]

Obviously it depends on a lot of factors but I haven’t really had a bad experience with anything healthcare related. My insurance is through the state though. The doctors that we have dealt with have been good and easy to get into with little wait times. That’s all I can ask for really.

[smiley]

We have bcbs and it’s expensive. But fine. My husbands work only covers him so the kids and I are on our own. It does the job though and coverage is good. Of course there was the situation where they were out of contract with my hospital from when I was like 32 weeks pg until 5 days before I delivered... that was miserably stressful. But hopefully a rare situation.

And yes, if you’re very liberal you’ll probably notice that the rest of Tulsa is not really that way. Personally, I just stay out of the politics and keep to myself. Meaning, I don’t engage, not that I don’t have an opinion or use my right to vote. Does that make sense?