[Ecovlke]

I can't think of one town in particular that I despise. I don't care for the Western OK region, but what the hey. Who cares. I don't live there so it doesn't matter.

I think Stroud is really ugly at their main intersection of hyw 66 and hwy 99. It always looks dusty and dirty, but the main street looks much better. The people are friendly enough, though so I don't dislike Stroud.

Where is Bernice?

[swake]

You can hate the cities all you want, but many and probably most of the small towns in Oklahoma outside of the two major metros are dying. Nearly all are poor, uneducated, have declining and aging populations living in ever more deteriorating structures with ever fewer and fewer amenities and opportunities. For every healthy small town like Tahlequah or Grove there are 40 depressing and dying towns.

This is not a uniquely Oklahoman thing, it's true across the country, but the phenomena is much more pronounced here in Oklahoma.

Oklahoma is now a predominantly urban state with 2.3 million of our 3.7 million residents living in the Tulsa and Oklahoma City metro areas. If you hate the cities, you must also hate Oklahoma.

So take that for what it's worth.

[e_cuyler]

I'm not a fan of Stilwell. I grew up there so I have a pretty good idea of how it is. Kind of the Appalachia of Oklahoma, and not in the positive sense.

Of course, it's one of those places where I don't think anyone from outside the area would ever have any reason to be there anyway.

[Blue Skies]

Pawhuska, Shidler, Fairfax, Ralston - all dying towns, all run down. Poorly educated people. The residents show no pride in their towns. Junk cars in the yards, appliances on the porch, falling down trailer houses, abandoned buildings. Very sad to see these fall into decay.

[Bass&Catfish2008]

Originally Posted by swake

You can hate the cities all you want, but many and probably most of the small towns in Oklahoma outside of the two major metros are dying. Nearly all are poor, uneducated, have declining and aging populations living in ever more deteriorating structures with ever fewer and fewer amenities and opportunities. For every healthy small town like Tahlequah or Grove there are 40 depressing and dying towns.

This is not a uniquely Oklahoman thing, it's true across the country, but the phenomena is much more pronounced here in Oklahoma.

Oklahoma is now a predominantly urban state with 2.3 million of our 3.7 million residents living in the Tulsa and Oklahoma City metro areas. If you hate the cities, you must also hate Oklahoma.

So take that for what it's worth.

>>>>>
Nearly all are poor, uneducated, have declining and aging populations living in ever more deteriorating structures with ever fewer and fewer amenities and opportunities.
<<<<<

Missing teeth, making moonshine, pickin' a banjo, incest, etc.....

It's disheartening how elitism flourishes in today's youth like never before.

[Bass&Catfish2008]

Originally Posted by e_cuyler

I'm not a fan of Stilwell. I grew up there so I have a pretty good idea of how it is. Kind of the Appalachia of Oklahoma, and not in the positive sense.

Of course, it's one of those places where I don't think anyone from outside the area would ever have any reason to be there anyway.

I've actually heard some similar negative info from my elderly momma regarding Stilwell.

[swake]

Originally Posted by Bass&Catfish2008

>>>>>
Nearly all are poor, uneducated, have declining and aging populations living in ever more deteriorating structures with ever fewer and fewer amenities and opportunities.
<<<<<

Missing teeth, making moonshine, pickin' a banjo, incest, etc.....

It's disheartening how elitism flourishes in today's youth like never before.

Yes, in the United States we like to toss off accusations like “elitist” at people that confront us with facts that we don’t like. And I an no "youth".



Surprising causes of rural poverty | OK Policy Blog (http://okpolicy.org/blog/poverty/surprising-causes-of-rural-poverty/ - broken link)

Last month Oklahoma Policy Institute was invited by McCurtain Memorial Hospital in Idabel to give a presentation on poverty as part of a monthly lecture series that the hospital has convened to examine pressing social problems facing their area. Our presentation was prepared by Mariah Levison, a graduate student in International Affairs at Washington University in St. Louis who has been working with OK Policy this summer. Mariah here summarizes some of the data and theories on the causes of poverty in McCurtain County.
McCurtain County, Oklahoma’s southeasternmost county, also is one of the poorest counties in the state. McCurtain has the third highest poverty level in the state. One in every four residents of McCurtain County lived below the federal poverty level, $22,000 for a family of four, in 2007. The unemployment rate in McCurtain was 10 percent in May of this year. Additionally, McCurtain experienced a population decline of -2.5 percent between 2000 and 2008. During that same time period Oklahoma grew at a rate of 5.6 percent.
To understand poverty in McCurtain County, we have to start with the county’s rural nature. According to The United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service (USDA ERS) rural areas tend to be poorer than urban areas, with 14.2 percent of the rural population being poor compared to only 11.6 percent of the urban population. Nationally, the rural poverty rate has exceeded the urban rate every year since poverty was first officially measured in the 1960s. Furthermore, USDA ERS calculates that the poverty rate–16.8 percent–is highest in counties like McCurtain , that are not adjacent to urban counties. The vast majority of poor rural counties are in the South, like McCurtain County.
Using McCurtain County as an example, OK Policy was able to draw some conclusions about rural poverty in general. Well known contributors to poverty include population density and decline, a limited tax base that restricts investment in social capital such as education and health care, and economic structures that include limited opportunities or low wage occupations. OK Policy identified three more surprising factors that contribute to rural poverty.
1. Social norms: According to The Rural Poverty Research Institute, social norms can benefit families and communities or can reinforce poverty. For example, girls in communities where early marriage or child bearing is the norm may not pursue their abilities or invest in their education. Poor children may be taught their opportunities are limited, thereby discouraging them from pursing educational and other goals that would help them to break out of the cycle of poverty.
2. Natural environment: An area’s natural environment – its climate, natural resources, and isolation – often determine its economic vitality, and in turn, its depth and persistence of poverty. According to the USDA, cities have fewer problems related to the natural environment. They are located where they are accessible to the resources people want. Rural areas, in contrast, are rural because they lack some geographic advantage. Geographic isolation creates distance from product and labor markets. The climate and natural resources in an area often contribute to the types of industries and markets that emerge. Communities with resources that can support multiple enterprises are much more likely to develop mixed economies than are communities with a single-source resource (such as rich soil).
3. Amenities: The USDA claims that the first and perhaps most basic factor of population decline (which leads to decreased economic vitality) is a region’s natural and cultural amenities. These include climate, landscape, technological infrastructure such as high speed internet, and entertainment. These features attract not only tourists, but retirees, entrepreneurs, and others whose arrival generates new jobs.
These factors, along with their more traditional counterparts, must be taken into account in rural development strategies. Attempts to attract or retain industry through the use of tax incentives and other economic concessions have too often proved to not be cost effective. The USDA is currently promoting a strategy known as amenities-based development. This strategy focuses on developing both natural and cultural amenities. A forthcoming post will discuss this topic.

Here are the 23 counties that lost population over the last decade, do you see anything that they have in common?
County name
Pop. 1990
Pop. 2000
Pop. 2010

Change 1990-2000

Change 2000-10

Cimarron County 3,301 3,139 2,475 -4.60% -21.20%
Tillman County 10,384 9,285 7,992 -10.60% -13.90%
Grant County 5,689 5,144 4,527 -9.60% -12.00%
Harmon County 3,793 3,285 2,922 -13.40% -11.10%
Kiowa County 11,347 10,225 9,446 -9.90% -7.60%
Alfalfa County 6,416 6,092 5,642 -4.80% -7.40%
Jackson County 28,764 28,439 26,446 -1.10% -7.00%
Cotton County 6,651 6,603 6,193 -0.60% -6.20%
Jefferson County 7,010 6,820 6,472 -2.70% -5.10%
Ottawa County 30,561 33,164 31,848 8.60% -4.00%
McCurtain County 33,433 34,384 33,151 2.90% -3.60%
Beaver County 6,023 5,832 5,636 -2.80% -3.40%
Kay County 48,056 48,086 46,562 0.10% -3.20%
Woods County 9,103 9,094 8,878 -0.20% -2.40%
Coal County 5,780 6,035 5,925 4.30% -1.80%
Caddo County 29,550 30,146 29,600 2.00% -1.80%
Hughes County 13,014 14,150 14,003 8.80% -1.00%
Choctaw County 15,302 15,334 15,205 0.30% -0.80%
Pushmataha County 10,997 11,660 11,572 6.10% -0.80%
Nowata County 9,992 10,564 10,536 5.80% -0.30%
Major County 8,055 7,545 7,527 -6.30% -0.20%
Pawnee County 15,575 16,610 16,577 6.70% -0.20%
Blaine County 11,470 11,965 11,943 4.40% -0.20%

ERS/USDA Data - Population change 1990-2010 for Oklahoma

[swake]

Originally Posted by swake

Yes, in the United States we like to toss off accusations like “elitist” at people that confront us with facts that we don’t like. And I an no "youth".

Per capita incomes:

National Average is $40,572
National Non-Urban Average $34,033

Tulsa Metro $40,904
Oklahoma Urban Average $39,748
Oklahoma City Metro $39,288
Oklahoma Average $37,155


Oklahoma Rural Average $32,921



Rural Education Rates:
http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications...r98_lowres.pdf

The south, along with southeastern Oklahoma, is doing very poorly.

[#1soonerfan]

The "Dixiest" part of Little Dixie. McCurtain, Pushamataha (sp?), Choctaw Counties all have some really beautiful natural areas contrasting with some jarring poverty. I've been to Antlers, Hugo, Idabel, and Broken Bow and they are probably some of the poorest places I've been outside of Miss. Delta. Its really depressing how a lot of the locals seem to reject education and economic development as some sort of horrible plot from the elite to change their lives.

If I were a non-local I would be very weary about going down there willy-nilly. Yes there are some great friendly folks, but in general the local populace is not too fond of outsiders. Take it from personal experience. Its often been said that Little Dixie is its own mini-state and they operate by a different set of rules.

[Bass&Catfish2008]

Originally Posted by #1soonerfan

The "Dixiest" part of Little Dixie. McCurtain, Pushamataha (sp?), Choctaw Counties all have some really beautiful natural areas contrasting with some jarring poverty. I've been to Antlers, Hugo, Idabel, and Broken Bow and they are probably some of the poorest places I've been outside of Miss. Delta. Its really depressing how a lot of the locals seem to reject education and economic development as some sort of horrible plot from the elite to change their lives.

If I were a non-local I would be very weary about going down there willy-nilly. Yes there are some great friendly folks, but in general the local populace is not too fond of outsiders. Take it from personal experience. Its often been said that Little Dixie is its own mini-state and they operate by a different set of rules.

Having family in that part of the state I've never really seen it in such stark terms....yet, I've never been considered an "outsider" either so that may have something to do with my perception.