Considering Move to Tulsa area or NWA - Pro's & Con's of Tulsa? (Broken Arrow: apartment, car insurance)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am considering relocating either to the Tulsa area or NWA (North West Arkansas - Fayetteville / Bentonville area) and I am hoping to get some insight on the some of the pros and cons of Tulsa specifically.
About me: I would be moving from Phoenix area and I am looking to be in a smaller city / metro area. I work from home so don't need to worry about commute times, mid - 30s, single, no kids, leans conservative. Ideally, I do need to stay in the central time zone for my work, which I why Tulsa landed on my radar.
Tulsa is attractive to me because the cost of homes and living seems to be much lower than Phoenix, it has a good sized airport that has flights from SW so easy access to travel, Trader Joes & Costco (huge plus) and seems to have a decent amount of shopping and dining options.
My questions or areas of concern about Tulsa as follows:
1. I am not religious and have no intention of going to church. I am not against religion at all, everyone is entitled to their own beliefs. I am however against being in an area that I could be judged or frowned upon for not attending church.
2. Currently Single - From what I have been reading, Tulsa seems to be geared more so towards family's? Again nothing against families at all, I just don't want to be in an area that I am considered the odd person out for not being in a relationship. Is there an area of Tulsa that has bars or nightlife that single people seem to gravitate to?
3. Tornados, Earthquakes, Floods & Hail. - Cost of living seems low in Tulsa, but on average does car insurance / home insurance tend to be more due to the risk of severe weather? I am terrified of tornados, how often do they actually occur in the Tulsa metro area? Same goes for hail that damages cars, flooding and I saw somewhere Tulsa is on a fault line so earthquakes can happen too? Does anyone know the ballpark cost of having a storm shelter installed, and is one needed?
4. If I decided to move to Tulsa, I would love to find a home with character, possibly even a historic home with some greenery / mature trees around it and I would prefer to avoid cookie cutter subdivisions. I would even be open to building if the cost of land was right. What areas of the Tulsa metro should I consider. Overall budget to buy or build would be up to about 315k.
Thank you all in advance for the help and I will be posting a similar thread in the NWA forum to get a comparison of the two cities.
Northwest Arkansas is certainly a solid place to consider, but it's very different than Tulsa (or most metros for that matter) - its development is almost entirely suburban sprawl. If Arkansas is on your radar, Little Rock would be a much more similar comparison to Tulsa than NWA, as both are more urban cities with a downtown core, and it's also closer in size to Tulsa (at 750,000, it's just about exactly between NWA and Tulsa in population).
NW Arkansas is kind of strange in that it is basically four what used to be small autonomous towns over a 40 mile stretch that have grown together. All four of them still have the old traditional "small town" downtowns although they are now much more upscale than they used to be. Throw in a bunch of what used to be gas station type towns that are now small towns and a resort community (Bella Vista) and you have what is now NW Arkansas.
Tulsa is much more your traditional urban core surrounded by a city and suburbs. NW Arkansas doesn't really have a ghetto. Tulsa has a rough one. But Tulsa also has older unique neighborhoods one is used to in a city.
The religion thing is going to be a wash. Tornadoes and bad weather are going to be a wash. I haven't heard of earthquake issues in Tulsa. The "single thing" I would actually say favors Tulsa as far as things for singles to do. I say this within the context that there ARE single people in NW Arkansas but the nightlife isn't commensurate with Tulsa. Bentonville has some things but not like Tulsa. Fayetteville is still the entertainment district for the region for the most part. It's not just for college kids and it's quite nice but it is a good drive from the other end of the area and there isn't THAT much there. As far as your house preferences Tulsa again is going to be the choice although there is are a few oler neighborhoods in Fayetteville and Springdale. Not quite as many in Bentonville
You sound like you would want to live in the Florence Park, Brookside, Maple Ridge or Cherry Street areas of Tulsa. Most of Brookside and nearly all of Maple Ridge would be out of your price range but Cherry Street and Florence Park you can do well on your budget. Both are close to the Brookside and Cherry Street nightlife/shopping districts and are just a couple of miles out of downtown.
Really, you would probably be happy in any part of midtown or uptown Tulsa, which is where these neighborhoods are located.
Thank you all! I think at this point I am strongly leaning towards Tulsa, but I do have a few more questions. I have been looking into the Florence Park and Cherry Street areas and I do really like them. I did notice it seems like a lot of the restaurants and nightlife options seem are fairly spread out, one here, a few blocks away is another one, so on.... Is there an area or street that is walkable (and safe ) with a variety of dining, shopping and nightlife options? Also what are some good live music venues that would be worth checking out? Mother Road Market - is that like an indoor farmers market, if not, does Tulsa have a farmers market?
Thank you all! I think at this point I am strongly leaning towards Tulsa, but I do have a few more questions. I have been looking into the Florence Park and Cherry Street areas and I do really like them. I did notice it seems like a lot of the restaurants and nightlife options seem are fairly spread out, one here, a few blocks away is another one, so on.... Is there an area or street that is walkable (and safe ) with a variety of dining, shopping and nightlife options? Also what are some good live music venues that would be worth checking out? Mother Road Market - is that like an indoor farmers market, if not, does Tulsa have a farmers market?
Florence Park does not have a real walkable nightlife/restaurant section. It's still a great neighborhood with scattered shopping and restaurants. Cherry Street and Brookside do have denser walkable areas, as do a couple of districts downtown/uptown. Cherry Street's is the half mile of 15th Street from Peoria Ave to Utica Ave.
All of the districts are safe, but the live music places will mostly be downtown and can have some panhandlers and while they are harmless, they can be annoying. There are many live music venues and it would depend on what you like.
The Cain's in the Arts District downtown is Tulsa's almost 100 year old iconic live music venue that is on the national register of historic places. It was the home of Bob Wills' national radio show in the 1930s and everyone from Van Halen to U2 to Nine Inch Nails to The Sex Pistols to Wilco have played there over the years. It's one of the top venues anywhere. Green Day kicked off their world wide stadium tour there last month in front of 2,000 just for fun. Jack White actually bought a home in Tulsa a few years ago so he can play there regularly.
Mother Road is kinda a farmers market, it's a vendors market for startup restaurants and prepared food and other vendors like you would see on the coasts. Tulsa has lots of seasonal farmers markets including one for Cherry Street. There are year round farmers markets in the southern suburb of Bixby where they have vegetable farms.
Thank you all! I think at this point I am strongly leaning towards Tulsa, but I do have a few more questions. I have been looking into the Florence Park and Cherry Street areas and I do really like them. I did notice it seems like a lot of the restaurants and nightlife options seem are fairly spread out, one here, a few blocks away is another one, so on.... Is there an area or street that is walkable (and safe ) with a variety of dining, shopping and nightlife options? Also what are some good live music venues that would be worth checking out? Mother Road Market - is that like an indoor farmers market, if not, does Tulsa have a farmers market?
Between Tulsa , NWA , LIL ROCK , Hot Springs .....(Tulsa Ok ) 2021/29
Thank you all! I think at this point I am strongly leaning towards Tulsa, but I do have a few more questions. I have been looking into the Florence Park and Cherry Street areas and I do really like them. I did notice it seems like a lot of the restaurants and nightlife options seem are fairly spread out, one here, a few blocks away is another one, so on.... Is there an area or street that is walkable (and safe ) with a variety of dining, shopping and nightlife options? Also what are some good live music venues that would be worth checking out? Mother Road Market - is that like an indoor farmers market, if not, does Tulsa have a farmers market?
People here will sneer, but check out the Rose District in Broken Arrow (a suburb of Tulsa or adjacent small town; I'm not sure what the relationship is).
It's more compact and walkable than similar districts in Tulsa, where shops and restaurants can be several blocks apart. And there's a lot to choose from. I almost moved there but then the apartment building I was looking at was sold out.
Brookside gets a lot of press as an entertainment district. It's okay, but not really pleasant strolling. You have to trudge through a gas station parking lot, etc. It would be nice to live in Brookside, though, with Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, a hardware store, and lots of other useful businesses right there.
For the kind of music I like (alt-country), it's the Mercury Lounge and Cain's Ballroom. As you look at the schedules, note that a lot of shows are being/have been cancelled because of covid. There's normally a lot more to do.
People here will sneer, but check out the Rose District in Broken Arrow (a suburb of Tulsa or adjacent small town; I'm not sure what the relationship is).
It's more compact and walkable than similar districts in Tulsa, where shops and restaurants can be several blocks apart. And there's a lot to choose from. I almost moved there but then the apartment building I was looking at was sold out.
Brookside gets a lot of press as an entertainment district. It's okay, but not really pleasant strolling. You have to trudge through a gas station parking lot, etc. It would be nice to live in Brookside, though, with Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, a hardware store, and lots of other useful businesses right there.
For the kind of music I like (alt-country), it's the Mercury Lounge and Cain's Ballroom. As you look at the schedules, note that a lot of shows are being/have been cancelled because of covid. There's normally a lot more to do.
Thank you! I actually really like the looks of Broken Arrow and I am hoping to make it out to the area soon to check it out in person and do some house hunting. I am still slightly nervous about moving to an area prone to tornados, but I will say the homes and alot of the areas look absolutely gorgeous compared to what I am used to in Phoenix. It also seems like most of the cool things to do are within a 20 min drive or less, which would be nice as opposed to having to drive over an hour out here.
I live in Tulsa north and work in midtown. Not exactly someplace you would leave anything visible in your car but Tulsa does have it’s good and it’s bad, just like any other city. Where I work in midtown every day there are homeless people wrapping themselves in sleeping bags to stay warm, sleeping behind restaurants and fast food dumpsters but from what I’ve seen so far can’t compare to the abundance of homeless camps I’ve seen in Calif. My goodness it’s sad! Sometimes I just want to tell them ‘hey, this place is hiring, the store next to it is hiring, wouldn’t you rather be in a nice warm building making money?’
Quote:
Originally Posted by swake
You sound like you would want to live in the Florence Park, Brookside, Maple Ridge or Cherry Street areas of Tulsa. Most of Brookside and nearly all of Maple Ridge would be out of your price range but Cherry Street and Florence Park you can do well on your budget. Both are close to the Brookside and Cherry Street nightlife/shopping districts and are just a couple of miles out of downtown.
Really, you would probably be happy in any part of midtown or uptown Tulsa, which is where these neighborhoods are located.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
