Oklahoma City Poverty (Edmond, Duncan, Yukon: sales tax, price, legally)

[Threestep2]

Originally Posted by zenith32

Having traveled through 42 states and lived in 4 (formally in 3, temporarily in 1), I can safely say that while OKC is quite far from any real definition of the term 'wealthy' it is not nearly as impoverished as many people would like to think. Neither OKC nor Tulsa for that matter are free from any of the problems that plague every other major city, but the problems we have are not as pervasive as the media might make them out to be. I think part of the reason OKC remained relatively cheap until the last few years (and it is still quite cheap, by the way) is that OKC, and Oklahoma in general, lacked many of the national touristy or economic draws that many other areas like California, Texas, or Florida have and still has a pervasive outward appearance of being a backwards redneck flyover state.

And it still cannot keep Californians or Texans or what is in between out.

[nahmeanyaheard]

why do you bother coming to any Oklahoma forum?

Stay in the Illinois/Chicago forums

You really must have nothing to do and no job

[nahmeanyaheard]

Originally Posted by eddie gein

It's more of a money thing than a population thing. What you see in these boom towns is just way more new and opulent development both commercially and in residential than you see in OKC. Much of it is redevelopment or tear down rebuild stuff. Locally we can see this by a trip to Dallas or Austin. It's just at a different level than OKC. As far as Seattle goes, they get a lot of highly skilled people moving there where we don't get as many of those type of move ins.

I don't mind people taking with those type of observation. Because OKC is a plains town and it is developing at a slow stable rate. I like the fact that I can recognize it from year to year. It is my hope that OKC might become more desirable as places like DFW and KCMO and Denver get so big and unwieldy that people want to look for a metro that is less so. It may be a pipe dream but that is my hope.

These type of criticisms are on a different level than someone complaining about the only quick store clerk in the world who doesn't know what "no bueno" means in terms of bastardized spanish American slang. Or griping about a bank officer who is required by law to determine if a potential customer is a US citizen or a permanent resident.

OKC is getting a ton of "highly skilled people" and the city has done some of the best urban planning in the nation setting OKC up for a tech hub in the plains states especially with the new Innovation District which will bring in a ton of young highly educated talent from other states

check it out

https://okcinnovation.com/

https://www.greateroklahomacity.com/...ey-industries/

[eddie gein]

Originally Posted by nahmeanyaheard

OKC is getting a ton of "highly skilled people" and the city has done some of the best urban planning in the nation setting OKC up for a tech hub in the plains states especially with the new Innovation District which will bring in a ton of young highly educated talent from other states

check it out

https://okcinnovation.com/

https://www.greateroklahomacity.com/...ey-industries/

We can hope that it will appeal to out of state talent. It's just tough being sandwiched between Denver, KCOM and DFW to compete for the people who are willing to settle in this part of the country...

But forward thinking will certainly help us in that endeavor.

Thanks for the links...

[Oklazona Bound]

Originally Posted by zenith32

Having traveled through 42 states and lived in 4 (formally in 3, temporarily in 1), I can safely say that while OKC is quite far from any real definition of the term 'wealthy' it is not nearly as impoverished as many people would like to think. Neither OKC nor Tulsa for that matter are free from any of the problems that plague every other major city, but the problems we have are not as pervasive as the media might make them out to be. I think part of the reason OKC remained relatively cheap until the last few years (and it is still quite cheap, by the way) is that OKC, and Oklahoma in general, lacked many of the national touristy or economic draws that many other areas like California, Texas, or Florida have and still has a pervasive outward appearance of being a backwards redneck flyover state.

Having lived in Tucson and spent a lot of time in OKC and Tulsa I would have to say the nice areas are less prevalent in Tucson.

[nahmeanyaheard]

Definitely, connecting the innovation district directly wit automobile alley will help immensely.

this was first brought up in 2016 and still in the planning stage. How cool would it be to have a large cap over I-235 with buildings and parks

https://www.milesassociates.com/okcinnovationlink

[Space_League]

Someone give me the real pros for Oklahoma. I've never been (typical) but I have a bad impression. Seems like yall get the worst of the south and midwest in terms of weather. Landscapes and economy are relatively drab. The pros I can think of are low cost of living, conservative state and down to earth people. Those are pros but those things exist in places like Texas and Georgia too and those states just have a lot more going on. Oklahoma just strikes me as a slightly better Missouri with more southern accents. What am I missing here?

[StillwaterTownie]

Nothing. About all that is going on in Oklahoma is Oklahoma City, the Tulsa suburbs and several growing small towns, such as Durant. Most remarkable is how fast growing Oklahoma City has been even though it has competition from one of biggest metros just down the road, Dallas-Ft. Worth. Oklahoma City, while far from among the fastest growing, has been able to grow in population at a faster rate than Omaha, Kansas City and Tucson, for starters.

Since the fastest growing states have no state income tax with most of them having no tax on groceries, Oklahoma would do better to change its tax policies to those states. It does seem Oklahoma Legislature has returned to its policy of just gradually cutting income taxes a little bit at a time until they're all gone. That way legislators don't have to worry about raising other taxes or making new taxes, like a sales tax on services to make up for lost revenues.

Further more, Republicans still have faith in the idea that cutting taxes will draw new businesses and industry, thereby creating additional tax revenue. If that is true, I believe Oklahoma City and Tulsa will only benefit from being the most desirable places to live in Oklahoma. Fortunately, the many backward rural Oklahoma counties don't have enough votes to hold back urban Oklahoma from progress most of the time.

[eddie gein]

Originally Posted by Space_League

Someone give me the real pros for Oklahoma. I've never been (typical) but I have a bad impression. Seems like yall get the worst of the south and midwest in terms of weather. Landscapes and economy are relatively drab. The pros I can think of are low cost of living, conservative state and down to earth people. Those are pros but those things exist in places like Texas and Georgia too and those states just have a lot more going on. Oklahoma just strikes me as a slightly better Missouri with more southern accents. What am I missing here?

If you've "never been" then you are going to find the following when you come.

Although Oklahoma is famous for violent weather, there are nice days at all times of the year which is something we never get credit for. There are many 60 degree winter days and in the summer we get occasional breaks from relentless heat in many (but not all) years. Also, compared to anyplace south of us the summers are shorter. For instance we are almost to June this year and haven't had a high of over 85 this May.

Landscape: Oklahoma is extremely diverse. It is completely different as you move east to west. Much of it is your typical rolling plains with fields punctuated with trees along the creeks and rivers. Probably only 25 to 30 percent of Oklahoma is actually "flat" in the true sense of the word. Some of Oklahoma is densely forested and we have three ancient (short) mountain ranges that are completely different from each other. When there is adequate rain, Oklahoma is much greener than people expect. It's just that the trees are short. It is interesting to note that Oklahoma and Texas are the only states that are natural habitat to both alligators and pronghorn antelope. We also have the most level 3 ecoregions than any other state in the lower 48 besides California and Texas. Lots of sky here as well.

Economy is sluggish and it's true that Texas siphons off a lot of economic energy. However at least in my profession the pay is probably 85% of what you would get in NYC or California and it goes a lot further.

Cultural, entertainment options are more limited but for stuff like that Dallas isn't far away and they have most of what we don't.

[Bass&Catfish2008]

Originally Posted by Space_League

Someone give me the real pros for Oklahoma. I've never been (typical) but I have a bad impression. Seems like yall get the worst of the south and midwest in terms of weather. Landscapes and economy are relatively drab. The pros I can think of are low cost of living, conservative state and down to earth people. Those are pros but those things exist in places like Texas and Georgia too and those states just have a lot more going on. Oklahoma just strikes me as a slightly better Missouri with more southern accents. What am I missing here?

Only about half of Oklahoma is Crosstimber-ish and moderately Ozark (as in Northeastern Oklahoma)...we do have clutches of Cottonwoods and Oaks which are underrated and quite amazing. And the other half is a mix of Southern Plains and dusty Southwest. Once you hit Hefner Parkway west of Edmond and NW OKC it really becomes more like West Texas, Kansas, and Southern Colorado---once you get to Yukon it's pretty flat, and especially as you move north along the westside of the state towards the panhandle. The Tall Grass is more Northern Oklahoma and pretty in its own right, but not as pretty as the Crosstimbers and then the mixture of Ozarks and Southern elements found more on the eastside of the State.

Missouri is a beautiful state and I might argue that throughout its whole state it's prettier than Oklahoma. Oklahoma has a few areas which are downright beautiful, but they're more hidden gems and most folks from other states don't know about how beautiful our lakes and the eastside of the state are. Most folks have the tumbleweed and dirty Southern Plains imagery from Hollywood seared in their brains when they think of Oklahoma.

You are right about the Southern accents being more prominent here.