Oklahoma City - Big League City? (Tulsa, Norman: to live, trendy, suburbs)

[eddie gein]

Originally Posted by MrIndependent

To call Oklahoma City a "Big League City" would be very inaccurate. It is making progress in becoming a better place, but it is not there yet. Lacking in amenities. Lacking in brand recognition.

It used to be in the same tier as places like Salt Lake City, El Paso, Little Rock, Birmingham, etc. But recently, I would promote it to being in the same tier as Omaha, Memphis, Louisville, Richmond VA. The addition of the NBA team helped. But Oklahoma City still has some ways to go. In 10 years I'd be interested to see where the city is in terms of advancements and progress.

I would say that of the cities you listed OKC was most similar to Birmingham. Maybe a little behind SLC. OKC was never even close to as small as El Paso and Little Rock, and in fact I would say that Tulsa and Omaha are almost exactly the same as each other. I'd say now OKC is about where you have it in regards to Memphis, Louisville, and Richmond.

[MrIndependent]

Originally Posted by kcmo

I don't disagree with you often, but I wholeheartedly disagree with you here. SLC is very much a tier above those other cities.

And no, OKC is not major league. I think the city would have to at least double in population (within the same footprint) to start to even think about that.

But it's been fun watching them change and come along over the past few years. Tulsa is the better city in OK. It's more urban, better topography etc.

Well, we'll have to agree to disagree then my friend
I visit both cities frequently for work, and I feel that the difference is clearly tangible. Tulsa is better grouped along side Wichita and on the low ball even Springfield MO. Oklahoma City feels like a lesser version of Dallas. With its adjacent areas of Norman and Edmond, home of OU and top notch suburbia. Bricktown beats anything Tulsa's Blue Dome district and Brookside, no question about it.

The economy in OKC is head and shoulders above the rest of Okie. Tulsa's downtown is faded glory. The oil money that fueled the buildings and architecture has already left, and Tulsa's prospects took a nose dive with no chance of recovering much in the near future. OKC's downtown is a 180 of Tulsa's. New mega skyscraper in the Devon building. Revitilization of much of the area. Come on now, lets get real here.

And for goodness sake, the fact that flying DIRECTLY to OKC is easier than flying to Tulsa is a red flag right there.

Sorry, but I let my eyes, ears and brain do the deciding for me when doing side by side comparisions like this.

OKC = moving up, becoming MORE relevant nationally
Tulsa = irrelevant in national conversations

[SweethomeSanAntonio]

I have to agree OKC is a tier above Tulsa. I lived in Tulsa and it's a nice city and would frequent OKC a because of work. But have to say they are both to quiet for my taste.

[Howest2008]

Originally Posted by SweethomeSanAntonio

I have to agree OKC is a tier above Tulsa. I lived in Tulsa and it's a nice city and would frequent OKC a because of work. But have to say they are both to quiet for my taste.

I agree for the time being , however Houston and Dallas are a Tier Above San Antonio and quiet by their's
standards also so it's all relative.

[knrstz]

Okc has made so much progress in the last 20 years. However much of what was done was making up for the years of neglect prior to that time. Okc is headed in the right direction and could really become a great city if they continue in the same direction. Cities don't typically add millions of people in a decade. It's not realistic to think okc will become one of the biggest cities in the us. However, as its population grows it has the potential to be one of the best cities in the country of its size, whatever that size may become.

[Howest2008]

[quote=MrIndependent;24757657]Well, we'll have to agree to disagree then my friend
I visit both cities frequently for work, and I feel that the difference is clearly tangible. Tulsa is better grouped along side Wichita and on the low ball even Springfield MO.

Are you pulling my leg????

Oklahoma City feels like a lesser version of Dallas.

Dallas is a World Class City and OKC is not!!!!

With its adjacent areas of Norman and Edmond, home of OU and top notch suburbia. Bricktown beats anything Tulsa's Blue Dome district and Brookside, no question about it.

I haven't been to bricktown since 2000 , but can agree with that " OKC poured a lot more money into it's
Entertainment district" Tulsan won't spend any money improving itself in the same manner as a OKC.

The economy in OKC is head and shoulders above the rest of Okie. Tulsa's downtown is faded glory. The oil money that fueled the buildings and architecture has already left, and Tulsa's prospects took a nose dive with no chance of recovering much in the near future. OKC's downtown is a 180 of Tulsa's. New mega skyscraper in the Devon building. Revitilization of much of the area. Come on now, lets get real here.

that all came about in the last 17 years....

And for goodness sake, the fact that flying DIRECTLY to OKC is easier than flying to Tulsa is a red flag right there.

And that ain't all folks , OKC also has intercity and National RAIL from Dallas/Ft. Worth TX....

Sorry, but I let my eyes, ears and brain do the deciding for me when doing side by side comparisions like this.

OKC = moving up, becoming MORE relevant nationally
Tulsa = irrelevant in national conversations[/quote]

Tulsa is where OKC was 10 to 17 years ago , with a whole lot more potential than OKC to boot...keep
checking in on Tulsa to witness the future progress....

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by MrIndependent

Well, we'll have to agree to disagree then my friend
I visit both cities frequently for work, and I feel that the difference is clearly tangible. Tulsa is better grouped along side Wichita and on the low ball even Springfield MO. Oklahoma City feels like a lesser version of Dallas. With its adjacent areas of Norman and Edmond, home of OU and top notch suburbia. Bricktown beats anything Tulsa's Blue Dome district and Brookside, no question about it.

The economy in OKC is head and shoulders above the rest of Okie. Tulsa's downtown is faded glory. The oil money that fueled the buildings and architecture has already left, and Tulsa's prospects took a nose dive with no chance of recovering much in the near future. OKC's downtown is a 180 of Tulsa's. New mega skyscraper in the Devon building. Revitilization of much of the area. Come on now, lets get real here.

And for goodness sake, the fact that flying DIRECTLY to OKC is easier than flying to Tulsa is a red flag right there.

Sorry, but I let my eyes, ears and brain do the deciding for me when doing side by side comparisions like this.

OKC = moving up, becoming MORE relevant nationally
Tulsa = irrelevant in national conversations

I didn't say OKC wasn't above tulsa as far as importance etc. That's obvious. I was just saying "I like" tulsa better than OKC for several reasons.

And OKC is nothing like Dallas. It's not a smaller version of any other city. It's just OKC. I kinda does it own thing.

[eddie gein]

Originally Posted by kcmo

I didn't say OKC wasn't above tulsa as far as importance etc. That's obvious. I was just saying "I like" tulsa better than OKC for several reasons.

And OKC is nothing like Dallas. It's not a smaller version of any other city. It's just OKC. I kinda does it own thing.

OKC and DFW are more like each other in terms of weather and terrain than they are any other cities in the area. Going to DFW from OKC doesn't feel all that different. Dallas is just a whole lot bigger and has more things.

Actually OKC reminds me of the middle sibling between Wichita and Dallas.

[Howest2008]

Originally Posted by eddie gein

OKC and DFW are more like each other in terms of weather and terrain than they are any other cities in the area. Going to DFW from OKC doesn't feel all that different. Dallas is just a whole lot bigger and has more things.

Actually OKC reminds me of the middle sibling between Wichita and Dallas.

Dallas , Houston , San Antonio , Austin are all Blue Cities if you know what I mean , on the other hand
OKC is a Deep Red City " if you know what I mean " ?????

[julian17033]

No and why would you want it to be?