Considering Move to Tulsa area or NWA - Pro's & Con's of Tulsa?

[StillwaterTownie]

Originally Posted by Kittycakes127

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.

Be thankful you're not asking about Oklahoma City. Because the tornados, ice storms and hail storms are worse there. The October 27, 2020 ice storm in Oklahoma City was just beyond crazy incredible. Epic ice storms aren't supposed to happen that early in the fall.

You mentioned you work from home. If this means you could be a remote worker, then Tulsa will pay you $10,000 to move there to become a remote worker. But it now seems you're also required to buy a home. Details here:

https://tulsaremote.com

[WoodwindsRock]

As a non-religious person from the Tulsa area, I can kinda chime in on that. Kinda. I'm a pretty introverted person who typically keeps to myself and doesn't really spend time out ever, aside from work, shopping and seeing the occasional symphony. But as a non-religious person, I haven't felt much pressure around here outside of my family.



With that said, I should caution you that those are my experiences under my circumstances, though. Things could be entirely different for a more sociable individual who gets out more. There are plenty of religious people around here and they're not bound to always be the "live and let live" type. I'm saying that largely because of the religious attitude that the Tulsa area is known for, which is evangelical and conservative. It's a bad mix. I have surrounded myself with good company, but I've been here my entire life so I've been able to carefully pick that crowd as the years have gone by.



Also, as a non-religious person I certainly don't like the politics or the way the politicians talk around here. Maybe none of that matters to you, but for me it deeply concerns me. I don't know how things are where you live right now, though. Could be the same. Lots of that in many areas of the country, unfortunately.



Flooding is only ever an issue if you live in a specific area that floods. It varies. I do not so it has never been a concern to me. That's something you need to do deep research in (it's a major concern for me, too, as I'm looking to move to a different state that is a better fit for me).


Tornadoes, I don't have anything to comfort you on that. In my experience, NE Oklahoma is a slightly better area to be in than other areas of the state (especially compared to central Oklahoma which is a tornado hotspot.) But it's still very bad. Especially at this time of the year.



There's only one really good thing I'd say about the Tulsa area aside from the cost of living and that's that towns like Broken Arrow are seeing lots of expansion and thus you have have no shortage of restaurants, grocery stores, and the like. We only have one(ish) shopping mall left (I don't know if Promenade is a thing anymore, but Woodland Hills certainly is), but I suppose that's better than some other areas of the country. I don't know.

[swake]

Originally Posted by WoodwindsRock

Tornadoes, I don't have anything to comfort you on that. In my experience, NE Oklahoma is a slightly better area to be in than other areas of the state (especially compared to central Oklahoma which is a tornado hotspot.) But it's still very bad. Especially at this time of the year.

Tulsa County has 650k people. And in the last 25 years there have been only 75 people injured by tornadoes and just one death in Tulsa County. Again, out of 650k people.

The chances that someone would be hurt or killed by a tornado in Tulsa area are infinitesimal. Just getting in a car is far more dangerous. People worry about all the wrong things.

https://www.weather.gov/oun/tornadodata-county-ok-tulsa

[oil capital]

Originally Posted by StillwaterTownie

Be thankful you're not asking about Oklahoma City. Because the tornados, ice storms and hail storms are worse there. The October 27, 2020 ice storm in Oklahoma City was just beyond crazy incredible. Epic ice storms aren't supposed to happen that early in the fall.

You mentioned you work from home. If this means you could be a remote worker, then Tulsa will pay you $10,000 to move there to become a remote worker. But it now seems you're also required to buy a home. Details here:

https://tulsaremote.com

Was that 2020 OKC ice storm really worse than Tulsa's December 2007 ice storm? Seems unlikely.

[eddie gein]

Originally Posted by oil capital

Was that 2020 OKC ice storm really worse than Tulsa's December 2007 ice storm? Seems unlikely.

Yes, OKC is not any more prone to ice storms than Tulsa or NW Arkansas either one. NWA had a couple of doozies. One in 2000 and one in 2009.

Actually Dallas has the worst problem with ice simply because they have more precip and they have more days that the weather sits in that 32-36 degree window for ice, freezing rain and sleet. They are in the sweet spot for that stuff. A little further south and it doesn't get cold enough. A little further north and you are more likely to get snow on many of those occasions.

[StillwaterTownie]

Originally Posted by oil capital

Was that 2020 OKC ice storm really worse than Tulsa's December 2007 ice storm? Seems unlikely.

I don't seem to remember the 2007 Tulsa ice storm. But come to think of it, it was surely the same ice storm that barely missed Stillwater but heavily iced in Perkins and Cushing. A co-worker of mine was without electricity for close to a week. But surely the OKC 2020 ice storm was worse since it happened in late Oct. when there were still a lot of leaves left on trees. I wonder if my pin oak tree would have lost any limbs had the ice storm happened in Dec.

[eddie gein]

Originally Posted by StillwaterTownie

I don't seem to remember the 2007 Tulsa ice storm. But come to think of it, it was surely the same ice storm that barely missed Stillwater but heavily iced in Perkins and Cushing. A co-worker of mine was without electricity for close to a week. But surely the OKC 2020 ice storm was worse since it happened in late Oct. when there were still a lot of leaves left on trees. I wonder if my pin oak tree would have lost any limbs had the ice storm happened in Dec.

The thing about that 2020 ice storm is that it affected way more than just OKC. Apparently, it hit you in Stillwater. It hit western Oklahoma as well.