My job is transferring to Oklahoma...need some input from others

Chandler, is that you?

 

Oklahoma is a generally poor, poverty striken state, that relies heavily on the little oil money it generates. Tulsa is actually a decent place, however, much nicer than OKC. There's some nice golf courses there, and it has some trees. The rest of Ok is mostly dirt and red grass. Make sure you get a mullet, a Jeff Gordon 24 jacket, and buy yourself a Camaro.

Coming out of UT, Halliburton interviewed me for a job in Duncan, OK, about 80 miles north of Wichita Falls. The town absolutely sucked.

 

Harrisment,

You have probably done this already, but have you sent out resumes to other companies so you can stay in Houston? Is the job market that bad in Houston for IT employees?

I am asking this because I hate to hear that you are miserable when you could have stayed but worked for another company.

 

My folks are from Bartlesville and Dewey respectively. My Grandmother and Aunt live in Tulsa. We used to go there every summer. I was in Tulsa this past July. It's a nice little town even though it's in oklahoma.

One good thing is I was driving around the freeways at about 8am on a Monday morning while I was there and there was NO traffic whatsoever. Compared to Houston freeways, it looked like a ghost town.

 

Thrid nipple? I think it was called a nubbin.

 

How do you feel about moving away from family? Some people can't wait to get away; other people want to keep it. I moved back to Houston after 7 years in Chicago to try to re-integrate myself into the family network. I've always felt it was an important thing. Family provides a very good network of mutual support that I do what I can to foster. My wife's family lives all over the States (coast to coast) and I'd love to have them all come down to Houston too. Personally, I would not even consider moving out of the city for just a job. Of course, that's not a luxury everyone can avail themselves of.

 

My mom has lived in a town about 45 minutes from Tulsa for about 8 yrs now, and I spend a lot of time in Tulsa when I go to visit her.

Overall, it isn't a bad town. There is a really nice mall, lots of restaurants and they do have a bunch of good minor league sports teams (hockey, baseball, and Arena football). Tulsa wouldn't be my first pick of a place to live, but if the money is good I would definitely consider it.

 

It's a long, long drive from Tulsa to Houston. I've lived in Austin for over 20 years, with most of my family and friends still in Houston. Compared to what you're facing, the drive is a snap. You might want to check out what it would cost to fly to Houston from there and figure those costs into your decision. I wouldn't do it, but I'm not in your shoes.

And it's Oklahoma.

 

I thought there were only two things that came out of Oklahoma...

Steers and ...

 

Native Americans? just kidding. I know how the phrase goes.

Oklahoma is a nice place to visit, for a short period of time - especially the nature reserve outside of Lawton. There are plenty of stretches of highway that you can seriously just cruise on, but there isn't any real scenery anywhere, and if you should ever get pulled over by state troopers, lord have mercy on your soul. You'll need it. Most of them are real sunumab!tches compared to the cops in TX. I couldn't fathom living there. I've never been to Tulsa, but Baqui is right about OK. It's hardly anything more than small towns, ghost towns, and towns that are nothing but 4 houses next to each other...

 

I lived in Bartlesville for 8 years (I suspect you and my father work for the same company). My grandmother still lives there. It's a VERY nice small town, with many amenities of larger towns. EXCELLENT hospital, nice concert hall, good schools, cheap cost of living, nice people. It's an older population, but it is a very nice place. Personally, I don't think I'd want to live there now, as I've become too accustomed to the stuff in bigger cities, but it's a great town to raise a family. I'm glad I spent my early youth there.

Ask me anything about the area. I know it VERY well.

<i>edit</i>: You'll need a house there -- we'll be selling my grandfather's soon. Let me know anything you need or want to know. Also, you can email me at sigemund@postmark.net

<i>edit</i>: Found out this evening my folks already have a buyer for the house . . .

 

If you have to move to Oklahoma , tulsa is one of the nicer places...