Hello all!

My wife and I are moving to Oklahoma City in August. Any ideas on the best places to live? We'll be renting an apartment for the first 6 months and then we'll be buying a house. We've heard that Norman, Moore, Edmond and South OK City are good places to live.

Any ideas, or thoughts would be much appreciated...


Thanks!

--Holt

Probably can't go wrong w/ any of those areas so the location of your work may be most important especially with $100 per gallon gas prices

__________________
Dwight Schrute: Reject a woman and she will never let it go. One of the many defects of their kind. Also, weak arms.

If you plan to commute, I know a little community called Midwest City, just north of Tinker AFB that is the best place to live when it comes to commuting in and out of the city during traffic on the highway. And the sun is never in your eyes. Plus, there are plenty of gated communities and cheap housing.... but i'm a little bias when it comes to where I live since i'm from Midwest City.

Hi Holter,

Welcome! As you become familiar with these boards, you'll soon find out that there are many and many varied opinions here on where the "best" place to live is.

Some believe that the ONLY place to live is the downtown or urban core area. Others are just fine with the suburbs, thank you very much.

The bottom line is you and what you and your wife are looking for.

If you want to be in the middle of substantial growth, within walking, biking, or scooter distance to the urban hub - lots of restaurants and entertainment options, but not so much retail or other essential services, then downtown/Mid-Town is a great option.

There are very affordable apartments downtown that would give you a taste and feel for the urban life, and then you could, when the time is right, settle into a brand new condo, townhome downtown. If "older" is more your flavor, there are some wonderful "comeback" neighborhoods not far from the Mid-Town/Downtown area. Many have lots of "fixer-upper" homes, but these are largely homes with lots of charm and character. There are also some very elegant and stately historic districts in the same area, so much depends upon your budget.

If it's the suburbs you seek, then any of those you mentioned are nice. They vary in terms of the price per square foot you're going to pay, but in general, the housing buck stretches pretty far in OKC and its environs, especially compared to other states.

I would suggest putting a priority list together of what you are looking for.

- Good schools for kids (?)
- Commute to and from work.
- Close to retail/shopping/convenience services (dry cleaners, etc)
- Close to entertainment / restaurants/ movies, etc.
- Prefer a yard, suburban-style home with garage in a neighborhood, etc.
- Prefer a more eclectic, fun vibe in an urban setting.

You also might consider any potential commute. If you'll be working downtown, you might want to keep gas prices in mind. If, however, you'll be working outside of the downtown area, it may be more convenient for you to find a place closer to where you'll be working.

In general, OKC is a great place to live, and you'll be coming here at a time when we're really starting to spread our wings, so that's very exciting.

While square footage-wise, the city is spread far apart, the highway system is pretty good, so it generally takes less than 20 minutes to get ANYWHERE, and I do mean ANYWHERE in the City, even in traffic (unless there's a wreck on one of our major highways, then be prepared to sit awhile.)

Public transportation, however, is ABYSMAL, so you certainly might want to factor that into your decision making.

Moore is really good place to live, it has everything in the community from great schools to great community, it has easy acces to interstae 44 interstae 35 and I-240.. edmond is also a great area. More for your money I would suggest Moore, The crime rate is low and you have everyting you will need in moore.. I is between norman and oklahoma city..

I've never lived in Moore, but I have been impressed with how the community came back strongly from the destructive weather in the 90's.

Of course, being impressed did not preclude me from encouraging my daughter and her husband to live anywhere but Moore when they were seeking their first place. They now reside in Germany, and rumor has it they've yet to hear a tornado siren.

There are several nice complexes in Norman, and in southwest Oklahoma city, unless being on the north end of the metro better suits your commute needs.

Yeah, I would like to hear more about what your interested in and where you will be working before I can give a good recommendation.

Thanks everyone for your input, you've all been very helpful!

Just to give a little bit more info, I'll be attending Oklahoma City University and my wife will hopefully be working at and/or attending Oklahoma University. We'll both be driving separate vehicles, and a commute isn't too big of a deal for us.

The biggest concern for me is crime, since it seems that criminals like to steal my stuff... ie. my stereo, a pair of pants, some glass mugs, a jacket...oh yeah, and my car too...

Anyway, thanks again for all your input!

--Holt

This may be useful for you:
Oklahoma City Crime - Crime Maps, Reports and Statistics

Oklahoma City University is near some regions of high criminal activity.

Based on that, I would recommend something downtown, if you want more urban, or if you want the suburban life, I'd go with Moore. Both locations set you up to be somewhere between OCU and OU.

There really is not a crime problem in downtown, but if you go directly west or east, there is.

> I'll be attending Oklahoma City University and my wife will hopefully
> be working at and/or attending Oklahoma University.

I'm used to basing decisions with a major factor being the kiddos, but that appears in applicable for you at the moment. So, it thus makes sense to me to base the lowest commute level for the benefit of the primary wage earner.

Based on your statements of one working,a nd potentially at OU, I'd put you living in Norman in that scenerio. to reach OCU you have option of your car, or even Sooner Express bus route into the city and a short bike ride (bike racks on the bus front and back. Down side is no bus service between Norman and OKC on weekends or after 4 or 5 ish on weeknights

Just to throw in some more factors for Midwest City, OU is only twenty minutes straight down sooner from Midwest City, and OCU isn't that far either. Plus, traffic again, not so bad from Midwest City.