Okay folks its 2010 and lets get it started again northside vs southside which is better. i moved here back in 2001 and at the time the northside was known to be the rich up and coming part of the city. If you wanted quiet living, no hoodlums and better shopping and entertainment you lived up north. The south side(Moore, Norman area) was dead not much development and was kinda laid back, except for your college kids in norman. Flash forward to 2010. Crossroads is shut down. but Moore has a state of the art movie palace and shopping palaces sprouting up everywhere along with restaurants. Norman also has just built the same thing on the west side of i-35. Up north they still probably have more money(maybe) and what use to be a great mall in quail springs is gone straight to hell with hoodlums and anything near 122nd and penn aka the village is just trash. Even the northwest expressway area has somewhat gone to hell. So are the sides changing or am i just imagining things?

I live in Moore which by the way was just named "Oklahomas Most Affordable Suburb" and love it. I moved here from Edmond in 2004 to be closer to my job in Norman, the growth here in the last six years has been explosive. I can shop, dine and play in the Moore / Normam area without ever having to go into Okc. The one exception to that rule is going to the Okc Thunder games. I am not saying one side north / south is better than the other but I do enjoy living south more than north.

I live in a neighborhood touching lake Hefner. The parks surrounding Hefner are amazing.

I think the area is nice. Never have I had a single problem with the Section 8 apartments touching my neighborhood. I moved here from downtown and I've been impressed.

Moore's nice also. I'm just much more familiar with the north side of town. I'll likely never live south of the river.

oh geez, do we really need a thread like this?

No Metro, not sure we do other than to revive old fractures in the city that have been healing in recent years.

agreed, what's the point in rehasing old biases that are dying?

Since I moved here in '78, I've always been a north-sider, with the only exception being a (thankfully) brief stint in Del City. I've never really understood what people had against the south side though (except in a joking manner). I've been in some really nice areas south of the river and like was stated above, Moore has really just exploded over the last few years. Maybe the south side was a bad area at one time?

Not that this answers the question, but I do believe the Oklahoma City zip code representing the most money per household is on the south side, but I have lived on the north side my entire life.

(Plus, Brian Walters and Sally Kern represent areas on the south so......)

But please, oh please, oh please, oh please...can we let this question be put to rest.

bronchoman, your initial comment shows that there's more in common between south and north than ever before - both are seeing areas that sprawled in the 1960s and 1970s in decline. That means that north and south share a common challenge - and a common opportunity to make things better by having better control on future sprawl, stopping the decline, and using revival of the historic core (Capitol Hill to NW 23) to bring back the oldest parts of the city with downtown being the heart of it all.
Moderators, I propose renaming this thread "northside and southside share common challenges and opportunities in 2010."

bronchoman, your initial comment shows that there's more in common between south and north than ever before - both are seeing areas that sprawled in the 1960s and 1970s in decline. That means that north and south share a common challenge - and a common opportunity to make things better by having better control on future sprawl, stopping the decline, and using revival of the historic core (Capitol Hill to NW 23) to bring back the oldest parts of the city with downtown being the heart of it all.
Moderators, I propose renaming this thread "northside and southside share common challenges and opportunities in 2010." Agreed..

I was born on the north grew up on the north still live on the north

The south is to far of a drive and I went down there yesterday to get one of my rims fixed on 29th and I thought I was in San Antonio, not to be negative I like diversity
But I did not know it was like that it was on gangland and everything. You got to take the good with the bad. I have did that all my life I lived in north highlands and went to ( The REAL)John Marshall high school it was pretty violent but we brought so many state championships to the north side that they renamed the street State Championship drive.

And I also lived off of council and NW exwy and went to PCO it wasnt violent with gangs but I know of 2 kids that comitted suicide while I was enrolled there for a year and drugs were out of control.

the northside has better malls, dining options , and oh yeah diffently hospitals

I wish we could claim the THUNDER but I think the Ford Center is on the southside (bummer) !!!!


Northside all day!!!!!

Northsider I can sympathize with you about the south side. You see I grew up on the southside not too far from where you were at on 29th street. Although it was bad back in those days it has only gotten worse and on the few occasions I find myself in that area I feel like I am in a foreign country. We lived in an older neighborhood and had probably one of the nicest houses in the area which made us a target for every burglar in the area. We had a two and a half story home, we put burglar bars on all the windows and doors on the first level with an alarm system. The straw that broke the camels back was when they bypassed our alarm and burglar bars by kicking in a panel out of a door, careful to not open the door, went in to this storage room moved the deep freeze and cut out a 2' x 4' section of wall that seperated this room from a bedroom. It was the only door on the first floor w/o burglar bars, they crawled through the hole they made disabled the alarm system and ransacked our house. Needless to say we moved not too long after that and have never looked back. I do have a lot of fond memories growing up on the southside but I don't miss the crime.

From what I've read here, you'd think the northside is Paris and the southside is Johannesburg. It's just plain silly.

Seriously people. The north and south sides of OKc really aren't that much different.

i actually think the northside does have more options than the south side. As a young african american the crap i hear about the northside getting bad is all well somewhat racial. i hear people say my god quail springs mall or the walmart on 122nd and penn is all hoodlums. And of course what do i see at night in both those places is young blacks like i never saw before before 5 yrs ago. Why? Unfortunately if you folks havent heard they are cleaning up the ne side and pushing my folks more northwest towards the quail, village areas. Then i hear a guy on local radio news a few weeks ago say he loves it in moore because its less diverse lol wow wow. Which yea yea i know once you git moore into norman you dont get as much diversity especially blacks unles you run into the ou football team in norman. So honestly with that earlier post about coming south and it being like san antonio(aka another way for him to say too many hispanics). So what is it, lets complain about the northside going down hill because too many blacks are up that way now, or lets stay way south because we can stay away from the diversity here in moore or norman.

House District 84, represented by Sally Kern, does not extend south of NW 10th, and along its eastern edge (Meridian, more or less) it extends all the way north to 63rd.

Some southsider.

As a kid, I lived on the far NE side of town, past I35. Pretty area.

By the time I was twenty, I had moved to the far W side of town and lived there over twenty years. I didn't have any reason to go to the south side of town other than to drive down I35 to get to Norman. Even then, I usually would drive to Sooner and then south.

We've been gone back east for ten years and just moved back. OMG, the changes! We are now living on far SW OKC, towards Mustang and I am getting the opportunity to see the southside. I am super impressed. I don't much care for the area between I240 and I40 but the area south of I240 has just about anything I could want and I can take the backroads to get around.

House District 84, represented by Sally Kern, does not extend south of NW 10th, and along its eastern edge (Meridian, more or less) it extends all the way north to 63rd.

Man, if I lived just a few blocks to the west, I'd be in her district. I don't know if I should be elated that I'm not or pissed that I can't help vote that bitch out of office.

From what I've read here, you'd think the northside is Paris and the southside is Johannesburg. It's just plain silly.

Seriously people. The north and south sides of OKc really aren't that much different.

Johannesburg is nice. I went to SA for Spring Break my senior year. What an amazing, heartwarming place.

Elsewhere in Africa is very bad..

Enough with the North VS South., Every area of this Great City has something to offer and just because one group may have a higher income, that doesn't make them a better citizen or their "SIDE" of town a better neighborhood.

Southside trash here an always will be. I was raised southside an this is my home. I live by Willow Creek Golf course off I-240 & Penn. This area was built in 1957 and still has nice big homes all around the golf course. These older homes are holding the $100.000 value in this area, no trashy homes or illegals. I-240 has a lot of new business and restaurants, my favorite Chick-Fil- A.

Anytime we see a thread with "vs" in it, we should delete it.

Enough with the North VS South., Every area of this Great City has something to offer and just because one group may have a higher income, that doesn't make them a better citizen or their "SIDE" of town a better neighborhood.

Agree 110%! I get so tired of the pointless sniping from these kinds of conversations. There's simply no value to it...I say, "diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks' and 'live and let live'.

die thread die!!!!!!

SS is great if you are looking for girls who will crawl through a drive through window to get you food

Gosh, guys, compared to the politics thread, every single post here is like pillow talk.

Amateurs!!

Why is everyone so opposed to talking about the south side? Go look at the MAPS 3 election returns and you will notice something is fishy on the south side..

Enough with the North VS South., Every area of this Great City has something to offer and just because one group may have a higher income, that doesn't make them a better citizen or their "SIDE" of town a better neighborhood.

Equal in the same way that this:

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/05/4dec_12_opt.jpg

equals this:

http://www.gruce.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/bmw-next-generation.jpg

Both have four wheels and will get you from point A to point B, but aside from that they're fairly distinct.

Living on southside SUCKS!

It used to be nice, with full plazas giving homes to various retail outlets.

Now it is just full of empty plazas, with bingo halls that keep them afloat, while the plaza owners sit on degrading property, they refuse to upgrade to bring new business.

We have a dying mall, due to greedy owners who refused to upgrade the mall, even at the request of the merchants, who were paying high rent in a place that has virtually went unchanged, since it opened in 1974.

I don't think southside has anything good going for it, with many empty plazas, and a dead mall.

Notice how all the good stores are everywhere in OKC, except for southside?

Please don't call cheap strip malls "plazas"

die thread die!!!!!!

Agree. If there's a thread you don't like, the best way to make it go away is to post in it as much as possible.

agree. If there's a thread you don't like, the best way to make it go away is to post in it as much as possible.

lol!

Notice how all the good stores are everywhere in OKC, except for southside?

What on earth good stores are you speaking of? Wal-Mart Super Center? OKC has done a magnificent job of attracting those by the several dozen... I don't know of any other "good stores" though. Maybe Apple Store? That seems to be the top of the line for OKC..

With the down turn in the economy it seems that a lot more homes are on the market on the northside of town compared to the south....

From someone who has lived in 'Westmoore' (104th S. Penn) and Edmond (150th and N. Western) within the last five years here is my observation between the two.

-Edmond has few more trees and some areas are slightly hilly.


But that's only in older neighborhoods, in the new developments the landscape is as flat and treeless as the other parts of town. What Ive never understood is how someone can purchase a 200k house in Edmond and they are 'rich', but if someone buys a 200k house in Moore they are 'poor'???? If I had to choose between which one offered quieter evenings, less congestion, and slightly better quality of life I would recommend Westmoore(and i dont even live there anymore). For the record, I have had decent interactions with neighbors at both locations, but a lot of people in north okc have that 'heavily medicated 'feel to them if you know what i mean.

Two cents - Threads like this really do go no where, just live in which one offers the easiest commute to you.

The places I like to shop -

- Buckle
- Abercrombie
- Hollister
- LEGO Store

Are nowhere to be found here on southside. Question? Why won't they put those franchises on southside, instead of northside, Quail, and Norman? Bet no one can give an answer to that one.

Why is our mall dying, while Quail, Penn, and even Sooner, are thriving and getting the upgrades they need?

Why is Toys R Us bailing on southside, while locations in Norman, Quail, and soon Moore, will remain?

Why doesn't southside OKC have a Super Target, but every other location is a Super Target?

Why was northside chosen for the location of Incredible Pizza?

Why doesn't southside OKC have a Vintage Stock (a really cool store)?

Why along NW Expressway, are the developments mainly restaurants and retail, while southside is getting overpopulated with carlots?

Why does Walnut Squares buildings sit empty, or full of useless businesses, while other locations are being built with cool retail in mind? I see a huge building that used to be the old Walmart, then grocery store, sit empty for near 10-11 years.

Almonte plaza is filled with a peasy doctors office, bingo hall, and a cricket mobile and nail shop.

Dodsons plaza sits and rots with a daycare (?) and Rent-a-Center, across the street from a insane asylum.

Heck, even a new "strip mall" like 240 Penn Park, which was open in 2006, has a vacant building for a little over a year (what used to be Circuit City).

We don't have Warren theatres on southside, we only have AMC, which used to be Regal, and that place looks like it is falling apart. They can't even fix their lighting.

We don't have movie theatres inside our mall, with 24 screens to boot, and even a bootleg IMAX screen.

There are even rumors of Best Buy moving once their lease is up, as the only thing that surrounds them, is old Firestone tire shops that sit empty, a stupid votech college, and a place (the mall) that everyone wishes would turn into a government run complex (useless for turning southside into anything worthwhile).

Now please, without arguing and mudflinging, give me a logical reason to think southside OKC has made any progress?

We're the slums of this city. The compton of California. The ghetto. Only reason we got a Chick-fil-A, is because they were afraid the mall one was going to falter.

So what's our nice retail selection? Dollar Tree? Family Dollar? Hancock Fabrics?

We don't even get a Jack in the Box on southside. Only in Moore, Norman, and on I-40, in that shopping center that used to be a huge field, where I thought they would never build something of that nature, because to me, that was the slummy area. NOPE! Just southside OKC. Where we deserve nothing.

Now prove me wrong...

EDIT: Where's our bookstore? No Borders. No Barnes and Noble. Why does every location but us, have one? We recently lost our only bookstore, which was Waldenbooks, which was inside a dying mall.

The places I like to shop -

- Buckle
- Abercrombie
- Hollister
- LEGO Store

Are nowhere to be found here on southside. Question? Why won't they put those franchises on southside, instead of northside, Quail, and Norman? Bet no one can give an answer to that one.

Why is our mall dying, while Quail, Penn, and even Sooner, are thriving and getting the upgrades they need?

Why is Toys R Us bailing on southside, while locations in Norman, Quail, and soon Moore, will remain?

Why doesn't southside OKC have a Super Target, but every other location is a Super Target?

Why was northside chosen for the location of Incredible Pizza?

Why doesn't southside OKC have a Vintage Stock (a really cool store)?

Why along NW Expressway, are the developments mainly restaurants and retail, while southside is getting overpopulated with carlots?

Why does Walnut Squares buildings sit empty, or full of useless businesses, while other locations are being built with cool retail in mind? I see a huge building that used to be the old Walmart, then grocery store, sit empty for near 10-11 years.

Almonte plaza is filled with a peasy doctors office, bingo hall, and a cricket mobile and nail shop.

Dodsons plaza sits and rots with a daycare (?) and Rent-a-Center, across the street from a insane asylum.

Heck, even a new "strip mall" like 240 Penn Park, which was open in 2006, has a vacant building for a little over a year (what used to be Circuit City).

We don't have Warren theatres on southside, we only have AMC, which used to be Regal, and that place looks like it is falling apart. They can't even fix their lighting.

We don't have movie theatres inside our mall, with 24 screens to boot, and even a bootleg IMAX screen.

There are even rumors of Best Buy moving once their lease is up, as the only thing that surrounds them, is old Firestone tire shops that sit empty, a stupid votech college, and a place (the mall) that everyone wishes would turn into a government run complex (useless for turning southside into anything worthwhile).

Now please, without arguing and mudflinging, give me a logical reason to think southside OKC has made any progress?

We're the slums of this city. The compton of California. The ghetto. Only reason we got a Chick-fil-A, is because they were afraid the mall one was going to falter.

So what's our nice retail selection? Dollar Tree? Family Dollar? Hancock Fabrics?

We don't even get a Jack in the Box on southside. Only in Moore, Norman, and on I-40, in that shopping center that used to be a huge field, where I thought they would never build something of that nature, because to me, that was the slummy area. NOPE! Just southside OKC. Where we deserve nothing.

Now prove me wrong... Perhaps it is due to changing demographics? Maybe a certain type of target demographic that does not exist on the SS? I really do not now what the issue is regarding Southside since I was born and raised on the Northside. I know that the Southside is very working class, blue collar types which "nothing is wrong with this" because people will always need plumbers, electricians etc... I also realize there are professionals that do reside on the Southside of OKC. I do have to admit that shopping, dining out and attractions are more prevelant on the Northside. Borders Books and Barnes and Noble, Banana Republic, J Crew, Mr. Ooleys, Balliets Apple, Lego etc.. all have an indeliable foothold on the Northside. Also, there is Nichols Hills, Crown Heights, Edgemere Park, Mesta Park, Heritage Hills, Lake Aluma, Gallardia and Edmond all on the Northside of the Metro which accounts for alot of wealthy citizens. Do you think the Southside would support these types of stores? Since I no longer reside in OKC I personally cannot give an answer to that one??

Yes, I think southside could support anything, if the motivation was there by strip mall (plaza) owners to modernize their plazas.

When we got Chick-fil-A, that place was packed for weeks, and still gets very packed, which means that people here, can fork over at least 7 bucks for one meal, but we all know it is above 10 bucks, because not many people eat alone.

We got American Eagle in Crossroads Mall, and it was always busy inside there, before the mall flat out went downhill.

240 Penn Park was packed for weeks, and I always see full parking lots, for people going to Old Navy (one place I never expected to see on southside), Marshalls, Pier 1, and what used to be Circuit City.

The problem with southside, is that people who own plazas/strip malls, refuse to put any money into beefing the area up. I have stated time and time again, that they will sit on the money the bingo halls bring them, and retire on that, not giving a care in the world, what they could do with some rennovating, and attracting new business.

240 Penn Park filled up quick, and with good reason. It was new. It was modern. It didn't look rundown.

Walnut Square, where Big Lots, FYE, and Olive Garden is, always sits mainly empty. Another stupid little crap college is in place, which doesn't help bring new business. It only helps people get careers, so they can bail the hell out of what many call a, "flyover state, where everything closes early, tons of bible thumpers live, and buses don't even run past 7 pm." Really, many people in my life think that about this city/state.

Here's how I would do things, had I ran this city and had a say-so.

All plaza owners must either rennovate theior plazas, making them more modern/not rundown, so that new businesses will come to southside, and if they don't abide, the city will buy the land from them, to rennovate in order to attract business. Remember, when areas get more modern, and new businesses come, the property and the property around them skyrocket in value. Sometimes I think, it also puts motivation in surrounding areas, to keep the area looking better, and people with higher standards end up moving into said locations. I mean people are living more on northside/Quail/Edmond/Moore/Norman for a reason.

Then I would try and lure places wanting to move, to move into newer plazas.

Toys R Us, wouldn't seek to move, if their presence was known. There's no signs on the highway stating that a TRU is right off the 66th exit, so who knows it's there? Something hiding behind some call center is surely not going to attract business.

The perfect place for TRU to relocate, could be a rennovated Walnut Square, in that HUGE building that was a grocery store. Look at the Conn's building. Once I saw that being built, I kept thinking, now what if the whole plaza looked like that? It would attract attention.

I would entice someone to build on the land where Harrigans used to be, in hopes that others follow.

In 240 Penn Park, I would try and lure Best Buy to move into an albeit smaller location, instead of just closing down, and relying on north/Quail/Edmond/Moore/Norman locations to keep them afloat, while they shun southside, along with anyone else who is moving.

Point blank, I would tell these lazy asses who think more about money, and laziness, than fixing up their plaza, to modernize and give new life, potentially, to southside OKC, to handle their responsibilities, or get the hell out of dodge, and not let the door hit them on the way out.

I mean hell, there's still a movie theatre in Almonte, that's been closed since at least 1999, that could be rennovated and turned into another dollar theatre. Those bring business. Yet it sits unused.

There is a reason why southside doesn't see stores like JCP, Dillards, Hollister, Buckle, Lego store, and all the stores the person before me listed... It isn't the area... It's how the area is treated in looks, that makes the retailers run away.

240 Penn Park was attracting new business. Crossroads mall was losing it. What's the difference? One was modern. One had the same floors from the day it opened in 1974.

We perfectly supported Dillards, JCP, and continue to support TRU and Best Buy, CC, and other businesses in 240 Penn Park. However, they ran because nothing outside of 240 Penn Park, has been keeping up with the times. That's why Dillards and JCP bailed to Moore, and stayed put in PSM and QSM, but are no longer on southside.

If southside doesn't clean up the area, we will continue to lose more than we gain.

It amazes me the lack of perspective people can have.

I don't really think any one part of the city is particularly overly nice, or has any world-class attractions or stores for that matter.

Someone from the North Side travels to SW 29th and thinks that is the entire South Side. Brilliant. Someone from the South Side travels to NE 23rd and Lottie at 2 a.m. and thinks that is the North Side. Equally brilliant.

Edmond is no better. The same person claiming how wonderfully luxurious Edmond is typically is also buying .99 cent bologna at Wal-Mart and getting a $10 haircut down the road. It is all very laughable, and it is like watching two poor kids trying to beat each other up while arguing over who has the better family.

This city is 80% corrugated metal, Wal-Marts, and blown-out car washes. The remaining 20%, which is spread all around town, is livable. The sooner you all come to grips with that, the quicker we can move forward and try to start making things better for everyone.

^^^Dismayed hit the nail square on the head! Perfect analysis.

"...two poor kids [arguing over who's family is better]..." LOL BRILLIANT, yet totally embarrassing to watch them make fools of themselves.

What Ive never understood is how someone can purchase a 200k house in Edmond and they are 'rich', but if someone buys a 200k house in Moore they are 'poor'????.



Someone from the North Side travels to SW 29th and thinks that is the entire South Side. Brilliant. Someone from the South Side travels to NE 23rd and Lottie at 2 a.m. and thinks that is the North Side. Equally brilliant.

Edmond is no better. The same person claiming how wonderfully luxurious Edmond is typically is also buying .99 cent bologna at Wal-Mart and getting a $10 haircut down the road. It is all very laughable, and it is like watching two poor kids trying to beat each other up while arguing over who has the better family.




^^^Dismayed hit the nail square on the head! Perfect analysis.

"...two poor kids [arguing over who's family is better]..." LOL BRILLIANT, yet totally embarrassing to watch them make fools of themselves.

I think some of us get it, I wish more okc residents could. When I first moved and people asked where i moved from I had someone comment ' you used to live there?' as if it was something bad. The bad thing about most edmond / nothside residents is that they know nothing of the town besides whats in their community. I think if they ever drove down there and saw the area they would be surprised that in a lot of cases its nicer than there side of town.

Business is going to go where it looks like it will succeed. If chain stores (restaurants, book stores, department stores) are putting their stores in some places and not in others, chances are it is more what the numbers are showing than the personal opinions of a northsider vs. a southsider.

When I read suggestions that certain shop owners should be made to spruce of their places, I have to shake my head. That person has absolutely no idea how business works. They aren't in the business, most of them, to raise the water level in the area. They are simply spending what they have to still make a profit. There is no bottomless sack of money to do that. Moreover, people will avoid crime ridden areas because people with money avoid them and insurance is higher. There is a certain amount of taking into consideration who will come to a business that has to factor in the area's reputation, certainly. A lot of places aren't going to get built up if they have a reputation for crime and failure. The best thing to do in those areas is for the community to shop near home, keep things clean and support civic improvements. Bitching that another part of town is not coming because they are snooty is a waste of time. That does NOT mean, you don't talk up your area of town and show pride in it to whomever will listen.

Apparently when people discuss the North side, they forget how much of it is ghetto.

North includes EVERYTHING north of Reno...not the river. That includes all that crap on the west and nw side. Miles of old houses that are barely able to stand. Old businesses from the 30's that haven't been touched since then that.....barely stand up. Hell, take a look over by OCU and you can count the crack houses on each street. You have to go WAAAAAAAY to the north or NW to get to the nice stuff...basically on the other side of the NW Exway/44.

So it does bug me that people say the south side is so crappy and the north is soooo good. They both have their areas of good and bad. The SW and SE sides are nice areas. South Central is more economically deprived because it's the oldest area....socioeconomics 101 boys and girls.

To each his own folks. Some people think if you don't live in Edmond, you live in crap. I'd rather shoot myself in the foot than live in Edmond.

Any big metro are will have its rich spots, and ghetto spots, that is what people are failing to realize. When you have a metro population of over 1 million people, you can't expect every part of the city to be developed, with nice retail outlets, restaurants and homes. There is always going to be an economic development gap in any metro area.

Secondly, people are getting this whole thread mixed up, the thread starter was talking about Northside (Edmond) vs. Southside(Moore-Norman), not North OKC vs. South OKC, there's a big difference.

Having lived in all four quadrants, I can say only this: "Meh."

[QUOTE=windowphobe;314292]Having lived in all four quadrants, I can say only this: "Meh."[/QUWow!!!!!:doh::doh:

Now prove me wrong...

EDIT: Where's our bookstore? No Borders. No Barnes and Noble. Why does every location but us, have one? We recently lost our only bookstore, which was Waldenbooks, which was inside a dying mall.

NewsOK (http://www.newsok.com/article/3452814?searched=half%20price%20books&custom_click=search)