I would say these, in order, are our closest matches for a sister city.

Fort Worth
Omaha
Nashville
Phoenix
Memphis
San Antonio
Denver




Thoughts on Omaha, Nashville, and Phoenix? I am curious how those will fly...

Omaha? I would say hopefully not...I don't think Omaha is up to OKC's level just yet.

I think the closest matches would be San Antonio, Fort Worth, and Memphis.

Phoenix is similarly sprawling, and Nashville's about the right size, but I think Omaha; it's got the same sort of near-Western twang, it's got the same sort of balance between rebuilding the old and spreading out with the new, and its educational rep is based on a collection of smaller schools rather than on one big one.

Besides, if we took Fort Worth, we'd be looking for a Dallas.

Omaha? I would say hopefully not...I don't think Omaha is up to OKC's level just yet.

Been there once or twice, not lately or in the last 5 months though.

They aren't quite up to our level of cityness yet, but they are very advanced for only 3/4 million people! Probably a Midwestern version of Little Rock.

Omaha has more of a Western twang, like we do, which is why I would bring them up rather than Little Rock.

Aren't "sister cities" usually international? To answer my own question, yes they are.

Here are a list of pairings in the state of Oklahoma according to the Oklahoma Department of Commerce:

Oklahoma's Sister City Pairings
The interesting thing is after a sister program pairing is put into play, it often develops a history and lifeline all its own. In several instances, it is almost as if the paired cities truly are “blood relatives” because of the coincidences and situations that connect the two communities.

Following are the Oklahoma cities and their international counterparts that enjoy a sister city relationship:

Broken Arrow
La Ceba, Honduras

Claremore
Murvlenko, Russia

Grove
Pursuing Miyama, Japan

Lawton
Guillesheim, Germany

Norman
Clermont-Ferrand, France
Colima, Mexico
Seika, Japan (Friendship City)

Oklahoma City
Haikou City, China
Puebla, Mexico
Tainan, Taiwan
Taipei, Taiwan
Yehud, Israel
Ulyanovsk, Russia
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Pawhuska
Montauban, France

Ponca City
Baiyin, Gansu Province, China

Shawnee
Nikaho, Japan

Stillwater
Kameoka, Japan

Stroud
Stroud, Australia
Stroud, Canada
Stroud, England

Tahlequah
Aruba, the Netherlands Antilles

Tulsa
Beihai, China
Celle, Germany
Kaohsiung, Taiwan
San Luis Potosi, Mexico
Tiberias, Israel
Utsunomiya, Japan
Zelenograd, Russia

Yukon
Krnov, Czech Republic

For more information:
http://www.okcommerce.gov/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=353&Itemid=97

Well, the next time we want someone to tell us that OKC and Taipei, or OKC and Rio de Janeiro are very simillar, we'll give Midtowner a call at 405-640-CRAP!

Actually, my fiance is from Taiwan (Tainan) and I can say that OKC is very similar to Tainan, just not quite as old. Not too similar to congested, dense Taipei tho but usually sister cities are more of gesture to spur ideals more than finding similar cities.

OKC should look to bigger international cities, thats where the dollars are, thats where the commerce is, they are also cities we would like to use as gateways for OKC goods and services and vice versa. And on that note, Taipei and Rio are fine sister cities for OKC.

Tulsa looks to Kaohsiung for the obvious reason, it is the third largest port in the world! Otherwise, not much in common. Seattle has Kobe Japan and Seoul Korea, similar in some ways but not too similar, esp heavily congested Seoul.

Vancouver BC has Kaohsiung as a sister, a more obvious comparison there as both are very very similar and big trading partners! Also Guangzhou China and Hong Kong and Los Angeles.

Lots of cities have similar sisters, it helps the world go round.

As for sister American cities, I vote for DENVER and PORTLAND and Richmond for OKCs sister cities.

Well, the next time we want someone to tell us that OKC and Taipei, or OKC and Rio de Janeiro are very simillar, we'll give Midtowner a call at 405-640-CRAP!

Oh your wit and cleverness know no bounds! Just kidding.

But please refer your remarks to the Oklahoma Department of Commerce. It's their list, not mine. Had you bothered to check that link, you would have seen that along with how we come to call them "sister cities".

Sooner, I think this is a good list to compare OKC. Since I am in FTW and have been to OKC many times I like that comparison. Nashville is good too. I did not like the San Antonio comparison. Sanan's pop is twice OKC's. Both DT's have river/canal areas but Sanan has a huge tourist economy DT. I have never been to Omaha or Phoenix so no opinion there. What about Kansas City??

But please refer your remarks to the Oklahoma Department of Commerce. It's their list, not mine. Had you bothered to check that link, you would have seen that along with how we come to call them "sister cities".

Indeed. Its your government that made the list. Midtowner was just educating all of us.

Indeed. Its your government that made the list. Midtowner was just educating all of us.

Exactly. I can make no apologies for people with medical degrees that can't read.

;)

Midtowner, your a genius. Your humor is delightful

FYI..Omaha's metro population is now over 800K. 200,000 larger than Little Rock and really of the same size and scope as Tulsa (without the anti-OKC bias). I am interested in reading more OKC opinion on Omaha in this thread..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

FYI..Omaha's metro population is now over 800K. 200,000 larger than Little Rock and really of the same size and scope as Tulsa (without the anti-OKC bias). I am interested in reading more OKC opinion on Omaha in this thread..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

I'm also interested in reading more about Omaha. To be real honest with you Omaha Cowboy, some of us here just aren't that familiar with Omaha, myself included.

Never been to Omaha, so I really can't compare the two - I'm sure it's a nice place. People usually are fond of the place they call home.

Sooner, I think this is a good list to compare OKC. Since I am in FTW and have been to OKC many times I like that comparison. Nashville is good too. I did not like the San Antonio comparison. Sanan's pop is twice OKC's. Both DT's have river/canal areas but Sanan has a huge tourist economy DT. I have never been to Omaha or Phoenix so no opinion there. What about Kansas City??

KC is typically Tulsa's Sister City.

Sanan's metro population is about the same as OKC's.

Oh, and Taipei has the world's tallest tower for goodness' sakes! Grow a brain... :congrats:


Also, Richmond makes sense. But Portland? :LolLolLol Come on!!!

A few other cities that are similar in MSA size:

Charlotte
Louisville
Jacksonville
Salt Lake City
Birmingham


I like the Charlotte comparison, at least as a target for our aspirations.

Salt Lake? Hell yes!

Jaxville? Eh... they're more like Atlanta and Charlotte, which is also a no.

Louisville for sure.

B'ham? Are you sure--I mean, the Ham is an awfully slummy city!

Omaha and Tulsa are a lot alike, both have done well with maintaining the midtown areas. Tulsa has a larger and more modern downtown (for office space) and Omaha doesn’t have anything like Tulsa’s art deco but then Tulsa doesn’t have a developed downtown district like Omaha’s. The cities of Omaha and Tulsa look a lot alike too, but Tulsa’s suburbs are more sprawling and not as evenly developed as Omaha’s ‘burbs, that’s a plus for Omaha, Tulsa seems a little wealthier, both in the city and in the suburbs. The biggest appearance difference is that most homes, especially newer homes, in Tulsa are brick and most in Omaha are siding, that may be a lot reason for more of a feeling of wealth in Tulsa. Omaha overall feels more compact, but not smaller, it’s a very nice town. Tulsa doesn’t have snow lanes, that’s going to be a plus for Tulsa. I don’t know that Omaha has much of a western flair like has been posted here, maybe some? The one big difference is that Omaha is not very diverse at all, it’s kinda weird being there, almost every single person you see is white.

To be honest, Tulsa seems wealthier than 99.9% of the city's I have been in.

Now, even though Charlotte is not THAT wealthy, it is VERY simillar to Tulsa.

Omaha's African-American metro population is over 60,000..Hispanic is now nearly 50,000. Omaha also has perhaps the largest Sudanese population of any US city at nearly 10,000..

Omahan is every bit as diverse as OKC or Tulsa and has maintained a significant African-American popultion since the early 1900's..

Like most any city like Omaha/Tulsa/OKC, if you stayed mainly in the wealthy 'Burbs, you see mainly white people..But if you were to travel to South Omaha/North Omaha/Downtown Omaha/or the near south side..You would mainly see people of color..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

Well, my first look at Omaha was on the north side, up by Malcolm X's birthplace, and it disabused me of any notion that it was some sort of white-bread burg. (Oklahoma City has a similar, and similarly undeserved, reputation.)

Exactly windowphobe!..Omaha is not only the birthplace of Malcom X, but is also hometown to many famous African-American athletes including NFL Hall of Famer Gayle Sayers, MLB Hall of Famer Bob Gibson, 1972 Heisman Trophy winner and former NU great Johnny Rodgers, NFL RB Ahman Green, 1960 Olympic Gold Medalist and basketball great Bob Boozer, NBA statdout Ron Boone and so on..

In fact, Johnny Rodgers, Bob Gibson and Ahman Green still live in Omaha and can be seen doing frequent local TV commercial spots..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

So let me get this right Omaha Cowboy, you are bragging about being the birthplace of Malcom X?

That's like Lawton bragging about being the birthplace of the Sooner&RiceGrad! Just kiddin!

But serously.

Not braggin, just informing..

And Malcom X is internationally known..And I was born in Omaha too..Greatness abounds lol..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

Well... Malcom X was an extremist to say the least. I am not really proud of him... but then again, I am sure noone here in OKC is proud of Timothy McVeigh.

In Lawton we have a road named after Malcom X--infact it is on the north side of the base!... talk about weird, LOL.

As a life long resident of the great city if Omaha I think I should let you all in on how the city really is.

City of Omaha population: 412,347
Omaha Metro: 850,00
Omaha-Lincoln area: 1,131,000

Omaha has 5 Fortune 500 companies. Union Pacific (ever seen a train), Conagra (ever eaten), Mutual Of Omaha (are you insured, hopefully my next employer), Peter Kiewit, and the richest Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffet's company. Omaha has tons of other companies but those are the richest.

Omaha is a very dense city. Even the suburbs aren't sprawled out that much. So being in a dense city the traffic commutes are much shorter. You can get from DT Omaha to some of the furthest parts of the city (222nd St +) in less than half an hour.

You guys said something about Omaha having a western twang. I don't know if you're talking about how we talk but we don't have any accent. In fact that's why we have tons of telecommunication jobs because people can understand us. Omaha is a midwestern city. It reminds me of Chicago and STL the way it's layed out. DT is in the center and it's surrounded by ethnic hoods to the north, south and west. (East is Iowa). And radiating further you find older neighborhoods with old mansions and still very diverse. Then the further out you go you get more suburban but that's the same in any city.

Also some of you questioned how diverse Omaha was. Omaha has one of the largest Sudanese populations in the country. South Omaha was once Polish but is now Mexican. The signs are in Spanish, there are mexican grocery stores, and every Cinco de Mayo (May 5th) there is a large celebration of the Mexican Independance with parades, mariachis, dances, and traditional foods.

Downtown has a population just over 6,000 and is expected to be around 10,000 byt 2010. On a certain subject of interest for me is the Qwest Center. The Qwest Center is an arena and convention center and are the only arena and convention center in the country that share a continuous floor. The arena seats 16,200 for Basketball and 17,260 max for concerts. The arena has only been open for 2 years but was the 7th most profitable arena in the world. The arena will be expanded by 2,000-2,500 seats in 2006 due to an open area in the upper bowl bringing the totals to 18,200-18,700 for basketball and 19,260-19,760. Creighton Basketball and UNO hockey are the main tenants.


I had pictures to go along with my post but it wouldn't allow me w/o admin approval so ... Please let me post some pics :)

You go OMA Luv!..

Don't forget the high end retail in thw western Omaha suburbs..

Good to see Omaha representin' on an OKC forum!..

PS-Actually today, the preachings of Malcom X are much more widely accepted even by some mainstream americans. And I am a catholic lol..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

Welcome to OKC Talk, Oma luv, Omaha Cowboy!

Anyway, please don't try to tell me that any "CMSA" exists between Omaha and Lincoln. It don't. But then again... last time I checked Paine County was part of ours--so go ahead.

But, if you are at 200+ Street, in a city with less than 500,000 people, and are talking about hopw sprawl free your city is--there is bound to be flying pigs all around you.

We have sprawl, we are the poster child of sprawl--yet, do we really care? Scratch that, some on here do, but I sure don't. I see sprawl as something that gives Oklahomans their peace of mind, low cost of living, and top rated suburbs.

Actually, Oklahoma City already HAS a sister city. It is in Japan. I think it is Kobe, but I am not sure.

Thank you for the welcome Sonner&Rice Grad!..

In Omaha (like OKC), if you are hanging out in the more affluent suburban areas, you will not be exposed to many people of color..However North Omaha/South Omaha/Downtown etc you will see a majority of people of color..Omaha is every bit as diverse as OKC or Tulsa..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

Actually, Oklahoma City already HAS a sister city. It is in Japan. I think it is Kobe, but I am not sure.

We have several:

Haikou City, China;
Puebla, Mexico;
Tainan, Taiwan;
Taipei, Taiwan;
Yehud, Israel;
Ulyanovsk, Russia;
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

(copied & pasted from the Department of Commerce website)

To see how they are chosen and what other cities in Oklahoma have official sister cities, go here:

http://www.okcommerce.gov/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=353&Itemid=436

***
Long ago, we established that this thread was a fantasy that a few users cooked up, but since you bring up the validity of the thread, I'll say that you were right to do so -- I only felt it was necessary to bring it up once.

Now, I believe this thread was discussing "sister cities". What international cities (being international is a criterion for being called a sister city) are we like other than the ones that the Department of Commerce already lists?

Anyone?

Just curious but does anyone else have any other opinions or questions on Omaha?

Oma Luv, I really like the new highrise DT. COOL!!! I think it is the First National.

I really dislike having to ban members, however, I made my expectations clear in this post: http://www.okctalk.com/t2780-governor-watts.html

I also had the Terms Of Service updated to reflect the new expectations.

Three members were banned because of this thread alone. Hijacking threads and turning it into a homosexual or lifestyle issue WILL NOT be tolorated. You can run the subject in the ground in it's own thread. I have no issues with the subject itself. My ONLY goal is to keep the forum organized and on topic as best as possible.

Your cooperation is appreciated!

Because I felt this was a good thread at the start, I've edited out all of the homosexual hijacks and decided to reopen the thread. Please keep on the topic of OKC's sister cities without bringing religious and homosexual issues into this. If you want to discuss those issues, feel free to visit the Faith and Values forum!

Please take note of the new addendum to the TOS if you haven't seen it yet! Although we don't mind some tangents, we won't allow threads to be hijacked in the manner we saw here.

Thanks for your cooperation.

I actually have a question about Omaha....I don't know a lot about their minor league baseball facility, other than that the College World Series is typically played there. I'd lvoe to hear about it.

Also, what other sister cities do you think OKC is similar to? I still think Denver is a good comparison, although the landscape is drastically different.

Thank you, Patrick.

Okay, people, don't laugh at this one, but it deserves a mention because I have been looking at some of these midwestern cities such as Omaha.

In some aspects, Des Moines could be a sister city to Oklahoma City. Yes, Des Moines is much smaller in comparison, after all, a bit under 200,000 live in Des Moines proper. However, both are state capitals, both have struggled with image, and both are some of America's best kept secrets.

DSM? No!

DSM barely has 500,000 people, waaay less than half of our pop.

Actually DSM has no image problem, being Midwestern, and if you would visit the repulsive Des Moines urban forum at www.absolutedsm.com (http://www.absolutedsm.com) you would figure it out.

As far as US cities, I think of Omaha and Kansas City. Maybe Wichita.

Although all these cities including Oklahoma City are midwest, Omaha gives me the feeling it is a lot like Oklahoma City. The others are largely image. Kansas City and Wichita have a lot of people with southern traits. In other words, they suffer from a major image problem.

Your wrong, especially regarding that Wichita is a sister city to us (Maybe one of our duller suburbs is what you meant?) and also, KC has no image problem.

Omaha, yes, is a very possible candidate sister city for us, once you ignore the fact that we are much bigger. I still think Fort Worth, and inevitably Dallas, are our #1 match.

Nashville and Louisville certainly come close though!

Your wrong, especially regarding that Wichita is a sister city to us (Maybe one of our duller suburbs is what you meant?) and also, KC has no image problem.

Omaha, yes, is a very possible candidate sister city for us, once you ignore the fact that we are much bigger. I still think Fort Worth, and inevitably Dallas, are our #1 match.

Nashville and Louisville certainly come close though!

Hum. I bet you have never been to Wictita or Kansas City. They both have hicks running out of the woodwork. Personally, they remind me of Oklahoma City.

By the way. No one on this board is "wrong." You might disagree, but I am not "wrong."

Ahh, but I don't quote the posts above me!

Reguarding the Omaha Baseball question


Omaha is home to the Minor League Royals who's parent club is the KC Royals. They play at Rosenblatt which seats 25,000 and is also home to the College World Series. While Omaha does have the largest minor league stadium it doesn't need that much room. The Royals have been wanting a smaller stadium in the 10,000 range for some time now. They feel Rosenblatt's size kills the atmosphere of the games.

Supposedly the Royals and Creighton's basketball team are looking at building a joint stadium DT between the Qwest Center and CU's campus which are just about connected.

Thanks for the information. I can completely understand how the large size of Rosenblatt Stadium could kill the atmosphere. Looking back on things now, it makes me thanksful we downscaled Bricktown Ballpark from the original 15-16,000 seat facility originally proposed. We're lucky to fill the park we have. Simply put, there are a ton of games in a baseball season to try to fill.

That would be pretty interesting for the Omaha Royals to play in an indoor facility shared with a basketball team. I think it would be the only indoor minor league facility in the nation.

Your post kind of confused me Patrick. I meant the BASEball team not the basketball team. Oops! CU Baseball probably will get a new stadium just for them and the Royals would probably try to get in.

I thought that was odd, it would probably be the worlds first basketball/ baseball arena since basketball requires a much smaller court size.

Your post kind of confused me Patrick. I meant the BASEball team not the basketball team. Oops! CU Baseball probably will get a new stadium just for them and the Royals would probably try to get in.

Oh, that makes more sense. You said Creighton's Basketball team... I wondered how that would work! lol! Thanks for the clarification.

Sister cities shouldn't necessarily be limited to within the U.S. Internationally, two cities that are similar in size to OKC or Tulsa and that have similar economies based on oil and ranching are Edmonton (pop. 940,000) and Calgary (pop. 950,000), Alberta, Canada.

Omaha's actually getting Calgary's AHL team this year. Who are the Major League Affiliates for OKC's teams?

Oklahoma City's CHL Blazers (AA Hockey) are not affiliates of any major league teams. Our only major league affiliate team is the Oklahoma (City) RedHawks (AAA Baseball), farm team for the Texas Rangers. Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz af2 arena football team is not really an affiliate of any AFL team.

As far as US cities go, I would suggest Albuquirque-it's a similar size, we share some of the same western culture and an increasing amount of mexamerican culture, and we're both major cities on I-40 and before that, Route 66. (In the interest of full disclosure, I grew up in ABQ, so I have a certain fondness for it still. ) Another good candidate on pure demographic grounds is Portland, OR, which is almost a demographic twin of OKC. Memphis and Nashville are similar some ways, as is Richmond VA (although I lived in Richmond for a while, and I think it's more similar to Tulsa: image problems, a troubled downtown, racial tension, similar size, good architecture, and a scenic river...Richmond is more lively and interesting than Tulsa, though; it's maybe a better guide for them than OKC to emulate, since Tulsa and OKC are so different).

Anyway, here's my list of similar cities:

Albuquirque, NM
Portland, OR
Louisville, KY
Kansas City, MO

As far as US cities go, I would suggest Albuquirque-it's a similar size, we share some of the same western culture and an increasing amount of mexamerican culture, and we're both major cities on I-40 and before that, Route 66. (In the interest of full disclosure, I grew up in ABQ, so I have a certain fondness for it still. ) Another good candidate on pure demographic grounds is Portland, OR, which is almost a demographic twin of OKC. Memphis and Nashville are similar some ways, as is Richmond VA (although I lived in Richmond for a while, and I think it's more similar to Tulsa: image problems, a troubled downtown, racial tension, similar size, good architecture, and a scenic river...Richmond is more lively and interesting than Tulsa, though; it's maybe a better guide for them than OKC to emulate, since Tulsa and OKC are so different).

Anyway, here's my list of similar cities:

Albuquirque, NM
Portland, OR
Louisville, KY
Kansas City, MO


OKC is more than twice as big as Albuquerque, city and metro - either comparison. I dont think ABQ is a good candidate BUT I do think Portland OR is probably the closest in comparison to OKC demo wise - as you indicated. This is sort of funny, since PDX is more or less a west coast/coastal city and OKC is in the southern great plains. But when you look at the demographics, VERY VERY SIMILAR.

Actually, city pop is also very similar as well as True MSA. Portland's CMSA is around 2mil, but includes much of the state (as Oregon's pop is only 3mil). Portland's CMSA goes up to Kelso WA and down past Salem OR, over to Astoria OR and to The Dalles OR; a very large geographical area that is in fact quite controversial. Give OKC an area that size, and you would have a Metro area of close to 3 mil people (OKC and Tulsa plus surroundings).

Thats why I say, the TRUE Portland METRO is around 1.5 mil or so, much closer to OKC. City pop, they are neck and neck, but Portland is much smaller land wise.

Other than that, I think Portland or Denver really are OKCs closest American sister cities. I totally agree with Edmonton or Calgary for International, but OKC is bigger than either. But the cities are very very similar, indeed!