If you don't live downtown, why not?

[Rover]

I assume most of everyone on this particular board is on here because they love downtown OKC or are at least highly interested in it. So, question #1: do you already live downtown, and question #2: if you don't, why not?

[metro]

Yes, I live DT

[BBatesokc]

1: No

2: Expensive and no easy access to good grocery stores, traditional retail and safe gas stations.

Of course, this also depends on what your definition of "Downtown" is. I know people who live near Big Truck Tacos and consider themselves "living downtown."

(That said, we've finally saved enough cash that we plan to put our home on the market in the spring and buy something very near downtown)

[sethsrott]

Because I live in 10 miles south of Seminole, I love downtown, but I like the quiet and safety of the country.

[wsucougz]

Not downtown but a straight shot to the north - NW 30 something. NW 15th is about as close as I would probably ever get. Is Mesta Park downtown? I really don't know anymore. According to Metro, midtown is downtown, but probably only the part he lives in.

[MadMonk]

#1 I do not live downtown
#2 Because I prefer the suburban lifestyle - a large yard my kids and I can play in, a garden I could feed the whole neighborhood with, ample space between myself and neighbors (who live neither on top of me nor below me), a quiet neighborhood that I feel safe letting my kids run wild in, and (with clear weather) a stunning view of the stars at night.

[metro]

Not downtown but a straight shot to the north - NW 30 something. NW 15th is about as close as I would probably ever get. Is Mesta Park downtown? I really don't know anymore. According to Metro, midtown is downtown, but probably only the part he lives in.

Downtown is usually defined as NW 13th to the north, and Classen to the west, therefore, I'm in the part of Midtown that is DT.

[betts]

I live downtown. So, I'll post the alternative answer. The reason I live downtown is that I was exhausted trying to make my yard look as nice as I wanted it to, and it didn't feel right hiring someone to do the garden I purportedly loved (not to mention the prohibitive cost in doing so). I got tired of driving my car to do anything (I drove farther from my old house to the grocery store than I do now). I wanted to do something new and different and wanted to be close to the things I was interested in (art museums, galleries, sporting events, restaurants). The amount of money I save annually in utilities, lawn maintenance, pool maintenance, insurance and taxes by moving actually pays the mortgage for my home downtown. I love looking out my balcony at the cityscape. I wanted to do something individually that helped make my city more attractive to other people thinking about living downtown (on the principle that I could best promote downtown living by doing it myself).

I will say, also, that I feel as safe or safer getting gas where I do downtown than I did getting it on Wilshire or Western and we will get a grocery store downtown, but it's really, really not very far to the Homeland on 17th and Classen. I tie it in to a stop by Prairie Thunder Bakery for better baked goods than I can get anywhere else in town.

[OKCMallen]

I live around 50th and Western. I would love to live downtown, but it's just too expensive relative to what I get. I own my own home with a backyard, and for what I pay, I couldn't even buy downtown without downgrading my space to about a large studio apartment. My dog wouldn't like that.

And the sad thing is: as long as there is great affordable housing around downtown (I work downtown) I just simply can't imagine dropping the extra cash to live downtown. I'd rent for cheaper before I bought.

I pay about $85/sq foot where I am. With a yard, driveway, garage, etc. A comparable space at Block 42 is 3X the cost of what I paid.


Let's say you want to live at The Hill. $346,500 for 1650 sq. ft. Do you know what $350k can buy you a 5 minute drive away from downtown?!?!

[Kerry]

I don't live in OKC but given the choice I would. I would prefer downtown (or at least what I call the urban core - Heritage Hills/Mesta Park). The wife is not keen on the idea even though she always raves about her sister who lives in downtown Chicago and can walk to everything. For some reason she can't put two and two together. As for a grocery store - we currently drive 3.6 miles to our nearest grocery store here in suburban Jax. However, I am surprised the urban core doesn't have better and larger grocery store than the one Homeland (liquor laws keep it from being better?).

[wsucougz]

One caveat to mine - I would live downtown if I could afford one of the brownstones, which are imo the best value downtown and really frickin cool.

[flippity]

I work downtown and I plan on moving downtown next year when my daughter goes off to college. my company pays for parking, so I don't have to worry about that. I would really enjoy being able to walk to work, and I don't need a lot of space for just myself. there are also some nice remodeled apartments in heritage hills that I would consider.

[MadMonk]

I can definitely see the appeal of living DT for young, unattached people or empty nesters (especially if you work nearby), but not for those raising a family.

[CuatrodeMayo]

I'm priced out of the DT market, but I found a great place in the Plaza District. And I'm raising a family here.

[Kerry]

I have two kids and see no problem raising them downtown. Why do you think it would be an issue? Of course, it could depend on the definition of 'downtown'. My nephew was raised in an apartment complex in Norman, what's the difference?

[BBatesokc]

I've been in and around downtown for over 16 years for one reason or another and lived downtown for several years before getting married (lived at the Regency, Sycamore Square, Condos at 7th and Classen, etc.). I personally feel comfortable in the roughest parts of town and have never had a problem. But, I do want an area where my wife feels comfortable to get out of her car to get gas and buy groceries.

The cost is probably the biggest reason we give pause to a move. We will relocate to Heritage Hills, Mesta Park, Putnam Heights, etc. We won't do a rental or a condo. We have friends that put down literally a million dollars on their Deep Deuce condo and they love the lifestyle. Yet their million dollar 'home' has immediate neighbors on both sides and below them. Not to mention they have the most expensive condo in the building and are surrounded by units priced around $250K and have already been bought and turned into rentals! No thanks you. I can buy a small mansion in Heritage Hills or Putnam Heights with a yard, more square footage, etc.

We've budgeted $300-$400K for a home, but its hard to justify it when we only paid $38 square foot for the home we have now. Its small (1,558 sq feet) and has no exterior character but has a two car garage, brick pool house, in ground pool, huge living room, 475 sq feet of covered patio and is newly remodeled with granite kitchen, tile bathrooms and wood floors.

[OKCMallen]

You know, a lot of people worry about density, and what we need to build next, etc. etc. We have a major economic reality about people living downtown: it costs too much RELATIVE to what's available in very close proximity. Until that changes, you won't have just a huge amount of people moving downtown except those with money to burn. That doesn't achieve density.

[OKCMallen]

We've budgeted $300-$400K for a home, but its hard to justify it when we only paid $38 square foot for the home we have now. Its small (1,558 sq feet) and has no exterior character but has a two car garage, brick pool house, in ground pool, huge living room, 475 sq feet of covered patio and is newly remodeled with granite kitchen, tile bathrooms and wood floors.

Good lord, what part of town are you in, because I'm moving in next door!

[Richard at Remax]

1) no
2) I just moved in Edgemere Park and that's the closest I think I will get
3) last year I was looking to move downtown but the prices for what you get in an unestablished area were way too high. Now when the maywood area and aloft are done and the area becomes more stable with retail and some sort of market, it will finally be established.
4) I don't believe in rent because at the end of the term you have nothing to show for it, but since I was probably only going to be down there for max 2-3 years, I think if the maywood lofts as rentals would do really well and would have been something I would have been interested in.

[BBatesokc]

Good lord, what part of town are you in, because I'm moving in next door!

Where we live (SE 44 & Sunnylane) is most likely more dangerous than anywhere in or near downtown. But, when we bought it in 1998 it was mostly just a neighborhood (Parkview) of retired people and blue collar types raising their families. Our son could walk or ride his bike to school and everything was quite. I was also previously paying almost double in rent to live downtown at Sycamore Square than our $500/month house payment. The house is worth double what we paid, so it made good financial sense and we are both very low maintenance people that don't try to keep up with the Jones'.

However, in recent years our cul-de-sac has seen most of the original homeowners deceased, 65% of the homes on our street broken into in the last 5 years, we've had two investigated drive-by shootings at the end of our street (both targeting a felon who is now back in prison) and 3 homes on the street were made into section 8 housing. The surrounding gas stations are just hangout spots for hoodlums, and don't even get me started on the WalMart at I40 and Sooner. Our Homeland though isn't bad at SE 29 and Sunnylane.

I'm hoping for the smallest home on the nicest street near downtown's core.

[betts]

The Shell on Broadway and whatever gas station is on Reno across from Bass Pro feel perfectly safe, no matter when I'm there. And, there's a gas only station on 4th between Walnut and Broadway that is wonderfully convenient. I'm out with my puppy at 4 a.m. just across the street from it and, while I do look around before I go outside, I did the same thing in my old neighborhood, which was considered terribly safe. I don't lock my car doors, as that's a good way to get broken windows, and have actually forgot my purse and my keys in it overnight on two separate occasions, came out and found them and my car still there. In Nichols Hills both times I left my purse in my car by accident, my car windows were broken and my purse was stolen. There are people wandering through Nichols Hills at all hours, looking in cars and probably testing doors. I know several people who left their keys in the console of their cars in NH and had their car stolen. So safety is a perception that is not always accurate.

[OKCTalker]

No - I live in the 'burbs near where I grew up. It's close to friends, work, shopping, and almost everything I do. I like the green space and open areas. Now if I were younger and single, I'd be in the CBD or Midtown in a heartbeat!

[MadMonk]

I have two kids and see no problem raising them downtown. Why do you think it would be an issue? Of course, it could depend on the definition of 'downtown'. My nephew was raised in an apartment complex in Norman, what's the difference?

My definition of living downtown is living in a condo or apartment in the core of downtown, which may not be the same as what you are referring to. Here is my perception of downtown living for a kid: gritty, concrete-jungle environment, no backyard (a public park is NOT a substitute for your own, private play space), close proximity to traffic, etc. If that's what you like, that's great. But for me, I'd rather not raise my kids in that sort of environment.

For what it's worth, I wouldnt want to raise my kids in an apartment complex either. I lived in them for a few years as a child and hated it.

[BBatesokc]

For what it's worth, I wouldnt want to raise my kids in an apartment complex either. I lived in them for a few years as a child and hated it.

I agree. Coming from a single parent home I stayed alot with my grandmother and she lived at and was the manager of an apartment complex in Edmond ('East of Eden' - just East of the hospital). I hated staying there and couldn't imagine being raised in an apartment complex. My wife had the same issue and even though she was a single mom she moved from her apartment into a house before her son turned 2.

But in places like NYC, etc. it seems that sort of home life is normal. Just doesn't work for me if there are any other options.

[OKCMallen]

I agree. Coming from a single parent home I stayed alot with my grandmother and she lived at and was the manager of an apartment complex in Edmond ('East of Eden' - just East of the hospital). I hated staying there and couldn't imagine being raised in an apartment complex. My wife had the same issue and even though she was a single mom she moved from her apartment into a house before her son turned 2.

But in places like NYC, etc. it seems that sort of home life is normal. Just doesn't work for me if there are any other options.

Totally. First time I was in NYC, I went down to the subway. It was about what I thought- loud, somehwat dirty, and somewhat smelly. Imagine this Okie's surprise when he hops on with his other late-20s buddy to see a gaggle of young school children taking the subway amongst all the adults. It's just different there.