Hello All:
My family and I (wife, 3 kids, sick cat) are strongly considering relo to T-Town for an excellent career opp for my wife. We have visited before for her interview, and didn't get to see much of town to make a decision.
We've come to the following conclusions after talking to people, reading the forum, etc:
1) Likely live in Jenks or south part of town. Similar to kind of place we are now.
2) Probably Jenks public schools.
3) Wife will work for a big hospital in mid-town (STJ).
For our whiz-bam trip this Friday and Saturday (which is nearly full, but we do have SOME spare time) what should we try and see, do, or experience to give us an honest impression of Tulsa?
We will stay in the south part of town Friday night.
Any/all ideas are welcomed! We are kid-less this weekend, so are flexible enough to do about anything.
Thanks and we enjoy reading the forum.
Check out RiverWalk in Jenks. You'll see some of the kids from Jenks schools. The Mexican restaurant is pretty good too.
I live near St. John (my kids were born there). Good facility. Check out the Maple Ridge & Swan Lake neighborhood of old houses directly to the West of the hospital. Utica Square is fun too.
Welcome from the Waterboy.
The Utica Square area is nice, also check out Woodward Park and I don't think they are blooming but the Rose Garden just south of Woodward Park.
I would visit Philbrook, too. Even if the visit is short, you can still enjoy the gardens, have some food and look at the art or architecture.
Definitely visit Villa Philbrook and see the gardens. Its one of those things that many people who move here neglect to see. But once you have been, you will love it. Woodward may just be starting to bloom so worth a peek as you drive to Philbrook since its just a couple blocks away, and the Rose Garden next to it will take a few weeks more to start. That whole area plus Utica Square is what makes Tulsa feel like home.
Hands down... visit Gilcrease, the Tulsa Zoo and anything being offered in regards to theTulsa Ballet. As for St. John's, if your wife starts working there, tell her to say "Hi" to my sister-in-law, Lisa Baldwin. Practically half of my family is made up of physicians.
Jenks is a great place to send your kids, but I would suggest you live in South Tulsa. It might be a tad bit more expensive, but you deal with a more diverse crowd. Actually I would suggest living as far north in the Jenks School District as humanly possible. It gets pretty ritz the further south you go.
quote:
Originally posted by Johnboy976
Hands down... visit Gilcrease, the Tulsa Zoo and anything being offered in regards to theTulsa Ballet. As for St. John's, if your wife starts working there, tell her to say "Hi" to my sister-in-law, Lisa Baldwin. Practically half of my family is made up of physicians.
Jenks is a great place to send your kids, but I would suggest you live in South Tulsa. It might be a tad bit more expensive, but you deal with a more diverse crowd. Actually I would suggest living as far north in the Jenks School District as humanly possible. It gets pretty ritz the further south you go.
check out the north half of Legacy Park. its in Jenks schools and pretty posh. 101st/Mem.
I agree, I would go for Tulsa address and Jenks schools. Definitely checkout riverwalk and the aquarium for Jenks highlights. Try to visit some of the best areas of Tulsa too like philbrook mentioned above. If you're pressed for time, make sure and drive down riverside, around downtown, cherry street, brookside, utica square etc. I think it's best to get a good drive around any town I'm new to.
Check out the Oral Roberts University near 81st and Lewis, Tulsa University campus near 11th and Harvard, and drive by the OSU Tulsa campus downtown near I-244. If you have kids those are some great schools for the near future.
http://www.oru.edu/
Bring you camera along for some awesome architecture photos here.
Tulsa University is under major construction currently, interesting to see all the new modern student housing being built there.
http://www.tulsauniversity.com/
If you enjoy large nice buffet lunches or dinners may want to drive east to the Cherokee Casino and resort. They have nightly entertainment and some great food choices. And super nice hotel accomodations.
http://www.cherokeecasino.com/home/index.aspx
If you enjoy ribs you may like them Sooner Style at Billy Sims Bar B Que in the Farm Shopping Center at 51st and Sheridan.
http://billysimsbbq.com/index.php
If you enjoy flat grilled hamburgers check out Freddies Hamburgers on East 11th Street West of Mingo, or Ron's Hamburgers several locations and one in Jenks.
Freddie's Hamburger's
9130 East 11th, Tulsa, OK 74112
http://www.farmshoppingcenter.com/rons_hamburgers.htm
If you have more time on another trip make the 60 minute drive north to Bartlesville to Woolaroc, built by Frank Phillips, same person that built his home in Tulsa which is now the Art Museum and gardens. The ranch up north is a full afternoon treat of sights, sounds, artifacts, walking and much more. Try the Buffalo Burgers.
http://www.woolaroc.org/
May want to check out Woodland Hills Mall or the Promonade Mall to see what is on sale.
http://www.simon.com/mall/default.aspx?ID=795
http://www.tulsapromenade.com/info/services.cfm
http://www.uticasquare.com/
As a correction:
www.utulsa.edu (the above referenced addy does not work)
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This to do:
Sports:
- The University of Tulsa is currently in the middle of rowing season, spring practice/scrimmage for football, baseball and softball.
- Tulsa 66 NBA D-League is in season still
- Tulsa minor league baseball, the drillers, are starting their season soon
Culture:
- The Philbrook is a Phillips mansion from the height of Tulsa's oil boom that now serves as an art museum with fantastic gardened grounds.
- Gilcrease is an endowed art museum specializes in Native American art (modern and historical artifacts)
- Tulsa has world renowned Ballet and Opera that perform a the Tulsa Performing Arts center.
- There are several art districts in town
Children:
If you are looking to entertain your children I like to bring my son to
- The Tulsa Zoo
- The Oklahoma Aquarium (near Riverwalk mall in Jenks)
- Tulsa Air and Space Museum and Planetarium
or just take him(her) to play at any of the area parks.
No Children:
If you are looking to ditch the child for a grown up night there are several "drop off" evening care facilities that I can recommend. Foremost being the Tot Spot near 41st and Yale (Tulsa is a grid with the 1st being 1 mile apart and the major avenues 1 mile apart).
Tulsa has several fine dining establishments and the aforementioned ballet, opera and symphony performances. A little time away is always welcome.
Outdoors:
There are also plenty of hiking trails both urban and outside of town. Its always interesting to hike in an unfamiliar destination and see the cacti at Red Bud or the birds in Oxely Nature center (near the zoo). Well, it is to me anyway.
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I have an uncle that works as an RN/Respiratory therapist at St. Johns and he seems very happy there. It has a good reputation in the community and a great location to boot.
If you have any specific questions, everyone on this board is very forthcoming.
I think everyone else has hit the highlights of what to do. If you enjoy night life, you might think about hitting the Blue Dome district downtown in the 2nd & Elgin area Friday or Saturday night.
I don't think you can go wrong living in the Jenks district, great schools lots of really good commercial development out that way. I have a Jr. and 8th grader in the Jenks system and I'm very happy with the education they are getting.
However, your wife might find it a little bit of a grind going to and from work if she will be coming and going at typical rush hours.
That said, if you are used to a commute from say: Plano to DT Dallas, or Conroe to DT Houston, driving from So. Tulsa to St. Johns might seem like a cake walk to her.
Thanks for all the excellent replies.
In reply to the commute, what kind of drive can she expect if she were to travel between either Jenks or S. Tulsa and STJ during the bad times 7 and 5?
We are now fortunate to have a 10 minute commute and realize that is going to get worse. But then again, I live in South Dakota now, so not much traffic on the roads unless you count dead deer, coons, etc.
Thanks!
id plan on 20-30 mins at rush hour.
I would guess 25 minutes most days. If you hit serious traffic or there is an accident that can easily go up so you would have to plan for 30 minutes. It kind of depends on where in the Jenks area you chose to live. West of the river you are further but can more easily catch a highway. East of the river you would rely heavily on surface streets - which can get very busy during rush hour.
Example from West side
http://www.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&saddr=Jenks,+Oklahoma&daddr=1923+S.+Utica+Ave.,+Tulsa,+OK&sll=36.034941,-95.967979&sspn=0.117438,0.346069&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=11&om=1
East Side:
http://www.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&saddr=Delaware+%26+91st+St.,+Tulsa&daddr=1923+S.+Utica+Ave.,+Tulsa,+OK&sll=36.030499,-95.910816&sspn=0.058722,0.11673&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
Both read 19 minutes from google, increase that for traffic...
I live 5 minutes from downtown, so other people might be more accurate.
Other than rush hour you can get to most any part of Tulsa in 15 minutes using the highway systems. From my office to the Creek County Fairgrounds in Kellyville is 15 minutes. Saint Johns Hospital, I have two relatives that are professionals there. Never hear them complaing about traffic.
Gota jet to the recording studio to cut a radio ad for our upcoming event in OKC.
Later...
7am you can do it in 15-20. Depends on your home's distance from a major highway or riverside.
At 5pm you might go to 15-45. Varies HIGHLY with what streets you take.
As mentioned, a lot will depend on where in the south Tulsa grid you wind up living. Riverside drive to St. John's might wind up being the easiest route. Either that or Creek T-pike to Hwy 75 N, to the BA expressway and get off at Utica. More miles but probably about the same or a little less time and no frustration with stop-and-go traffic unless there's a crash up ahead.
If you live between 71st & 81st streets, 71st St. is six lane from Riverside, I believe all the way to just about the Broken Arrow City limits.
81st & 91st have expanded intersections all the way to Memorial, but they choke down to two lane roads in between.
101st isn't as bad, but there is a bottleneck at about the Creek Turnpike at 5pm rush hour.
What we consider bad traffic in Tulsa would be appreciated by people in other larger metropolitan areas.
I would not necessarily jump to the conclusion that you must live in Jenks to have good schools. Edison Preparatory School is located on 41st between Harvard and Lewis. It's part of Tulsa Public Schools, but it's a magnet school that attracts great kids and teachers. Then, as a plus, you get to live somewhere beautiful and established, centrally located, and convenient to all parts of town. Lots of cool 50's ranch houses in the area that are quite affordable, with big yards and trees.
During your visit, go to south Tulsa...by all means...and see what is has to offer. (Or not. It's like every other newly developed place in the country...so you've already seen it.)
Then explore the older, more beautiful places in Tulsa...and feel yourself relaxing as the pace slows down, and the natural beauty and architecture improves dramatically. Explore the neighborhoods around Woodward Park (21st and Peoria) to see what all the oil barons did with their money.
Right now, Tulsa is at it's most beautiful, with everything blooming and in color. If you like shopping/dining in unique, funky, local places, check out Brookside (Peoria between 31st and 41st) and Cherry Street (15th Street between Peoria and Utica). Both of these areas are places where the neighbors can walk to their favorite restaurants/coffee shops. If you want to shop, but hate the mall, check out Utica Square at 21st and Utica (directly across from St. John's Hospital.)
You might also find that the difference between house payment and taxes in Jenks school district might balance with a mid-town home and private tuition if you have developed any paradigms about Tulsa Public Schools.
I graduated from this private school.
http://www.casciahall.com/
I graduated from here:
http://www.hollandhall.org/
Really, either Holland Hall or Cascia are very good private schools. However, to be perfectly honest with you, there are several public schools that do a great job in education. Jenks, Union, Broken Arrow, Booker T. Washington (a magnate school)... you can't go wrong with them.
"...what should we...experience to give us an honest impression of Tulsa?
Hard to believe this event has been left out:
Worlds Largest, Gun & Knife Show!
Expo Square, see you there,
jdb
How big is the world's largest gun?
I can see how having one of those could come in handy, but the world's largest knife is probably difficult to use.
Not if your trying to cut the cheese.
Christ, I can't beleve I am about to post this.
Wham-bam tours of any city are best done with a like-minded guide so don't be too harsh if the weekend has a few slow spots, eh?
jdb
quote:
Originally posted by AMP
I graduated from this private school.
http://www.casciahall.com/
Well, good to see there's at least one other gearhead product of CH.
The Jenks district is nice, but you should also consider the Broken Arrow district. I lived in Tulsa, but in the BA district, and loved it. It was super-convenient, the schools are VERY good, lots of shopping, churches, and free highways (as opposed to the Creek Turnpike that runs though Jenks). I lived in Trinity Creek which is a nicer upscale neighborhood, but Battle Creek, Forrest Ridge (further East in BA), and several others are nice as well.
BA schools are known more for their fine-arts programs vs the sports programs. The BA high-school marching band won the national championship this year (really big deal in BA), and so did their coed cheer squad.
I got in trouble rebuilding my Honda 305 ngine on my desk in my room during Study Hall time when I was a boarder student living in Driscoll Hall Dorm at Cascia Hall.
Tim Joyce and I carried the engine up two flights of stairs to our dorm room. The dorm father found out I had it in my room and gave me a speech about Cascia being an academic school and not an A&M and something about Aggies....
Then he proceeded to ask me what was wrong with the engine, and if I knew how to repair it. I pointed out the bad bearing on the crank and I had the replacement and had the engine ready for reassembly. He helped us clean parts and twist fasteners till 11pm. All of us had oil and gease on our hands and clothes and big smiles on our faces when it fired back up the next weekend. LOL
Tim Joyce's father donated funds for the Science Lab and for rebuilding the Gymnasium that was victim to a fire the year before. Tim owns a Bike Bar in Dallas, Texas.
I learned more at Cascia Hall in one year than I had learned in Tulsa Public Schools in several years. Their teaching classroom format was based on the college level.
http://s23.quicksharing.com/v/6337219/BobCom.mp3.html
This is link to the Radio Ad for my races Saturday Night March 31st. Not sure how to play it once downloaded. Here is a link to our You Tube Video. It plays on command.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KqVk3Q1Gek
The BMW crowd didn't quite appreciate my '68 El Camino. There were a few other late '60's classics when I was there, but they were just barely classics at that time.
I was getting ready to go real far O/T here, but we can save it for another thread.
quote:
Originally posted by AMP
I got in trouble rebuilding my Honda 305 ngine on my desk in my room during Study Hall time when I was a boarder student living in Driscoll Hall Dorm at Cascia Hall.
Tim Joyce and I carried the engine up two flights of stairs to our dorm room. The dorm father found out I had it in my room and gave me a speech about Cascia being an academic school and not an A&M and something about Aggies....
**** i know you. you have told that story in person.
Broken Arrow has good schools, but the property taxes have made it no better to live there than in Tulsa... for the most part. My parents lived in BA for five years and ended up paying more in taxes than they did in a more expensive home in Tulsa.
quote:
--------------------------------------
Originally posted by AMP
I got in trouble rebuilding my Honda 305 ngine on my desk in my room during Study Hall time when I was a boarder student living in Driscoll Hall Dorm at Cascia Hall.
Tim Joyce and I carried the engine up two flights of stairs to our dorm room. The dorm father found out I had it in my room and gave me a speech about Cascia being an academic school and not an A&M and something about Aggies....
------------------------------------------------
inteller, wrote:
**** i know you. you have told that story in person."
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Reminds me of a line from A Clock Work Orange ... "I know you" Try the Wine !
Was the story better live in person than online? :)
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, much better online (actually, I wasn't there when it was told live). :-)
Thanks for all the posts, advice, etc. We are heading into Tulsa this AM from Joplin and looking forward to our visit!
Thanks again.
Enjoy yourself, just stay away from "The Ministry of Sound". [}:)]
The property taxes will be higher in the 'better' school districts than in the TPS district.
quote:
Originally posted by Johnboy976
Broken Arrow has good schools, but the property taxes have made it no better to live there than in Tulsa... for the most part. My parents lived in BA for five years and ended up paying more in taxes than they did in a more expensive home in Tulsa.
Thanks all for your input. Returned safely from Tulsa on Saturday night. Were impressed and loved your weather! Looks like we may end up being "okies" after all!
PS--drove by (not intentionally) the gun show on our way out of town, we were going to stop, but...........already have a gun!
Thanks!
quote:
Originally posted by jackcat
Thanks all for your input. Returned safely from Tulsa on Saturday night. Were impressed and loved your weather! Looks like we may end up being "okies" after all!
PS--drove by (not intentionally) the gun show on our way out of town, we were going to stop, but...........already have a gun!
Thanks!
What all did you and the missus do while you were in town?
Hell man, you can never have enough guns...just ask David Ker....well never mind, he's dead.
Saw twelve TN member's there loading up on cheap ammo and was surprised at the special poster (rico) who was hauling a ton of 50 cal. in Radio Flyer wagon.
IMO, that show represents 9% of Tulsa.
Fitness Show wieghs in at 12%.
Memorial Day at Bells was 19%.
But Home & Garden wins out - pushing 37%.
But so yeah, what did you wind up doing here?
What was the most embarrassing event?
And - the biggie - did you stop in at any of our fine, gambling establishments?
If so, did you hold back enough gas money to get back home?
I had to walk last week, jdb