Visiting Tulsa.... Any Tips?

[midnightcalling]

Hello everyone. First let me say that I have been reading along on the forum to learn as much as I can about your city and have found it to be very informative.

My fiancé and I are currently residing in Western New York State and are considering relocation to your area. We are planning to visit the Tulsa area next month.

Your area seems to be a good choice to us because of the employment opportunities. My profession is that of a Machinist, while she is a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant. Also your area seems fitting because of the seemingly attractive real estate costs and much lower property taxes then we are currently experiencing. We also prefer to live near a decent size city which offers options for shopping, restaurants and other things to do outside the home, which Tulsa seems to offer.

We would appreciate any leads on a decent hotel or motel in a safe area which also would offer reasonable rates..... or possibly an area or street that should be considered for seeking such a place?

We plan to contact Workforce Oklahoma and any other job service which may be of help to get us in tune with the job market. We have been looking at the many job seeking websites available here on the net and also potential employer websites. Any thoughts or advice about the employment outlook in the machining trade and that of a cota would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for reading and any input that may be offered.

[RecycleMichael]

This website has listings for both of those occupations in the Tulsa area.

http://regionalhelpwanted.com/home/34.htm?sn=34

[sgrizzle]

If you're job hunting and going to stay for a while, I would suggest Value Place which was recently built. You can stay for a week for less than $200. It is also really close to many highways so it would be a good place to start off to an interview from.

Orthopedic Hospital of Oklahoma might be an option for your wife.

[perspicuity85]

If you will be staying for a week or more, some other good bets are: Residence Inn by Marriott
StudioPlus
Extended Stay America
As for the job market, I think the machinist-type jobs in Tulsa are mostly associated with aerospace or oil & gas pipeline companies.  You might also try the  Tulsa Port of Catoosa website.  There are several companies with facilities near the port that probably employ machinists.
As for occupational therapy asst's, there have been two new hospitals opened recently in the metro area, and a new research clinic opened at Univ. of Okla.-Tulsa.  You might try this website, which provides a comprehensive guide to Tulsa job listings.

[NellieBly]

There is a shortage of trained machinist in those same industries. The health care job market is also extremely strong.

[midtownnewbie]

What part of Western NY do you live in?  I grew up between Montgomery and Middletown.

[mdunn]

If your looking to make a decent wage in Tulsa as a machinist,you will find the wages are considerably lower than most cities of simular population,I grew up in Tulsa and left because of that reason.Maybe one day Oklahoma will join the rest of the country with competitve wages,until that day it will not attract the skills and people it needs to compete with other cities.
I have been waiting 20 years for wages to catch up there to move back home,but It hasnt as of yet,and I refuse to work for peanuts.

[rwarn17588]

Yes, mdunn, but remember that Tulsa has one of the lowest cost-of-living average in the nation. I'm sure the wages are lower than in New York state, but the bills to pay will be way lower, too.

[jne]

Yep, If I were going to move from the NE, I would save up as much $ as possible to take advantage of the exchange and if you are selling a house, then money will give you a chance to have a nice upgrade in a Tulsa home.  Then sit back and enjoy the cost of living and pray you don't have to move back:)

[mdunn]

quote:Originally posted by rwarn17588

Yes, mdunn, but remember that Tulsa has one of the lowest cost-of-living average in the nation. I'm sure the wages are lower than in New York state, but the bills to pay will be way lower, too.

Thats not as true as it was years ago,depends where one wants to reside.In my field the wages are lower in Tulsa than anywhere in nation,except maybe Montana or Iowa.If people would get on net just to see what wages in their field were at today,Im sure most would find that Tulsa,and Oklahoma falls far behind.

[cannon_fodder]

First, an early welcome to Tulsa.

As I have done before I will go ahead and pull actual wage data instead of you having to sort over posts of people arguing what the think is the case. Since you said you were from Western NY I used Buffalo as the metro area:

Occupational Therapist Assistant
Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY   15.24
Tulsa, OK                   16.05

Machinist
Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY   17.13
Tulsa, OK                   15.84
(it should be noted that under machinist there are specialty occupations that offer high wages.  Especially in the area's of aviation and oil and gas... I chose the worst case scenario as I do no know if/what your specialty is).

Source: http://www.bls.gov/data/

COST OF LIVING:
Cost of living in Tulsa is 9-10% cheaper than Buffalo (these are comparing Metro areas), with significant savings in food, energy, and transportation.  Home prices are actually listed as cheaper in Buffalo than Tulsa... but I cant complain about the Tulsa market.  A 1200 Square Foot home with a two stall garage on 1/3 of an acre can be had for under 100,000 in a nice neighborhood (anyone want to dispute this I just purchased on near 31st and Harvard, built in 1989).

So there is the REAL deal on cost of living and wages.  The labor market is strong, especially in industrial and health care sectors at the moment.  With Tulsa County posting unemployment just below 4%. Whew, glad to get that out of the way.

In other news, Tulsa is a nice sized town to live in.  My wife, son and I moved here for college and never left.  It is big enough to have a world call ballet and opera, some semi-pro sports teams (football, baseball, hockey, basketball), a zoo and aquarium, convenient air travel and a plethora of museums and other cultural items; but small enough to know your away around town and over a few years be able to see most of the city in your day to day life.

On the down side, Tulsa has been suffering from a higher than normal crime spurt over the last couple of years.  The area North of Interstate 244 is known as the "North Side" and houses most of the city's industrial areas as well as the vast majority of neighborhoods with crime problems.  By no means does that mean all of the North Side is uninhabitable nor that the South is crime free, just a trend. Hopefully the economic up tick and redoubled police efforts can help quell the crime issues.  Then again, compared to Buffalo Tulsa has less crime overall (though property crime is much more popular in Tulsa, I'll take it over violent crime)
http://www.cityrating.com/citycrime.asp?city=Tulsa&state=OK
http://www.cityrating.com/citycrime.asp?city=Buffalo&state=NY
Source cited: FBI Crime Statistics

Back on the good news, Tulsa offers a Mid-Western city with character.  The art deco buildings, oil history, eclectic midtown mansions, and friendly citizens were all strong draws for us.  We enjoy mild winters hovering above freezing most of the time (as I watch the snow out of my window), springs and falls in the  70-80s, and summers usually resting in the upper 80s (though we do have heat waves).  Tulsa is in "Green Country" which in Oklahoma speak means it rains enough here to keep the grass green year round (not the case in Oklahoma City and West).

I could go on and on (as I usually do).  In short, Tulsa is not a shining city on a hill nor a utopia, but it is a nice size city that provides a great place to live while its citizens work hard to make it an even better place in the future.

[midnightcalling]

Thank you all very much for the open arms and for each of your valuable input.  I have been sitting here absorbing all your great suggestions and thoughts, many of which have been items of hot topic for me and the bride-to-be for some time now.

We live in a rural areas south of Buffalo with low population, Cattaraugus County to be more specific.  We live 50 minutes from each other presently.  Each of us has considered relocating to the others area but the job opportunities just aren't there....  Just one of the reasons we are looking to relocate to an entirely different area such as yours.  

As suggested, each of us have equity in property here and would sell to become reestablished in a new location.  We plan to view some homes during our visit.  Our stay should be 5 to 7 days in duration.      

We will consider your suggestions to the places to stay, and appreciate the links to the job seeking sites as well.

We are looking forward to seeing Tulsa and meeting some of its people.

I hope more will share their opinions.  For sake of comparison, I encourage the friendly interaction on the pros and cons of Tulsa as to other favorite places.    

[USRufnex]

Grew up in Tulsa... left about 20 years ago, living in Chicago most of those years...

Just moved here last October.

Last summer, I was 90% sure I would eventually move to Rochester.  I visited there a couple of times for a few days, and liked the cheaper old homes there...  Talked to people; liked the place, liked the high-speed ferry to Toronto (heard it finally went completely out of business)... liked the arts stuff (Eastman School)... and the soccer team []....

Also seriously considered Indianapolis.

Ended up in Tulsa due to lower housing costs, rental costs and job market.

South and southeast Tulsa have been booming for years now (much to the disdain of quite a few folks on this board)...... but I found southeast Tulsa more appealing than West Henrietta, NY, though both seem to be variations on the common themes of chain stores, supermarkets, chain restaurants, etc...

Although I found rents in Rochester cheaper than Chicagoland, for comparable apts in Tulsa, I found rents were usually about $100 less per month than the Rochester area.

The "vibe" I got in Rochester turned out to be a little depressing, jobwise.  I talked to overqualified ex-Kodak and Xerox employees who took jobs making less money... a lot less.  So, got frightened that if I wasn't happy with the job I'd lined up, I could get trapped looking for another one in a scary job market....

Tulsa can be annoying; the "buckle of the bible-belt" stuff (when I was a kid here, most of the out-of-state people were in the oil industry; now there's a large percentage of radical evangelicals), all the rednecks and good ol' boys but...... I've experienced more "random acts of kindness" here in the few months I've spent so far than I did the entire time I lived in Chicago.  And if you rent an apt, 6 month leases are very common here.

[pmcalk]

If you are interested in other Catholic schools in Tulsa, here is the website:  http://www.dioceseoftulsa.org/schools/school7.html.  I have friends who have kids at St. Marys, and who like it a lot.  It's a little further south.  But the two you listed are generally considered the best in Tulsa.  No, they don't provide buses, so you will have to drive them there.  Holland Hall is not a Catholic school, but it is private, and a good school.  Obviously, if you want private, we have good private schools, but our public schools also our great.

[Artiem]

I have lived all over the western U.S. (Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico, California, Texas, Oklahoma) and find Tulsa to be a nice, mid-sized city with friendly people and a solid economy, as well as decent cultural opportunities. We have a couple of world-class museums, a great zoo, easy access to outdoor life (fishing, camping, etc.) if those things entice you. Politically the area leans right but there's plenty of diversity. Cost of living is excellent, wages a bit low, taxes mid-range. The city has the feeling of small town with most of the amenities of a large city -- and I say that having lived in towns from 1200 ppl up to major metropolitan areas like Orange County, CA.