OKC Losing Population?

[progressiveboy]

Saw this in the Tulsa World. Are professionals leaving town for greener pastures and opportunities? I would hate to see OKC lose it's momentum.



http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/l...3469840.html#6

[stile99]

Truthfully, we've just about gotten to the point where if they aren't, they probably should be looking into it. It's not just teachers any more. Cheap cost of living sorta loses a bit of the shine when the state is broke and essential services are being cut if not entirely eliminated. Imagine the condition of our roads and bridges the last decade or so. That will be the condition across other services as well.

[bchris02]

Nm

[Jake]

Guess we'll have to wait for the actual census estimate of the population to find out.

[catch22]

I doubt we are losing population. Things have to be pretty bad for that to happen. Even if no one moved to OKC, you'd still have population growth due to the birth rate outpacing deaths. Things may have slowed, but I doubt our population is decreasing.

Anecdotal, but when I was dropping off my moving truck several weeks ago, I was behind two gentlemen who were dropping theirs off from CO Springs. They mentioned that they could no longer afford CO, and did some research on neighboring states and found OKC fit their needs perfectly, and cost of living was a huge factor.

Cost of living was a huge factor for us in our return, as well as just being home.

[billokc]

Yeah, if you're going to live in Colorado, you need to have deep pockets and a very healthy paycheck.

[KayneMo]

Doesn't seem likely to me that OKC is losing population. The city has been growing by about 10,000 every year since the 2010 Census, and according to the BLS, the metro's total employment increased by nearly 8,000 from Sept 2016 - Sept 2017.

[stile99]

I think there might be two different topics going on, and that's probably due in part to the poor title choice. Population as a whole? Yeah, I really doubt it too. But the link was for a very very very limited sample size, based on the locations people have in their profile on LinkedIn. Then the question was posed if OKC is losing 'professionals'. Do I think the Facebook of HR staff is really much of an indication of anything? Not really. But it's still a valid question, and a valid concern. I know about as many people staying here and trying to make a go of it as I do people who have left, exactly as the question proposed, for "greener pastures or better opportunities".

[bradh]

We left because of education but had kinda a special case. We absolutely LOVE OKC, but honestly a LOT needs to change at the state level for OKC to really make the next leap forward. It's a shame actually.

[Midtowner]

Right. This is about people with LinkedIn accounts. I'm sure my family would be looking at relocating if it wasn't for my profession and client base. I'm really worried about what my kid is going to have as far as education goes and will probably have to go the private route because the state of public education in this state and especially this city is abysmal.

[BG918]

I think the state is at a turning point. Having these kind of financial troubles when the country is in the midst of the best post-recession economic growth since the depression is crazy, and just shows what a terrible job the leaders have done in managing the budget and catering to special interests mainly the oil and gas lobbyists. People of Oklahoma should be fed up and vote these clowns out. If that happens the state can stabilize and eventually right many of these wrongs. Tennessee was in a similar situation and was able to overcome it and is now one of the faster growing states.

If the people don’t make that change then this state will continue to slide into mediocrity right up (down?) there with Alabama, West Virginia and Mississippi. How many professionals and corporations do you see moving to Alabama, West Virginia and Mississippi?

The saddest part is Oklahoma should be a wealthy state just because of its vast oil and gas reserves. Companies are going to drill in Oklahoma might as well tax them at least as much as Texas. Most states would kill to have a similar situation.

[OkiePoke]

If the school funding issue isn't fixed, I will most likely be leaving by the time I have kids that are school aged.

[bchris02]

I think the state is at a turning point. Having these kind of financial troubles when the country is in the midst of the best post-recession economic growth since the depression is crazy, and just shows what a terrible job the leaders have done in managing the budget and catering to special interests mainly the oil and gas lobbyists. People of Oklahoma should be fed up and vote these clowns out. If that happens the state can stabilize and eventually right many of these wrongs. Tennessee was in a similar situation and was able to overcome it and is now one of the faster growing states.

Yes, the people should be fed up but Oklahomans as a whole are hardcore, ideologically Republican so it's unlikely that there will be many changes. All the current crop or legislators have to do is wave Bibles and smear their opponents as being "leftists who don't represent Oklahoma values" and they will easily win re-election. This is why I think things are going to get much worse before they get better. Many people here would live in a cardboard box before they would vote for a Democrat.

Oklahoma City has been very resilient considering the situation at the state level but there are signs that may be changing, unfortunately.

[BG918]

It’s sad that government has failed so horribly in Oklahoma. With a better funded secondary education system (higher teacher pay and per pupil spending) and adequate funding for higher education, transportation, health and other services, Oklahoma could be a true alternative for people and companies looking for lower cost of living in a central location with a humid subtropical climate (no harsh winters). Without those adequately funded core services though it is difficult to attract anything other than call centers or other “lowest common denominator” employers because a quality education system is that important. At least get the state to the same level as our neighbors.

[cinnamonjock]

Would electing a moderate republican governor (i.e. Cornett) do anything to change this? I think we can expect some disruption in state legislature during the next election cycle, but it is difficult for republicans in small districts to win primaries as moderates and, as you said, many people in the state will not vote outside their party, leaving us with many far-right politicians that serve mainly to obstruct progress. I'm curious as to how much influence the governor has in all of this though.

[Bunty]

Yeah, if you're going to live in Colorado, you need to have deep pockets and a very healthy paycheck.

But Denver was one of the top cities LinkedIn members are moving to.

[bchris02]

Would electing a moderate republican governor (i.e. Cornett) do anything to change this? I think we can expect some disruption in state legislature during the next election cycle, but it is difficult for republicans in small districts to win primaries as moderates and, as you said, many people in the state will not vote outside their party, leaving us with many far-right politicians that serve mainly to obstruct progress. I'm curious as to how much influence the governor has in all of this though.

It would be a step in the right direction. I think Cornett is as close to a moderate, non-partisan governor as this state is going to get and that is who I am supporting. He seems to understand things like economic growth and what is necessary to get this state back on the right path. Meanwhile you have people like Dan Fisher who is waving a Bible and promising to double down on everything that the legislature has already been doing i.e. focus on social issues important to the Baptists, cutting government services, and giving further tax breaks to corporations and the wealthy.

But Denver was one of the top cities LinkedIn members are moving to.

Having lived in other cities, I can say that yes, there is a cost of living difference but I think a lot of people here over-exaggerate it. There is also a "quality of living" factor at play as well and this is where Oklahoma as a whole is headed in the wrong direction. Right now it seems like Texas offers an excellent balance which is why they have been so successful. Colorado is more expensive but it's also Colorado. It would be amazing to have the kind of amenities in your backyard, both natural and man-made, that you get in the Denver metro area. I am certain far eastern Colorado, on the plains, offers a cost of living that's quite low.

[Bunty]

Would electing a moderate republican governor (i.e. Cornett) do anything to change this? I think we can expect some disruption in state legislature during the next election cycle, but it is difficult for republicans in small districts to win primaries as moderates and, as you said, many people in the state will not vote outside their party, leaving us with many far-right politicians that serve mainly to obstruct progress. I'm curious as to how much influence the governor has in all of this though.

I doubt it. I think Gov. Fallin has become on the moderate side and hasn't been getting anywhere for the most part. Her tax reform plan didn't even get so much as a committee hearing. It would effect everybody. I think a tax reform plan that would not adversely affect most people would be easier to pass, especially if left up to a vote of the people. A for instance would be to raise GPT to at least 5% and raise the income tax on high income people by 1%.

Change is going to have to come from the legislative level. As long as they want to do much more than merely serve as an echo in the current legislative chambers, more people should consider running for legislator next year. The incumbents may be so unpopular by the end of the next session a rotten pineapple on the ballot could beat them. Rarely does that happens and if it does, it should be taken advantage of by good people concerned about the future of Oklahoma.

[BG918]

Article in the Tulsa World how the situation at the state capital is affecting development in downtown Tulsa: http://www.tulsaworld.com/homepagela...1bd835d5e.html

From the article:

When Oklahoma doesn’t adequately fund education, “we’re telling people that we aren’t serious about our future,” the developer said, “so why should anyone invest in it? If we don’t invest in ourselves, no one else will.”

[Bunty]

It only takes 5 legislators to change their minds and vote yes. It may yet be decided in another vote to raise gas taxes and other taxes in that bill by Christmas.

[stile99]

If the people allow these idiots to sit there with their thumbs up their butts until Christmas, at $30K/day, then we really deserve what we have.

[HangryHippo]

Blair Humphreys tweeted that Oklahoma is giving away approximately $750 million each year because of the favorable tax rate oil companies receive in Oklahoma compared to the going rate in North Dakota. Now I understand there are oil differences and such that people more intimately familiar with the industry could expound on, but there's no reason these wells are being taxed at 1%. It's shameful.

[traxx]

I think everyone just needs to pump the brakes here. People tend to overreact on these boards . We love to be outraged by things.

A Tulsa publication saying OKC is losing population? Color me shocked. It uses very specificly defined data to get to this result. I wonder if OKC is also losing population of left handed people who play guitar right handed.

OK's economy has run counter to the rest of the country for decades now. When the rest of the nation's economy is down, ours tends to be up and vice versa. No surprise there.

And we do care about education. Every time we vote for something that is supposed to be spent on education or teacher pay, it always gets consumed by administration and doesn't filter down to the actual teachers in the classroom. We need to go about this in a different manner. I don't know what the solution is but we can't keep voting and doing the same thing and expect different results. We need to figure out a foolproof way to get a pay raise to the teachers in the classrooms and not the administration. In fact, quite a bit of administration could probably be weeded out.

I don't think everything is hunky dory, magic and rainbows in OK. But I also don't believe the sky is falling either.

[LocoAko]

A Tulsa publication saying OKC is losing population? Color me shocked. It uses very specificly defined data to get to this result. I wonder if OKC is also losing population of left handed people who play guitar right handed.

FWIW, Tulsa World wasn't the one who did the study -- it was LinkedIn -- and they reported all of the cities on the list (headline given to OKC for obvious reasons). You can come up with flaws in the methodology, but let's not turn this into thinking it's a hit piece on OKC just because it was a Tulsa-based source.

[BG918]

FWIW, Tulsa World wasn't the one who did the study -- it was LinkedIn -- and they reported all of the cities on the list (headline given to OKC for obvious reasons). You can come up with flaws in the methodology, but let's not turn this into thinking it's a hit piece on OKC just because it was a Tulsa-based source.

Exactly, I'm sure if you dug into it you would probably come to the same conclusion with Tulsa. And obviously it's not all because of the state government. OK's economy is just not as robust as many other areas in the country which forces many professionals to move for better opportunities. Especially with some of the top performing markets (DFW, Austin, Denver) within driving distance from most of OK.