NBA Players Think OKC is Boring...boo hoo

[kevinpate]

That's what we're all doing.

flights leave daily, interstate is wide open, their housing market ought to permit a real deal for ya.

Not to speed ya along or anything, but if yer goin', be safe and have fun on the way and once yer there as well

[fredfredburger]

I'm wondering the same thing. I understand that you're bored. What is it that you can do elsewhere that you can't do here? Just curious.

club-hop, meet new people in social situations, hang with friends someplace besides dorms or parent's houses, play pool in a smoke-free area, swim at 4 in the morning, be able to so Something at 4 in the morning that doesn't involve Dennys or Waffle house.

What I don't want to do is any of the million "organized" events that usually turns out to be a lifecurch.tv thing or visit a museum, or a feminazi art exhibit, or whatever gay thing they're shoving in your face at Paseo this week.

[fuzzytoad]

flights leave daily, interstate is wide open, their housing market ought to permit a real deal for ya.

Not to speed ya along or anything, but if yer goin', be safe and have fun on the way and once yer there as well

and we're all wondering why the city is losing 20-35 year olds...

[RedDirt717]

club-hop, meet new people in social situations, hang with friends someplace besides dorms or parent's houses, play pool in a smoke-free area, swim at 4 in the morning, be able to so Something at 4 in the morning that doesn't involve Dennys or Waffle house.

What I don't want to do is any of the million "organized" events that usually turns out to be a lifecurch.tv thing or visit a museum, or a feminazi art exhibit, or whatever gay thing they're shoving in your face at Paseo this week.

I'm just curious what college towns you can go club hopping in?

I went to OU, Norman had "kongos" which was an ok club but it was 21+ to enter.

There are very few clubs that are actually nice that allow 18 year olds in, it's just too much of a liability. I've never been to a 18+ club that wasn't filled with perverts and thungs looking for an easy pick up.

Again, when I lived in DC there weren't things to do at 4 am that didn't involve the real possibility of getting shot/mugged/gang raped. Clubs close down there at 2am just like here. Admittedly there is quite a lot more to do out there then here during the day and night, but you're going to pay for it. A beer in an upscale city is going to cost you about 6 bucks at a bar, happy hour is considered 3.50 for a bud light. What you describe as what you do for fun is pretty much what everyone in 90% of college towns do, they get high, drink beer and play beer pong.

What you're going to find out, when you do leave OKC is that other places aren't that great. Unless you're 5 mins from a beach, or dropping 4 grand a month on a decent condo in the middle of a city you're not going to find anything much more exciting than OKC. This is coming from someone that couldn't get out of Oklahoma fast enough.

Things will change when you're 21. If they dont, then I hope you find something that makes you happy.

[Fastfwd]

I didn’t read this whole thing, but I have to wonder if the Thunder boys have been introduced to the Red Dog Café?

[kevinpate]

and we're all wondering why the city is losing 20-35 year olds...

oh chill, I said IF, not git.

Truth be told, everyone can bring a ray of sunshine and a degree of freshness to a place. Some do it by staying, some do it by exiting. But standing in a doorway grumbling doesn't help much of anyone.

[warreng88]

I didn’t read this whole thing, but I have to wonder if the Thunder boys have been introduced to the Red Dog Café?

Why don't we send them down to Sugar's in Norman or XXXTasy Ranch off I-35 while we are at it?

:: shivers ::

[Bunty]

and we're all wondering why the city is losing 20-35 year olds...

Well, to do somethng about it for the bottom of that age group, then simply lower the drinking age to 18. I woudn't oppose that. Society is now more aware and intolerant of drunk driving than it was back when the drinking age had been 18. Such a change, is probably, admittedly, too much to ask of Oklahoma to do in any prompt fashion should the fed road funding restriction to lowering the drinking age end.

[bluedogok]

Penny, you are not being racist at all! As an AA male, one of the things that has really bugged me about OKC is its lack of a black middle class. Please don't think I'm some angry, fist waving nationalist. If anything, it wasn't anything I paid attention to until I moved here. Growing up in the Dallas suburbs, there is a pretty sizable base of AA (as well as hispanic and asian) professional class. I think its one of the reasons my mother was so apprehensive about moving back to Oklahoma when my dad got out of the military (although she never said it outright) especially considering we were coming from Atlanta of all places, and we ended up moving south after my father retired from the Air Force. I would later find out that she really wanted me and my sister to see people who looked like us who had "made it" in the world, versus the more stereotypical image of AA's. So it didn't surprise me that she was shocked when I told here I took a job up here and would be staying in OKC after I graduated from OU. Even now when we talk she will ask me, "so are you ready to move" as if I am in the third ring of hell. From what I heard from family and friends, OKC did have a small yet vibrant and connected community of black professionals, but many packed up and left after the oil bust in the mid 80's and its been diminished ever since.

To be prefectly honest, I'm really worried about even posting this because I know some people on this board will react so knee jerk and will think I'm blasting everyone in OKC as a racist. Truth be told, I work around people who are not my race here in OKC, and have been treated with nothing less but warmness and respect, largely becuase I try and treat everyone like that regardless of whatever ethnicity they are. And I figured if I want OKC to have a strong black middle class, it will have to start with people like me who will stay here and try to make it better. So far I've been impressed with what I've seen, and if we continue to improve our community, things will eventually change for the better. I really just think we need more professional jobs that will lure people here of any race.

Sorry I know this thread was about basketball but I just wanted to respond to Penny's post

ADaniel, I too am AA, OU grad now living in DC. I was born in Oklahoma and I love my home State. If I can convince my Indiana born wife, I hope to retire back in OKC in about four years, but, Oklahoma and OKC have been losing college graduates of all races to other cities to include Dallas and Houston for years. Many of my OU AA classmates are all over the country like me precisely because of the lack of so many options relative to a more upscale, urban way of life referred to by some in the national media. Oklahoma City and Oklahoma for that matter does not have a great reputation relative to other cultures (hence Charles Barkleys comment). Oklahoma City will continue to lose its best unless it commits to measurable improvement in employment, entertainment, and retail options young professonials of all ethic backgrounds demand. Celebrating the arrival of IKEA, and Jack in the Box won't do.

Around the time of the Texas Relays every year (usually the first weekend of April) there is always this same articles in the Austin media about how so many of the people who come in for the relays weekend have ties to the area but left because of the lack of an upscale urban social environment in Austin. Many complain that once they get out of school most head off to Dallas, Houston or Atlanta leaving a vacuum here.

It isn't just OKC, I think it is an issue for most cities of a similar size that just doesn't have the population base to support the diverse ethnic/lifestyle areas. I have heard some of the recent graduates in my line if work complain that the Austin social scene is too focused on the school crowd or the Texas music scene and unless it involves drinking, then there aren't that many options on a regular basis.

I have also seen complaints by some gay UT students about the lack of a "gay district" like those that exist in larger cities for the social aspect. Most of the gays that I have known here almost prefer that they are so integrated into the community and it doesn't seem like something that is lacking to them...so much of it is all in what you are looking for and what type of social community that you desire.

[semisimple]

Around the time of the Texas Relays every year (usually the first weekend of April) there is always this same articles in the Austin media about how so many of the people who come in for the relays weekend have ties to the area but left because of the lack of an upscale urban social environment in Austin. Many complain that once they get out of school most head off to Dallas, Houston or Atlanta leaving a vacuum here.

It isn't just OKC, I think it is an issue for most cities of a similar size that just doesn't have the population base to support the diverse ethnic/lifestyle areas. I have heard some of the recent graduates in my line if work complain that the Austin social scene is too focused on the school crowd or the Texas music scene and unless it involves drinking, then there aren't that many options on a regular basis.

Hmmm...the dozen or more high-rise condo towers that have been erected downtown in the past five years, the upscale 2nd street area/W hotel, the high-end Domain development, the (ever-increasing) 44% of residents with a college degree, and growth by (on average) nearly 50,000 people a year all seem to contradict your thoughts of new graduates or yuppies leaving a "vacuum" in Austin. Sure, many new UT grads seek jobs elsewhere, but the void is filled with new grads from all over. While it's not even remotely comparable to many east coast cities, Austin is probably the only city in Texas I'd consider to have a true urban fabric, and a pretty upscale one at that.

Whether deserved or not, Austin has a reputation for being a hip, high-tech town and OKC has a reputation for being a cowtown--just look at how OKC continues to get portrayed by national media, even as a "big league city." You almost sound silly trying to relate OKC and Austin's ability to retain young professionals, as we all know well that Austin acts as a sink for Oklahoma college grads. It isn't just the population base--no, it really is that OKC that suffers from a poor image and doesn't have the amenities and "upscale urban social environment" that exists or is otherwise perceived to exist in other cities in its size range.

[LIL_WAYNE_2012_PREZIDENT]

i didn’t read this whole thing, but i have to wonder if the thunder boys have been introduced to the red dog café?

lmao

[ljbab728]

That's what we're all doing.

Fred, you will never be happy in OKC and if that's the case you should go elsewhere for a job. There are a great many people, however, who aren't looking for the same things you are who would be very happy to be in a growing, developing city like OKC. You have to start somewhere and can't have everything at once. As I have mentioned before, if it was economically feasible here to have the kind of late night entertainment you desire it would be here but people aren't going to lose money to provide it. I promise you investors have looked at many options and it just isn't there. When you have made your fortune elsewhere maybe you can come back and invest in the kinds of things you think will succeed.

[adaniel]

Hmmm...the dozen or more high-rise condo towers that have been erected downtown in the past five years, the upscale 2nd street area/W hotel, the high-end Domain development, the (ever-increasing) 44% of residents with a college degree, and growth by (on average) nearly 50,000 people a year all seem to contradict your thoughts of new graduates or yuppies leaving a "vacuum" in Austin.

Semisimple if you reference the post me and dcsooner had wrote (I know its hard this thread is on about 7 tangents), you will notice we were referring to African American professionals. Nobody would doubt that Austin is a yuppie/hipster magnet, but not all yuppies and hipsters are created equally.

It isn't just OKC, I think it is an issue for most cities of a similar size that just doesn't have the population base to support the diverse ethnic/lifestyle areas. I have heard some of the recent graduates in my line if work complain that the Austin social scene is too focused on the school crowd or the Texas music scene and unless it involves drinking, then there aren't that many options on a regular basis.

Bluedog you are right about that, and it really makes OKC's situation challenging. Its like we are in this weird "twilight zone" as far as cities are concerned. We are large enough to be considered a "big city", but unless you have kick-butt demographics its really hard to lure things here that are in larger cities. And this is true as far as the amenities AA professionals want. The only mid size cities I can think that have a large AA middle class are Richmond VA and Birmingham AL all of which have had one historically.

Its a real chicken-or-egg problem that affects OKC in a lot of ways, unfortunatley.

[FormerFloridian]

Wha?
I didn't dis anyone who enjoys it. I just can't stand it here, there's nothing to do for people my age unless you're a Jesus freak, or a redneck.

I've got to say.... I am neither a Jesus Freak or a redneck and I seem to find plenty to do here in OKC. Yeah, when I first got here, it felt like there was nothing more than a million churches and nothing else. But instead of sitting around and bitching about how there was nothing to do, I started talking to people of different age groups and interests to find out where people like to go.

You mentioned that there is nothing to do for people your age, except smoke and drink.... aren't you 19 years old? If I were you, I wouldn't be so proud to boast your illegal activities. I'm sure once you are actually old enough to drink legally, you might get over the whole getting drunk phase and decide to open your mind to other activities.

And if at the end of the day, you still think OKC is a dump.... there are 49 other states, pick one and I will drive you the airport myself.

[OKCisOK4me]

Bravo FF. Well put!! I'll assist in the luggage department...hahahaha

[rcjunkie]

fredfredburger, I just recently moved and have a garage full of moving boxes, your welcome to them.

Also, heres a few phone numbers for you:

NorthAmerican Van Lines 751-7333
Allied Van Lines 946-4405
Mayflower 708-6565
Ace Transfer & Storage 672-4425
Bekins Relocation Service 521-8000
ABC Moving 942-8381

Or you could always just rent a Uhaul and move yourself, or if it's that bad, just leave with the clothes on your back, I would hate for you take any bad OKC memories with you.

[benman]

d

Hmmm...the dozen or more high-rise condo towers that have been erected downtown in the past five years, the upscale 2nd street area/W hotel, the high-end Domain development, the (ever-increasing) 44% of residents with a college degree, and growth by (on average) nearly 50,000 people a year all seem to contradict your thoughts of new graduates or yuppies leaving a "vacuum" in Austin. Sure, many new UT grads seek jobs elsewhere, but the void is filled with new grads from all over. While it's not even remotely comparable to many east coast cities, Austin is probably the only city in Texas I'd consider to have a true urban fabric, and a pretty upscale one at that.

Whether deserved or not, Austin has a reputation for being a hip, high-tech town and OKC has a reputation for being a cowtown--just look at how OKC continues to get portrayed by national media, even as a "big league city." You almost sound silly trying to relate OKC and Austin's ability to retain young professionals, as we all know well that Austin acts as a sink for Oklahoma college grads. It isn't just the population base--no, it really is that OKC that suffers from a poor image and doesn't have the amenities and "upscale urban social environment" that exists or is otherwise perceived to exist in other cities in its size range.

Apparently high rise condos mean a city has made it to the top. I would welcome something like that here, (and it will eventually happen) but we can keep growing and watch things get much better/cooler without a high rise condo. Also, I know you are probably just talking about an upscale hotel, but I stayed at the W in Dallas and I will never stay again. Everything about it felt cheap and low rent to me. Its touted as such a nice "upscale" hotel, but i felt like I was in an ikea or target hotel.
Also, OKC is in fact a cowtown and instead of trying to kick cowtown name, we should embrace it, and play off of it. No i dont like the reputation of a ****ty cowtown, but it would be nice to hear "okc is a pretty nice place. Its cool that it used to be a cowtown and they have kept a lot of the western culture." I would much rather be known as a growing mid-big city where people still sport cowboy boots. I feel like a lot of people want to lose the southern/western culture that we have,and be more like L.A. Maybe im way off though.
Another big problem I have is that everyone wants OKC to grow, become a better place, have big city amenities, etc. but right when a developer or investment group attempts to do something neat, they are met with tons of opposition, and their project "isnt good enough, isnt a high rise condo, isnt 'modern enough', should be mixed use, blah blah.." At least thats the feel I get. It all goes back to the fact that people rather complain than help. Instead of complaining, Im thinking all the time of a new bar I could start, or a certain area I could invest in and rehab, etc. becauase I want to 1)watch this city get better every year and 2) make some money in the process. I feel like their is only a small % of OKC that has the 'dream big and make it happen' attitude, which is too bad.

[Bunty]

Wha?
I didn't dis anyone who enjoys it. I just can't stand it here, there's nothing to do for people my age unless you're a Jesus freak, or a redneck.

Then simply become a video game addict and play until dawn. Problem solved.

[BDP]

Out of curiosity, I just had to look at this thread, since it is still hanging on. I wasn't really interested in participating, but burger's posts were just to funny to ignore:

OKC is boring. I'm 19, a student at OCU, and unless I want to go to church lockins or craft fairs or "managed" social events, there's nothing else to do but try and find some pot or beer and hang out at a friend's house.

I think what you meant to say is that being 19 is boring if you’re not into beer, pot, or hanging with friends at their house. I guess maybe you should read a book or something?

I'd really like it if there was a place a bunch of us could hang out at and do the same, yeah without the drugs and beer, I know. There isn't any such place. There's nowhere in this whole entire city to just hang after 10pm. Most of the clubs are lame, and the ones we can actually get into close way too early.

Dude, that’s pretty funny. 2am is a pretty normal time for clubs and bars to close, except Vegas and New York. Some cities have later last calls, but even then it's far from universal that every bar or club chooses to stay open later. And even if you moved to Vegas or New York, the clubs you could get into are not the ones you want to go to, anyway

I lived in LA and San Francisco. Guess what, bars and most clubs close at 2am. There are some dance/trance/house places that stay open after 2, but you know what, everyone there is looking score too and you seem to want something else. And really, no one wants to go to the all ages after hours clubs in those towns either if they can go elsewhere.

You know what else people do after 2am in those towns? They go eat and hang out at diners. They’re not called Denny’s, but they’re serving the same thing.

I just can't stand it here, there's nothing to do for people my age unless you're a Jesus freak, or a redneck.

Again, sounds like you just hate being 19. You don’t have to be a Jesus freak or a redneck to do anything in this town, but if you think 19 year olds are living some charmed life or that other cities cater to 19 year olds better after 2am, you need to get out more.

I'm not too worried about a job. There's recruiters here all the time with starting positions at like 20 companies around the country, there's headhunters galore here all the time too.

When it comes time, I'll have no problem at all finding work, especially out of state.

Oklahoma City companies recruit out of state, too. When you have a job, swimming at 4am isn’t a priority anymore. LOL. BTW, are these head hunters promising you 24 hour pools?

That's what we're all doing.

Not as much as you used to. I can tell that for sure every time I go out. But it clearly sounds like you need to leave and I wouldn’t blame you. I did it. I didn’t even stay for school. I was 18 when I moved to California and do you know what most 18 and 19 year olds do in California? They score pot or beer and hung out at friends’ houses. Strangely, NO ONE was swimming at 4am and I never even once heard of anyone wanting to. Actually, that’s not true. There was pool hopping, but that was more a product of the beer and pot than the vast promised land of 24 hour public pools that actually doesn’t exist (at least not on the west coast, unless you count the ocean).

club-hop, meet new people in social situations, hang with friends someplace besides dorms or parent's houses, play pool in a smoke-free area, swim at 4 in the morning, be able to so Something at 4 in the morning that doesn't involve Dennys or Waffle house.

Where are you going to go to “club hop” at 19, anyway? OK, I did it, here and in California, but I had a good ID and pretty much everyone was smoking, drinking, and everything else you don’t seem to want to do. Have you been to a club?... Of course you have. Then you should know what people are doing at them, so it's weird that you say you want to club hop, but you don't seem to want to do what people do in clubs. Are there a lot of all night Scrabble clubs that I don't know about?

What I don't want to do is any of the million "organized" events that usually turns out to be a lifecurch.tv thing or visit a museum, or a feminazi art exhibit, or whatever gay thing they're shoving in your face at Paseo this week.

OK, so you’re 19 and don’t want to score beer, smoke pot, or go to house parties. Now, you don’t want to go to art parties or, it's safe to assume, go see bands (you can do that, you know). I hate to break it to you, but honestly, most people like that ARE Jesus enthusiasts. Judging from your posts, those people may actually be your peeps, you just may not know it, yet.

Most people who are 19 are mostly doing everything you said you don’t want to do (you eliminated quite a bit actually) and that is definitely not exclusive to Oklahoma City. And those that don’t, hang out at friends’ houses, which you don’t like to do. And I would bet everything I had that less than .1% of them are at a pool at 4am that isn’t at one of their friends’ houses or doesn’t involve trespassing.

I’ll be the first to say that Oklahoma City can use some more things to do, but certainly not for 19 year olds that don’t like legal activities like house parties, art showings, sports, organized gatherings (run by churches or not), or even the, dare I say “normal” things like drinking beer, smoking some pot, going to clubs, etc. I know people are not leaving because they couldn’t swim at 4 am (Sorry, but that’s just killing me LOL).

Look, clearly, judging from your criteria of "stuff to do", you are going to be bored in most US cities right now, unless you like to wander the streets late night, because most of what is going on past 2am in most cities in the country is not designed for 19 year olds and most of the establishments don’t even allow 19 year olds.

I completely understand at 19 your desire to hang out in some place past 2am that isn’t named Denny’s and is in a cooler city. But, guess what, it’s not going to be some lavish club, because they will card you harder than any club here and all ages clubs in a town with good clubs are generally not considered very cool and you would be complaining about that. You would probably be with your friends at a non-Denny’s diner complaining that you couldn’t get into where you wanted to go and that there was nothing to do. Sure, that diner would be on a cooler street with a name like Sunset Strip or 5th Avenue, but it would be very similar to hangin' at Denny's or Ihop. (I actually remember making fun of people at school for doing this, because I, too, expected more from going out of state. )

Seriously, you know what you need to do: GO TO EUROPE, particularly Spain, Portugal or Italy this summer or next semester. THAT’S what you want. They don’t eat dinner until midnight and no one goes to the club before 2am. There is no difference between all ages clubs and over 21 clubs, because, well, they're the same thing. Do it before you’re 21, too, because after that, the novelty of doing that disappears and then most people spend their night outs looking for the next great dive bar, and, honestly, Oklahoma City has some GREAT dive bars.

On the flip side, if I were an NBA basketball player, I would probably whine about OKC, too. Mainly because being an NBA basketball player gives you full access to just about anything, anyone, and any place you want. I would probably feel that access was wasted by being in OKC. I would deainetely enjoy taking advantage of that access in some of the country’s best cities. Then again, you still get that access when you’re on the road, even if you play for Oklahoma City or Utah or Memphis or Sacramento and there’s only 15 roster spots (30 in LA) in every city, so, when you think about it, whining about ANY market you’re playing in when you’re playing in the NBA is childish and trivial. Whining about it when you don’t play in the NBA and wouldn’t have that kind of access is just pointless and desperate, and is probably born more of ignorance than anything else.

[FormerFloridian]

I agree... the swimming at 4am is pretty funny.

I think his problem is that he just wants to be "grown up". By his comments, it sounds like he is trying to make himself sound more of an adult by wanting to swim @4am, attend events that are non-pot or alcohol related....

Dude, if that's you want, expand your mind and explore the culture around you, because once you grow up and get a job, you won't have nearly enough time for the stuff you want to do.

[johnnyincog]

i think we should legalize cannabis in bricktown and develop some great coffee shops. it would a boon to tourism.

[Bunty]

Well, if California or some other state legalizes pot real soon, it would probably take at least 10 years, probably more, for pot to be legalized in Oklahoma and Oklahoma City. By then, it won't be novel enough to attract much tourism.

[Blazerfan11]

You people love this thread. Reminds me of a lot of things from Erich Fromm's "Escape From Freedom". Please grow up. This is allegedly a Big League City now. At least pretend this is true.

[MikeLucky]

Well I happen to know for a fact that several of the NY Knicks seemed to have a GREAT time here the night before their game... and that was a SUNDAY night.

Let's just say that the "haunted" Skirvin wasn't the real reason why they didn't get any sleep the night before...

lol

[BrettL]

I went to college in MN - and there was plenty to do for students under 21. I can see where he's coming from. There were tons of 18+ dance clubs that were open till 1 or 2 almost any night of the week.