Oklahoma City, In the Press

[NWOKCGuy]

I've been touting what's happening in OKC to friends in other cities since I moved here in 05. I've finally gotten a few to bite and make the move. Just had two friends from San Francisco buy homes here. Once they get settled they're going to open up a sandwich shop somewhere in the core. They were both in the tech industry and had enough saved to buy homes here (they were renting there) and have enough of a nest egg to open shop (which they could never afford to do there), be their own bosses and live until the shop is up and running. Not many places in the US where you can still live the 'dream'.

[LocoAko]

New York Times article on OKC.

Fantastic article -- I'm sure my friends in NYC are getting sick of me, and their newspaper, harking to greener (cheaper) pastures inland. :P

[dcsooner]

New York Times article on OKC.

This is a great article documenting the ever-changing dynamics of Oklahoma City. Great positive news for the City. Really hope this trend continues because OKC does have more than those not familiar with that part of the county believe. Keep it up OKC!

[Bellaboo]

What a great piece. The NY Times has featured some great articles on OKC's revival over the past few years, more so than most any other paper.

It's interesting that the papers from mid size cities still take occasional (and usually uninformed) swipes at us, but the largest paper in the greatest U.S. city routinely gives us props. I think it is because smaller cities tend to be less secure in their stature/status, and are always looking over their collective shoulders to see who might be catching up or passing them. New York is afraid of nobody.

This is off topic, but NYC and OKC have that terrorism bond. Respect flowing both directions between the two.

[zookeeper]

Great article! To make it even better, did anybody see where it was in the paper?

[poe]

Great article. I especially liked the quote from the guy in Austin.

[OKCisOK4me]

I enjoy Mick's whit...the Wrath of Grapes, lol.

[traxx]

This is off topic, but NYC and OKC have that terrorism bond. Respect flowing both directions between the two.

And we're both also known by three letters. And those three letters end in C. dun Dun DUN! Coincidence?

[zookeeper]

And we're both also known by three letters. And those three letters end in C. dun Dun DUN! Coincidence?

And, of course, "O" comes immediately after "N" in the alphabet.

[NWOKCGuy]

Also, you can't spell New York City without OKC.

[adaniel]

I know quite a bit of people living in the NYC tri state area and most are very cool with OKC. Sure you have your Upper East Siders who are only now accepting of New Jersey (but everything west of the Delaware River is definitely full of redneck zombies in their eyes) but that is definitely a minority.

If anything, I've gotten a bizzare level of curiosity, but I don't think there's any malice there....most NYCers are quite aware they are being ripped off and generally want to know about the rest of the country so they finally escape. Also, people that work on Wall Street have learned about OKC throuugh the recent energy/fracking boom and with Aubrey M. and CHK (although that may not be a good thing depending on your stance).

[traxx]

And, of course, "O" comes immediately after "N" in the alphabet.

Also, you can't spell New York City without OKC.

And the commonalities just keep coming.


I don't think we're reaching on this. Do you?

[NWOKCGuy]

Not all. We're basically the same city.

[CuatrodeMayo]

Ha! I just saw this article and was coming to this thread to post it.

You know where I saw it? Here: The Seattle Times | News, sports, weather, events in the Northwest

Wanna buy a house here? Home-price bidding wars flare across many neighborhoods | Business & Technology | The Seattle Times

[Mel]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/afford...014410351.html

[PhiAlpha]

Ha! I just saw this article and was coming to this thread to post it.

You know where I saw it? Here: The Seattle Times | News, sports, weather, events in the Northwest

Wanna buy a house here? Home-price bidding wars flare across many neighborhoods | Business & Technology | The Seattle Times

Lol at the Sonic comments. Fewer than I expected, but still funny.

[traxx]

Sure you have your Upper East Siders who are only now accepting of New Jersey

Oh really?

[Snowman]

just saw this in a tweet: http://www.thecoolist.com/city-rising-okc/

[gopokes88]

The coolist was a great documentary. My only critique was he focused solely on tech startups, which is great, but oil and gas really is what's driving the economy and growth. In fact on of the tech startup guys said it's mostly oil and gas that's grown everything here which has allowed us to prosper. Rising tide lifts all boats.

My favorite quote from the NY Times article, "Maybe the middle class hasn't disappeared, maybe it's gone somewhere else."
I found that to be resoundingly true, fortunately okc seems to be the somewhere else.

[ljbab728]

Another in the long list of kudos for OKC.

Best Places - #7 Oklahoma City, Okla. - In Photos: Best And Worst Places For Business 2014 - Forbes

[adaniel]

New York Times article on OKC.

Now that I've read this article again, the last line with the guy from Austin is quite telling. I think of OKC plays its cards right and the economy continues to stay up, I think that it will start to see a big influx of Texans.

I am now in Dallas. I generally am ok with this area but much like Austin, it is really not cheap anymore. If I want to move to a neighborhood with decent schools or some character I will have to pay out the nose. A home in M Streets (very similar makeup to Edgemere Park) will run 400-500K...same house in Edgemere will be 200-250K. Also in my parents middle-to-professional class hood in Plano, homes that would go for no more than 350K in Edmond or Norman are topping 500K here.

Yes DFW is much bigger and wages are a bit higher, but there's nothing to justify a doubling of price. When you float this by people down here, they will say, "well at least its not California." Um, no, its not CA. Its freakin Texas....completely different market. People here are OBSESSED with CA, I don't get it. Its CA equity refugees that are driving up the price in places like DFW, Austin, etc.

In fairness, you can still get pretty cheap real estate here, but you are going to be going out....WAY out....to exurban outposts like Little Elm, which is about 40 miles from Downtown Dallas. Needless to say its boring as hell and traffic in these areas is just a nightmare. IMO you can still move into a great urban, up and coming neighborhood in OKC for under 250K. That is becoming a rarity anywhere, even in supposedly "cheap" Texas.

[LocoAko]

Oklahoma City rated the 2nd most conservative city (with populations exceeding 250,000) in the nation. Yay?

Daily chart: Urban ideologies | The Economist

[Bellaboo]

^^^ this, and this -

I read the NY Times article that was posted in the Seattle paper. I read the comments section and was shocked by the cost of water in Seattle, when one of the posters said his mothers water bill was $300.00 per month. They were trying to justify the high cost of living in Seattle compared to the interior cities.

[gopokes88]

Oklahoma City rated the 2nd most conservative city (with populations exceeding 250,000) in the nation. Yay?

Daily chart: Urban ideologies | The Economist

Eh the majority may vote Republican nationwide, but on a local level it really varies issue to issue and isn't really partisan. MAPS isn't something a pure conservative would like and yet it passes every time it's on the ballot. You had a mayoral election recently in which both candidates were arguing for more city government involvement just in different areas. Not exactly conservative.

Which seems to be how conservatives around here think. Nationally I want as little federal government as possible. It's too big, too powerful, has people like Frank Underwood in it and running it, wastes too much money, has no accountability, is constantly in panic/crisis mode, starts wars, and is so large it's near impossible to manage. (Wal Mart is the largest corporation in the world and the federal government is 9X the size of it) So I'd like to keep that as small a possible.

Locally I don't really care how big or small our city government is, as long as it works, and listens. OKC's works pretty well and listens to its citizens. (Do not mistake listening with doing. They heard the people that were upset about SC, that doesn't mean they were going/able to do anything) That's the key difference, I have zero influence, say, or sway in what the Feds do. However, I do feel like I have a voice in OKC's government. City government and I may not always agree, but at least I have a seat at the table.

[warreng88]

This was my favorite quote from the Times article:

Mr. Olson, 42, who was recruited by the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation after finishing his postdoctoral work, said his family had not shed tears over leaving New York. “There’s a little less to do, yeah,” he said. “But now we can afford to do it.”