OKC MSA Employment Growth

[Bunty]

The state really should be trying to tie-in to Texas (at least economically/infrastructur..ally?) as much as possible. I'd love to see the state try to invest more in Marietta/Ardmore/Thackerville to upgrade services and infrastructure there. As the DFW metro pushes further northward, those areas could become good exurb alternatives for folks looking to commute.

I don't expect commuters are looking for paying the Oklahoma income tax. There is still lots of room left in northern Texas. And gas prices are high. All electric cars aren't strongly catching on.

[oklip955]

I admit that outside the Okc and Tulsa metro areas, health care is not good for the most part. In the metro areas there are some decent doctors and care. I am just saying weighing everything, the Okc and Tulsa metros can be an option for some people for a good place to retire.

[Dob Hooligan]

I admit that outside the Okc and Tulsa metro areas, health care is not good for the most part. In the metro areas there are some decent doctors and care. I am just saying weighing everything, the Okc and Tulsa metros can be an option for some people for a good place to retire.

I'm retirement age, but, I got no idea why we would want more of us here? We don't have jobs; get a discount on any tax; call 911 every other week; don't have kids, so we are anti-growth and anti-school spending; we vote religiously (and religiously) against anything that will affect me in any way or offend my church; and want everything to be exactly the way it was when I moved here.

[dankrutka]

The state really should be trying to tie-in to Texas (at least economically/infrastructur..ally?) as much as possible. I'd love to see the state try to invest more in Marietta/Ardmore/Thackerville to upgrade services and infrastructure there. As the DFW metro pushes further northward, those areas could become good exurb alternatives for folks looking to commute.

I've never understood why the Heartland Flyer doesn't have a Sanger/Denton stop between Gainesville and Fort Worth. It's bizarre to stop in every small Oklahoma town and then go 1.5 hours without a stop past a lot of people. If they added that stop and ran it 2 times a day each way instead of once, I think that could also increase the connection between north Texas and OKC.

[The]

A lot about the Heartland Flyer doesn’t make a lot of sense. It’s odd because it seems like an easy route to improve and have a lot of success with. It’s a fairly straightforward route and could be higher speed. Remove a few OK stops and add a Denton one, increase speed, and add a frequency and boom.

[Bunty]

I'm retirement age, but, I got no idea why we would want more of us here? We don't have jobs; get a discount on any tax; call 911 every other week; don't have kids, so we are anti-growth and anti-school spending; we vote religiously (and religiously) against anything that will affect me in any way or offend my church; and want everything to be exactly the way it was when I moved here.

Sarcasm?

[Snowman]

I've never understood why the Heartland Flyer doesn't have a Sanger/Denton stop between Gainesville and Fort Worth. It's bizarre to stop in every small Oklahoma town and then go 1.5 hours without a stop past a lot of people. If they added that stop and ran it 2 times a day each way instead of once, I think that could also increase the connection between north Texas and OKC.

I expected the stop differences may have come from what backers in the two states wanted from it, and since are partially subsidizing may have some influence on where stops are located in their state. With the next plausible reason was low interest in the cities that seem logical to stop in to build/refurbish/maintain a station.

[PoliSciGuy]

A trending post on the OKC subreddit really shows the growth of the metro over the last 40 years as seen from space: https://www.reddit.com/r/okc/comment...t=share_button

I wonder what a shot from 2064 will look like

[Dob Hooligan]

Sarcasm?

Not totally. People stay in retirement communities for 10 years, maybe 15, before they go back to where their children can take care of them. We olds are generally very conservative, afraid of meeting Jesus, and selfish.

[stlokc]

I understand where you're coming from, Dob. It's a little harsh; I mean, we'll all be "old" one day and I would like to hope we wouldn't actively be discouraged from making our homes where we choose.

But I do think "attracting retirees" should not be a fundamental growth strategy of OKC. We can't compete with better climates and anyway, from a purely crass standpoint, older people have lesser amounts of time left. A better plan is to continue to focus on improving quality of life, look for economic and corporate sectors that make sense and help us diversify the economy, and put more resources into the start-up ecosystem. MUCH stronger educational institutions and a welcoming environment for immigrants, who are younger, and start companies at a much higher rate than native-born Americans, will help tremendously.

[Rover]

Not totally. People stay in retirement communities for 10 years, maybe 15, before they go back to where their children can take care of them. We olds are generally very conservative, afraid of meeting Jesus, and selfish.

Thats a cynical take on older people. Most of my retired friends patronize local businesses, are loyal to their communities, do public service, do mentoring, make investments, go to church and give generously. They have hobbies. They have families who visit them. If they can afford, they travel. They are not just waiting to die.

[Rover]

Duplicate

[Dob Hooligan]

Thats a cynical take on older people. Most of my retired friends patronize local businesses, are loyal to their communities, do public service, do mentoring, make investments, go to church and give generously. They have hobbies. They have families who visit them. If they can afford, they travel. They are not just waiting to die.

Read post number 28 and respond to that. Remember, I am in my 60s and talking about my age and older. If you have rich friends who give generously, more power to them. How many of those people want to move to Oklahoma and give generously from out of state?

[HOT ROD]

Devon diversifying too heavily into renewables would be terrible for them as a company. They need to put all their effort into seeking out acquisition targets to grow their asset base and avoid being acquired. The big alternative projects can work but they are often very capital intensive, take a years at best to pay out (many oil wells payout in 6-12 when oil is around $80/bbl) and are heavily reliant on government subsidies to be remotely profitable right now (especially the new carbon capture stuff which ONLY is viable because of government incentives). This is why a lot of the majors that made big extravagant public leaps into alternative projects have been a lot quieter about them lately. Alternative projects are best suited for companies that specialize in them. One with a tech parallel that actually makes sense from an efficiency perspective is Geothermal. Devon has made some small investments into a startup that’s had some success bringing horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing tech into the geothermal space which is pretty exciting. That being said, they would essentially have to become a utility at that point which is something they likely aren’t all that interested in doing until the process matures.

We’ve worked on some alternative projects and while we love those clients and are happy to do the work, they haven’t shown to be near as sustainable/consistent as traditional energy projects.

Phi, totally agree with you. Maybe I should have said different co's than Devon or Chesapeake, but I only mentioned them because they are more or less our showcase companies. But yes I agree with you it wouldn't be a good idea for Devon for the time being given the capital exposure needed. I just wish there were some OKC companies that could specialize in it and/or rise up so to diversify the energy sector here even more. That was my main point and wish - but here you on the specifics. ...

[Rover]

Read post number 28 and respond to that. Remember, I am in my 60s and talking about my age and older. If you have rich friends who give generously, more power to them. How many of those people want to move to Oklahoma and give generously from out of state?

My friends aren necessarily “rich”, but they are involved and good citizens. Most are well older than you. They just aren’t at the end of their usefulness to the community and they don't feel like they are. The implication that older people shouldn't be desired as a part of the community is wrong.

[Dob Hooligan]

My friends aren necessarily “rich”, but they are involved and good citizens. Most are well older than you. They just aren’t at the end of their usefulness to the community and they don't feel like they are. The implication that older people shouldn't be desired as a part of the community is wrong.

I think you are placing a negative intent upon me that is not intended. I have a clear-eyed understanding of old people, how we think and act. I would never suggest we/they aren't desired as citizens and neighbors.

But, I don't think Oklahoma is a good place for a retirement community, like The Villages in Florida, or the area down by Georgetown Texas. Too cold in the winter. And I don't think it is a good demographic to seek for sustained growth, since I think the time in market is relatively short, and health and welfare needs are more specific to our demographic.

[Rover]

I think you are placing a negative intent upon me that is not intended. I have a clear-eyed understanding of old people, how we think and act. I would never suggest we/they aren't desired as citizens and neighbors.

But, I don't think Oklahoma is a good place for a retirement community, like The Villages in Florida, or the area down by Georgetown Texas. Too cold in the winter. And I don't think it is a good demographic to seek for sustained growth, since I think the time in market is relatively short, and health and welfare needs are more specific to our demographic.

BTW, at 60 I wouldn't place you in the "old" category. That's only about 65% of many people's life span. Lots of people are running businesses well into their 70s. I even have one friend who started a successful business in his 80s.

[April in the Plaza]

Thats a cynical take on older people. Most of my retired friends patronize local businesses, are loyal to their communities, do public service, do mentoring, make investments, go to church and give generously. They have hobbies. They have families who visit them. If they can afford, they travel. They are not just waiting to die.

i have a hard time keeping track of what "local" even means these days. unless you know the owners or have seen their operating agreement (and any amendments, etc.) , it's very difficult to determine whether a company is corporate or truly owned by local individuals.

[Pete]

i have a hard time keeping track of what "local" even means these days. unless you know the owners or have seen their operating agreement (and any amendments, etc.) , it's very difficult to determine whether a company is corporate or truly owned by local individuals.

"Local" has become nothing more than attempted virtue signaling and "chain" has become a slur by those who often have no idea what they are talking about.

It reminds me of the "Buy American" movement that cropped up in the 70s when the Big 3 automakers were getting their arse kicked by the Japanese.

As a consumer, your one responsibility is to buy the best product and experience. And the truth is you'll never, ever know where that money you spend goes... And for the most part, it doesn't matter anyway.

[oklip955]

I think Oklahoma could be an option for active retirees. The state does give tax breaks to retires ie $10K on money from IRA, ect. , we are a lower tax state, weather is not that bad overall, health care options are getting better in the Okc and Tulsa metro areas, lower cost of housing, lower cost of living, an ave amount of things to do and places to see, also center for travel to other areas ie Dallas/Texas, KC, ect., Red state if that matches your political views. I am not saying this is the place for most people but it should be marketed as an option. I am not saying build another "Sun City' here. Just let people in other states know that there are alot of pluses for retiring here.

[oklip955]

Also when they come, they will be paying property taxes if they buy or rent a place that does. Cities run on sales tax so they will be buying stuff, food, clothing etc. Guess what, people with kids make alot of 911 calls.

[warreng88]

i have a hard time keeping track of what "local" even means these days. unless you know the owners or have seen their operating agreement (and any amendments, etc.) , it's very difficult to determine whether a company is corporate or truly owned by local individuals.

From my perspective, I consider anything with OKC metro ownership local. So, that includes Hal Smith restaurants, Provision Concepts (Hatch, Sidecar, Birra Birra, B10), Good Egg Dining (Cheevers, Iron Starr, Republic, Tucker's, etc), Human Hospitality (Frida, Picasso on Paseo, Oso and Sauced), 84 Hospitality (Empire, Goro Ramen, Burger Punk, etc) and I am sure I am leaving others out. Even though some of them operate outside of the OKC metro, I know the main operations are here in OKC and I am still supporting a local ownership group.

I am not going to try to dig in and see who all the investors are and where they live at to determine if I should eat there or not.

[TheTravellers]

From my perspective, I consider anything with OKC metro ownership local. So, that includes Hal Smith restaurants, Provision Concepts (Hatch, Sidecar, Birra Birra, B10), Good Egg Dining (Cheevers, Iron Starr, Republic, Tucker's, etc), Human Hospitality (Frida, Picasso on Paseo, Oso and Sauced), 84 Hospitality (Empire, Goro Ramen, Burger Punk, etc) and I am sure I am leaving others out. Even though some of them operate outside of the OKC metro, I know the main operations are here in OKC and I am still supporting a local ownership group.

I am not going to try to dig in and see who all the investors are and where they live at to determine if I should eat there or not.

https://www.okctalk.com/showthread.php?t=46984

[Jersey Boss]

I think Oklahoma could be an option for active retirees. The state does give tax breaks to retires ie $10K on money from IRA, ect. , we are a lower tax state, weather is not that bad overall, health care options are getting better in the Okc and Tulsa metro areas, lower cost of housing, lower cost of living, an ave amount of things to do and places to see, also center for travel to other areas ie Dallas/Texas, KC, ect., Red state if that matches your political views. I am not saying this is the place for most people but it should be marketed as an option. I am not saying build another "Sun City' here. Just let people in other states know that there are alot of pluses for retiring here.

Healthcare metrics are important for retirees. Oklahoma is horrible for this. Weather is not the best either. Insurance rates are also some of the highest nationally

[Rover]

Healthcare metrics are important for retirees. Oklahoma is horrible for this. Weather is not the best either. Insurance rates are also some of the highest nationally

Healthcare here is good, if you have coverage. The metrics that are so bad are for diabetes, obesity, cardiac disease. It is more about how people live unhealthy lives and can't afford medical help, than it is about the help itself. Rural healthcare options really pull Oklahoma's overall healthcare ratings down so far. Rural healthcare options are abysmal.