Hello all
Im sure this is an age old topic but it's new for me so I apologize in advance.
My wife and I are possibly relocating from Houston to Tulsa (Job Transfer)
We are both so ready to get out of a city the size of Houston.
We welcome the change to Tulsa, however we know very little about the city and where to live. we have googled a bit.
We are selling our home here and have a recently purchased a fixer upper cabin in the Boston Mountains of the Ozarks about 3 hours away so we really don't want to buy another home. We rather rent an apartment or town home, maybe even a house if the rent is low enough and in a decent safe area. We feel renting will allow us to save a little money to put towards our Ar. cabin so we can some day retire there.
We like going out for our Mexican food and margaritas, Italian, Sushi, but we are middle aged and also don't want to live to close to a college. We love the college kids, we are just a little old for that life, maybe 25 yrs ago. Been down that road long time ago.
We have a couple dogs, we have kids that may come stay or visit, need a safe place to call a home to start off with, then as we get to know the area we can decide what part of town or suburb to live.
We look at it as a place to start anew and explore.
We see lots of names like Owasso, Jenks, Barstow, Tulsa
Any suggestions would certainly be appreciated.
Thank you
What part of town is your job in?
I believe it is in the Cherokee Industrial Park in Tulsa.
I don't mind driving to and from work.
Hey TN veterans, isn't there a thread in this forum to assist newcomers? Oh, and welcome aboard Mike.
Actually, Mid-Town near TU may have the kind of rent you'd like and space and you'd really never guess you lived that close to a university except on five game days in the fall if you moved directly south or north of the school.
What are your housing tastes? Contemporary, cottage, early 1900's craftsman, mid century modern? Give us some ideas and we can steer you around the city.
Welcome aboard and welcome to Tulsa!
Quote from: Mike51 on February 23, 2011, 12:46:42 PM
Hello all
Im sure this is an age old topic but it's new for me so I apologize in advance.
My wife and I are possibly relocating from Houston to Tulsa (Job Transfer)
We are both so ready to get out of a city the size of Houston.
We welcome the change to Tulsa, however we know very little about the city and where to live. we have googled a bit.
We are selling our home here and have a recently purchased a fixer upper cabin in the Boston Mountains of the Ozarks about 3 hours away so we really don't want to buy another home. We rather rent an apartment or town home, maybe even a house if the rent is low enough and in a decent safe area. We feel renting will allow us to save a little money to put towards our Ar. cabin so we can some day retire there.
We like going out for our Mexican food and margaritas, Italian, Sushi, but we are middle aged and also don't want to live to close to a college. We love the college kids, we are just a little old for that life, maybe 25 yrs ago. Been down that road long time ago.
We have a couple dogs, we have kids that may come stay or visit, need a safe place to call a home to start off with, then as we get to know the area we can decide what part of town or suburb to live.
We look at it as a place to start anew and explore.
We see lots of names like Owasso, Jenks, Barstow, Tulsa
Any suggestions would certainly be appreciated.
Thank you
Welcome...where in Houston do/did you live? I lived there for three agonizing years in the early nineties and relished the day I moved back here. I lived out around FM 1960 and North Fwy before that area started getting a little seedy.
As everyone else has said, welcome to Tulsa. I'll think a little more in depth about where to steer you.
Thank you all for a warm welcome,
We currently live in the southwest part of town Stafford area. (Hwy 59 south, opposite end from your 1960 area)
I have lived in Houston most my life with the exception of Ouray, Co. back in the early 90's. I called that my 4 yr vacation.
Looks like apartment rent is a good bit lower than Houston, 2 bdrm, washer/dryer here is about $1200, would rather stay below $800 if possible.
Quote from: Conan71 on February 23, 2011, 01:40:05 PM
Actually, Mid-Town near TU may have the kind of rent you'd like and space and you'd really never guess you lived that close to a university except on five game days in the fall if you moved directly south or north of the school.
What are your housing tastes? Contemporary, cottage, early 1900's craftsman, mid century modern? Give us some ideas and we can steer you around the city.
Welcome aboard and welcome to Tulsa!
Well I haven't even thought about it that way but with all those choices
How about cottage, 1900 craftsman and mid century modern.
Quote from: Mike51 on February 23, 2011, 02:07:35 PM
Well I haven't even thought about it that way but with all those choices
How about cottage, 1900 craftsman and mid century modern.
That would put you pretty much in midtown and the outskirts of downtown. Access to Cherokee Industrial Park would be simple enough, get on the Broken Arrow Expressway (known as "The BA") and cut north on Hwy 75.
You should be able to find a two or three bed house in your price range. It won't be a Taj Mahal, but it won't be a dump either.
Bixby, Broken Arrow, Owasso would be three choices.
Welcome, Mike!
The Cherokee Industrial Park is north of Tulsa, with convenient access to Owasso, Skiatook, Collinsville, and Tulsa itself. There are a lot of new homes going in between Owasso and Collinsville. US75 allows quick commuting.
I think the average commuting distance in the Tulsa metro area is about 5 miles. That came from the census, if I remember right. On city streets, that's equivalent to 20-25 minutes, or much less if you're on a freeway.
We moved from mid-town to east Tulsa five years ago and I love it. There are some real dump apartments, but lots of wonderful homes for rent in your price range.
My neighborhood near 15th and Mingo Creek in east Tulsa is great. We have beautiful jogging paths, no car traffic, big lots for the dogs, and the best selection of Indian, Mexican, and Asian restaurants and groceries in town.
Because of your work location, I would look at Collinsville as well.
The city has a beautiful downtown, progressive leadership, and because they also have their own electric company, plenty of cash to hire police and build parks.
As Conan said, with your architectural selections, that would probably put you around downtown/midtown. You could probably find a nice house or apartment in your price range there.
Welcome to Tulsa!
I wouldn't be as quick to count out buying, if you plan on keeping the place for an extended period of time. I've seen folks move out of a two bedroom apartment and buy a three bedroom house and only raise their cost by a small amount (rent vs mortgage/insurance). It would also give you an investment that your money would be going into. Just my two cents on the matter, and of course wouldn't make too much sense if your only planning on staying there for five years or less.
East Tulsa has some good area's, but a lot of it has gone downhill in the past decade. As others have said, mid-town would be a good place to start. TU has a pretty good sprawl, but the "college crowd" doesn't extend too far from the campus, so as long as you don't park yourself right up against it, you should be fine on that. It would also give you a pretty quick access to Cherry Street and/or Brookside, depending where you settle in. As far as getting to work, the quick hop up the road will be like a Sunday outing compared to the the commute in Houston.
Welcome to Tulsa.
Welcome.
If you look at a shaped area encompassing Owasso, Collinsville, Oologah, Claremore, Verdigris, starting at Owasso, you will find some nice areas, cheaper the further away, that would give easy access to Arkansas along 412 highway. And convenient to Cherokee business area.
And reasonable access, if not walking distance to Tulsa center for activities. Highway 169 (north and south) intersecting with I-244 gives good movement throughout the metro area. North to Owasso/Collinsville/Claremore, west to downtown/midtown, south to "The Mall". East to Arkansas. (You don't want to live within 3 miles or so of that intersection, though.)
Quote from: custosnox on February 23, 2011, 08:40:12 PM
I wouldn't be as quick to count out buying, if you plan on keeping the place for an extended period of time. I've seen folks move out of a two bedroom apartment and buy a three bedroom house and only raise their cost by a small amount (rent vs mortgage/insurance). It would also give you an investment that your money would be going into. Just my two cents on the matter, and of course wouldn't make too much sense if your only planning on staying there for five years or less.
East Tulsa has some good area's, but a lot of it has gone downhill in the past decade. As others have said, mid-town would be a good place to start. TU has a pretty good sprawl, but the "college crowd" doesn't extend too far from the campus, so as long as you don't park yourself right up against it, you should be fine on that. It would also give you a pretty quick access to Cherry Street and/or Brookside, depending where you settle in. As far as getting to work, the quick hop up the road will be like a Sunday outing compared to the the commute in Houston.
Welcome to Tulsas.
Ditto what custosnox said above!
I was renting a townhouse in East Tulsa (31st & 145th East Ave.) last year, and was sick and tired of apartment living. I started looking for a rental house, and discovered that my cat (who I was unwilling to give up) limited my options. After doing some math, I discovered I could buy a house for less money than renting. I'm now the happy owner of a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home in the Hoover neighborhood off of 31st & Yale., and my monthly payments (mortgage + escrow) come to around $750/month. I love this neighborhood, and it is incredibly convenient-I'm on the Broken Arrow Expressway within 3 minutes of leavning my house!
Interest rates aren't going to get any lower than this, and Tulsa is truly a buyer's market. If you're planning to live here for 5 years or more it just makes sense to buy.
Welcome to Tulsa, and keep asking questions!
You can probably tell that many of us have been apartment dwellers at one time or another, myself included, and got tired of the noise, cost/return factor,and other problems that go with that lifestyle.
Unless you can forecast moving from Tulsa within 5 years, I would consider purchasing a home, once you get settled here and become familiar with the areas we have discussed.
It's a buyers market, as it is in many parts of the country right now, and in Tulsa as well.
Welcome to Tulsa.
Quote from: Mike51 on February 23, 2011, 12:46:42 PM
Hello all
Im sure this is an age old topic but it's new for me so I apologize in advance.
My wife and I are possibly relocating from Houston to Tulsa (Job Transfer)
We are both so ready to get out of a city the size of Houston.
We welcome the change to Tulsa, however we know very little about the city and where to live. we have googled a bit.
We are selling our home here and have a recently purchased a fixer upper cabin in the Boston Mountains of the Ozarks about 3 hours away so we really don't want to buy another home. We rather rent an apartment or town home, maybe even a house if the rent is low enough and in a decent safe area. We feel renting will allow us to save a little money to put towards our Ar. cabin so we can some day retire there.
We like going out for our Mexican food and margaritas, Italian, Sushi, but we are middle aged and also don't want to live to close to a college. We love the college kids, we are just a little old for that life, maybe 25 yrs ago. Been down that road long time ago.
We have a couple dogs, we have kids that may come stay or visit, need a safe place to call a home to start off with, then as we get to know the area we can decide what part of town or suburb to live.
We look at it as a place to start anew and explore.
We see lots of names like Owasso, Jenks, Barstow, Tulsa
Any suggestions would certainly be appreciated.
Thank you
I have a house in Owasso that I would consider renting to the right people. The house is in a location that you could walk to two good Mexican Food places one with excellent margaritas. Owasso has two very good and one decent Italian restaurants. Sushi, not sure the Sushi place is still open. Have not drove by it since my son moved into his house. Not a Sushi fan myself. We keep going back and forth about renting the house and selling it. Not the best time to sell, but not sure we want the hassle of finding good renters.
Let me know if you want to see the house.
Quote from: unreliablesource on February 24, 2011, 06:46:29 PM
I have a house in Owasso that I would consider renting to the right people. The house is in a location that you could walk to two good Mexican Food places one with excellent margaritas. Owasso has two very good and one decent Italian restaurants. Sushi, not sure the Sushi place is still open. Have not drove by it since my son moved into his house. Not a Sushi fan myself. We keep going back and forth about renting the house and selling it. Not the best time to sell, but not sure we want the hassle of finding good renters.
Let me know if you want to see the house.
+1 to you for helping a newcomer. And Owasso has 2 hospitals and is a pretty neat town.
I like Owasso too, feels like the suburbs of Dallas.
I will probably be wildly criticized for saying this: I like Dallas.
Anyway, hopefully you can settle in soon. Enjoy your new home/apartment.
Quote from: ZYX on February 24, 2011, 08:27:17 PM
I like Owasso too, feels like the suburbs of Dallas.
I will probably be wildly criticized for saying this: I like Dallas.
Anyway, hopefully you can settle in soon. Enjoy your new home/apartment.
You sewer sucking, Texas loving...just kidding.
Ha!
Quote from: unreliablesource on February 24, 2011, 06:46:29 PM
I have a house in Owasso that I would consider renting to the right people. The house is in a location that you could walk to two good Mexican Food places one with excellent margaritas. Owasso has two very good and one decent Italian restaurants. Sushi, not sure the Sushi place is still open. Have not drove by it since my son moved into his house. Not a Sushi fan myself. We keep going back and forth about renting the house and selling it. Not the best time to sell, but not sure we want the hassle of finding good renters.
Let me know if you want to see the house.
Thank you for the consideration, Once I find out if the relocation is a done deal I'll let you know on this forum and if your still interested we can discuss further. I'm pretty handi and my wife keeps me and our house very tidy.
I should know something in the next couple weeks.
Thank you all for taking time to reply and for all the helpful information.
I should know something in the next couple weeks as we just had some Exec. realignment so things were put on the back burner until all the newly realigned can settle in.
Quote from: guido911 on February 24, 2011, 07:06:50 PM
+1 to you for helping a newcomer. And Owasso has 2 hospitals and is a pretty neat town.
Oh that's good to know. My wife works for Texas Childrens Hospital, more in the administrative area and would be looking for work. Hopefully she can get some leads from the Doc she works for.