Thinking about a major change

[jne]

quote:Originally posted by cannon_fodder

I live in the Patrick Henry area and am VERY pleased with everything it has to offer.  My son initially went to the TU school but financially we didn't think it was worth it.  Tulsa Public Schools has been an excellent choice all around and I can definitely recommend Patrick Henry with confidence.  

I work in the offices along Harvard South of 41st and live near 31st and Harvard.  My wife and I are both young professionals and my son is in elementary school.  What we like:

1) The school exceeded our expectation.  Good facilities, involved PTA, responsive staff and teachers.  After care program is very willing to work with us.

2) The price is right!  A family home is affordable.  Not the fancy ones closer to Philbrook of course, but the family homes.  

3) Diversity!  We have Native Americans, White people, Black people, Hispanics... families, young singles, young couples, and retirees...  houses worth $185K and houses worth $75K.  One neighbor has a 2008 BMW, the other a 1994 very well used pickup.  The guy with the pickup is far, far more fun to have as a neighbor (FYI).

On that same vein, I happen to have great neighbors.  All of them are friendly in their own right (some more social than others) and willing to help each other out.  A neighbor was in a motor cycle accident last week and the problem is people stopping to offer help too often.

4) Location.  My commute is about 5 minutes.  We have 15 restaurants within a mile.  Several places  to get milk, some coke, or other supplies within walking distance.  A book store.  Grocery store.  Liquor store.  A bar. A few workout places. Dentist... on and on and on.  Everything I need, I *COULD* ride my bike to with ease (if I wasn't a lazy American).  Downtown is 5 minutes, a movie theater, a mall or the airport... 10 minutes.  Utica square.  Fabulous city parks.  The River.  Right there.

5) Secure.  I have lived in my little slice of Tulsa for 6 years now, the extent of crimes committed to my property or my person in my neighborhood include having a wind sock stolen.  

Every now and then a car is broken into on the street (seems about once a year some jerks hit a car in our neighborhood) and a vacant house was vandalized a couple years back.  Otherwise, for being in the middle of "the city" it seems secure.

Several people park on the streets daily.  My son can play with neighbor kids in FRONT lawns with only casual supervision.  I can leave a lawn mower in the front or my garage door open and go inside without worrying.  Basically what you are probably used to.

6) Quite.  Really.  By and large my neighborhood is quite.  There is more ambient noise probably, but midtown Tulsa is not Chicago, Dallas, or the like.  I can sit and have a peaceful beer on my front swing in the evening and not be drown in noise.  
- - -

BAH!  Overall I am very happy with my neighborhood in Midtown.  PM me if you have any questions, but my advice would be move with confidence so long as the above sounds appealing to you.

"Downtown is 5 minutes, a movie theater, a mall or the airport... 10 minutes"

Dude, Promenade is like 5 minutes, you could ride your bike there too if you could make it across the road.

[PonderInc]

I live in Patrick Henry (in the home I grew up in) and think it's a great area.  Having seen the burbs and south Tulsa, I've finally come to appreciate the well-built and unique mid-century ranch houses. (Although they have a similar style, no two are exactly alike...it's almost like the developers hired...ARCHITECTS!)

My house is so sturdy that I rarely hear it rain.

When your kids are old enough for HS, Edison is right down the street, which is now a pretty well-regarded magnet school.

After living walking distance of downtown for 15 years, I feel sort of suburban and tied to the car culture.  I now drive to the gym, work, or the river, rather than walking there.  But it's a great central location where you can get just about anywhere in minutes.

Patrick Henry should be the next addition to the National Register, thanks to it's mostly intact mid-century modern ranch homes.  However, our neighborhood association isn't very active, and people aren't informed about the value of historic preservation.  Yet.  (Unfortunately, we've had some teardowns replaced with "sticks-out-like-a-sore-thumb" homes recently.)

The Christmas Tree lot at 41st and Harvard (and a fairly large chunk of the surrounding residential zoning) is planned to be replaced with a typical suburban, car-oriented, national chain type development.  (The owner wants to hold the land, and sign 50-year leases with chains that will build there.  So far, a CVS pharmacy seems to be the only taker, but an 8-acre development is planned...with a grocery store, restaurant with a drive-thru, and an office/retail building.)  This will require demolition of 4 residences, I believe, and the development will stretch almost all the way to Jamestown from Harvard.

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by PonderInc


The Christmas Tree lot at 41st and Harvard (and a fairly large chunk of the surrounding residential zoning) is planned to be replaced with a typical suburban, car-oriented, national chain type development.  (The owner wants to hold the land, and sign 50-year leases with chains that will build there.  So far, a CVS pharmacy seems to be the only taker, but an 8-acre development is planned...with a grocery store, restaurant with a drive-thru, and an office/retail building.)  This will require demolition of 4 residences, I believe, and the development will stretch almost all the way to Jamestown from Harvard.

That's great news! There's a HORRIBLE shortage of pharmacies in this town!

[Steve]

quote:Originally posted by PonderInc

I live in Patrick Henry (in the home I grew up in) and think it's a great area.  Having seen the burbs and south Tulsa, I've finally come to appreciate the well-built and unique mid-century ranch houses. (Although they have a similar style, no two are exactly alike...it's almost like the developers hired...ARCHITECTS!)

Patrick Henry should be the next addition to the National Register, thanks to it's mostly intact mid-century modern ranch homes.  

Most all residential neighborhoods in the U.S., from the earliest days to present, were built without professional architect design.  Most builders to this day use stock plans or plans of "designers," and not trained, degreed architects, to save money and commissions.    Architects are more commonly involved in one-off, custom homes.  One exception in Tulsa is my Lortondale neighborhood, where all the homes were designed by professional degreed architect Donald Honn in partership with builder Howard Grubb.

The next Tulsa neighborhood in line for inclusion on the National Historic Register is Lortondale.  It is already in the works, with surveys and applications filed.  According to my contacts on the Tulsa Preservation Commission, Lortondale will be the last residential neighborhood in Tulsa nominated for NHR placement for many, many years.

[carltonplace]

Be sure to check out Riverview (Lee Elementary a fine school), Brady Heights, Owen Park (Carver?).

Great old homes mixed with new. Fixer uppers or move in ready all price ranges. Brady Heights was listed recently (in This Old House)as one of the best places to buy a craftsman bungalow.

All close to downtown and the IDL, River Parks, all have active neighborhood associations and diverse residents. I've noticed an increasing number of families in all of these areas.

[Hometown]

There is a gorgeous medium sized craftsman bungalow for sale in Brady Heights now.  Been on the market for probably 5 months.  Bet someone could pick up a piece of history and a bargain at the same time.

Riverview has to be one the all time best urban residential neighorhoods I have ever seen.  I used to belong to the Divine Light Mission situated in a craftsman bungalow in Riverview back in the day.  Joined because of the leader's beautiful eyes.

You could easily walk downtown from Riverview.

The only thing these close in to downtown neighborhoods lack is good near by shopping.  One of these days someone will figure out that a lot of upscale folks live in these areas and there is some money to be made.

And I want to register my vote for Lortondale too.  Best value in Tulsa.

Tulsa has such wonderful neighborhoods and houses.  So much to choose from.

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by Hometown

There is a gorgeous medium sized craftsman bungalow for sale in Brady Heights now.  Been on the market for probably 5 months.  Bet someone could pick up a piece of history and a bargain at the same time.

Riverview has to be one the all time best urban residential neighorhoods I have ever seen.  I used to belong to the Divine Light Mission situated in a craftsman bungalow in Riverview back in the day.  Joined because of the leader's beautiful eyes.

You could easily walk downtown from Riverview.

The only thing these close in to downtown neighborhoods lack is good near by shopping.  One of these days someone will figure out that a lot of upscale folks live in these areas and there is some money to be made.

And I want to register my vote for Lortondale too.  Best value in Tulsa.

Tulsa has such wonderful neighborhoods and houses.  So much to choose from.

I don't think too many of those folks would be happy w/ a Reasor's at 21st & Peoria. []

Riverview has gotten fairly spendy now, hasn't it?

[PonderInc]

quote:Originally posted by Conan71

quote:Originally posted by PonderInc


The Christmas Tree lot at 41st and Harvard (and a fairly large chunk of the surrounding residential zoning) is planned to be replaced with a typical suburban, car-oriented, national chain type development.  (The owner wants to hold the land, and sign 50-year leases with chains that will build there.  So far, a CVS pharmacy seems to be the only taker, but an 8-acre development is planned...with a grocery store, restaurant with a drive-thru, and an office/retail building.)  This will require demolition of 4 residences, I believe, and the development will stretch almost all the way to Jamestown from Harvard.

That's great news! There's a HORRIBLE shortage of pharmacies in this town!

Yeah, you'd think the 4 or 5 within a one mile radius of 41st and Harvard would be enough...

But we can always use some more national chains.  Gives us that special je ne sais quoi...[xx(]

[Kashmir]

Thanks for the really great ideas.  We have until spring to get it together, so we are looking and learning. We ate at Kingspoint Village on Saturday and loved loved how close it would be if we lived there.

The only "bad" thing I read was that Patrick Henry used to have a principal that was not allowing recess??? pancakes?  As long as all is well now, LOL.  
It is a harder sell on Mr. K who loves his 2K sq. ft home. (thus the promise of a Sportster!) We live on a street that is really cool and diverse with that ever so slightly seedy element.  However, it's for the children!  

We almost bought our first home @ 11th and Quebec, (sniffs with regret) however, I was home alone a lot and Mama Kashmir worried endlessly about me being so far away, thus we bought close to them.  []

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by Kashmir

Thanks for the really great ideas.  We have until spring to get it together, so we are looking and learning. We ate at Kingspoint Village on Saturday and loved loved how close it would be if we lived there.

The only "bad" thing I read was that Patrick Henry used to have a principal that was not allowing recess??? pancakes?  As long as all is well now, LOL.  
It is a harder sell on Mr. K who loves his 2K sq. ft home. (thus the promise of a Sportster!) We live on a street that is really cool and diverse with that ever so slightly seedy element.  However, it's for the children!  

We almost bought our first home @ 11th and Quebec, (sniffs with regret) however, I was home alone a lot and Mama Kashmir worried endlessly about me being so far away, thus we bought close to them.  []

11th & Quebec brought my own situation to light.  I keep gravitating back to mid town.  from 4 or 5 to 11, I lived near 25th & Delaware, then 85th & Toledo till I was 20 or 21.  First house I owned was 14th & Gary pl.  Next house was in Sungate (about four houses north of Byrd), then on out to the "promised land" of 105th back west of Yale.

Eventually my life twisted and turned to lead me all the way back to 14th & Gary Pl.  Go figure.  Keeps sucking me in like a vortex.

So I can identify your first experience with this end of town.  Does not sound as if there is a huge hurry, due your due dilligence.  Tulsa is full of many unique and great areas.

[cannon_fodder]

quote:Originally posted by Kashmir


The only "bad" thing I read was that Patrick Henry used to have a principal that was not allowing recess??? pancakes?  As long as all is well now, LOL.  
It is a harder sell on Mr. K who loves his 2K sq. ft home. (thus the promise of a Sportster!)

My boy has recess at Patrick Henry.  He is managing to smuggle the sand/rock from that mid-day activity home to make our entry way closet a mini sand box one show-full at a time.  How it doesn't drive him nuts all day long in there, I'll never know.  The principle at Patrick Henry is SUPER NICE, I'd feel free to call or stop by and chat with him and see if you could get a tour if you wanted.

Also, you can find 2,000 square foot houses around there.  My neighbors is 1,800 (3 bedrooms, kitchen, small dining room, 2 bathroom, huge living/family room, mud/laundry room, 2 stall) and sold for $170K or so a few years back.  Mine is ~1500 and it could be yours for <$125,000 if I wanted to sell.  There are plenty of houses in the area.  Drive around and look - I'm still surprised with what I see from time to time.

Happy hunting.

[Kashmir]

Aww, you guys are so great.  I'm glad the new principal is good at PH.  I CANNOT imagine, as a teacher, letting those kids stew indoors all day.  I'm not sure how long ago that was, probably (luckily)before your boy's time...

As I probably stated before, I grew up far east Tulsa and then parents moved to BA/South Tulsa Area.  So midtown is not in my comfort zone.

Interesting side note, my grandmother moved to 14th and "Massoud" (don't know cross street)area about 10 years ago when she remarried.  From East Tulsa.   As she tried to renovate and reorganize new hubby's house, the neighborhood group was nothing but a bunch of whiny babies.  She rented a dumpster to clean yard, they started hassling her to remove it ASAP before job was done.  Workman's truck was in yard (briefly one day) because of renovation issues, phone call from  councilman neighborhood rep that she was violating code.  She was like "Are you kidding me?  Do you really think I should leave this place the way it is??? I'm trying to HELP!"  After a few attempted break-ins through the gorgeous original carved door, she gave up, sold the house "as is" and moved to Broken Arrow [B)]  Someone bought it and now home is a showplace.

[carltonplace]

quote:Originally posted by Conan71

quote:Originally posted by Hometown

There is a gorgeous medium sized craftsman bungalow for sale in Brady Heights now.  Been on the market for probably 5 months.  Bet someone could pick up a piece of history and a bargain at the same time.

Riverview has to be one the all time best urban residential neighorhoods I have ever seen.  I used to belong to the Divine Light Mission situated in a craftsman bungalow in Riverview back in the day.  Joined because of the leader's beautiful eyes.

You could easily walk downtown from Riverview.

The only thing these close in to downtown neighborhoods lack is good near by shopping.  One of these days someone will figure out that a lot of upscale folks live in these areas and there is some money to be made.

And I want to register my vote for Lortondale too.  Best value in Tulsa.

Tulsa has such wonderful neighborhoods and houses.  So much to choose from.

I don't think too many of those folks would be happy w/ a Reasor's at 21st & Peoria. []

Riverview has gotten fairly spendy now, hasn't it?

That would be nice but I haven't seen that yet. You can still get a nice size house for a fraction of what a comparable house in Maple Ridge would cost.

[Kashmir]

We are still looking and trying to narrow down a possible area. However, my mom's mother just passed and I am afraid she will take it pretty hard when I do move, as I am just a couple minutes away right now.  Plus I'd like the mortgage rates to be a little better.  
Here it is so far:
1.  Holliday Hills
2.  Behind OU-Tulsa
3.  North of Promande

Brookside is so darn loveable, but Mr.K will not compromise on indoor laundry and 2 car garage (we both got cars busted into when we were young) and it tends to be $$$.

So we keep looking...Thanks for all the help,  we probably will hot it hard in the spring.