Tulsa Ranks #1 in Most Affordable Cities to Work and Live for 2019

[Rattle Trap]

According to a study by Businessstudent.com, Tulsa tops the list of the most affordable cities to live and work for 2019.

Link: https://www.businessstudent.com/topics/affordable-cities-live-work-2019/

Will studies like this paired with programs like Tulsa Remote entice younger entrepreneurs to set up shop here?

[heironymouspasparagus]

According to a study by Businessstudent.com, Tulsa tops the list of the most affordable cities to live and work for 2019.

Link: https://www.businessstudent.com/topics/affordable-cities-live-work-2019/

Will studies like this paired with programs like Tulsa Remote entice younger entrepreneurs to set up shop here?

We already have younger entrepreneurs here setting up shop.  And older ones.  Some Kaiser style support of them would be good...

Tulsa has a LOT going for it.  Except for people from left and right coasts who don't even think about it.  Dallas and Chicago are the 'smaller' cities they know about.

[rebound]

We already have younger entrepreneurs here setting up shop.  And older ones.  Some Kaiser style support of them would be good...

Tulsa has a LOT going for it.  Except for people from left and right coasts who don't even think about it.  Dallas and Chicago are the 'smaller' cities they know about.

Dallas and Chicago are not smaller cities.  Nor is Houston,  which is also on the list.   We need to figure out how to best promote ourselves where we can have the most effect.   (And I'll include OKC, as it is in third.  While I am an unabashed Tulsa loyalist, overall I think OK as a whole needs to reflect well for either city to grow...)  On this list, who is/are our main competition?  

Before I even looked, I rattled off Kansas City, Omaha, Memphis, and I thought St Louis and the Denver area would be on there, but I guess they are more expensive as a percentage.   Quite a few of these are similar towns, but do we really compete with them in large part? (Looking at you, Greenville, SC.)

We can't beat everybody, but we can do a lot better "in our patch" than we currently are.

[Townsend]

Less affordable cities exist in states lacking the stereotypes Oklahoma possesses. 

If the state could get on the national radar for something positive more often, then there would be more demand to live here.

College grads move to places like Colorado without a promised job because they see a state with good things.  A job will come later.

College grads move to Oklahoma to work a job but they don't see a state with good things.  They'll suffer through, get some experience, and get the hell out of Dodge.

Tulsa's successes are in spite of the state, not thanks to the state.

I don't see this changing any time soon.

[Hoss]

Less affordable cities exist in states lacking the stereotypes Oklahoma possesses. 

If the state could get on the national radar for something positive more often, then there would be more demand to live here.

College grads move to places like Colorado without a promised job because they see a state with good things.  A job will come later.

College grads move to Oklahoma to work a job but they don't see a state with good things.  They'll suffer through, get some experience, and get the hell out of Dodge.

Tulsa's successes are in spite of the state, not thanks to the state.

I don't see this changing any time soon.

Especially now that we've voted in Fallin 2.0 for at least four years.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Dallas and Chicago are not smaller cities.  Nor is Houston,  which is also on the list.   We need to figure out how to best promote ourselves where we can have the most effect.   (And I'll include OKC, as it is in third.  While I am an unabashed Tulsa loyalist, overall I think OK as a whole needs to reflect well for either city to grow...)  On this list, who is/are our main competition?  

Before I even looked, I rattled off Kansas City, Omaha, Memphis, and I thought St Louis and the Denver area would be on there, but I guess they are more expensive as a percentage.   Quite a few of these are similar towns, but do we really compete with them in large part? (Looking at you, Greenville, SC.)

We can't beat everybody, but we can do a lot better "in our patch" than we currently are.

Exactly!   But the left and right coast thinks of those big cities as "cowboy" towns....New Yorkers in particular think of Chicago as a "little brother wanna-be"... And it ain't small at all.

[SXSW]

Less affordable cities exist in states lacking the stereotypes Oklahoma possesses. 

If the state could get on the national radar for something positive more often, then there would be more demand to live here.

College grads move to places like Colorado without a promised job because they see a state with good things.  A job will come later.

College grads move to Oklahoma to work a job but they don't see a state with good things.  They'll suffer through, get some experience, and get the hell out of Dodge.

Tulsa's successes are in spite of the state, not thanks to the state.

I don't see this changing any time soon.

I would guess that not many move to Chicago because of Illinois or Nashville because of Tennessee, why should Oklahoma (the state) factor heavily in the decision to move to Tulsa or OKC?  Keep doing the things we've been doing and creating a better city and the people will follow.  If anything Tulsa should play up its proximity to outdoor recreation, not many other cities in the central region have a Turkey Mountain in the city limits or the extensive separated river trails or are within a couple hours drive of dozens of clear lakes and the tallest mountains between the Rockies and Appalachians. 

[Townsend]

I would guess that not many move to Chicago because of Illinois or Nashville because of Tennessee, why should Oklahoma (the state) factor heavily in the decision to move to Tulsa or OKC?  Keep doing the things we've been doing and creating a better city and the people will follow.  If anything Tulsa should play up its proximity to outdoor recreation, not many other cities in the central region have a Turkey Mountain in the city limits or the extensive separated river trails or are within a couple hours drive of dozens of clear lakes and the tallest mountains between the Rockies and Appalachians. 

Do you ever hear someone say "wait, where's Chicago?" or "Nashville, what state is Nashville in?"

When people ask "Where is Tulsa?" and people answer "OKlahoma" that is when those asking say, "Oh jeez, I've heard all about Oklahoma."

[rebound]

Do you ever hear someone say "wait, where's Chicago?" or "Nashville, what state is Nashville in?"

When people ask "Where is Tulsa?" and people answer "OKlahoma" that is when those asking say, "Oh jeez, I've heard all about Oklahoma."

Yeah, I was working on the same kind of response when you beat me to this.  Comparing to Chicago doesn't work.  Chicago, like Dallas or Houston or Atlanta, is so big that it overrides any thought of the state as a whole.    Nashville is a little more interesting, in that it is a more similarly sized city and is in a state that except for Nashville, most people on the coasts wouldn't care about.    But, "Tennessee", at worst conjures up thoughts of "the South", there are no major current negatives.  Not so with OK.  We've been in the news too often recently, and Nationally there is a negative connotation to the state.  It definitely can improve, but right now we have to accept that the perception of the state as a whole affects the perception of Tulsa.

Also, while I was crawling down the rabbit hole looking at Nashville and what they have to offer, I reviewed their CoC site, and found the comparison to the Tulsa Chamber site striking.  Go to the Nashville Chamber site, and the first large box on the splash page is titled "Relocate or expand your business to middle Tennessean"  "why Nashville".  Also the first hotlink on the top of the splash area is "explore", which takes you to a drop down of "work / live / visit", with sub topics going from there.  Overall, the Nashville COC site is dedicated first to Nashville and promoting the city/region, and secondarily about the Chamber itself.   Contrast that with the Tulsa CoC site, which seems primarily directed to promoting the Chamber itself, rather than Tulsa and region.   Seriously, I have looked for a while now and I'm trying to find a page on the Tulsa CoC site that simply tells me what is great about Tulsa and the region, and "why Tulsa".   

Maybe it's the weather today, but that just struck me wrong. If we don't promote ourselves, who will?  Rant over.   

[heironymouspasparagus]

Do you ever hear someone say "wait, where's Chicago?" or "Nashville, what state is Nashville in?"

When people ask "Where is Tulsa?" and people answer "OKlahoma" that is when those asking say, "Oh jeez, I've heard all about Oklahoma."

We had a time several decades ago when we got a lot of good publicity and "feels" for Tulsa.  And since it was before the sh$t sandwich the Failin' types have been feeding us for so many years, the state didn't have a negative connotation so much as just the fact that there was no major 'draw' to bring people here.  Companies would come here for the cheap labor, but it wasn't really a destination for people....still isn't.   Some good sized entertainment draws.  People like Roy Clark, Leon Russell.  We almost had a little music industry starting up here, but didn't quite reach critical mass.

Now we have the "Failin' Legacy".  And Sally Kern who was making a BIG splash nationally for a while.  People don't forget that carp for a long time.  And our reputation for TV preachers also goes a long ways.  At least we had our local cult amusement park out east until they sold it off a couple months ago!  Now what are we gonna do for train rides around a small western style town park??   We shoot ourselves in the foot - both feet - and wonder what is wrong.  Well, there are those here who talk about that...  

Kaiser has been a breath of fresh air, bringing quite a bit of good national attention and press!  We need more of that type thing.


Nashville has a lot.  How can we compete with the "Batman Building"??  And the Parthenon!  And all that music!!  rebound, I think you may be discounting the power of National parks - Knoxville has a lot going nearby - Great Smokey Mountain National Park - one of the most visited parks in the nation every year!   12 million visits per year!!  That's huge and growing.   And Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge at the entrance.  Dollywood.   Memphis has some barbeque and some Blues music, but other than that, it just sucks!

We have some intermittent attention from bass fishermen, but GA seems to get a lot more than we do.  Makes no sense, 'cause their fishing is no better than what we have here!