Relocating from Austin, TX

[sunsurfos]

Moving to Tulsa, have never been there and know nothing of the area.  I could scour the internet and research every zipcode, every school etc. but I am hoping that some kind person will take pity on me and point me in the right directions.

Looking for information on good schools public or private (elementary school)

Looking for a neighborhood good for young families that would be close to Whole Foods.

I like historical neighborhoods, funky neighborhoods or the burbs as long as there isn't alot of crime and a sense of community.

Could rent or buy, but would prefer if renting to be something with a yard like a townhouse.

I really would appreciate any information at  all.  

Thanks,
Sunsurfos

[DwnTwnTul]

The reason you haven't received any responses yet is because many of us are without power today.  A big storm hit us this morning.  

Since I don't have children I can't really answer your question regarding schools.  I can however, speak to historic neighborhoods.  

First of all, Whole Foods here is not what you're completely used to in Austin.  Ours is a converted Wild Oats.  Although, it is located in Brookside which is a fun neighborhood with a variety of housing options.  Many different local restaurants are located on Peoria between 31st and 41st.  

Up the road from there at 15th and Peoria is Cherry Street.  Again many local restaurants and an up and coming loft area is developing.  

Continuing East is the Historic Yorktown Neighborhood, followed by Lewiston Gardens, and Florance Park even farther East.  These neighborhoods are near the upscale shopping center of Utica Square.  

All the above areas are extremely safe and friendly.  Welcome to Tulsa!

Here are some websites to check out for each district:

Brookside:
http://www.brooksidetheplacetobe.com/

http://www.abersonstyle.com/

http://www.center1market.com/

Cherry Street:
http://www.tulsairishpub.com/

http://www.cherrystreetfarmersmarket.com/

https://www.chromecc.com/store/comersus_main.asp

http://www.tulsalofts.net/aboutUs.php

Utica Square:
http://www.uticasquare.com/  (During the summer every Thursday night they host free outdoor concerts:  http://www.uticasquare.com/now_showing/now_showing_summer.asp)

http://www.uticaplace.com/

Downtown:
http://www.thevillagebuilders.com/

http://www.philtower.com/

http://www.tribunelofts.com/

Jenks (South Tulsa burb):
http://www.riverwalkcrossing.com/

http://www.okaquarium.org/

[sunsurfos]

Wow sorry about the power outage.  Hope it wasn't too hot.  Today was 100 here in Austin [:O]

Thank you for all the information, I will have fun looking through the links.

My husband is going to be working at the Whole Foods that was Wild Oats.  I thought it would be nice to live close so we could visit and walk there maybe.

He has been there several times, and says the area around the store is really beautiful.  I don't know if the homes will be in our budget  I haven't even looked not knowing where to start.

Tulsa does look great from what I gather.  We have lived in Austin for 3 1/2 years and before that in Seattle.

At least the jobs have been in fun areas!

Thanks again![]

[inteller]

oh interesting.  SO the mothership is sending out new management to the former Wild Oats.

tell your husband to tell management that if they want to make big bucks, locate a store in south tulsa.

[sunsurfos]

Yes, he brings greetings from the "mothership" and John Mackey.

I will let him know that Tulsa has requested another altar at which to worship the gods of fine organic food. []

What is the public perception of the current location?  Any input? I will pass it along.  I love to buzz his blackberry with useful information.

[joiei]

Don't pay Inteller any mind.  None of us do.  He is just jealous that all the good stuff is in midtown and all he has out south is chain places.  The over all improvements to Wild Oats since Whole foods took over has been very nice.  It is located in a neighborhood called Brookside.  You might consider getting a scooter to get around on if your looking in that area of town.  There are lots of good local restaurants on S Peoria mostly locally owned.  I don't know about the school situation, what grades are your children in?  

Oh, and welcome to Tulsa and Green country.  It will get hot here later this summer and is not a drippy as Seattle.  We have great seasons, spring and fall are really beautiful.  Rush hour only lasts an hour.  You can get to most anywhere in town in 20 minutes.

[RecycleMichael]

Whole Foods/Wild Oats has a very loyal customer base. Every time I go in there it is packed.

I have been giving environmental tours of the store for college groups for about three years in that store.

I take 15 to 20 people through the store shouting about recyclability, shipping and storage issues, organic, sustainable packaging, etc.

I am not an employee of the store, but they are gracious enough to let me tell my green story using their props.

[TheArtist]

I used to live on Peoria, aka Brookside a few years ago and really liked it. You should be able to find quite a range of rental apartments and homes in the area. "Do not go south of 51st, gets a bit shady in a small area around there. Otherwise its a wonderful part of town" The area of Brookside around the Wild Oats is one of the "up and coming" trendy areas. New loft apartments are going in that are on the pricey side, but there are still many bargains to be found. Same with homes, its a transitional area with million dollar homes not far away as you head north, then more average and smaller homes as you go south and east. You should be able to find something within half a mile to a mile of the Wild Oats, and anything in that range will be in a nice area. The older more historic neighborhoods and homes are further North of the Wild Oats. Basically anything between 45th st and 15th street will be fine.  

As for schools. The schools in the area are pretty average I would guess. Perhaps not the best in the city or area, but certainly not the worst. However if you want, one of the best private schools is not far away. Near the million dollar homes area lol.

Monte Cassino  http://www.montecassino.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1

Cascia Hall (couldnt link to their website for some reason but found this.) Looks like a small castle. I like to call it the mini Hogwarts.
http://www.privateschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/22456

Good luck and have fun. []

[swake]

quote:Originally posted by TheArtist


As for schools. The schools in the area are pretty average I would guess. Perhaps not the best in the city or area, but certainly not the worst. However if you want, one of the best private schools is not far away. Near the million dollar homes area lol.

Monte Cassino  http://www.montecassino.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1

Cascia Hall (couldnt link to their website for some reason but found this.) Looks like a small castle. I like to call it the mini Hogwarts.
http://www.privateschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/22456

Good luck and have fun. []

The schools in the area are actually excellent. Eliot and Lee are both really good schools. The high school in the area Edison is quite good too. Many of the kids that live in the area end up going to Emerson anyway, which is a magnet school that feeds into B.T. Washington, which is one of the best high schools in the nation.

[sunsurfos]

Thanks for all the great info everyone.

Do there happen to be any private schools that aren't religiously affiliated?

Are there Charter Schools in Tulsa?

Recycle Michael, I am sure you will be meeting my husband if you are in the store frequently.  He would love to meet you.

Thanks!

[sgrizzle]

quote:Originally posted by sunsurfos

Thanks for all the great info everyone.

Do there happen to be any private schools that aren't religiously affiliated?

Are there Charter Schools in Tulsa?

Recycle Michael, I am sure you will be meeting my husband if you are in the store frequently.  He would love to meet you.

Thanks!

Yes http://www.riverfield.org/

and

Yes http://www.tsas.org/

[cannon_fodder]

There are PLENTY of areas around Wild Oats (whatever) that are family friendly and affordable.  As mentioned, you could locate to an apartment for a while if you wanted and shop for what location you want to live in.  Generally, "Midtown Tulsa" is more expensive than the suburban sprawl that Inteller loves in the South - but there are areas that are affordable (especially considering a comparison to Austin).

Houses are cheap!  You should be able to find a 3 bedroom in that area for $160,000 that fits your bill.  At that price range you won't find a mansion, but probably 1600 sq ft. with a garage.  So have fun shopping.  The area around Wholefoods/Wild Oats is also within walking distance of the River Parks (about 100 yards of park on each side of the River all the way through Tulsa with trails, equipment, etc.) - a real asset to the area.

Per the schools - it is a matter of wide opinion.  My son goes to Tulsa Public Schools (TPS)and IMHO he is at a great school.  The staff and parents work closely with each other to make it the best facility and learning environment possible.  BUT, in a district as large as TPS such is not the case of all the individual schools - but generally the school is as good as the surrounding neighborhood looks (if the people take care of their property and the facility looks nice, they probably are involved with their school).

TPS also has a magnet school program that is top notch.  Tri-lingual, concentrating on advanced placement, or just all around top notch.  These feed into magnet intermediate and high-schools - some of which receive national recognition.  So even if you are not impressed with TPS other schools (which my son goes to) don't write them off.  You can get as much out of the school as you (and other parents) are willing to put in.

For private schools there are many choices - all religious.  The two most noted are Catholic schools - Cascia Hall (Augustinian) and Holland Hall (Jesuit).  The enrollment is restricted and they are expensive.  There are probably many other fine private schools but there are also many that are religious schools that also might teach your kid how to read (many fundamentalist schools with specific books, ie. "American History for Christians" that scared me away).

My power's back on, so I'm glad I could help.  The perspective comes from a young professional from Iowa with a wife and 8 year old boy.  Moved here for law school 5-6 years ago and have yet to leave.

Welcome to TulsaNow, and welcome to Tulsa!  Feel free to blast away with any questions and many of us will be free to chip in our 2 cents.

[sunsurfos]

Thanks for the responses once again.

My son attended kinder in a public school just finishing up and I believe what the poster said about teachers and parents working together.  I volunteered and put time into my son's school before I started working this year and I fully believe in partnering and being involved creates a quality education no matter what the school.

Often some of the schools in the the nicest areas have problems I would rather not have my kids become involved in..so I can see the highest ranking in test score schools aren't necessarily what I am looking for in a school.

Austin's highest scoring most affluent school district EANES was just surveyed to be considerably above the national average for drug and alcohol abuse as well as above average for the age at which the use starts. They found the parents were renting apartments close to the school for the kids to have "study groups" and the kids were turning them into big party places.  Close to campus and no supervision, these are high schoolers with their own apts. Crazy.

Ok I got off on a tangent. What I meant to ask was what is a magnet school.

[custosnox]

quote:Originally posted by sunsurfos

Thanks for the responses once again.

My son attended kinder in a public school just finishing up and I believe what the poster said about teachers and parents working together.  I volunteered and put time into my son's school before I started working this year and I fully believe in partnering and being involved creates a quality education no matter what the school.

Often some of the schools in the the nicest areas have problems I would rather not have my kids become involved in..so I can see the highest ranking in test score schools aren't necessarily what I am looking for in a school.

Austin's highest scoring most affluent school district EANES was just surveyed to be considerably above the national average for drug and alcohol abuse as well as above average for the age at which the use starts. They found the parents were renting apartments close to the school for the kids to have "study groups" and the kids were turning them into big party places.  Close to campus and no supervision, these are high schoolers with their own apts. Crazy.

Ok I got off on a tangent. What I meant to ask was what is a magnet school.

I hope I can answer this, since I'm still figureing it out myself.  My daughter is starting at Tharouh  (I might figure out how to spell it before school starts) in August, which is one of the area magnant schools.  I had never heard of them before she applied, and what I have gathered of them, is that they are schools that are geared more towards the more intellectual of our students.  The cream of the crop, if I may.  They have a more strengent academic regimen, and a differant learning enviroment then the standard school meant to cater to these top notch students.  The student who is about to enter into the appropriate grade level (6th and up) apply for entry, and if accepted are able to go to one of the schools near them that have transport available and get taken to the school, or can be taken directly by the parent.  Each school has differant venues that they offer the students.  Beyond this, I am still at a bit of a loss of how to discribe them.

[sauerkraut]

Austin has warmer weather than Tulsa, It's very hard moving from a warm mild climate to a colder one. Tulsa winters can get down to near zero. I'd like to get out of Ohio for warmer climates but I'm shackeled to a job and family in Ohio. I use to live in the D/FW MetroPlex and loved it there. Anyhow, welcome to Tulsa the cost of living is cheap and the people are friendly.[]