Relocating??

[Mike51]

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

[Red Arrow]

What part of town is your job in?

[Mike51]

I believe it is in the Cherokee Industrial Park in Tulsa.
I don't mind driving to and from work.

[guido911]

Hey TN veterans, isn't there a thread in this forum to assist newcomers? Oh, and welcome aboard Mike.

[Conan71]

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!

[Hoss]

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.

[Mike51]

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.

[Mike51]

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.

[Conan71]

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.

[zstyles]

Bixby, Broken Arrow, Owasso would be three choices.

[Ed W]

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. 

[RecycleMichael]

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.

[RecycleMichael]

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.

[ZYX]

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!

[custosnox]

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.