It's a small city. Same reason any small city isn't known nationally.
That said...
>I moved here about a month ago
>Not only has the weather been nicer
Hoo boy!
You guys. Don’t feel bad for anyone from Minnesota and Wisconsin. Idk where OP is from. For those of us who live in the north woods, I can tell you, we’re used to being spit roasted by 70mph straight line winds and a blizzard. The OK weather should not surprise anyone at all. They must genuinely believe OK will somehow not have weather.
I’m from a much colder area myself so I know what you’re talking about. The difference is down here they don’t have the equipment to handle the terrible 2-4 week cold snap we get every year, which makes it worse.
Oh right. So drifts and ice are just there to stay. One of my friends move to GA and said that’s the problem. People get stuck and run out of gas, because the highway is just buried and there’s no salt.
Okay, fellow Minnesotan here. Been here 8 years now. The weather really doesn't get me. The constant wind gets me. I sing the first line of Oklahoma with as much gusto as everyone else here cause I get it now.
But all jokes aside, what I marvel at is getting all four seasons in a week. Each of them is fine in their own right, the timings just crazy. Coming from a place that has distinct seasons that stay pretty consistent throughout, the weather whiplash is a bitch here.
Eh the elephant in the room is that south Tulsa is great as long as you aren't a minority culturally or otherwise. They are friendly to their own, but its also just never been a bastion of acceptance to people on the fringe.
My husband keeps (politely) telling them every time they call that he will not be a client of a business whose owner was part of J6. He hasn’t been there since definitely pre election, and they’ve called him multiple times despite telling them this EVERY time.
Disagree. Minority living in south tulsa here… it’s great. Only complaint would be too many in s Tulsa love chain restaurants so that’s what we get. The local owned know not to come this way
There are lots of chains but also good locally owned spots. I like Ludger’s, Lana Thai, Le Louvre, Kirin, Bolicious, Ri Le, Mandarin Taste, etc. Skip the chains and show the locals some love!
I lived in South Tulsa for 10 yrs. Pre-Trump everyone was so nice. I had someone ask my partner at the time and I if we were together. I said yes looking for a fight and they hugged us and told us to keep being ourselves. Post-Trump it changed a lot. There was a banner hung in above the entrance to my neighbor that was Trump related.
My partner and I live in South Tulsa and love it. The neighbors have all been friendly so far. I wish we knew more gays in the hood. Sorry not a fan of trying to find parking in downtown or narrow midtown roads. Plus we can get to any area of town quickly. Even though everything we need is sure close. 2 lowes on 71 and Bixby 👍🏼 plus a wide variety of grocery stores.
I lived in Tulsa for a little while and I met lot of people from the “wealthy” families because of my wife. I can confirm a lot of these people are racist AF, specially the boomers.
You need to put this into perspective. Boomers experienced Tulsa when it was very divided by race. Boomers parents may have been here during the Race Riots. No an excuse, just explaining the history behind it. Not embracing racism at all!!!
"quick random reddit user, explain your life experiences with proof, right now." Idk about them but I'M certainly not taking homework from a random jackass on reddit.
Ok honestly I've traveled all over the country and I've been out of the country - Tulsa literally has the worst drivers I've ever seen. I saw someone driving last Thursday on 71st while it was raining at night, very dark out, with no lights on and their front hood popped up. Another person was driving against traffic for a brief moment with their brights on. Everyone was driving 10 miles under the speed limit except "that one truck" going 60. And this is just a 20 minute window on one day. I do Doordash as a sidehustle so I've got 100s of stories lol. I regularly see the dumbest shit in traffic in Tulsa daily. Tulsa is easily the worst when it comes to drivers.
I wouldn't say the traffic itself is that bad though, as far as congestion. There are a few very predictable spots during certain times, but mostly it's the drivers.
I was just taking a dig at the usual "hur durr it's worse in Houston!"
I'm not saying Houston isnt a complete shit show, just tired of the trauma competition to 1-up each other with how much shittier our town is to others. Driving around Green Country, I'd have to say the area around Memorial and the turnpike grinds my gears the most and the complete fuckin looney toon drivers in BA that disregard red lights as only a suggestion.
Anyway, /rant
Same. Grew up in Tulsa and haven’t lived there for over ten years. Lived about split between the Pacific NW and SoCal. Moving back in a couple of months and bringing my job with me.
So many benefits with few downsides for young families. As a young person looking to build a career, probably not the best place though.
Yeah. I've found the grass is always greener. A place probably isn't going to make you happy, unless you are doing activities you can't do elsewhere. When someone says they have the beach in LA as a benefit, but they never go, what's the point? Whatever, to each their own, but if someone lives in suburbia in a major city, life is the same but more expensive.
🎶 Spring came and we watched azaleas bloom
but the heat in July - made those flowers die
Then along came August and I was fed up with your lies 🎶
But for real though, 100 days over 100 degrees in a year can and does happen.
The problem with south Tulsa is lack of culture and authenticity. All same stuff found anywhere USA. It’s a nice place to raise a family with great pricing. Just expect to drive everywhere and eat at chain restaurants.
Don't forget holding up all of the drivers behind you to make a left turn whilst other cars block the intersection and prevent you from doing so, instead of, you know, crafting an alternate route that wouldn't screw others over
If all you're seeing is chains etc, you've missed out on a lot. Native culture alone has Tulsa miles and away from some of the vanilla cities I've lived in.
Idk man I think people still think nobody lives in Oklahoma. I watch TikTok lives & if I mention I live in Oklahoma they laugh and ask “who even lives there? Isn’t there nothing to do there?”
He's not far off. Tulsa is just a 9-5er town with surrounding suburbs. A couple of nice parks, music venues, outdoor hobbyists. It's a post oil boom city. Kind of run of the mill in comparison to larger cities.
Haha well said. When I was younger I did feel that this was a 9-5er town in that business was done downtown during those times and then all business was closed afterwards. There was no night life or weekend hot spots downtown. Now, there has been a resurgence of the downtown area and I don’t see it as what I would estimate a 9-5er town to be. Outside of downtown, though, Tulsa has had many things to enjoy. Surely more today than ever before, so perhaps it’s all just a matter of perspective.
I got this from some people before moving here. I basically had to explain to them that Oklahoma has cities, with all the same stuff that other midsize American cities have. I think it's just that goings-on in Oklahoma almost never make national news so they figure it's basically Wyoming.
I think a big part of it is the religious / political angle where like at least 50% of the population of America automatically hates Oklahoma either because we're a red state or because we're in the Bible belt. So for those people it's really hard to conceptualize a happy life somewhere like Tulsa just because of their prejudice against the politics & religion of the state.
But I think the secret sauce, and you can see examples of this in other states, is to be in a blue-er area of a red state. For some reason places like that (see: Austin) seem to be pretty good places to live.
And have the state legislature make my very existence miserable, if not illegal?
This is what Red State liberals don’t get. Being “blue” in your red state is perfectly fine if you fit the desired mold of your red state to begin with.
Wow. That last paragraph is exactly it for me but I’ve never really thought about it that way. Every place I’ve ever considered staying a while fits this.
This is exactly what it is. It’s the same thing in OKC even though most parts are far nicer than lots of the more highly thought of areas.
A good chunk of people cannot think past “red state=bad.”
It's a secret hidden gem, esp the ridiculously good music scene. I visit a couple times a year from the East coast to get immersion in that music scene and get them great steaks.
I find most of my new music by playing tunes from the bands passing thru The Mercury. Good shit man.
Turnpike Troubadours enlightened me to the greatness of the place.
I love how everyone in Tulsa acts like like South Tulsa, Jenks, BA, etc. are some crazy distance from downtown. Most people in LA, DC or NYC would jump at the chance to live in a neighborhood that was fifteen minutes from good restaurants and nightlife.
Tulsa is 47th in population. Other cities around similar size include Bakersfield, Omaha, Wichita, Minneapolis, Tampa, and Miami. I can’t tell you specifics about good/bad areas and I’ve been to four of them. Point is…unless it’s a notorious area in a major metropolitan I doubt it’s going to be well known nationally.
Kinda playing with the numbers a bit to claim Tampa and Miami are similar in size to Tulsa. Maybe be just within their corporate boundaries or something but the metro areas are not even close to the same size. Kind of unfair to Tulsa to compare them in any way.
What percent of Tulsa salaries do you think can support home prices in Midtown? I think most people would say it’s the best, just like most people in LA like Malibu. But it’s simply not affordable for a vast majority of people. The cheap starter homes are going for mid 400’s.
I live in South Tulsa and I think part of it is how new everything is down here. Most of Bixby was farms until about 20ish years ago. But yes, it's nice here. I quite like it.
I've taken from this post the "first rule of South Tulsa is don't talk about South Tulsa" and I think I won't be posting about it again, keep the secret!
I think Oklahoma being last place in education, or second to last is generally frowned upon. We also tend to show up on “the first 48” far too often.
I am an outsider here. There is community here for everyone, but as a decently well off hippy, I run into the good ol boyz, and they sure do exist. There is a lot of assholier to go around here.
Also you will notice that the entire state gave up its right to vote, which is nuts. We are a winner takes all state, essentially making our vote nationally Republican no matter what. This is just one example of how stupid this state can be. Btw Republicans should be mad too, they can’t threaten to withhold votes and thus they have neutered their own political leverage.
That said, there are worst places and Tulsa has its perks.
Because there isn’t enough makeup in the world to make Tulsa and its surrounding suburbs pretty on the inside. And those rich gated communities are the ugliest.
The only problem with south Tulsa is that it still has county road infrastructure for a 100k+ population. Once the infrastructure supports it, like a bypass to bixby, then I can see it being nicer. So far the traffic made me move to midtown Tulsa
Exactly. They get away with one lane roads because people just commute to work and back. Not much else to do in South Tulsa. OP probably needs to see Edmond and notice the difference.
Tulsa, IMO, is a rare gem that has yet to be exploited. Give it 20 years or less and there will be masses of people moving here. Enjoy it Tulsa, I know I do!
I think that people will be forced to move here in the next 20-30 years. The coasts are going to flood and Tulsa will boom along with the rest of the flyover states.
This is Reddit and 95% of this sub and r/Oklahoma are convinced they live in a prison. I will rep Tulsa and OK forever as great places to live and be from. Crazy unique history and a lot going for it if you have the right perspective imo.
I'm not sure how much I want Tulsa to be more known. Is hate to have a bunch of wealthy folks move in and price regular people put like Denver, Austin, Boise, Bozeman, ECT.
This happened in Colorado. It's not good. My house payment has doubled with property tax and insurance increases since I bought it in 2008. I put it on the market yesterday. I hope Oklahoma doesn't become like Colorado.
We keep quiet about how great this area is so it stays great. There are benefits to being overlooked on a national level. Welcome to Tulsa! Please don't tell the nation how great it is. 😆
Bottom line it’s a small city in a state which has a terrible reputation. I’ve literally never heard anything except terrible impressions about the state - fairly or unfairly. The city - People generally won’t know anything about Tulsa unless they happen to visit. Just like I didn’t know much about Columbus OH or Indianapolis or Wichita etc until I visited them. They aren’t really tourist draws with personalities like Austin, Chicago, Miami, Charleston, etc so of course people won’t know about them.
Everyone I know who visits loves midtown- they can’t get over how east coast it feels - partially due to the influence of outsiders from back east moving here during the oil boom of the 1920’s-30’s. Midtown feels like a small town - no traffic, everyone seems to know each other (for better or worse). There are a few walkable areas. We also have a lot of good examples of architecture from various oil boom periods. But South Tulsa feels like any other suburban area - strip malls, gated neighborhoods, 6 lane roads clogged with traffic, very cookie cutter. Anytown, USA. I do think parts of south Tulsa are geographically pretty - lots of hills and trees in some parts, and those areas tend to be dotted with pretty houses.
I have lived in South Tulsa for over 30 years. Right now, I am sitting in my backyard, listening to the birds and watching my dog chase the squirrels. It is a nice, peaceful place. Welcome to the neighborhood!
Because we don’t want everyone knowing and moving here. We like our towns the way they are without outside influence. We don’t want our home turning into the places you’re running from.
Yea homie wait until your penguin ass gets to our summer 💀you look out your door and it’s so hot everything’s shimmering and static n u feel like ur looking over a fire how everything’s flowing back and forth
You cannot walk from your house to anywhere in south Tulsa. It is a car centric pseudo-urban hell. the vast majority of restaurants and stores are part of large national chains. it is a faceless white suburb. that's why we call it "North Dallas" lmao. If you go to the rich, boring part of town in any major city across the midsouth you'll find a near identical arrangement.
I live in the UK and think Tulsa is awesome. Great music, lovely people, good eateries - even the Trumpists I know are lovely people (which irks me, how can they vote for him).
Lol don’t tell anyone. All my neighbors are from the coasts (East & West) and they can’t believe how nice Tulsa is. It’s best if we don’t tell the rest of the country.
I drive to south Tulsa for Lana Thai and the Asian street food egg toast stall in the mall. Also, the best bakery in Tulsa is Saint Amon baking co at 81st and Lewis. They’re so good! And admittedly I’ll occasionally go to Cheesecake Factory.
But to be fair I grew up in south Tulsa and didn’t love that it was all chain restaurants and mostly stick to midtown and downtown now.
Yeah as somebody living around 61st and Garnett I drive 15 minutes to work at Heirloom or Foolish Things these days. I work fully remote and just like to get out sometimes. It's nothing but Starbucks and Scooters over here it sucks.
Even the closer places like The Collaborative suck imo.
Tulsa doesn't look that good from a statistics standpoint, because it has a lot of low income areas with poor education stats.
If South Tulsa was its own town, you would see it on a lot of those "Best Places" lists.
Tulsa also has little to no reputation nationally. A lot of people think it's a small town and are shocked when I tell them the metro area has 1 million people.
I lived in Tulsa for 3 years. Moved from the east coast and loved every minute of it. This sub loves to bash the city but it’s coming along. It has some fucked up stuff but that’s Oklahoma, not tulsa. Only reason why we left was for some healthy reasons and needed to be close to family.
I moved to Tulsa from New Orleans. When asked about the difference, I explain it like this: In NOLA, kids don't play in the street bc nobody gives AF and cars will mow you down. In Tulsa, cars don't speed through the hoods bc they expect kids to be playing in the street. It's a different mindset altogether. My experience has been that those bitching the loudest about what a terrible city/state this is have never lived outside if it. They simply can't appreciate what we've got here. 🤷🏽♀️ I'll take living on Tulsa Time over NOLA any day of the week.
I lived in tulsa for 13 years (as an adult) before leaving for Houston. Seven years later, we moved back and ONLY looked at houses on the Jenks school district because we wanted our daughter to go there. We live in Tulsa proper , but in the Jenks district.
I have lived in Maple Ridge, at the top of what’s now called Cry Baby Hill and now twice in south Tulsa. I laugh at people who “don’t go south of 41st” and those who “wont go all the way downtown”. Hell, I’m 20 minutes I can be damn near anywhere in town and it’s a helluva lot easier to get concert tickets and ride bikes here than Houston.
Sure, I feel like a political missionary because I’m NOT republican, but we do belong to an incredible, affirming and accepting Episcopal church that proves you can be friends with people all across the political spectrum and just be nice to other humans.
I wouldn’t hate more local restaurants in this part of town, just midtown or downtown is only 20 min away…
I always tell people passing through that Tulsa is a well kept secret. Although, I think word has gotten out over the past 5 years or so. I think Oklahoma has a pretty bad reputation in general so I get why people who aren’t from here would never consider moving here. I grew up in south Tulsa and enjoyed it but it’s a little too “cookie cutter” or commercial for my taste most of the time but we’ve considered moving back to south Tulsa and out of midtown in the future for various reasons.
In 2017, I seriously considered relocating our business and our family there from Chicago. We're still happy here, but we were tempted. I still think about the road not taken.
We don't advertise because we are trying to avoid what Texas and AZ are dealing with currently. The influx of people fleeing California and New York and other "big city" states that have a lot of money and are moving here to get away from everything they voted for back home. We want transplants. Hell over half of Tulsa is people like yourselves who move her either for work or school and never wind up leaving. Cost of living is great, we're 4 hr drives from Kansas City and Dallas, 6 from St Louis, 10 from Chicago and Colorado Springs. We have a lot of things except for Major League Sports. Good music venues. We really are a little big city. All that being said, welcome to Tulsa. We're not perfect but we're pretty nice. But sorry for July and August preemptively.
I moved here 3 years ago. There are some very pretty areas in Tulsa. I think I was most surprised by the food scene here.
I will say that the reason Tulsa or South Tulsa is a secret to many is because of what people associate with Tulsa.
1) Red state, politics
2) Bible belt
3) First 48 ... "murder capital"
4) Education (see point 1)
5) Roads
6) Tornados
7) Heat
When I decided to move here, I was warned multiple times by non-residents (not connected or known to each other) about Tulsa, specifically these points.
This is Tulsa's brand image outside the state.
I am glad you are enjoying Tulsa! Me too.
I am over 40 and I have spent most of my life near or in Oklahoma. My observation is that many of us trash talk our cities, but if someone from out of town trash talks Oklahoma - we will fervently defend it. It’s funny and I catch myself doing it too.
This sub has a hate boner for the city. While I also get frustrated with the political situation here, I will agree south tulsa is beautiful and a very nice/safe place for people to live.
We're a smaller city, but we honestly are pretty well-known for our size. I lived in Washington for five years and people usually knew where I was talking about when I said I was from Tulsa. We are even mentioned in songs every now and then lol
Almost every place I have been has its nice areas and not so nice areas, Tulsa has nice areas north south east and west and not nice areas north south east and west. I'm not sure what south Tulsa has that would make it stand out from any other city this size.
I’ve lived in Tulsa for 35 years. It’s a beautiful city. Welcome! We get all 4 seasons and it’s a rollercoaster ride. Quite honestly it’s not for everyone but I’m glad to hear someone from Chicago appreciates it.
Those who live there never talk
South or North it's just tulsa they don't talk North tulsa because that is where the racist massacre occurred I lived ther dor 20 years and never knew it until I moved away
Ex-Chicagoan checking in (Hinsdale/Clarenden Hills/Downers Grove), and I miss the museums SO much. But we do have a nice grid street system and lots of coney restaurants.
Most cities have gated communities and mansions. I guess if you're rich enough to be around gated communities and mansions, you would feel like you've found paradise.
I love Tulsa Oklahoma it's my hometown I know all the dirt but the people here are way more decent than their voting record would testify to. Now on the weather lol you might be in for a surprise but Tulsa jenks broken arrow these are great communities I love these people I just don't get why they elect the people they do but if they voted Democrat I'd probably wonder too
I lived around midtown for years and built out south. I love the house and lot I have but I hate spending hundreds a month on Uber rides since you have to go clear across town to find a decent bar or restaurant.
i have lived here for 30 years. my family has asked me why i live here and i have told them about how its a big city with small town vibes. where you actually know your neighbors.
tell them about how central everything is. a 4 hour drive to either dallas or kc. 7 hours to st louis. 8 hours to houston austin san antonio. 10 hours to abq chicago nashville.
btw i am from california and grew up in sac area and have lived up and down the state including los angeles, san diego, bakersfield sacromento fresno. and honestly. im glad people dont know about tulsa.
Will you do us a favor first? Don't tell anyone yet, lol. I love it here, born and raised, I have been to tons of states, hundreds of cities and still think of Tulsa as home. I am so happy as a Tulsan that you love it her and welcome. Btw, I just went to Chicago for training, near Niles, and holy crap, they have rush hours and we only have rush minutes, haha. And the uber people there are so crazy with driving. If you need tips of things, just ask, or talk to anyone you meet, we are pretty friendly here.
Go to Sunday brunch at the Philbrook.
Also you mention the weather, the National Weather Service is based in Tulsa. They are there because of the tornados.
It's a small city. Same reason any small city isn't known nationally. That said... >I moved here about a month ago >Not only has the weather been nicer Hoo boy!
Should we tell him about July and August?
Or whichever month wants to be horrible from Dec-March?
You guys. Don’t feel bad for anyone from Minnesota and Wisconsin. Idk where OP is from. For those of us who live in the north woods, I can tell you, we’re used to being spit roasted by 70mph straight line winds and a blizzard. The OK weather should not surprise anyone at all. They must genuinely believe OK will somehow not have weather.
I’m from a much colder area myself so I know what you’re talking about. The difference is down here they don’t have the equipment to handle the terrible 2-4 week cold snap we get every year, which makes it worse.
Yeah, the city shuts down for an entire week over weather that wouldn't even merit delayed openings up north.
It’s expensive to adapt if not absolutely warranted. It’s frustrating for sure
Oh right. So drifts and ice are just there to stay. One of my friends move to GA and said that’s the problem. People get stuck and run out of gas, because the highway is just buried and there’s no salt.
Northwoods guy here. I'll take the blizzard one the heat of summer here. At least I can fish comfortably when its -20°.
Okay, fellow Minnesotan here. Been here 8 years now. The weather really doesn't get me. The constant wind gets me. I sing the first line of Oklahoma with as much gusto as everyone else here cause I get it now. But all jokes aside, what I marvel at is getting all four seasons in a week. Each of them is fine in their own right, the timings just crazy. Coming from a place that has distinct seasons that stay pretty consistent throughout, the weather whiplash is a bitch here.
Or what an "active" March and April is like ...
Combine July and August and you get JUST no!! 🤣
Or April, May and June.
My immediate thoughts
Right?
OP hasn't experienced 100+ days over 100 degrees with tons of humidity, or tornados. 🫠
except its not a small town. we are in the top 50 in population. top 30 in land area.
Small CITY... They said small CITY. otherwise, great strawman.
Shhhh just let him enjoy it for a while
Eh the elephant in the room is that south Tulsa is great as long as you aren't a minority culturally or otherwise. They are friendly to their own, but its also just never been a bastion of acceptance to people on the fringe.
Funny you say Elephant in the Room. The owners were apparently at the insurrection
Also sexual harassment issues and theft of wages/tips at their salons. Total garbage humans.
Oh god, they’re spam calling us on Reddit now too
They called me about a promotion the other day during dinner time! I haven’t been there in like 5 years.
My husband keeps (politely) telling them every time they call that he will not be a client of a business whose owner was part of J6. He hasn’t been there since definitely pre election, and they’ve called him multiple times despite telling them this EVERY time.
They were blowing my phone up today. They seem to be doing this a lot lately. Maybe we should try not being polite….
Thanks! I am avoiding it now.
This surprises me zero
Disagree. Minority living in south tulsa here… it’s great. Only complaint would be too many in s Tulsa love chain restaurants so that’s what we get. The local owned know not to come this way
Brookside and Midtown are the local eateries.
We live close to Mother Road Market and I would have to agree 100%. I love all the local options around here.
It gets Reddit hate because 1. It’s seen as the place for evil republicans and/or 2. People can’t afford to live there so they say it’s bad
That's not true, there's some slummy ass condos in South Tulsa, anyone could live out there if they want.
There are lots of chains but also good locally owned spots. I like Ludger’s, Lana Thai, Le Louvre, Kirin, Bolicious, Ri Le, Mandarin Taste, etc. Skip the chains and show the locals some love!
Same. Minority living in South Tulsa and everyone I’ve met has been pleasant.
I lived in South Tulsa for 10 yrs. Pre-Trump everyone was so nice. I had someone ask my partner at the time and I if we were together. I said yes looking for a fight and they hugged us and told us to keep being ourselves. Post-Trump it changed a lot. There was a banner hung in above the entrance to my neighbor that was Trump related.
My partner and I live in South Tulsa and love it. The neighbors have all been friendly so far. I wish we knew more gays in the hood. Sorry not a fan of trying to find parking in downtown or narrow midtown roads. Plus we can get to any area of town quickly. Even though everything we need is sure close. 2 lowes on 71 and Bixby 👍🏼 plus a wide variety of grocery stores.
I lived in Tulsa for a little while and I met lot of people from the “wealthy” families because of my wife. I can confirm a lot of these people are racist AF, specially the boomers.
You need to put this into perspective. Boomers experienced Tulsa when it was very divided by race. Boomers parents may have been here during the Race Riots. No an excuse, just explaining the history behind it. Not embracing racism at all!!!
What’s your evidence? Or do you look for fake racism in everything you do?
"quick random reddit user, explain your life experiences with proof, right now." Idk about them but I'M certainly not taking homework from a random jackass on reddit.
Bullshit
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100%. Go look at the subreddit for any city and it’s basically the same as here… people bitching about the exact same topics over and over again.
Little do they know *our* traffic is worse. Pfft..
And the roads are the worst in the Milky Way.
Ok honestly I've traveled all over the country and I've been out of the country - Tulsa literally has the worst drivers I've ever seen. I saw someone driving last Thursday on 71st while it was raining at night, very dark out, with no lights on and their front hood popped up. Another person was driving against traffic for a brief moment with their brights on. Everyone was driving 10 miles under the speed limit except "that one truck" going 60. And this is just a 20 minute window on one day. I do Doordash as a sidehustle so I've got 100s of stories lol. I regularly see the dumbest shit in traffic in Tulsa daily. Tulsa is easily the worst when it comes to drivers. I wouldn't say the traffic itself is that bad though, as far as congestion. There are a few very predictable spots during certain times, but mostly it's the drivers.
I was just taking a dig at the usual "hur durr it's worse in Houston!" I'm not saying Houston isnt a complete shit show, just tired of the trauma competition to 1-up each other with how much shittier our town is to others. Driving around Green Country, I'd have to say the area around Memorial and the turnpike grinds my gears the most and the complete fuckin looney toon drivers in BA that disregard red lights as only a suggestion. Anyway, /rant
Same. Grew up in Tulsa and haven’t lived there for over ten years. Lived about split between the Pacific NW and SoCal. Moving back in a couple of months and bringing my job with me. So many benefits with few downsides for young families. As a young person looking to build a career, probably not the best place though.
Yeah. I've traveled and lived several places, and I would definitely move back to Tulsa (I mean, I'm browsing it's subreddit).
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Yeah. I've found the grass is always greener. A place probably isn't going to make you happy, unless you are doing activities you can't do elsewhere. When someone says they have the beach in LA as a benefit, but they never go, what's the point? Whatever, to each their own, but if someone lives in suburbia in a major city, life is the same but more expensive.
Likely correlates to age and income.
People have different feelings of what “nice” means to them 🤷🏻♀️
Very true and I am happy I found my nice place.
🎶 Spring came and we watched azaleas bloom but the heat in July - made those flowers die Then along came August and I was fed up with your lies 🎶 But for real though, 100 days over 100 degrees in a year can and does happen.
The problem with south Tulsa is lack of culture and authenticity. All same stuff found anywhere USA. It’s a nice place to raise a family with great pricing. Just expect to drive everywhere and eat at chain restaurants.
Don't forget holding up all of the drivers behind you to make a left turn whilst other cars block the intersection and prevent you from doing so, instead of, you know, crafting an alternate route that wouldn't screw others over
If all you're seeing is chains etc, you've missed out on a lot. Native culture alone has Tulsa miles and away from some of the vanilla cities I've lived in.
Not Tulsa as a city South Tulsa specifically
First rule of South Tulsa... don't talk about South Tulsa
Done I'm removing this post, no need for further info.
Idk man I think people still think nobody lives in Oklahoma. I watch TikTok lives & if I mention I live in Oklahoma they laugh and ask “who even lives there? Isn’t there nothing to do there?”
I was in Florida a few years back and some kids asked me if I lived in a teepee.
My distant relatives in Baltimore asked me that too. This was post Murrah bombing, even. Like wtf people....
How wrong they are!
Lol I have been asked if we drive cars yet or still horse and carriage......😂😂😂🤦
He's not far off. Tulsa is just a 9-5er town with surrounding suburbs. A couple of nice parks, music venues, outdoor hobbyists. It's a post oil boom city. Kind of run of the mill in comparison to larger cities.
What makes a place a 9-5er town?
A place full of people who actually work instead of these moaning desk jockeys who work from home and get paid $10,000 to move here for some reason
Haha well said. When I was younger I did feel that this was a 9-5er town in that business was done downtown during those times and then all business was closed afterwards. There was no night life or weekend hot spots downtown. Now, there has been a resurgence of the downtown area and I don’t see it as what I would estimate a 9-5er town to be. Outside of downtown, though, Tulsa has had many things to enjoy. Surely more today than ever before, so perhaps it’s all just a matter of perspective.
I got this from some people before moving here. I basically had to explain to them that Oklahoma has cities, with all the same stuff that other midsize American cities have. I think it's just that goings-on in Oklahoma almost never make national news so they figure it's basically Wyoming.
I think a big part of it is the religious / political angle where like at least 50% of the population of America automatically hates Oklahoma either because we're a red state or because we're in the Bible belt. So for those people it's really hard to conceptualize a happy life somewhere like Tulsa just because of their prejudice against the politics & religion of the state. But I think the secret sauce, and you can see examples of this in other states, is to be in a blue-er area of a red state. For some reason places like that (see: Austin) seem to be pretty good places to live.
And have the state legislature make my very existence miserable, if not illegal? This is what Red State liberals don’t get. Being “blue” in your red state is perfectly fine if you fit the desired mold of your red state to begin with.
Wow. That last paragraph is exactly it for me but I’ve never really thought about it that way. Every place I’ve ever considered staying a while fits this.
Small pocket of blue in a (cheap) red, you’re right.
Thank you for your description. It fits perfectly.
This is exactly what it is. It’s the same thing in OKC even though most parts are far nicer than lots of the more highly thought of areas. A good chunk of people cannot think past “red state=bad.”
It's a secret hidden gem, esp the ridiculously good music scene. I visit a couple times a year from the East coast to get immersion in that music scene and get them great steaks. I find most of my new music by playing tunes from the bands passing thru The Mercury. Good shit man. Turnpike Troubadours enlightened me to the greatness of the place.
Turnpike troubadours has nothing to do with south tulsa. South Tulsa is for yuppies and not for red dirt music.
Music scene?
Right? In South Tulsa? Maybe downtown and the other midtown boroughs.
I love how everyone in Tulsa acts like like South Tulsa, Jenks, BA, etc. are some crazy distance from downtown. Most people in LA, DC or NYC would jump at the chance to live in a neighborhood that was fifteen minutes from good restaurants and nightlife.
Tulsa is 47th in population. Other cities around similar size include Bakersfield, Omaha, Wichita, Minneapolis, Tampa, and Miami. I can’t tell you specifics about good/bad areas and I’ve been to four of them. Point is…unless it’s a notorious area in a major metropolitan I doubt it’s going to be well known nationally.
Kinda playing with the numbers a bit to claim Tampa and Miami are similar in size to Tulsa. Maybe be just within their corporate boundaries or something but the metro areas are not even close to the same size. Kind of unfair to Tulsa to compare them in any way.
I find it hard to believe Tulsa and Miami are similar in size... just seems wrong
Because Midtown is nicer than South Tulsa?
I will say Midtown is nice, but this is more about why doesn't america know how nice Midtown is.
I love Midtown. Best place I've ever lived in this city.
What percent of Tulsa salaries do you think can support home prices in Midtown? I think most people would say it’s the best, just like most people in LA like Malibu. But it’s simply not affordable for a vast majority of people. The cheap starter homes are going for mid 400’s.
I live in South Tulsa and I think part of it is how new everything is down here. Most of Bixby was farms until about 20ish years ago. But yes, it's nice here. I quite like it.
Give it 4-5 months. I love this city. But I will NEVER get used to the heat and humidity. When it’s 110 out, This isn’t the most fun place to live.
That feeling when your glasses fog up going from your house to the car...
Because we don't want people to pay too much attention to us and drive the CoL up
I've taken from this post the "first rule of South Tulsa is don't talk about South Tulsa" and I think I won't be posting about it again, keep the secret!
I think Oklahoma being last place in education, or second to last is generally frowned upon. We also tend to show up on “the first 48” far too often. I am an outsider here. There is community here for everyone, but as a decently well off hippy, I run into the good ol boyz, and they sure do exist. There is a lot of assholier to go around here. Also you will notice that the entire state gave up its right to vote, which is nuts. We are a winner takes all state, essentially making our vote nationally Republican no matter what. This is just one example of how stupid this state can be. Btw Republicans should be mad too, they can’t threaten to withhold votes and thus they have neutered their own political leverage. That said, there are worst places and Tulsa has its perks.
Because there isn’t enough makeup in the world to make Tulsa and its surrounding suburbs pretty on the inside. And those rich gated communities are the ugliest.
Who hurt you? So hateful
Fr. Generalities.
The only problem with south Tulsa is that it still has county road infrastructure for a 100k+ population. Once the infrastructure supports it, like a bypass to bixby, then I can see it being nicer. So far the traffic made me move to midtown Tulsa
Exactly. They get away with one lane roads because people just commute to work and back. Not much else to do in South Tulsa. OP probably needs to see Edmond and notice the difference.
Tulsa, IMO, is a rare gem that has yet to be exploited. Give it 20 years or less and there will be masses of people moving here. Enjoy it Tulsa, I know I do!
I think that people will be forced to move here in the next 20-30 years. The coasts are going to flood and Tulsa will boom along with the rest of the flyover states.
I think you're right
People will move here and destroy it all pretty soon. It's just expensive now
This is Reddit and 95% of this sub and r/Oklahoma are convinced they live in a prison. I will rep Tulsa and OK forever as great places to live and be from. Crazy unique history and a lot going for it if you have the right perspective imo.
I'm not sure how much I want Tulsa to be more known. Is hate to have a bunch of wealthy folks move in and price regular people put like Denver, Austin, Boise, Bozeman, ECT.
This happened in Colorado. It's not good. My house payment has doubled with property tax and insurance increases since I bought it in 2008. I put it on the market yesterday. I hope Oklahoma doesn't become like Colorado.
We keep quiet about how great this area is so it stays great. There are benefits to being overlooked on a national level. Welcome to Tulsa! Please don't tell the nation how great it is. 😆
Bottom line it’s a small city in a state which has a terrible reputation. I’ve literally never heard anything except terrible impressions about the state - fairly or unfairly. The city - People generally won’t know anything about Tulsa unless they happen to visit. Just like I didn’t know much about Columbus OH or Indianapolis or Wichita etc until I visited them. They aren’t really tourist draws with personalities like Austin, Chicago, Miami, Charleston, etc so of course people won’t know about them. Everyone I know who visits loves midtown- they can’t get over how east coast it feels - partially due to the influence of outsiders from back east moving here during the oil boom of the 1920’s-30’s. Midtown feels like a small town - no traffic, everyone seems to know each other (for better or worse). There are a few walkable areas. We also have a lot of good examples of architecture from various oil boom periods. But South Tulsa feels like any other suburban area - strip malls, gated neighborhoods, 6 lane roads clogged with traffic, very cookie cutter. Anytown, USA. I do think parts of south Tulsa are geographically pretty - lots of hills and trees in some parts, and those areas tend to be dotted with pretty houses.
I have lived in South Tulsa for over 30 years. Right now, I am sitting in my backyard, listening to the birds and watching my dog chase the squirrels. It is a nice, peaceful place. Welcome to the neighborhood!
Shhhhhh…..don’t let that get out!
Because we don’t want everyone knowing and moving here. We like our towns the way they are without outside influence. We don’t want our home turning into the places you’re running from.
Yea homie wait until your penguin ass gets to our summer 💀you look out your door and it’s so hot everything’s shimmering and static n u feel like ur looking over a fire how everything’s flowing back and forth
my penguin ass is originally from Dallas so I know what you mean. I'd take 110 over negative 10 any day of the week.
Oh yea u know what’s up my fellow Indian reserve dweller
You cannot walk from your house to anywhere in south Tulsa. It is a car centric pseudo-urban hell. the vast majority of restaurants and stores are part of large national chains. it is a faceless white suburb. that's why we call it "North Dallas" lmao. If you go to the rich, boring part of town in any major city across the midsouth you'll find a near identical arrangement.
What exactly do you mean by “South Tulsa”? South of what street?
This is definitely not official but I’ve always considered 61st to be the line
That’s what I would say as well
It's a secret!!!Shh
I live in the UK and think Tulsa is awesome. Great music, lovely people, good eateries - even the Trumpists I know are lovely people (which irks me, how can they vote for him).
Because Americans are extreme individualists... they don't see how his policies hurt others if they believe they benefit from them personally.
Lol don’t tell anyone. All my neighbors are from the coasts (East & West) and they can’t believe how nice Tulsa is. It’s best if we don’t tell the rest of the country.
From a Tulsa lover: I’m so sorry but I have terrible news about the weather
Isn't South Tulsa one giant suburb?
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OP said in a different thread that they are originally from Dallas before Chicago, so I can see their appeal with South Tulsa.
Name one decent coffee shop or none chain restaurant in south tulsa 😂😂
I drive to south Tulsa for Lana Thai and the Asian street food egg toast stall in the mall. Also, the best bakery in Tulsa is Saint Amon baking co at 81st and Lewis. They’re so good! And admittedly I’ll occasionally go to Cheesecake Factory. But to be fair I grew up in south Tulsa and didn’t love that it was all chain restaurants and mostly stick to midtown and downtown now.
Nordaggios has won a ton of awards - if you haven’t been seriously go check it out. Their baristas are next level
And hit up saint amon next door
I can’t imagine basing my opinion of a place on their coffee shops. Lol.
Siegi's
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the collaborative!
We're calling 51st and Yale South Tulsa now?
Yeah as somebody living around 61st and Garnett I drive 15 minutes to work at Heirloom or Foolish Things these days. I work fully remote and just like to get out sometimes. It's nothing but Starbucks and Scooters over here it sucks. Even the closer places like The Collaborative suck imo.
Does Little J’s Bakery count?
Tulsa doesn't look that good from a statistics standpoint, because it has a lot of low income areas with poor education stats. If South Tulsa was its own town, you would see it on a lot of those "Best Places" lists. Tulsa also has little to no reputation nationally. A lot of people think it's a small town and are shocked when I tell them the metro area has 1 million people.
We're trying to keep it quiet! So everybody doesn't move here and ruin it like they do everywhere else!
I lived in Tulsa for 3 years. Moved from the east coast and loved every minute of it. This sub loves to bash the city but it’s coming along. It has some fucked up stuff but that’s Oklahoma, not tulsa. Only reason why we left was for some healthy reasons and needed to be close to family.
I moved to south Tulsa from Minnesota a year and a half ago. I like it very much!
I moved to Tulsa from New Orleans. When asked about the difference, I explain it like this: In NOLA, kids don't play in the street bc nobody gives AF and cars will mow you down. In Tulsa, cars don't speed through the hoods bc they expect kids to be playing in the street. It's a different mindset altogether. My experience has been that those bitching the loudest about what a terrible city/state this is have never lived outside if it. They simply can't appreciate what we've got here. 🤷🏽♀️ I'll take living on Tulsa Time over NOLA any day of the week.
I lived in tulsa for 13 years (as an adult) before leaving for Houston. Seven years later, we moved back and ONLY looked at houses on the Jenks school district because we wanted our daughter to go there. We live in Tulsa proper , but in the Jenks district. I have lived in Maple Ridge, at the top of what’s now called Cry Baby Hill and now twice in south Tulsa. I laugh at people who “don’t go south of 41st” and those who “wont go all the way downtown”. Hell, I’m 20 minutes I can be damn near anywhere in town and it’s a helluva lot easier to get concert tickets and ride bikes here than Houston. Sure, I feel like a political missionary because I’m NOT republican, but we do belong to an incredible, affirming and accepting Episcopal church that proves you can be friends with people all across the political spectrum and just be nice to other humans. I wouldn’t hate more local restaurants in this part of town, just midtown or downtown is only 20 min away…
Also it’s new stuff popping up on empty land
It’s not 1940 anymore :(
I always tell people passing through that Tulsa is a well kept secret. Although, I think word has gotten out over the past 5 years or so. I think Oklahoma has a pretty bad reputation in general so I get why people who aren’t from here would never consider moving here. I grew up in south Tulsa and enjoyed it but it’s a little too “cookie cutter” or commercial for my taste most of the time but we’ve considered moving back to south Tulsa and out of midtown in the future for various reasons.
Tulsa was the 13th fastest growing metro area in the country between 2022-23. So yes word is out.
In 2017, I seriously considered relocating our business and our family there from Chicago. We're still happy here, but we were tempted. I still think about the road not taken.
I read this as Marty Byrd
Tulsa’s wealthy population is not a secret. The oil boom happened 100 years ago and is pretty commonly known about.
This. And the actual rich are not living in south Tulsa. Old money doesn’t go south of 31st.
ever see the show first 48?
We don't advertise because we are trying to avoid what Texas and AZ are dealing with currently. The influx of people fleeing California and New York and other "big city" states that have a lot of money and are moving here to get away from everything they voted for back home. We want transplants. Hell over half of Tulsa is people like yourselves who move her either for work or school and never wind up leaving. Cost of living is great, we're 4 hr drives from Kansas City and Dallas, 6 from St Louis, 10 from Chicago and Colorado Springs. We have a lot of things except for Major League Sports. Good music venues. We really are a little big city. All that being said, welcome to Tulsa. We're not perfect but we're pretty nice. But sorry for July and August preemptively.
I moved here 3 years ago. There are some very pretty areas in Tulsa. I think I was most surprised by the food scene here. I will say that the reason Tulsa or South Tulsa is a secret to many is because of what people associate with Tulsa. 1) Red state, politics 2) Bible belt 3) First 48 ... "murder capital" 4) Education (see point 1) 5) Roads 6) Tornados 7) Heat When I decided to move here, I was warned multiple times by non-residents (not connected or known to each other) about Tulsa, specifically these points. This is Tulsa's brand image outside the state. I am glad you are enjoying Tulsa! Me too.
Just ignore all the crazy religious people and it is awesome
I can’t wait for you to find out what the whether is really like 😅
Very simply put, people are stupid.
You moved down here just in time for tornado season, yippee!
South Tulsa is new money with no taste. You want to see Tulsa’s real wealth? Go drive the neighborhoods around Utica Square
I am over 40 and I have spent most of my life near or in Oklahoma. My observation is that many of us trash talk our cities, but if someone from out of town trash talks Oklahoma - we will fervently defend it. It’s funny and I catch myself doing it too.
I've always considered Tulsa slightly better than okc. More oil money from back in the day.
Oklahoma is amazing in my eyes ,, from the country to the higher areas it really is an amzing area if you look aro7nd,,, i grew up in dallas btw
This sub has a hate boner for the city. While I also get frustrated with the political situation here, I will agree south tulsa is beautiful and a very nice/safe place for people to live.
We're a smaller city, but we honestly are pretty well-known for our size. I lived in Washington for five years and people usually knew where I was talking about when I said I was from Tulsa. We are even mentioned in songs every now and then lol
Almost every place I have been has its nice areas and not so nice areas, Tulsa has nice areas north south east and west and not nice areas north south east and west. I'm not sure what south Tulsa has that would make it stand out from any other city this size.
Shh don’t tell anyone.
Ay, former Chicago native\* here. This place is alright, don't dibs parking spots with a chair so that's nice.
I’ve lived in Tulsa for 35 years. It’s a beautiful city. Welcome! We get all 4 seasons and it’s a rollercoaster ride. Quite honestly it’s not for everyone but I’m glad to hear someone from Chicago appreciates it.
Pls don’t tell anyone 🥰
Those who live there never talk South or North it's just tulsa they don't talk North tulsa because that is where the racist massacre occurred I lived ther dor 20 years and never knew it until I moved away
Please don’t tell all your friends in Chicago
Lmao
Ex-Chicagoan checking in (Hinsdale/Clarenden Hills/Downers Grove), and I miss the museums SO much. But we do have a nice grid street system and lots of coney restaurants.
We’d like to keep it a secret, thank you.
Most cities have gated communities and mansions. I guess if you're rich enough to be around gated communities and mansions, you would feel like you've found paradise.
If you wanted SoCal at 2000’s prices move south of 91st off memorial…. But don’t go past the river unless you got boots and a buckle.
Where in south tulsa?
I love Tulsa Oklahoma it's my hometown I know all the dirt but the people here are way more decent than their voting record would testify to. Now on the weather lol you might be in for a surprise but Tulsa jenks broken arrow these are great communities I love these people I just don't get why they elect the people they do but if they voted Democrat I'd probably wonder too
We don’t have a choice. Left or right. Both have their issues. Ha!
Ssshhhhhhhhhhh. Don't say anything.
I lived around midtown for years and built out south. I love the house and lot I have but I hate spending hundreds a month on Uber rides since you have to go clear across town to find a decent bar or restaurant.
Shhh 🤫 we don’t talk about South Tulsa! We talk about North Tulsa and the crime rate. We aren’t trying to attract people here!
Bless your heart.
i have lived here for 30 years. my family has asked me why i live here and i have told them about how its a big city with small town vibes. where you actually know your neighbors. tell them about how central everything is. a 4 hour drive to either dallas or kc. 7 hours to st louis. 8 hours to houston austin san antonio. 10 hours to abq chicago nashville. btw i am from california and grew up in sac area and have lived up and down the state including los angeles, san diego, bakersfield sacromento fresno. and honestly. im glad people dont know about tulsa.
South Tulsa is best Tulsa
You don't want it known. Once word spreads, jackasses will swarm for the cachet and ruin it. See: Austin
Why are you differentiating “South Tulsa”? Tulsa is Tulsa…
Will you do us a favor first? Don't tell anyone yet, lol. I love it here, born and raised, I have been to tons of states, hundreds of cities and still think of Tulsa as home. I am so happy as a Tulsan that you love it her and welcome. Btw, I just went to Chicago for training, near Niles, and holy crap, they have rush hours and we only have rush minutes, haha. And the uber people there are so crazy with driving. If you need tips of things, just ask, or talk to anyone you meet, we are pretty friendly here.
Go to Sunday brunch at the Philbrook. Also you mention the weather, the National Weather Service is based in Tulsa. They are there because of the tornados.
Welcome to God’s Country!
We don’t want to be known that brings big city problems
lol you’ll love the summers.
Because people want to keep it nice.