Looks like we're moving the Oklahoma.

[cornermouse]

Someone tell me something good about Oklahoma, please. Because I've been looking at the terrain and "eavesdropping" on their blogs and I've gone from shaky about moving away from a place that I love to outright, absolutely, positively not wanting to go.

[RoyGBiv]

1. We have good BBQ ...

If you're a vegetarian, some of the best produce can be had at the ubiquitous farmer's markets around here.

We have countless of lakes and rivers and actual trees and hills in the eastern half of the state. You can pretty much go from small mountainous terrain to nearly desert within the confines of the state actually.

Liberals are few and far between, but when you find 'em, they are *passionate* liberals.

What part of the state you moving to?

[cornermouse]

2. A few miles from the Texas border.

Looking at the pictures, quite a few of them remind me of western Kansas which I learned to hate. Others look a little more promising but I'm still not seeing a lot of trees which is what I love. I was trying to tell myself it would be okay till I started looking at the blogs.

[RoyGBiv]

3. Terrain ...

Oklahoma's terrain is really varied. We're located at a junction of several types of geography.

Southwest Oklahoma is pretty desolate as far as trees are concerned. The farther west you go, the more desert-like it gets. If you're moving somewhere around Lawton, it's relatively flat with sparse trees. The good news is you're not very far from OKC via I-44, and you go an hour east and you end up in the middle of the Arbuckle Mnts. They're not so much actual mountains anymore (ancient mountain range) but it marks the start of the area with a lot of trees, and there's a national park in the area, Turner Falls, etc.

[cornermouse]

4. Thank you.

[Joey Liberal]

15. Sounds like you are going to Ft. Sill or Altus AFB?

If so, both are good locations. Altus is truly a "one horse town". Lawton isn't much better. Lawton isn't too bad. Being close to Dallas is nice. The Hard Rock Cafe in Dallas is great.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

5. You're moving to a decent spot....

But if you're out in the boonies, you're going to hear banjos. I'm not entirely kidding either. IF you're going to be in Ardmore, I can tell you there are great places to eat and places to shop. You'll be fairly close to Texas. There are a lot of trees in the area and a really nice state park with nice water falls and such.
Duckie

[cornermouse]

6. How difficult is it to get high speed internet

outside city limits?

[RoyGBiv]

7. Depends ...

Depends on how far outside the city and what city you're talking about.

The major HSI providers in Oklahoma are CableOne, Cox, and AT&T. CableOne is mostly in smaller towns and rural areas. AT&T is concentrating mostly on larger cities right now.

Figure out the provider(s) in the area to which you're moving, and they can tell you whether they reach as far out as you are.

[cornermouse]

8. Thank you.

That's pretty important information in this day and age.

[OKNancy]

9. A writer in Urban Tulsa magazine once wrote

"What's good about Oklahoma is what is bad about Oklahoma"

The way of life is wonderful for many things, but unless you are in Tulsa you won't find good ballet or opera, and OKC has some great attractions too, but is more "western" than Tulsa.
What is good is that people really are friendly and if you don't act like a jackass, you will get along fine. Be open-minded and enjoy what your location has to offer.

[Wednesdays]

10. If you're talking about political climate

then yeah, there aren't many states "redder" than Oklahoma. But no matter where you go in this country you will always find pockets of people who share your views.

What's more, the flag-waving, uber-Christian, W-worshiping attitude of the area has fallen dramatically in the last couple of years. You still see "W '04" stickers on cars occasionally, but no one talks publicly about supporting *, or even Republicans. Generally, everyone has gone back to worshiping what was their #1 love all along--OU and OSU college football. I still read stories about the antics and attitudes of the neanderthal types here, but that's gradually abating. Having a Democratic governor helps, I think.

I've lived in Oklahoma City for 12 years after spending my first 33 in the Detroit area. Compared to back east, life here seems less hectic and a tad more casual. Traffic is generally far less a problem. There's less emphasis on the arts here, but that is rapidly changing, and people here are much more sophisticated than just a few years ago. You can find pretty much any style of music on the FM dial. The Tex-Mex and BBQ restaurants here are unbeatable, but ethnic restaurants are now increasing in number too. I found that store-bought beef tastes wonderful here compared to what I could get in Michigan.

Housing prices are incredibly low--you can buy a house here for half (or less) for what you'd pay for an equivalent house elsewhere in the country, and property taxes and insurance are reasonable, too.

I'm not sure what you're reading in the blogs, but if you'd be more specific, I might be able to give a more direct answer.

[cornermouse]

11. Political climate is what I'm worried about.

I've lived in the midwest all my life and I know that bloggers can sometimes be extreme, but Oklahoma is the state of J.C. Watts who I had never seen on t.v. till recently and Imhof/Imhoff/or whatever his name is. I started getting worried because they and the bloggers sounded so extreme and they (Watts and Imhof?) did get voted into office by a bunch of someones. When we move, I'm bringing my beef with me; Steak and Hamburger, along with Pork Chop and Bacon. :) Hearing you have a democratic governor helps too. That means there's hope.

[OKNancy]

12. Well there are obviously Democrats in Oklahoma

I'm mean, there are quite a few right here on DU. Of course a lot of Okies go to Bartcop since he is in Oklahoma. I suggest you go with a good attitude. Nothing pisses me off more that an immigrant with a snotty attitude. I'm a ballet teacher and 95% of the out of state students are way behind my students. Thirty years ago I taught Oklahoma history. LOL
Inhoff won because we ran a crook against him and JCWatts played football for OU and people had stars in their eyes. I imagine Infoff will go down in 2008 if we run a half way competent person.
Hey... Bill Moyers and Daniel Patrick Moynihan were Okies... Gore Vidal is related to our Senator Gore.. ( the "blind Senator".) In the 1932 election, Eugene V. Debs, the Socialist got 33% of the vote... Things turned bad when the Texans moved here. hahaha

[cornermouse]

13. Well, I'm only a truck driver's daughter.

I expect if I went to Oklahoma City it would be for something like John Fogerty, Merle Haggard, Bette Midler, or if he was still alive, Jelly Roll Morton. I do plan to go to Tulsa to get a picture of my great grandfather's headstone and I will no doubt go down to Dallas to get some pictures of a Civil War site that my family played a major part in. I'm the oldest in a large family and don't take orders very well. One of my brothers (the family success story) is well on his way to becoming head of department of a major hospital. Its been a long night in tornadic terms so maybe my nerves are a little raw, but as Bon Jovi would say "have a nice day".

[sazemisery]

16. Here's a discussion forum in Oklahoma

http://www.demookie.com/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=208

They are an interesting group and it will give you insight into Oklahoma Democratic politics.

I am in NE Oklahoma so I can't give too much advice on where you are going. Cox cable is now Suddenlink in our area.

[Joey Liberal]

14. You'll see lot's of "W" stickers

I'd say that one good thing about Oklahoma is Bricktown. Other than that, I can't think of anything.