Moving to Tulsa Area

Ladies, my husband and our family are moving to OK by the end of this year from central WA. We have 3 kids and are moving to be closer to my husband’s family. Neither of us has ever been to OK and I’m nervous! We are moving also because it’s so much cheaper than WA and the homeschool laws or lack of are great. We are looking into Broken Arrow or Owasso. Please tell me, is the Tulsa area a good place to raise kids? Where we are now is the ugly part of WA, very rural, small towns, one Target, one small mall with no food court, you have to drive 3 hours to the nearest zoo and aquarium or children’s museum. Crime rate here where we are is high and everything is very dull and the homeless/drug problem is out of control. I’ve tried to do as much research on OK as possible and the Tulsa area seems to have a lot to offer as far as things to do for kids and adults but I need to know. What is it really like? Are tornadoes a big issue? Is it a good place to live? I need all the info please! We’re going in blind!

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The location u are wanting to move to is a very good area to live and tornadoes not as much

@Jennifer Very good to know, thank you!!😊

Hi! I live in Owasso and have my whole life just about! I can answer most questions about this area if you have any. The Tulsa zoo is right outside Owasso city limits, super short drive, I’d say it’s closer to Owasso than it is the main portion of Tulsa. Crime rate here in Owasso is pretty low, crime maps grade us in all green, I’d say the most crime we have here is opportunistic thieves and domestic calls. Tornadoes here in Owasso are very rare, the last one we had was a few years ago on the outskirts in the rich neighborhood that didn’t do much damage except for knocking down a house that was being built (frame stage). I like Owasso a lot, I enjoyed my time in Owasso public schools and they have excellent extracurricular programs too (the band is internationally known). Owasso public school isn’t as big as BA iirc but they’re still in the same 5A group. Sometimes there’s traffic issues certain times of the day but I feel like you’ll run into that problem anywhere.

@Victoria your welcome and if u need to hang out let me know my kids are older I have a 6 year old boy and a 11 year old girl

Oh also I see you’re homeschooling, there’s tons of co-ops and resources for homeschoolers all over the Tulsa and surrounding areas as well. We have a 24 month old and a 7 month old and plan to homeschool 💕

I lived in owasso for a couple of years until just a few months ago. My ONLY complaint about it is that it is very densely populated and growing quickly. So there is a looooot of congestion on the roads. If you work in tulsa, getting to work in the morning can be nuts. And forget 5oclock traffic. I have never felt safer than when i was living there though. Very clean and nice. I would say the greater tulsa area overall is awesome, but you definitely learn the areas to stay away from. Tulsa has very high crime but you wpuldnt know it if you stick to the nicer developed parts. Broken arrow's downtown is very nice , cute and fun. Just like any place, it has its nice areas and more run down parts but overall we enjoy visiting for food and shopping.

If you move to Owasso and like coffee, our favorite place was Misty Brew. But Evergreen is also great!

@Cici This is all so helpful, thank you!! 💕

@Jennifer Great! I have 3 boys ages 3, 7 and 8. I’ll definitely be needing to make some friends so I really appreciate that. 😊

@Lauren Oh gosh, I love this! I think I will end up really loving it. Our hometown is so small and there are really no resources or things for kids to do and I really want my kids to have as many opportunities as they can especially since we homeschool. I think it will be a great place to raise them, I’m excited and nervous! Thanks for the info!

@Lauren This question can apply to anyone but what would be the main differences between BA and Owasso?

@Victoria Owasso is smaller, both are fairly large cities but Owasso has a smaller population (40k vs 120k ish). If you can get a home in Roger’s county instead of Tulsa county you should have lower tax rates. BA is more of a hustle and bustle city and Owasso tends to be a quieter and more family oriented/close knit area. The roads are dead and city is asleep by 10PM most of the year. I’d say BA though has a lot more diversity in what you can do and where to shop, think of BA as a more city side suburb and Owasso as rural suburb (with a city vibe still). Houses I’ve seen over the years tend to be a bit more expensive in BA than Owasso but if money isn’t a problem it’s not a big deal of a difference. If you like laid back and quiet, Owasso is a good spot, if you want more things to do with a bit more lively vibe, BA is a good spot.

@Lauren Taking notes on all of this! Thank you! 😊