OT: would you move to Tulsa, OK for $10k?

[echappist]

the $10k (pre-tax, i presume) is for anyone who can work remotely full time to select Tulsa as his/her residence. (https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2018/11/13/this-city-will-pay-you-10000-to-move-there-and-thats-not-all/#33e94d4f7001) Once the person stays for one year, the person gets $10k. There are some other benefits, such as free trial period of a co-working space, along with discounted rent.

But overall, it seems like $10k just isn't enough. After all, after taxes, a move-in and a move-out would cost $10k for a 2BR move, so...

[joosttx]

Three reasons to live in Tulsa


Ron’s hamburgers and chili
Coney island
Arnies Bar

[AngryScientist]

no, no i would not.

[fa63]

Yeah, not a chance. I might think about for $50K.

[Seramount]

uh, Oklahoma is not OK...

[54ny77]

If things get to the point where a municipality is having to pay people to move there, that speaks volumes about opportunity & life in that town. What's the after-tax effect of that money? Is it tax free?

More importantly, why aren't businesses moving there and hiring people at many multiples of that?

If they were, that's the answer as to why move there.

Otherwise, if you're remote worker, simply move to a no income tax state and save well more than $10k in all likelihood.

[Spaghetti Legs]

I wouldn’t move across town for $10k.

[paredown]

I didn't find Tulsa that bad, but I was only there for day trips. There are some nice nabes, but I basically hate Gulf weather especially in the summer--hot and humid...

If I had a good remote gig though, I could stand a year of suffering....

[joosttx]

during my college days, a nice old man offered me $5 to perform a sex act on him in front of a QT mart in Tulsa, Ok.. So, I think $10k to move there is a great deal.

[PaMtbRider]

Add another zero and my answer is still no.

[likebikes]

i'd rather take the $10k that vermont is offering and move back there.

[echappist]

i'd rather take the $10k that vermont is offering and move back there.

That one is certainly a lot nicer

[Louis]

I wouldn’t move across town for $10k.

+1

Not worth the hassle.

[shoota]

Oklahoma is an awesome state and there is some great cycling to be had in Tulsa but I wouldn’t move across town for $10k either. Too much hassle.

[Bentley]

I didn't find Tulsa that bad, but I was only there for day trips. There are some nice nabes, but I basically hate Gulf weather especially in the summer--hot and humid...

If I had a good remote gig though, I could stand a year of suffering....

huh? Tulsa is no where near the Gulf....😀

[joosttx]

Oklahoma is an awesome state and there is some great cycling to be had in Tulsa but I wouldn’t move across town for $10k either. Too much hassle.

I live there for a summer after being awarded a NFS grant. I cannot recall good riding out there. I remember mountain biking across the river but it was not spectacular. I played a lot of basketball. Actually played against John Starks on a play ground in a pickup game.

I really liked Tulsa. Plenty of money there from oil and gas. It has a small town but plenty of stuff to do.

[zmudshark]

I've driven past there a few times. I'd need enough zeroes to count twice before I'd live there.

[livingminimal]

This deal is not intended to target the average Paceline Forum demographic I reckon.

[tv_vt]

No. That's peanuts.

[mtechnica]

I wouldn’t move to Oklahoma for $100,000

[echappist]

This deal is not intended to target the average Paceline Forum demographic I reckon.

i'm not so sure. A job that allows one to telework full time is most likely one that pays a salary btwn upper middle class and middle class wage, if not an upper middle class wage. Think accounting, lawyer, IT, and software, and high up enough to be given latitude. I'd guess that quite a bit of Paceline forumites fall into that category.

Whether accountants, esquires, and engineers would find Tulsa palatable place to live is a whole 'nother issue.

[paredown]

huh? Tulsa is no where near the Gulf....😀

Well it's part of Tornado Alley for a reason--we had the same weather in NW Arkansas, (although luckily where we were in AR we we a little south of the usual west-east path for tornadoes)... warm moist air from the Gulf hits colder northern air--boom!

[dancinkozmo]

why would anybody want to live in a place called "tornado alley"?

[paredown]

why would anybody want to live in a place called "tornado alley"?

It's exciting?

[earlfoss]

during my college days, a nice old man offered me $5 to perform a sex act on him in front of a QT mart in Tulsa, Ok.. So, I think $10k to move there is a great deal.

Did he call himself "Oral Roberts"

[joosttx]

Did he call himself "Oral Roberts"

:banana::banana::banana:

For the win!

[54ny77]

:hello:

It's exciting?

[BobbyJones]

Fascinating:

And, for about 25 lucky telecommuters looking for a change of scenery, it’s about to get even more affordable.

Starting this week, remote workers from all over the country can apply to move to Tulsa in exchange for $10,000 in cash, a housing stipend for a fully-furnished apartment in a building downtown, and a desk at a local co-working space. The program, called Tulsa Remote, is being fully funded by the George Kaiser Family Foundation, a Tulsa-based philanthropy (where Basch now consults), and was planned with the city’s cooperation.

Program applicants must be over 18, eligible to work in the United States, and able to move to Tulsa within six months. They have to come from outside Tulsa County, and be doing full-time remote work for a company that’s based elsewhere, or be self-employed. And to get all the cash, they have to stay the full year.


It sounds like a good thing for the right person. Heck, if I was younger, working remote / freelancing / getting a business off the ground, looks like a good place to hunker down for a year.

[Matthew]

I'd rather stab myself in the eye and give away 10k.

[Hellgate]

Oh hell NO!

I moved it OKC in 2012 for much more money than that and it was a complete waste of time, effort and energy.

OK is a special place...

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5010 using Tapatalk

[ashwa64]

good beer at american solera

[zmudshark]

good beer at american solera

There's good beer most everywhere these days.

[SoCalSteve]

I wouldn’t move across town for $10k.

Post of the day!!!

[Ralph]

It's nice enough for Warren Buffett. He lives there.

[fa63]

It's nice enough for Warren Buffett. He lives there.Omaha, Nebraska

[SoCalSteve]

Omaha, Nebraska

I spent ( what felt like a lifetime ) in Omaha, NE for 5 months working on a movie. Coming from sunny SoCal, it was a very different experience. And yeah, we shot across the street from W. Buffets house.

[pbarry]

It's nice enough for Warren Buffett. He lives there.

What? The shareholders will be surprised.
Note to self: Short Hathaway pending Buffett move.

;)

[doomridesout]

You know how the rich stay rich.

What? The shareholders will be surprised.
Note to self: Short Hathaway pending Buffett move.

;)

[Tony]

[B]Oklahoma is an awesome state and there is some great cycling to be had in Tulsa but I wouldn’t move across town for $10k either. Too much hassle.

Awesome fishing!

[NewDFWrider]

One of the few positive things about moving to Texas are the Oklahoma jokes. (And yeah, no way would I move to Tulsa for 10k).

Q: Did you hear that the governor's mansion in Oklahoma burned down?
A: Almost took out the whole trailer park.

Q: Why do ducks fly over Oklahoma upside down?
A: There's nothing worth craping on!

Q: Why are there so many unsolved murders in Oklahoma?
A: There are no dental records and everyone has the same DNA

Q: You know why Texas hasn't fallen into the ocean?

A: Because Oklahoma sucks so hard.

[echappist]

You know how the rich stay rich.

Buy property when there’s blood on the streets or lobbying to change the laws to reduce/eliminate your taxes

Jest aside, as an owner of a few shares of Brk.B, i’d want to know if they are relocaying

[dancinkozmo]

how do we know the toothbrush was invented in oklahoma ?

if it were invented anywhere else it would be called a 'teethbrush'

[echappist]

how do we know the toothbrush was invented in oklahoma ?

if it were invented anywhere else it would be called a 'teethbrush'

Won’t most of these work equally well in W Va or Kentucky?

[joosttx]

If any of you had a sausage burger at Ron’s Hamburger and Chili House you would not be saying such awful things about Tulsa.

Best hamburger I ever had. And I stand by this

[Tickdoc]

I’ve been nearly everywhere and I wouldn’t trade it for any place else.

Kind people, cheap living, good riding most of the year.

We host one of the most exciting crit races of the year each spring.

Spectacular hunting/fishing and golf if you are into that.

No traffic, great arts, decent food, and an airport to escape when you need to.

The 10k is a gimmick to advertise the city. There’s a new public park that is amazeballs connected to nearly 200 miles of riding trails.

Is it perfect? Nope, not by a long stretch, but when you balance what matters when raising a family it is tough to beat.

Oil and gas, aerospace, and trucking are the mainstays here, but we stay real estate and economy stable regardless of your industry.

I’ll stay.

https://youtu.be/GL7K3p4isIU

[Tickdoc]

If any of you had a sausage burger at Ron’s Hamburger and Chili House you would not be saying such awful things about Tulsa.

Best hamburger I ever had. And I stand by this

Ron died this year, btw.....of a heart attack no less.

On a side note, our cardiac care units are amongst the best in the world :)

[joosttx]

Ron died this year, btw.....of a heart attack no less.

On a side note, our cardiac care units are amongst the best in the world :)

Man, Thats tough. I assumed he had passed a long time ago. I loved the way he would steam those buns on the grill.

[FlashUNC]

Worst Remake of the Oklahoma Land Rush ever.

[bigbill]

I liked the time I spent in Tulsa. Good riding, decent weather year round, low cost of living, an airport, and nice people. I considered taking a job at Jenks with my last employer.

[pdmtong]

Live where you want to live and make it work. Where ever that is

Being bought off? It's your life so choose wisely

[Ralph]

Omaha, Nebraska

My mistake

[godfrey1112000]

The people kicked out of Indiana, Hoosiers
Were sent to Oklahoma


QUOTE=NewDFWrider;2456795]One of the few positive things about moving to Texas are the Oklahoma jokes. (And yeah, no way would I move to Tulsa for 10k).

Q: Did you hear that the governor's mansion in Oklahoma burned down?
A: Almost took out the whole trailer park.

Q: Why do ducks fly over Oklahoma upside down?
A: There's nothing worth craping on!

Q: Why are there so many unsolved murders in Oklahoma?
A: There are no dental records and everyone has the same DNA

Q: You know why Texas hasn't fallen into the ocean?

A: Because Oklahoma sucks so hard.[/QUOTE]

[biker72]

I don't think I'd move anywhere for just $10k dollars. Gotta look at cost of living, taxes, job opportunities...etc.

That being said I have visited Tulsa a few times. Seems to be a fairly nice place to me.

[4Rings6Stars]

Pretty sure Vermont is or at least was offering a similar program.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2018/06/03/vermont-wants-to-pay-you-10000-to-move-there-and-work/

[hokoman]

OP, where are you currently? I have lived in big cities, NY, LA, SF and around Silicon Valley. I had a 1 year blip in McAllen, TX and although I wouldn't move there now, it was a great experience when I was younger and single. It exposed me to a different world, and regardless of where you are, it is the people you surround yourself with that makes the difference.

[echappist]

OP, where are you currently? I have lived in big cities, NY, LA, SF and around Silicon Valley. I had a 1 year blip in McAllen, TX and although I wouldn't move there now, it was a great experience when I was younger and single. It exposed me to a different world, and regardless of where you are, it is the people you surround yourself with that makes the difference.

Philly.

Just so happens that I could take advantage of this offer. If it were Pittsburgh making this offer, I may think twice, but not sure about Tulsa.

[dogrange]

Oklahoma can’t even keep its schools open for a full 5 day week.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[false_Aest]

10k to move to Tulsa for a year? If I was single I'd totally do it. It'd be another adventure.


But the GF is from Tulsa. Left as soon as she could. Beyond family, she has a hard time being there. I wouldn't subject her to that for 10k.

[likebikes]

Pretty sure Vermont is or at least was offering a similar program.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2018/06/03/vermont-wants-to-pay-you-10000-to-move-there-and-work/

already mentioned on page 1 of this thread.

[joosttx]

Philly.

.

Tulsa smells better. Especially in the summer time. And Tulsa has a better football team.

[fiamme red]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l86AYxdYoUo

Livin' on Tulsa time
Livin' on Tulsa time
Gonna set my watch back to it
Cause you know I've been through it
Livin' on Tulsa time

[smontanaro]

More generally, I give OK and VT props for at least starting to think about breaking the coastal grip on tech. The cost of living in Silicon Valley and NYC (prolly Boston and Chicago as well, to some degree) is too high. Tech really needs to expand outside its traditional home(s), but it needs a workforce.

There's a chicken-and-egg situation though. To attract tech companies, you need a tech-ready workforce. There may be enough people willing to move to Tulsa or Burlington to nudge the workforce needle up just enough that tech companies begin to consider those cities as possible sites for their own version of "HQ2" (or at least "HQ35").

[jmoore]

I'd rather live in Tulsa than OKC. It would be way cheaper than living on either coast but $10k isn't enough to move the needle at all. $10k/month and I'd consider it.

[Jaybee]

I moved to Colorado a little more than a year ago from OKC. My family and I really like Denver, but there was a lot to enjoy about OKC and Tulsa if you meet the right kind of people and know where to look. I understand the perception that OK is a backwards petro-religious state - It is not unfounded. That said, the urban cores of Tulsa and OKC are pretty much like the urban cores of a lot of other American cities. We went to plenty of good to great restaurants, plays, museums, ballet, parks. Tulsa has a nice cycling culture - it's not Boulder or Marin, but there's a robust racing scene including weekday crits, a regular CX schedule (including a UCI-2 race, I think), and decent MTB in the hills and trees that make up Eastern OK. The gravel roads are phenomenal. It's easy to go on a 40 mile ride out of the suburbs and see maybe 3 or 4 cars, something I miss here in Denver.

The offer is more than 10K, since it includes an apartment and workspace. If I were single, especially if I had an O+G adjacent startup, I'd definitely think about it.

[mflaherty37]

Tulsa's cycling community is tops. You'll meet great people on the bike. It's hot in the summer, some people like it that way. But I'd go somewhere with mountains and low cost of living like Idaho, eat mac n cheese.

[likebikes]

i work with my hands for a living, so no chance of working remotely, but i'd do it if i worked remotely.

10k is a lot for me, especially if an apartment is included.

[Tickdoc]

Loving this thread and I'm gonna request we bring back the haters. I like my town just the way it is and really hope it doesn't grow too much.

The comments are hilarious.

[choke]

I haven't spent a lot of time in Tulsa but I have spent enough to know that I'd rather live there than a lot of other places....many of which are far more popular.

[djg]

I’m a home owner. I wouldn’t move across the street for 10k — I’d lose money on transaction costs before I ever hired a mover.

But this is not supposed to get me to move — surely it’s an incentive aimed at marginal labor — people contemplating comparable moves who might be on the fence about Tulsa vs ... someplace else (including staying put). Whether it will have the desired effect depends on what Tulsa is looking for and how well they’ve researched the marginal movable worker. I tend to wonder about such things, which are easily botched in different ways, but that doesn’t mean that this particular plan is necessarily defective.

[unterhausen]

I stayed in Ok City one week for a month. It was just after Christmas on my way to Desert Storm. Why we had to leave a week early is something that probably is best forgotten, but I will say the org I went with was not run by our best and brightest. What's the difference between the Air Force and the Boy Scouts? The Boy Scouts have adult supervision. It was bitter cold there for the whole week, much worse than Utah. Not sure how common that is, but I found out later that my dad went to OK State for a couple of years before the Army decided they needed cannon fodder. He said winters were bad there.

If food was all I cared about, I could definitely live in Ok City and it sounds like Tulsa might be better. OTOH, that wouldn't help my riding at all.

[559Rando]

Tulsa night life: filth, gin, a slut.

[dancinkozmo]

But I'd go somewhere with mountains and low cost of living like Idaho, eat mac n cheese.

yes !

[old_fat_and_slow]

Tulsa night life: filth, gin, a slut.

Sounds like mike kind of place !! (Was she a hot slut??)

[dancinkozmo]

if calling ladies 'sluts' is a tulsa thing then i like tulsa. because now i know where all the people i dont want to hang out with are.

[joosttx]

if calling ladies 'sluts' is a tulsa thing then i like tulsa. because now i know where all the people i dont want to hang out with are.

I think the guy who used that term hails from the east bay. Better reorientate your compass....

:banana:

[likebikes]

perhaps a reference to this larry clark book?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsa_(book)

[559Rando]

I think the guy who used that term hails from the east bay. Better reorientate your compass....

:banana:

folks, relax! it's a palindrome!:banana:

[dancinkozmo]

just kidding around...tulsa rules !

[bikinchris]

We did a tandem rally in Tulsa once. Okay riding. But to live there? I can't help but think of terrible tornadoes.

[marciero]

If we are talking burgers, I have fond memories of the Meersburger back in the 70's. Not near Tulsa though. Tulsa was the big city.

[Tickdoc]

We did a tandem rally in Tulsa once. Okay riding. But to live there? I can't help but think of terrible tirnadoes.

47 years now and I’ve yet to see one. I mean, I’d kinda like to see one..but from a distance.

[junkfood]

I have been living in Tulsa since 2005 and overall I am a fan. Not a big fan of many things about the state of Oklahoma in general, but Tulsa itself definitely has a different feel to it. Tulsa allows my wife and I to be homeowners while spending less time working than many so we can do the things we enjoy. Not sure if I could pull off being a working artist in most cities with my current lifestyle. Our kids attend Tulsa public schools in a language immersion program. My 6th grade daughter is fluent in French and the two younger ones are well on their way. Oklahoma is definitely behind on education, but children can still get a great education publicly, unfortunately you have to search for it and put out more effort than one should need to in my opinion.

The road riding here is nice, no sustained climbing but it is not the great plains that most imagine when they think of Oklahoma. We have a nice spider web of mountain bike trails here in the urban area of Tulsa at Turkey mountain. A bunch of Rocky tangled mess that takes some getting use to. The love of MTBs in Northwest Arkansas is spreading this way and new trail systems are popping up in our area and others are becoming much better. Between the Road, CX, Gravel and MTB it is easy to ride year around relatively comfortably. I will say that the summers can be a bit miserable on the bike though.

All that said it would take more than $10k for me to move somewhere also :)

Jake

[MikeD]

That $10K probably wouldn't cover my moving expenses.

[Tickdoc]

100 willing participants have signed on to take the money.

I guess it was not just a publicity stunt after all:

https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/tulsa-remote-more-than-people-will-get-billionaire-s-offer/article_782a8c6f-8cd0-5eee-96e1-a0d8be14d30b.html

[Waldo]

No effin' way. Not for $100k either.

[echappist]

the move alone would cost many ~$5k (post tax), and that can't be deducted for tax purposes either, since one isn't moving for a job

[nmrt]

if a restaurant pays me to eat their food, i would not eat it.
if they're paying you to live in OK, how ok can it be?
;)

[echappist]

Your kids will love it for the 3-day weekends!