Educate me on Tulsa

[IJWS]

Paceliners, my bartender at little joy in echo park is telling me all these crazy things about Tulsa. Namely, great cycling scene, great places to eat and drink, and "like Austin 15 years ago". I'm intrigued. Please tell me she's lying. I'm spending everything I have to live in L.A. And its starting to wear thin. Can any Tuls-ites weigh in? I would love to live in a part of America that is actually America, but I have a hard time giving up the mountains. I could care less for the ocean. Please share any information you have.

As always, thanks in advance paceline!

[Brendan Quirk]

Historically excellent road scene. Charming downtown. Great restaurants. Lots of oil money bubbling up to drive cool cultural things. If you want to learn more PM me and I can connect you with locals.

If your jam is MTB check out Bentonville, AR (2 hrs east). Love Echo Park (really love The Shortstop.) But things in these parts are awfully fascinating.

Enjoy the exploration!

[likebikes]

here's a thread from a month ago on tulsa:

https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=230668

[joosttx]

There are great places to eat and drink.

[junkfood]

I live in Tulsa and really enjoy it. Not a huge fan of the state of Oklahoma but Tulsa itself has much to offer. The cycling scene here is nice. There is good road riding and plenty to offer for all levels of cycling. Their is a nice spider web of MTB trails right in the middle of Tulsa and new ones are really starting to pop up as Northwest Arkansas (about a 2hr drive) has taken the lead and it is spreading. There is a brand new park that is over 100 acres that just opened this year right near downtown and it is amazing. It is a small city but I enjoy our downtown, and can't think of many places I could live as a working artist with a family. My wife and I own a home while neither of us work what most consider full time. Gives us plenty of time to spend with each other, our kids and pets, and riding our bikes. Feel free to message me if you have any more question.

Jake

[daker13]

Nothing to contribute, but, tremendous thread title.

[Chris]

I live in Oklahoma City. Both places have a pretty robust cycling scene. Brendan is right about mountain biking, although Tulsa has far better mountain biking than OKC and is close to Arkansas. Tulsa Tough is obviously a big attraction and they have a great set of dedicated riding/jogging trails that are extensive. Because of cost of living and the people, it's a great place to live, but you wouldn't want to vacation here.

[Tickdoc]

Tulsa Lifer here, pm if you want to chat.

It's ecclectic like Austin, but much smaller.

Plusses:

No traffic.
Cheap living.
Very nearly year round riding.
Great road riding.
Incredible trail system and parks.
Very nice folks.
Great cycling scene with 4/5 large organized cycling clubs so you can pick your flavor.
Easy to escape.
Test bed for franchise restaurants so usually plenty of eats to try.

Minuses:

No bike lanes.
Worst school system in the Nation.
Redneck mentality.

Here's my favorite latest example of cheap housing.

Just listed and cool as hell:

$595k

[wallymann]

heart of MAGA country. i'm guessing if you enjoy a mixed cultural experience, you wont find it there.

summers in the region can be brutally hot/humid. winters can be pretty rough too.

wonder what the dining is like -- is everything battered/fried? and the "culture" scene -- like music and such?

i'm sure the riding is pretty sweet, though. along with a nice cost-of-living.

Originally Posted by Tickdoc

Minuses:

No bike lanes.
Worst school system in the Nation.
Redneck mentality.

[junkfood]

Originally Posted by wallymann

heart of MAGA country. i'm guessing if you enjoy a mixed cultural experience, you wont find it there.

summers in the region can be brutally hot/humid. winters can be pretty rough too.

wonder what the dining is like -- is everything battered/fried? and the "culture" scene -- like music and such?

i'm sure the riding is pretty sweet, though. along with a nice cost-of-living.

Tulsa itself is not the heart of MAGA country. We have a really great music and arts and that scene is doing well. As an artist/muralist I have painted over 20 large scale public arts in the last few years alone. That is my personal experience but many of my friends and acquaintances are getting to enjoy their craft in our city. We have a historic music venue in Cain's ballroom and the BOK center is thriving and many artists major tours have a stop there. The Tulsa Performing Arts Center has a nice lineup of plays, ballets and operas. Also plenty of small venues, bars, and galleries to see live music and local art. Of course this is not NYC or LA but there is quite a bit of "culture" to be had in Tulsa. Not as much entertainment to choose from but it is there. Plenty of restaurants to with food that is not battered and fried, lots of healthy options also. I am not trying to be a salesman for Tulsa and honestly my wife and I have looked at moving ourselves. We honestly keep arriving at the conclusion that if we were going to move it would be out of the country not just the state. Oklahoma has more than its fair share of faults, but I believe Tulsa is a nice little oasis inside a state that needs much help.

And yes, the summers can be a bit brutal. Yesterday was mid 50s and I enjoyed a beautiful 50 mile ride and will do the same today and probably the next. Winters can have some rough patches but it is usually short with plenty of days available to get on a bike.

Jake

[old_fat_and_slow]

Originally Posted by wallymann

heart of MAGA country. i'm guessing if you enjoy a mixed cultural experience, you wont find it there.

Tulsa and Norman are not filled with MAGA acolytes. They are refreshing liberal oases in a very red state. You won't find Broadway there, but there is culture, just not the all the choices available in the Big Apple.

Biggest downer is tornado alley. Just build a storm shelter and get insurance and yer fine though.

[Jaybee]

Originally Posted by old_fat_and_slow

Tulsa and Norman are not filled with MAGA acolytes. They are refreshing liberal oases in a very red state. You won't find Broadway there, but there is culture, just not the all the choices available in the Big Apple.

Biggest downer is tornado alley. Just build a storm shelter and get insurance and yer fine though.

The northern OKC suburbs have a Democratic congressional rep!


(Used to live there, did not think I would see that.)

[jmoore]

Originally Posted by wallymann

heart of MAGA country. i'm guessing if you enjoy a mixed cultural experience, you wont find it there.

summers in the region can be brutally hot/humid. winters can be pretty rough too.

wonder what the dining is like -- is everything battered/fried? and the "culture" scene -- like music and such?

i'm sure the riding is pretty sweet, though. along with a nice cost-of-living.

stereotype much

[Ralph]

I think there is a big difference between crazy liberal and being a progressive thinker. However....my MAGA friends think it's the same.

I can easily live with progressive.....that's where the quality of life issues come from. Tulsa sounds like that.

[Ozz]

Originally Posted by Tickdoc

Here's my favorite latest example of cheap housing.

Just listed and cool as hell:

$595k

Very nice...for comparison, a house in Bellevue: