Living in Oklahoma

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LowlyPremed

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What's it like living in Oklahoma, particularly Oklahoma City? I'm currently living in New York City but I was offered a job in Oklahoma City. Its a really great job but I have to really consider if I would be happy there. I'm also concerned because I'm Asian Indian with a Muslim name. I've mentioned Oklahoma to several of my friends and they have all said some pretty snotty (typical of New Yorkers) things about the people. I don't believe it, but I wanted some honest opinions from people that actually live there. Thanks.
 
Really, Oklahoma is not that bad of a place. I've lived in Oklahoma pretty much my whole life and its not as bad as people think it is. First of all, it will be a major culture change between NY and OK. Oklahomans are typically conservative, yet friendly. The cost of living will definitely be a lot less in OK! Oklahoma is a nice place to live and I don't think you would have a problem fitting in here. The entertainment might be a little lacking compared to NY but you can always find other cool things to do. I wish you the best of luck and feel free to ask anymore questions!
 
I can only imagine the stereotypical garbage you've heard about our state. Some people are ignorant to the level of actually thinking we're a bunch of cowboys and indians riding horses to work. 🙂

Oklahoma City will probably be a change for you, but like everything else it will be as good or bad as you make it for yourself. They have about everything there that might interest you, from culture to clubs.

I live in Norman at OU, about 20 minutes south of OKC.

Good luck,
Johnny
 
Oklahoma is known for having some of the nicest citizens, but as far as things to do...of course it does not compare to nyc.
 
I'm not from Oklahoma, and I've lived here for a few years. The state is pretty small, very rural. Tulsa and OKC are the two metropolitan areas, and things are pretty diverse, you shouldn't have a problem finding friends. The state is pretty, but there isn't a whole lot to do - I come from out west where there's a lot of campground and wilderness areas - there isn't any official campground in this state, people couldn't take care of the areas. But if you come from a big city like New York, I guess it depends on what you need to get through life - there isn't a whole lot going on, and I remember reading a review in a travel guide - "there is no reason for this state to exist" hahah. I get tired of the whole "holier than thou"-ness of people I meet. I can't imagine it would be easy for an Indian with a muslim name, but there are good people too..
 
LowlyPremed said:
What's it like living in Oklahoma, particularly Oklahoma City? I'm currently living in New York City but I was offered a job in Oklahoma City. Its a really great job but I have to really consider if I would be happy there. I'm also concerned because I'm Asian Indian with a Muslim name. I've mentioned Oklahoma to several of my friends and they have all said some pretty snotty (typical of New Yorkers) things about the people. I don't believe it, but I wanted some honest opinions from people that actually live there. Thanks.
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If you like NYC, you will probably hate the move to OKC. From a racial standpoint, people generally are far more ignorant and accepting of other cultures. However, it's what you make of it. Continental now offers non-stop service to Newark so it's only a plane ride away. If you want a quiet place to buy a big house and raise a family, it's not bad. If you are in your 20s and single, I would look at the quality of life issues before I even thought about financial incentives of moving. Once again, I really hate to say this, but there is a lot of racism here. People will probably not be openly hostile to you, but in terms of social respect and all the things, like dating for instance, that go with that, you will be perceived as one step lower on the oklahoma totem pole. Why don't you visit for a week and see for yourself? I'm sure some people here would be happy to have lunch with you or guide you in the right direction to scope out the city.
 
dont worry about it lol, ppl arent as redneck as you think. Im arabic, muslim name Ibrahim, my family is here too, ive been here my whole life. Plenty of middle eastern, pakis indians here. There are lots of nice people, and a few ahole people, just like NY =). I know its not as diverse as NY but its not that bad, at least in the metropolitan areas, once you hit the country it kinda gets a little racist. We are definitely in the bible belt too, lots of religious ppl, expect ppl at your door bell constantly asking you to convert 😀.
 
Abe said:
dont worry about it lol, ppl arent as redneck as you think. Im arabic, muslim name Ibrahim, my family is here too, ive been here my whole life. Plenty of middle eastern, pakis indians here. There are lots of nice people, and a few ahole people, just like NY =). I know its not as diverse as NY but its not that bad, at least in the metropolitan areas, once you hit the country it kinda gets a little racist. We are definitely in the bible belt too, lots of religious ppl, expect ppl at your door bell constantly asking you to convert 😀.
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i still think the whole racism thing there would be worse there than it is in NY. i'm glad you haven't been jumped yet or anything because of it. i was called names but some people are just ignorant.
 
it sucks for the chicks that wear scarves here, now they take alot more crap than the guys, lots of head turns in walmart when they walk around. But a few of them really get harassed.
Now as for the social life here, NY is a million times better, this place is nice to raise a family as one said, but stinks of us youngens =/. I head to dallas alot so you have that option op, its only like 6 hour drive.
 
on a personal note. i am white and will be attending OU for med school in the fall. in the future, i would take a 50% pay cut to be on either the east or west coast. being happy where you live is far more important than money. if you don't like oklahoma, no amount of money will make you happy. also, on a side note about finances, if you make big bucks, there really isn't anything to do with your money here, aside from buying a big house and a nice car. there are no upscale restaurants, clubs, resorts, or hotels within 150 miles of here. i don't mind it as much because i have family and friends here and i know that i will probably leave for residency. like i said before, i would visit for a while before making any decisions.
 
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I'm muslim and i grew up in Oklahoma, but went to college in Atl and will be going to OU med school in august. OK isn't as bad as people make it out to be. Now given, the nightlife in OKC won't be the best, but what i've seen of Bricktown area and the clubs, it seems like it has some nice clubs and bars (I'm from tulsa so im not too familiar with okc just yet). I lived in NYC for sometime and one thing you'll find here that NYC will never give you is people being so friendly and having a conversation with a random stranger. I do have to agree though with Dr. Turn, long term I can't see myself settling in Oklahoma even though its a great place to raise a family and cheap as hell. Given NYC has the best nightlife in the country only a handful of cities could even possibly compete with it (ie Miami, Chicago, LA, Atl), I think it'd be unfair to assume OKC has a nightlife anywhere near those cities. Nevertheless, OKC is developing very quickly and they are putting alot of money into making OKC an attraction. Politically, Oklahoma is conservative, however OKC and Tulsa are more on the liberal side. Oh yea, and one thing you can only get in Oklahoma is OU football. That is a reason to come to this state, to just see how dedicated people are to the Sooners on a Saturday afternoon in the fall.

Good luck and congrats on a the job. Don't worry about being South Asian and Muslim, you'd be surprised how many people South Asian Muslims there are in this state.
 
I’ve lived in OKC for about a year now, having moved from CA. My wife and I are in the process of buying a nice house for the amount of money you would need for the down payment in CA, so that’s a plus. We live in NW OKC, about 5 minutes from downtown and love our neighborhood. We like hiking/backpacking and have made trips down to the Wichita Mountains, which most Oklahomans would agree, are not really mountains, and a few trips over to Arkansas. As most have posted, the night life is not stellar, but we seem to make due. There is a good Asian grocery near our house that has as much selection as a Ranch 99 (an Asian chain grocery in CA).
 
Aero047 said:
i still think the whole racism thing there would be worse there than it is in NY. i'm glad you haven't been jumped yet or anything because of it. i was called names but some people are just ignorant.
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Thank you all for your responses. I think that it was really helpful. The entire racism issue was my biggest concern. I don't really mind OKC not having much to do. I will be there for ~1 year. Believe it or not, NYC can be a very racist place. But I feel safe about 98% of the time. Unfortunately I really can't afford to visit OKC before moving there. Flights are very expensive.

Aero, do you really think that its likely that people are jumped because of being Muslim? Do you think that its unsafe?
 
I don't think it's unsafe for Muslims, I haven't heard of any hate crimes.
 
ingamina said:
I don't think it's unsafe for Muslims, I haven't heard of any hate crimes.
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I haven't either. There are plenty of people of middle eastern descent in the OKC area, but pardon my ignorance, how do you tell if someone is Muslim?(besides head scarves). I know several middle eastern people who are Christian or who don't adhere to a particular religion. I also know a couple Muslims who aren't of middle eastern descent.
 
a person got attacked last year i think in some ****ty apartments in north tulsa he was an indian nonmuslim, i dont think that people that would committ such crimes are going to ask the arab if hes christian or not most of the time, or the indian person if he was muslim.
but i i can tell the op hate crimes are very very rare here dont worry about it its a nice state, and nice people.
 
Abe said:
a person got attacked last year i think in some ****ty apartments in north tulsa he was an indian nonmuslim, i dont think that people that would committ such crimes are going to ask the arab if hes christian or not most of the time, or the indian person if he was muslim.
but i i can tell the op hate crimes are very very rare here dont worry about it its a nice state, and nice people.
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How did they discern whether or not his ethnicity played a part in his attack?

I ask because North Tulsa is not exactly a nice suburb where violence is rare.
 
i have no clue doc, they said it was a hate crime on the news, but i dunno why, i just remember some really high penalties being mentioned for what they did. There must have been some evidence it was?
 
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