I will be retiring in the next 3-5 years and am looking forward to getting the hell out of Washington state.

Our criteria for our “forever home” includes:
Reasonable weather- all four seasons represented, without miserable heat/humidity in summer or frigid arctic winters. Don’t want to be forced to hunker down for weeks at time due to extremes. No frequent hurricanes or tornadoes.

Strongly conservatively learning populace and government- I’m tired of being in the minority and not having my vote matter.

Sane gun laws- would be nice to cash and carry again with a concealed permit or instant check. Would also be nice to do unfettered private sales.

Lower, more reasonable cost of living than metro Seattle area. Want my money to go as far as possible. Especially when it comes to buying a house.



So while perusing Zillow looking at houses I stumbled on Fort Gibson OK and it seems you get a lot of bang for your buck in the housing market (compared to Seattle region). I had no idea where FG is at so I check google maps. Near Tulsa, hmmm never thought of OK. Pictures aren’t the dustbowl I always imagined it to be.

What about tornadoes? Tornado history site shows very few tornadoes (serious ones that is) in northeastern OK. I didn’t check hurricane data, but I am guessing it is far enough inland to not be an issue.

Handgunlaw.us shows to be favorable.

Weather shows to be reasonable, a little hotter that my wife would prefer... but cooler on average than some of the places we are considering. With A/C, it is easily mitigated.



It seems to check all the boxes, so I would love to get some first hand info on the area. For comparison, the other possibilities on my short list include eastern KY and TN areas. Would really like to hear from folks who have experience with Tulsa as well as Lexington or Knoxville areas for a comparison.

Would not be Tulsa proper, but one of the outlying areas such as Fort Gibson, Wagoner, Coweta, etc.

Appreciate whatever you can say to help me decide.

TN doesn't have income taxes, Knoxville is nice, UT is there so its a college town, they are football crazy, close to the Mountains, not far from Nashville, right on I-75 so you can get to Atlanta, FL, or Detroit.

Lexington is similar, on I-75, UK is there so it's a big university sports town, good places to eat, lots of country close, not far from Mountains, Get to CVG easy, KY has income taxes, but also Basketball, Bourbon and Horses.

Tulsa, lived there off and on for 5 years, its a nice enough city, very much land locked, long way to go to get anywhere but the Ozarks, hot as hell in the summer, little snow but lots of ice in the winter, Good Seafood at BoDeans, good Mexican food. Had a few Tornados while there, of the three it would be number 3 imo.

Oklahoma is a very good state for gun owners and conservatives. Ft Gibson is very nice little town and only about 40 miles from Tulsa. My son went to high school there, so I am very familiar with it. It does get hot in the summer, but still northeastern OK is a good place to live.

Consider the Northwest Arkansas Metroplex (Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, Bentonville, and the various surrounding small towns), which is ~1.5 hours east of Tulsa.

Similar climate to Tulsa, but fewer tornadoes/hail storms/etc. (Although we do get our share from time to time.) And NW AR is "prettier" than NE OK, with more hills/mountains/lakes/rivers.

You also don't have to deal with the Native American politics and related stuff like you do in Oklahoma, which can sometimes be a minefield, especially when it comes to stuff like different laws/traffic enforcement/etc. on the various reservations all over OK (and through which many highways run).

Housing prices in NW AR are very reasonable, albeit on the rise, since it's one of fastest growing area in the country, and it's repeatedly ranked as one of the best areas of the country in which to live. Lots of new development, and the economy is booming, whereas the Tulsa area seems to be in decline.

Arkansas is a strongly conservative state with excellent gun laws. There are a few bastions of liberals, like in any conservative state, but those are mostly limited to the college professors and hippie types in Fayetteville, the aging hippies in Eureka Springs, and the "free shit" poor crowd in the Little Rock/Pine Bluff/West Memphis area of central/eastern Arkansas.


Plus... Seems like all the gun/ammo manufacturers are moving to Arkansas (or have been here). Sig, Remington, Walther, CZ, Wilson Combat, Nighthawk Custom, etc.

I'm happy here in the north GA mountains, about an hour from ATL.
There are a number of areas in the southeast that I could live and would fit your criteria.

Everything I needed to know about Tulsa I learned on LIVE PD.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:
TN doesn't have income taxes, Knoxville is nice, UT is there so its a college town, they are football crazy, close to the Mountains, not far from Nashville, right on I-75 so you can get to Atlanta, FL, or Detroit.

Lexington is similar, on I-75, UK is there so it's a big university sports town, good places to eat, lots of country close, not far from Mountains, Get to CVG easy, KY has income taxes, but also Basketball, Bourbon and Horses.

Tulsa, lived there off and on for 5 years, its a nice enough city, very much land locked, long way to go to get anywhere but the Ozarks, hot as hell in the summer, little snow but lots of ice in the winter, Good Seafood at BoDeans, good Mexican food. Had a few Tornados while there, of the three it would be number 3 imo.

While WA doesn’t have state income tax, we are 10% sales tax and near highest gas tax in country. While some of the states on the list might have state income tax, they are much lower sales tax and with no state tax on social security and graduated state tax rate in retirement income. So while a consideration, not a major one for us.

We are pretty much boring home-bodies so arts and entertainment options aren’t even a blip on the radar.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
Consider the Northwest Arkansas Metroplex (Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, Bentonville, and the various surrounding small towns), which is ~1.5 hours east of Tulsa.

Similar climate to Tulsa, but fewer tornadoes/hail storms/etc. (Although we do get our share from time to time.) And NW AR is "prettier" than NE OK, with more hills/mountains/lakes/rivers.

You also don't have to deal with the Native American politics and related stuff like you do in Oklahoma, which can sometimes be a minefield, especially when it comes to stuff like different laws/traffic enforcement/etc. on the various reservations all over OK (and through which many highways run).

Housing prices in NW AR are very reasonable, albeit on the rise, since it's one of fastest growing area in the country, and it's repeatedly ranked as one of the best areas of the country in which to live. Lots of new development, and the economy is booming, whereas the Tulsa area seems to be in decline.

Arkansas is a strongly conservative state with excellent gun laws. There are a few bastions of liberals, like in any conservative state, but those are mostly limited to the college professors and hippie types in Fayetteville, the aging hippies in Eureka Springs, and the "free shit" poor crowd in the Little Rock/Pine Bluff/West Memphis area of central/eastern Arkansas.


Plus... Seems like all the gun/ammo manufacturers are moving to Arkansas (or have been here). Sig, Remington, Walther, CZ, Wilson Combat, Nighthawk Custom, etc.

Hmmm, sounds like I need to do some research on Arkansas. We both have all of our teeth, is that going to be a problem? (just kidding!)

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
I'm happy here in the north GA mountains, about an hour from ATL.
There are a number of areas in the southeast that I could live and would fit your criteria.

Dahlonega area is still clinging to the list. I can do heat, but heat with sweltering humidity is too much. Also the housing options are a bit more limited. We want a newer construction rambler, seems most of the homes in that area lean towards two-story.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 911Boss,

quote:

Originally posted by Johnny 3eagles:
Everything I needed to know about Tulsa I learned on LIVE PD.

LOL when I was there over 5 years the only new building that was constructed was a new city Jail..

quote:

Originally posted by Johnny 3eagles:
Everything I needed to know about Tulsa I learned on LIVE PD.

Also watch 48 hrs, every other show is "Tulsa" based.

I grew up about 20 miles south of Tulsa. I left to join the Navy at 18 and never looked back

We moved to Clarksvkille TN when we retired. Love the area. Weather can be....energetic at times ! Drove through OK on the way here. Nice people. But I cant handle FLAT country.

quote:

Originally posted by 911Boss:

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
I'm happy here in the north GA mountains, about an hour from ATL.
There are a number of areas in the southeast that I could live and would fit your criteria.

Dahlonega area is still clinging to the list. I can do heat, but heat with sweltering humidity is too much. Also the housing options are a bit more limited. We want a newer construction rambler, seems most of the homes in that area lean towards two-story.

There are quite a variety of houses here, depending on price range and the features you are looking for. For a lot less than Seattle prices, you can have a pretty nice place with some land, depending on your wishes.
Also to consider, at 65 you get a $65,000 personal exemption on your state income tax and in this county a $300,000 exemption on property taxes. Also easy access to Atlanta if you need to go there or the airport down Rt. 400 but you're in the mountains and about 4 1/2 hours from the ocean. Nice balance of anything I need, for me anyway.

Swing out to the greater SLC area brother. We have all four seasons and low humidity. We only hit 100 degrees two or three times a year. We get snow in the winter but our winters are actually pretty mild with most of the snow in the mountains.

Its a conservative state and as far as being a red state Utah and Oklahoma are a close first and second. Red rock deserts, green high altitude mountain areas and the greatest snow on earth are just some of our attributes.

Skiing, mountain biking, camping, flyfishing and 80% of the damn state is BLM so you literally have thousands of miles to get lost in if that is your thing.

Jackson hole, Boise and Sun Valley Idaho are just four or five hours away just to name a few of our options for a quick getaway.

Its hard to beat the life style we in the West get to enjoy. Just thought I would plug one of my favorite places on earth. Good luck in your search.

quote:

Originally posted by Mustang-PaPa:

quote:

Originally posted by Johnny 3eagles:
Everything I needed to know about Tulsa I learned on LIVE PD.

Also watch 48 hrs, every other show is "Tulsa" based.

Not Tulsa “proper”....

I am in Marysville WA, pretty low crime rate. On the website I am using that compares different cities, here is the information for Marysville vs Tulsa vs Fort Gibson (using a scale of 1-100)

Violent crime- Marysville=11.3 Tulsa=48.3 Fort Gibson=13.2

Property crime- Marysville=49.2 Tulsa=74.3 Fort Gibson=21.9

So not much difference in violent, but a lot lower on property crime. Which, between the two is the more random and unpredictable.

Knoxville is quite nice. Ms. Tejas is from there and we still have family in town. Nashville is also great if you don't mind moving a few hours west of Knoxville. Housing here (Nashville) is more pricy if you want to live close to town but is much more reasonable if you are willing to go further out.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:

There are quite a variety of houses here, depending on price range and the features you are looking for. For a lot less than Seattle prices, you can have a pretty nice place with some land, depending on your wishes.
Also to consider, at 65 you get a $65,000 personal exemption on your state income tax and in this county a $300,000 exemption on property taxes. Also easy access to Atlanta if you need to go there or the airport down Rt. 400 but you're in the mountains and about 4 1/2 hours from the ocean. Nice balance of anything I need, for me anyway.

To be clear, I am 30 miles north of Seattle and that makes a HUGE difference in the housing market.

We have a 2100 sq ft two story on a level 10K sg ft lot in the Marysville city limits. Purchased as brand new construction (average grade) in 2015 for $300K, similar in City of Seattle at the time would be minimum of $750K and on a lot half that size if in Seattle proper. Currently we could expect $465K or so for about 55% increase after 5 years.


Compare that with my son who bought his house in Seattle city limits (Bryant neighborhood, north of UW) a 1 story 1640 sq ft (including finished basement), house, built in 1950 and updated interior early 2000s (comparable to our finish level, not high-end) on a 3600 sq ft lot. Purchased 11/2014 for $510K and sold in 11/2019 for $725K 42% increase in 4 years.


For retirement we would like about 1800-2000 sq ft rambler, basement would a bonus, new or newer construction with wood cabinets, quartz counters and such. Basically a “mid-range” construction quality. Lot size, 1/2 acre or more and preferably detached garage/shop building. Would like to keep in under $300K if possible but could go higher for the right property.

Need to have hills and trees, the year I spent in Memphis flatness sent me into serious depression.

Well, don’t come here!

One question I would ask you to ask yourself is how does any place relate to the rest of your family? I’m referring to any sons or daughters you may have.
I can’t tell you how many times perspective clients have mention our proximity in relation to where their kids live as a major motivating factor to relocate.

quote:

Originally posted by 911Boss:
For retirement we would like about 1800-2000 sq ft rambler, basement would a bonus, new or newer construction with wood cabinets, quartz counters and such. Basically a “mid-range” construction quality. Lot size, 1/2 acre or more and preferably detached garage/shop building. Would like to keep in under $300K if possible but could go higher for the right property.

That's doable in NWA. The only hitch might be the basement. True "sunk into the ground" basements are very uncommon around here. You really only commonly see stuff like walk-out finished "basements", on homes built into the side of a hill. (But that's not a true basement, instead basically just being a two story home built into the side of a hill, with the living area and garage on the top floor.)

But a mid-quality 2000ish square foot house on a quarter acre to a half acre lot can be done for under 300k. You could get that on 1+ acres for that price, if you were willing to be a bit further out, away from the main stretch of the NWA metroplex by like 20-30 minutes. Especially if you go a few years older that new/new-ish.

The four main cities of the metroplex are strung pretty much directly North-South along I-49 in Benton and Washington counties. The further east/west you get from that main N/S stretch in those two counties, the cheaper the homes are and the bigger the acreage available. Especially when you start getting pretty rural, like out into Madison or Carroll counties, which are the next counties to the east. If you're okay with rural living, you can get a ton of bang for your buck in acreage in those two counties, plus you're deeper into the Ozarks for even more hills/mountains/streams/rivers/lakes to enjoy, if that's your thing.

quote:

Need to have hills and trees, the year I spent in Memphis flatness sent me into serious depression.

Then you probably wouldn't like Tulsa. It's better than the panhandle/plains area of OK, but still pretty flat. Not anything like Washington, or even NW Arkansas.

Tulsa's "hills and trees" remind me of North Texas (Dallas/Fort Worth) where I grew up. I mean, yeah... they do have some, especially compared to West Texas. But coming from Washington State it likely wouldn't compare.

If you're dead set on Oklahoma, I'd look at the far eastern portion of the state, like the Tahlequah or Poteau area, where you start getting into some more hills and trees in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains and Ouachita Mountains (which are primarily in Arkansas).

Tulsa is right snack in the middle of Tornado Ally, so if that's an issue, look elsewhere. Also, remember the song "living on Tulsa Time" which makes reference to how Tulsa is viewed with respect to other parts of the country. Somewhat behind the times. Of course that as in the 80's and it's more lore now than reality. Have some friends that live there that we visit from time to time and they seem to be happy there.