Any Diser's here in Ft. Sill, OK?

[surfergirl602]

Hubby just got order there. We move in three months. never been there... how close is it to Disneyland? Or is it closer to WDW? We are in NY right now, definitely a culture shock and change. How is the area there? I've heard there are certain areas to stay away from... we want to live in a place with lots of land and space. Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[Eeyoresfriend]

Oklahoma will be a culture shock if you are from the city. It's not back woods or anything, just a much slower pace of living, and things are much cheaper here.

Oklahoma is full of transplants from all over. With the communications industries, gas and oil industries, and military, it's a melting pot of all sorts of cultures and ideas. The state is actually pretty liberal, not as liberal as CA but you know.

The only thing that is bad about this state is the weather. You get all extremes here, from HOT HOT HOT summers to icy, cold, snowy winters, and of course tornados in the spring.

As far as Disney goes, you are actually right in the middle, so it's pretty much equal disrance to DL and WDW. It's about a 3 hour flight from OK to LA, or a 3 hour flight from OK to MCO.

As far as things to do here, not too much...lol. But Dallas is nly a couple hours drive from Ft. Sill and there is TONS to do there. If you want to go to a theme park (I know it's not Disney, but it does quench the thirst for a park experience) there's Six Flags in Arlington (just outside of Dallas). There is also Pro sports in Dallas, and we will be getting the Sonics in OKC next year.

Oklahoma also has a lot of history, as it was the end of the Trail of Tears, also, the Land Rush (You'll hear BOOMER SOONER a lot...lol) and the wild wild west.

I myself am a transplant from FL, and I would have to say, I love FL and love to visit, but I would never live there again. OK is home and is a great place to live.

Also, as far as landscape goes, OK isn't as flat as some think. Mainly in the western part of the state, but in Green Country (NE OK) we have rolling, hills that are blanketed in green during the summer, and you are literally a couple of hours from a mountain get a way in the Ozarks. We also have tons of lakes, and in the panhandle, there is desert. You can also, enjoy winter activities such as skiing in CO, b/c it's a 1 hour flight.

Anyhow, I know I rambled on and on, but don't worry, OK isn't as bad as you would imagine. As a fellow diser, feel free to PM anytime.

Welcome to OK the Native State.

 

[surfergirl602]

Thanks so much!!! We will be arriving mid-January - what type of clothes should I pack? We'll probably be living in a hotel for a few weeks until we find a house to live in. New York gets cold in the winter. Is OK winter jacket, scarves, hats, gloves, cold, or just brrrrrr cold?

 

[Eeyoresfriend]

In January, you'll probably need your winter jacket. It varies from year to year. 3 years ago, it was in the 70's in January (which is very odd) but usually, it's in the 20's and 30's. Sometimes it can get into the 10's, but not usually. I'm North of Ft. Sill, so you will actually get the brunt of the winter systems down there, b/c they usually come out of the SW and travel NE.

So I would say prepare for snow, but bring some back up clothes like long sleeve t-shirts and light sweats for the days that aren't too bad.

In the winter I usually have a scarf, skully and a winter coat, but I also HATE cold weather...LOL

 

[surfergirl602]

I'm not a fan of cold weather either, and I'm from Maine! I'm ready to get out of the snow for a bit, anyway. I've heard that it's really windy, but the scenery is very pretty.

 

[Eeyoresfriend]

Yeah, it's windy. I would have to say it's windy pretty much all year, but we get the most wind in the spring. It's not unusual to have 30-50 mph winds, thos are what I call bad hair days...LOL

It's pretty here, you won't see it until the spring, b/c in the winter it's just brown, but when the trees start turning green and the flowers come out, it's very nice.

 

[surfergirl602]

We're excited. It's a new change of pace and new scenery. I'm anxious to get out of Dodge anyway. Wait..... maybe I'm going to Dodge?

 

[jseargent]

Hubby just got order there. We move in three months. never been there... how close is it to Disneyland? Or is it closer to WDW? We are in NY right now, definitely a culture shock and change. How is the area there? I've heard there are certain areas to stay away from... we want to live in a place with lots of land and space. Any ideas?

Thanks!

Hi! I've been in OKC for 22 years now and love it here. I haven't spent any time in Ft. Sill though. We love our football here ~ most people that I know plan weddings after they know the OU schedule. My friends are appalled that we fly to WDW this year on OU-TEXAS game day. LOL

Weclome!

 

[ktlm]

Seriously- on OU/TEXAS game day!?! I'm appalled! My friends are appalled that I don't actually drive down to the game from OKC every year. Don't tell, but one year we were at WDW during a bowl game at new years, and we didn't even watch the game! It was one they lost anyway, so we didn't miss anything! I haven't spent much time in the Ft. Sill area, but there is a really neat wildlife preserve down in that area, that you can drive through. There actually is a mall in Lawton, although it is not a very big mall.

 

[tlbwriter]

Ft Sill is next to Lawton, which is one of the larger cities in Oklahoma. Also, you might be surprised to find that there are actually mountains in the area - one of a very few places in OK where you can look out your window and see mountains! If you don't have to live on base, and you don't like Lawton, there are many smaller communities in the area as well. Winter temps are pretty variable - a jacket might be fine, or you might need a real coat.

 

[surfergirl602]

Ft Sill is next to Lawton, which is one of the larger cities in Oklahoma. Also, you might be surprised to find that there are actually mountains in the area - one of a very few places in OK where you can look out your window and see mountains! If you don't have to live on base, and you don't like Lawton, there are many smaller communities in the area as well. Winter temps are pretty variable - a jacket might be fine, or you might need a real coat.

I've heard that we want to stay North of Lawton?

 

[tlbwriter]

I've heard that we want to stay North of Lawton?

Did they say north of Lawton, or on the north side of Lawton? Ft Sill sits just north of Lawton, so there really isn't anything else there. You can see a map here:
http://www.okladot.state.ok.us/hqdiv/p-r-div/maps/statemap/pdfs/statemap.pdf

 

[sage10]

Dh and I were stationed at Ft Sill from July 2005-April of 2006 (dh then got out of the Army, and recently went back in). But we enjoyed it there ok. I worked at the housing office while we were there. The year we left they had just built new housing. So you may want to consider living on post. Although you may not, since you want lots of land. Good luck in moving there, I hope you enjoy it.

 

[luvmy2sams]

We've lived in Lawton for longer than I'd care to admit. There are definitely areas of town that you'll want to avoid, especially if school districts are a consideration for you.

Don't be scared off by all the OU nuts that come out this time of year. There are plenty of normal people around.

If you're used to inexpensive airfare to Disney out of NY, you might brace yourself a bit. Decent deals can be found sometimes, but you're just as likely to pay $200+/person for airfare out of either OKC or DFW.

I'd be happy to answer any specific questions you have if you want to PM me.

 

[surfergirl602]

Did they say north of Lawton, or on the north side of Lawton? Ft Sill sits just north of Lawton, so there really isn't anything else there. You can see a map here:
http://www.okladot.state.ok.us/hqdiv/p-r-div/maps/statemap/pdfs/statemap.pdf

I think out of Lawton completely. Somewhere around Geronimo and Elgin? We really don't want to be in the city, but if we had to, extreme east, and west, I've heard are the newer, better places. NOthing south?

 

[surfergirl602]

Dh and I were stationed at Ft Sill from July 2005-April of 2006 (dh then got out of the Army, and recently went back in). But we enjoyed it there ok. I worked at the housing office while we were there. The year we left they had just built new housing. So you may want to consider living on post. Although you may not, since you want lots of land. Good luck in moving there, I hope you enjoy it.

We have three labs. Cooping them up in a house with no room to run just doesn't seem fair. The housing wait there is 36 months + right now, I don't think we'll make it on post, but you never know, I guess! And everywhere we've been there's a two pet policy. We have a cat as well. (Big family, 3 kids to boot!) So you can see why we need some room.

 

[surfergirl602]

Did they say north of Lawton, or on the north side of Lawton? Ft Sill sits just north of Lawton, so there really isn't anything else there. You can see a map here:
http://www.okladot.state.ok.us/hqdiv/p-r-div/maps/statemap/pdfs/statemap.pdf

Oooooooh, thank you for the map!!!

 

[luvmy2sams]

I think out of Lawton completely. Somewhere around Geronimo and Elgin? We really don't want to be in the city, but if we had to, extreme east, and west, I've heard are the newer, better places. NOthing south?

Elgin is a smaller community just north of Lawton/Ft. Sill. They have a really good school system, too. Geronimo is south of town.

The extreme east side of town (where I live, actually) has tons of new housing right now. If you go to the west side of town, shoot for the Wyatt Acres or, even better, Pecan Valley subdivisions. Living in Pecan Valley will put you in the Cache school district, which according to many is much better than LPS. The downside to Pecan Valley is that very few people put up fences. There are a few, so if you don't mind being a rebel, you should be fine.

There's no expansion on the south side of town, so unless you're looking to buy land and build, I wouldn't go that route. Don't think I'd want to live in that area anyway.

You definitely don't want to be in the middle of town, so don't let your realtor fill your head with the "history of Old Town North" or anything. Lawton has a big gang problem, and there are areas you just don't want to be around after it gets dark.

Let me know if there's anything I can help you with...sounds like you've got an exciting adventure ahead of you!

 

[luvmy2sams]

We have three labs. Cooping them up in a house with no room to run just doesn't seem fair. The housing wait there is 36 months + right now, I don't think we'll make it on post, but you never know, I guess! And everywhere we've been there's a two pet policy. We have a cat as well. (Big family, 3 kids to boot!) So you can see why we need some room.

Ft. Sill does have a ton of new housing, but they tore down all the old housing once the new stuff was built. That's a crazy wait time to get into something on post! Most military families prefer offbase housing around here anyway.