People of Oklahoma City

Blatant generalizations made from a few limited observations in no particular order.  All kidding aside, I would be happy to live here and raise a family. 



The people of Oklahoma City:

  • are multi-taskers.  There isn't a day that goes by that I don't see at least one person talking on the phone while driving and occasionally they are also smoking. 
  • smoke a lot, especially women.  Since the weather has gotten better I've noticed a lot of women's hands with cigarettes hanging out their car window, (there were three at one stop light).  There are anti-smoking ads on tv constantly. 
  • are courteous. People open the doors for me all the time as I awkwardly try to get into the store with the stroller.  It doesn't just apply to older gentlemen, I've had teenagers and middle-aged women who shop in the junior section open doors for me too.
  • love children.  Quentin is constantly being waved and smiled at. I'm not sure what he's going to do if the people of New Mexico aren't the same way. They also have tons of family friendly activities around town.
  • enjoy Mexican food.  They have pretty much every chain restaurant you can think of (besides Maggiano's) and lots of Mexican restaurants, all the ones I've tried have been quite tasty.
  • go shopping on Saturdays.  Wal-Mart and the mall are busy all the time, but especially on the weekends.  Don't even try it.
  • have lots of inter-racial relationships.  Compared to DC, OKC isn't the most ethnically diverse city, but compared to the places I've lived in in the west it definitely surprised me with all the black/white couples and their cute kids.  
  • have high sales tax.  It's over 8%!  Virginia is only 3%.
  • are obsessed with local sports.  Nearly everyone has either an OSU, OU, or Thunder shirt/hat/bumper sticker. All the department stores have huge sections of sports paraphernalia. Even older women from church talk about the game.
  • don't like sidewalks.  None of the residential neighborhoods have sidewalks, which is super annoying for my long walks.  Apparently only people with dogs go on walks and no one rides bikes anywhere.
  • drive big, white American made SUVs and trucks. We fit right in! Even people with tiny crappy houses have a brand new truck out front.
  • have lots of domestic abuse.  I thought watching the local news would be a little easier here since DC has such a horrible crime rate, but it's not.  There are always reports of women, pregnant women, and children getting hurt/killed.  I saw a segment on the news about how Oklahoma is the second worse state for women due in part to the rate of domestic homicide. (The worst state is Mississippi by the way)
  • come in all ages.  Apparently DC doesn't have very many eldery people, because I have been surprised at all the grandmas and grandpas I see everywhere.  It's great to have a little diversity and different perspectives at church.

Comments

kimi + joe said…
The high sales tax surprises me. Just so ya know...Denver has two Maggiano's each only 20 minutes away. When you visit we'll have to get their classics!

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