So who can tell me about Oklahoma?

[Anaxamander]

I just got accepted to grad school at the University of Oklahoma and I'm still trying to decide whether to go there or not. One big thing I need to know is: how is the winter there? Does it snow a lot and get unbearably cold? I've lived in Georgia and Florida all my life so to me 40 degrees is cold and 100 degrees is comfortable. If someone could give me an overview of the weather and what it's like there, I'd appreciate it.

[Rockholm]

1. The wind comes sweeping down the Plain.

[Bunny]

10. And the wavin' wheat can sure smell sweet,

When the wind comes right behind the raaaaaaaain!

[CO Liberal]

17. Every Night My Honey Lamb and I....

Sit alone and talk, and watch a hawk
Makin' lazy circles in the sky....

:-)

[Bunny]

19. We know we belong to the land,

And the land we belong to is grand!

:D

[CO Liberal]

21. And When We SAY-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y......

YIP! I -oh-ee-AY-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-Y!

We're only saying

Yer doin fine, Oklahoma!!!!

[Bunny]

22. Oklahoma, O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A

Ok-la-ho-ma! Yahoo!!!!!!

Thank you ladies and gentlemen. CO Liberal and I will be here all week!

[CO Liberal]

23. We Also Do Weddings, Private Parties, and Bar Mitzvahs!!

:-)

[LynneSin]

2. Oklahoma: RED STATE!!!

Be warned!

[Anaxamander]

3. Yeah, I know

But I've come to terms. Florida is also a red state, although it doesn't feel like it in Tallahassee.

[Padraig18]

4. Very 'red' and very Baptist, I'm informed by friends who live there now.

:)

[LizW]

5. Tornadoes

Oklahoma is a tornado-prone state, I think.

And it's shaped like a hair brush. ;)

[Anaxamander]

8. The snow, man! Tell me if there's snow...

Tornadoes are nothing--I suffered through four hurricanes last year. But if I see snow I'll freak out, man!

[Mr.Green93]

6. The corn

is as high as an elephant's eye,

[CBGLuthier]

7. Since you asked

It gets plenty warm in the summer. Usualy highs are in the 90s and quite often we hit over 100 at least a few days each year.

Can get cold in the winter but usually not for very long.

The averages just a few weeks ago were highs in the 60s and 70s.

Coldest it got this winter was lows around 10 with highs in the 20s. But that didn't last more than a few days.

February is usually the worst weather wise but we haven't even had any snow this February.

Humidity is a little lower than Florida.

Lots of storm activity in the spring. Tornados happen, but usually not as bad as the F5 in 1999.

Oh and the wind is almost a constant. 10-20 mph winds are usually viewed like a breeze around here. It can be the nost brutal part of the winters. 30-40 mph wind plus 10 degrees makes for quite a bracing experience.

[Anaxamander]

9. Thanks for the info

The wind sounds like it would kick my ass, but the summer weather seems about like it is around here. Much obliged. :)

[Misinformed01]

13. The weather isn't a thing like it is

around Tallahassee and GA...not even remotely similar.

I admire midwesterners...I really do--they are a tough crowd in terms of being able to put up with weather shit.

[Coyote_Bandit]

11. I Live in Crazy Red F*cking JOklahoma

what exactly do you want to know?

Edit to add:
JOklahoma is the armpit of the Bible Belt. Lots of old oil money that resists progress (and hasn't yet figured out that JOklahoma is no longer the oil capital of the world), lots of good old boy politics, lots of turnpikes, and the birthplace of many fundamentalist zealots and self-righteous hypocrites.

I don't know what your choices for grad school are but I would be very tempted to look elsewhere. I came here to go to school and have regretted the decision.

[Misinformed01]

12. If you enjoy the South, prepare to hate the midwest. Sorry

it's a different world out there; read "The Nine Nations of North America," out of print but cheaply available at online used bookstores.

I am from NC; went to school in Missouri, and the winters were brutal in my opinion. I had never seen ice like that...or tornadoes like that in the spring and summer. Yes, I know...we have our share of tornadoes here too, but somehow they seem more ominous out there in the flat land with few basements.

There isn't enough money, or great enough grad schools to ever haul my southern ass back to the midwest; can't stand it.

[Anaxamander]

18. I'm prepared to hate it, I guess

I don't do well in the cold, but I thrive in the heat. At least in OK they've got the heat, right?

[lpbk2713]

14. Um... Oklahoma Crude was a good movie

with Faye Dunnaway, George C Scott and Jack Palance.

[greatauntoftriplets]

15. Norman is a bastion of liberality...

as far as Oklahoma goes.

And the state is more Southern than it is Midwestern.

[Anaxamander]

16. Well that's a little reassuring,

because Norman is where I'd be living. As long as there are a few liberals to commiserate with, that might help take the edge off the red-ness.

[Coyote_Bandit]

20. I Disagree

I have lived for an extended period of time in Arkansas, Texas and JOklahoma. And throughout my lifetime have spent a considerable amount of time in Missouri, Kansas, and Louisiana. More recently I have spent a lot of time in Tennessee and Arizona. JOklahoma has as much in common with Texas as it does with Missouri or Kansas or with Tennessee, or Arkansas or (northern) Louisiana. JOklahoma is a b*stard hybrid child - it is neither southern, or midwestern or southwestern. But you will find elements of all - depending partly on what part of the state you are visiting.

Norman and Stillwater are more liberal than much of JOklahoma because that is where the two major state universities are located. That liberalism is regularly condemned from the local pulpit.

On edit: As I said earlier I came to JOklahoma to go to school. Within the past 5 years I have studied at both OU and OSU. It is a decision I have regretted for reasons which have very little to do with the quality of education.

[fishwax]

24. I live in Norman and have attended OU. What are you studying?

The winters are extremely mild by my standards, but then I come from the North. Typically it doesn't snow here more than about once a year, and the snow almost never lasts more than a day. If you come here, you will hear stories every winter about how they used to get a lot of snow, but don't believe it. In the eleven years I've been here, I can only remember once that it snowed more than three inches, and only two or three times that the snow stayed on the ground for more than a few days.

It does occasionally get cold, however, but again, usually not for long. I wouldn't guess we have more than 15-20 days a year where it gets into the twenties, though this winter it has been fairly consistently in the 30s in the mornings. Also, there are occasional ice storms which seem to shut the state down.

The summers are hot, but nothing you won't be used to. Central Oklahoma is in tornado alley, but Norman, where the university is, has never been hit by a tornado. (They hit Moore, just north of Norman, fairly frequently.)

Don't be scared of the weather here. It will be a little cooler than what you're used to, but it is far from extreme. The only extreme thing about it is that it does seem to change frequently.

Norman is the most liberal place in Oklahoma, which on the whole is extremely conservative. Overwhelmingly conservative. You will be represented by the worst senator in America (Jim Inhofe) and the worst senatorial candidate in the last election (Coburn). But the governor is a dem, and there are signs of life in the state democratic party. While the U.S. Rep for Norman is a repub, the area does elect relative liberals to the state houses, and local politics isn't overwhelmingly conservative. A few years ago, Norman elected the first openly-gay public official in the state, and I can't imagine that happening anywhere but Norman.

There is probably plenty to do in town, depending on what you like to do, but Oklahoma City is only 20 minutes away. OKC is hardly a cultural mecca, but it'll have most of what you need. There are also plenty of great places to eat in Norman, though most of the recent development has been in the form of chain restaurants. Still, there are fantastic thai, carribean, greek, italian, mexican, etc. restaurants within a few blocks of campus.

If you have any other questions about the place, feel free to let me know. I might even be able to tell you about the specific program, as I've been at the school for quite a while and completed (nearly) two degrees with different minors. For me, personally, it's been a little too long (11+ years), and so I'll be heading elsewhere for grad school in the fall. But I've enjoyed my time in Norman and at the university.

[Anaxamander]

25. Wow, thanks for the info

This makes me more optimistic about the place. I'm still not 100% sure if I'm coming, but I've been accepted to the English department with tuition & TAship. My other possibility is the University of Miami, which would be a great fit for me if it wasn't so goddamn expensive to live down there. I've got to admit that part of what's drawing me there is that I've never lived west of the Mississippi, and I could do with a change of scenery.

Please, tell me more about OKC. I know they have a Triple-A baseball team, which is a plus since I'm a sports guy.

[Coyote_Bandit]

26. The baseball stadium

is in Bricktown. Bricktown is without question the best thing in the whole state. If you ignore the gigantic Bass Pro shop there are lots of resturants and live music in the area. The area has been revitalized. Saw Dylan outdoors at the ballpark this past summer.

[fishwax]

28. I really wanted to go to that Dylan show

couldn't make it happen though. I bet it was great. I saw him a few years ago at the Zoo Amphitheater though, and also once at the Civic Center.

[fishwax]

27. I'm an English major

My second degree at the school will be complete in English this May. I'd be glad to answer any questions about the program. We have some really great professors in the English department, and I've pretty much never had a class I didn't like for one reason or another. (But then, I'm pretty flexible about those things.) As far as expensive vs. U of Miami, the cost of living here used to be about as low as anywhere in the country. About seven years ago, I could get a one-bedroom apartment literally one block from campus for 230 a month. Those prices are long gone, and the cost of living has increased in the last few years, but it is still very cheap by almost any standard.

OKC is a pretty interesting city, I think. It is a minor-league town, but the Bricktown ballpark is considered one of the two or three best parks in triple-A. It was built near the end of the 90s, and it really is a fun place to catch a game. Bricktown is the center of OKC's urban facelift, and is a pretty nice place to spend an evening. They have the ballpark, some good restaurants (some are chains, but mostly local or else local/regional chains), a canal to walk along, dancing fountains for kids to play in, a huge new theater, a couple of good bars and a dance club or two. It's a little commercialized now, but still a great place to take visiting friends and relatives or just go for a good time.

OKC also has a successful minor-league hockey team with a rabid following. I'm not a huge hockey fan, but the game I went to was entertaining. OU also has a hockey team that is technically not a varsity team yet, but they play against several of the big-name college hockey teams. If you like college basketball, OKC usually hosts the opening weekend of the NCAA tournament every few years (including this year).

Sports dominate Norman in the fall, with OU football. Nothing you haven't seen in Tallahassee, I'm sure, and while the Big 12 isn't traditionally in the same tailgating class as more southern schools, the stadium was recently expanded, is always sold out, and is a fun neighborhood on Saturday mornings for home games. Hardcore basketball fans complain about the atmosphere at Basketball games, because the arena isn't usually completely full other than for marquee matchups and conference games. But as someone who has attended a lot of games against the likes of High Point and Lamar College, I love going to basketball games. We have a pretty good women's team most years too. OU's baseball team is in a down cycle, but is traditionally pretty good, and you can sit for free on the hill just past the right-field fence with your folding chairs and your portable grill. They also play a three-game series with OSU in the bricktown ballpark each year, which is a fun atmosphere. The softball team is also really good and has a new stadium on campus; they often host NCAA regional tournaments, and the women's college world series is held in OKC each year.

OKC also has a good science museum, an art museum with a film series that brings independent and foreign films (which are often hard to find at the local mega-movie houses), a pretty decent zoo, fantastic barbecue, and the occasional big-draw concert. (There are a couple of really good venues in the city for independent music as well.)

I hope that information helps, and if you've other questions I'd be glad to try to help, either in this thread or via email.

[Anaxamander]

29. Awesome info. I'm going to PM you (nt)