OK, So I Moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma

And it was one of the best decisions of my adult life.

“Tulsa? Why the hell are you moving to Tulsa? Honey…you know that’s Oklahoma, right?”

I had just announced to family and friends that I had decided to pack up my car and move from Philly to the heart of the midwest: Oklahoma. Yes, Oklahoma: Ranked 49th in education and a big ol’ #1 in being the worst state to live in for women. Full stop. My dad looked at me like I was crazy.

To his credit, I didn’t know what I was getting into. I traveled around the world twice in my twenties, but those were places like Italy, Cape Town, Tokyo, Bali. You know, places people want to go. But Tulsa? Tulsa seemed like the kind of place that would have to pay people to go. But for me it was the promise of a new adventure. A place I’d never been to, and new people to meet, and new experiences, and….and, okay, yes: Tulsa was paying me to go.

I, along with several hundred others at the time, had been accepted into a program called Tulsa Remote that pays people with remote jobs $10,000 to relocate to Tulsa for one year. The program’s leaders hope that the remote workers love Tulsa so much that they’ll stay even once the monthly payments end. 76% of members who joined since 2019 and completed their program year were still living in Tulsa at the end of 2022.

Initially I thought, “well, it must be real bad if they have to pay people to move there!!” Thankfully, I was able to talk with a handful people who had already made the fateful move to Tulsa. A familiar thread ran through each of the stories they shared:

“I didn’t know what to expect coming from L.A., but I love it so much that I bought a house here.”

“I was worried there wouldn’t be enough to entertain me coming from New York, but I moved my whole family out here and have never been happier—also we know our neighbors by name and they invited us to a concert on their porch during our first month.”

“I’m trying to convince my company to open a satellite office out here and bring my coworkers over from The Bay.”

“My quality of life has increased so much and I have a house with a huge yard for my dog.”

Clearly there was something magical going on in Tulsa, and suddenly I couldn’t wait to be a part of it.

Before I moved in 2020, I was living and quarantining with my family back in Pennsylvania during the beginning of the COVID pandemic. I was lucky to have family around and a safe place to stay, but I was getting stir-crazy. Stuck inside watching the toilet paper wars and the doom scroll of political news stories. I was creatively blocked and I wasn’t growing emotionally. It was time to figure out what was next. When I heard about Tulsa Remote — despite the long (CVS receipt long) list of negative things I’d heard about Oklahoma— something inside of me said I had to move. So that’s what I did. 

If you had told me three years ago that I’d move to Oklahoma and have the best time of my life, I would have asked if you needed to check your house for a gas leak. But here I am in Oklahoma, and I am having the best time of my life. Turns out that Tulsa is one of the best-kept secrets in the midwest. I bought a house — something that would have been impossible where I was living before — I landed my dream job thanks to the Tulsa Remote community, and I’ve made amazing friends from all over the country.

Being in such an active social community like Tulsa Remote pushed me to mature emotionally and better define my values and friendships. I know my neighbors and we actually knock on one another’s doors to say ‘hi,’ share extra fruit and veggies from our gardens and make sure everyone is invited to the block party! Imagine that. Lastly, living in Tulsa has been key in rebuilding a creative practice: I acted in a production of Little Shop of Horrors, started writing again and performed stand-up comedy for the first time.

Tulsa has a lot to offer to both new and established residents. It’s a city rich with opportunity, especially for entrepreneurs and creative-minded people. If you want to start, build or scale something (anything, really), Tulsa’s entrepreneurial spirit and ecosystem is the perfect catalyst. People don’t just show up once you’ve succeeded; they’ll help you get there too.

I’m fortunate to have had some incredible experiences and to have found access to a wealth of life-improving resources. A lot of this was available to me thanks to the built-in community of Tulsa Remote. Sadly, when I look outside of our happy bubble, I see a different Tulsa. One with a lot of poverty. Where people feel isolated and unsure of how to tap into the experiences we treasure. But the Tulsa I love is for everyone.  So, if I can, I’d like to do my part to pop that bubble and share all of the unexpected gems I’ve found with everyone in this unexpected gem of a city.