Moving from Ontario to OKC

Hello all,

I am interested in getting some more information or stories anyone could share with me about moving to OKC from Canada.

I am considering accepting employment there, however it is such a big decision, and I have many, many questions. I have been searching on the internet to determine cost of living - but most compare US cities to each other. I am looking for Ontario to OKC.

Any websites with information would be great. Employment tax rates seem pretty confusing to me when trying to get an idea about how far the work income would go. I would love if someone would give me a ballpark numbers, or site that would help me understand an income of approx. 90,000- Husband only working and 4 kids.

Any other help would be great too!

Moving from Ontario to OKC

That sounds like quite an adventurous change you%26#39;re contemplating, Snow. I can only imagine all of things you will have to consider.

You will find the cost of living in Oklahoma to be quite low, especially when it comes to housing and fuel costs. New houses start at around $110 per square foot; fancier amenities and more land will, of course, cost you more than that; older houses can cost quite a bit less. Depending on your credit history and other finances, most US banks will lend you approximately 2-2.5 times your annual income for buying a house. So, depending on your down payment, you should be able to afford a house in the $200-250,000 range, which will give you a nice home in a good neighborhood. Heating costs will be much lower than you%26#39;re used to, but we have substantial air conditioning costs in the summer. Gasoline is currently only $1.75 a gallon, though the price fluctuates often and greatly.

In the States, your income tax is based on your taxable income, which will be considerably less than your actual income; yours should be no more than $75,000 (and probably less). The federal tax rate is 10% of the first $16,000, 15% of the next $49,000, and 25% of the next $65,000. You can probably estimate your federal income taxes at about $11,000 and your state tax at about $3,500.

Let us know how else we can help.

Moving from Ontario to OKC

Twoprofs is correct - cost of living in Oklahoma City is very good. Where you live - one of the suburbs or will affect the type and cost of house you buy.

I think he was a little high on the taxes, though. With 4 children plus you and your husband on a salary of us$90K you are looking at an approximate taxable income of us$58K (using all the standard deductions) which would equal a Federal income tax of about us$8K. State income tax would be about us$3000.

Depending on your residency status, these numbers could be somewhat lower or higher, so you might consult with a US tax expert for a more accurate estimate. Or, if you want to try to estimate what you would have paid for 2008 go to www.irs.gov (which is where I got the Federal number above) and www.tax.ok.gov for the state.

It is very difficult to compare the cost of living in a US city with that in another country, so you probably won%26#39;t be able to find anything. But comparing Buffalo NY to Oklahoma City, OKC is less expensive and I imagine northern NY is close to the same costs for food, housing and energy as southern Ontario...

However, you may need to consider the cost of health care. The US does not have government sponsored health care so there will be some additional cost for you there in the form of insurance, deductibles and/or co-pays to the doctors (unless your family uses private health insurance and care rather than the government care provided in Canada.)

Hope this helps.

The cost of living here honestly can not be beaten across the US. We have the option to transer to several locals in major cities (Las Vegas, San Diego, Pensacola)in the US with my husband%26#39;s employer, which I would love to do simply because frankly I%26#39;m bored here- but financially it does not make sense to leave.

The quality of life you can afford on your husband%26#39;s adjusted salary seems palatial when compared to what you would have in other US cities.

I doubt highly that we could find a decent small apartment in a safe neighborhood to move to in San Diego for what we pay for a 1,700 square foot house on the extreme eastside of Oklahoma County.

I%26#39;m sorry that I can not help you with financial particulars, but yes, I can vouch for the fact that our summers will be take alot of getting used to. As they say ';it%26#39;s not the heat, it%26#39;s the humidity.';

But we have the Texas Rangers AAA affiliate- The Oklahoma Redhawks for baseball, the OKC Blazers for hockey, I%26#39;m sure news of the Sonics move to OKC has made its way into Canada, we now have the NBA Thunder- and I would be a horrible Okie not to mention the OU Sooners and OSU Cowboys for football.

There%26#39;s plentiful lakes, nature parks all within the city limits, and a revitalized part of downtown called ';Bricktown'; crammed with restaurants that is finally catching up to other metropolitan cities, with a river walk featuring canal boats, and a bustling entertainment district.

Our politics aren%26#39;t as progressive as the rest of the nation, we%26#39;re the only state whose counties reported voting completely for McCain- which I personally have no opinion either way, but I guess I%26#39;m trying to say that Oklahoma is VERY conserative in politics and atmosphere.

I hope I was able to give some unsolicited opinions about Oklahoma :)

As others have helped with tax and income issues, I will try to hit some other things.

As far as politics is concerned, while the state in general is one of the more conservative states, the urban areas are a more even mix. Someone of either political wing will feel perfectly welcome in Oklahoma City.

As you have kids, I will offer a little advice on school districts, as there are quite a few in the metro area. Edmond and Deer Creek school districts are probably the best. Both are on the northern side of the metro. Deer Creek is not an actual city but covers some of far west Edmond and far north Oklahoma City. Both areas have slightly higher cost of living, due to the schools, and in Edmond%26#39;s case, hills and trees on the east side that make it the prettiest part of the metro.

Moore and Putnam City are also suburban districts with strong schools. Putnam City is also decieving in that it is not and actual city. That district covers far NW Oklahoma City, generally north of NW 39th and west of Portland Ave.

Oklahoma City Public Schools covers most of the rest of the city. Like most inner-city districts, it suffered as many moved out to the suburbs beginning in the 1950%26#39;s. Some schools are better than others, and most of the problems lie more with uninvolved parents than with teachers or administration. There are several magnet and charter schools in the OKCPS that are especially strong, including Classen School of Advanced Studies and Harding Charter Prepatory. OKCPS naturally tends to have older facilities, but many schools have been rebuilt or significantly remodeled as part of the MAPS for Kids program, a 1-cent sales tax that provided $700 million dollars for school upgrades.

Let us know if you have any other questions!

Transportation:

As a western city, OKC is rather spread out, and dominated by the ';car culture';. It however does not have the major traffic headaches you may have heard about in places like Houston and Los Angeles.

We have a really good highway network and it doesn%26#39;t take more than 20-25 minutes to get from downtown to the outer suburban areas.

So commuting is rather easy in OKC.

We are at this time pushing a better bus system and possibly light rail.