Open Letter to Oklahoma

Dear Oklahoma (and the people living here),

Your collective low self esteem as a state and a people is troubling me. I can't count how many times I've been somewhere and people find out that I'm from Denver and give me this apologetic look and say something like, "well, it's not THAT bad..." or "I'm sorry...", or "why the heck did you move HERE?"

What is so wrong with Oklahoma? Seriously! I'm from a small town where there wasn't much to do, but even they didn't spend this much time apologizing for themselves. Sure, Oklahoma isn't Hawaii or California, but so far, I think it's a pretty cool place to live. The only real thing you guys should be apologizing for is your lack of a Whole Foods market and more vegetarian restaurants!

I asked some Ol' Timers about this propensity for over apologizing and they seem to think that it stems from the Great Depression and the idea of "Okies" and the dust bowl... But I think everyone needs to stop and look around! The land here is lush and green everywhere I look. There are birds and flowers and healthy grass everywhere. There is a beautiful lake in the center of town with trails all around, and plenty of water sports. It's hot here, but this last week, things have cooled down and it's pretty pleasant. The bugs seem to be mellowing out as well, which is a huge relief.

I bought a sweet house for an unheard of price, so that alone endears me to you. Sure, downtown doesn't have QUITE as many options for dining as Denver, but so far all the restaurants on the Northwest side have made up for it. The shopping has been great, and I'm really looking forward to this Tax-free weekend coming up! The cost of living here is much cheaper in general and I've been able to find a lot of bargains on stuff for the house, so that's great too.

Sure, there are no Rocky Mountains here, but there is a rich and vibrant lake culture. Sure, the dining isn't quite as varied, but it seems to be improving all the time. Sure, the state is mostly conservatives, but there seems to be a strong little pocket of some left wing liberals and they serve GREAT coffee. :) Sure, there aren't as many museums here, but the ones that do exist are interesting and full of history. Besides, how many times can you go to a museum? Even the ones in Denver start to get a little stale after a while...

So, buck up! As an outsider, I can say that it's not as bad as you all make it out to be. Maybe you're just not getting out enough... Have you ever been to Great Falls, Montana? Now that is a town that ought to be apologizing to some people...

Thanks for listening,

~erin

P.S. Order up that Whole Foods. SERIOUSLY. I mean it.

A big change...

We are moving at the end of July. We've decided to buy a home in Oklahoma City, near Tim's family. This may seem like it's coming out of left field, but it really isn't. It's been on our minds for a while that we'd like to start a family, and trying to find a decent house in Denver, with room for two home offices and a baby, has been a nightmare. There just isn't anything available in our price range, that isn't out in the suburbs.

So, we've decided to buy a home in a cool older district close to downtown in OKC. We're both really excited about the transition, and since our work has been going so well, it just seems like the right time.

We'll miss all our wonderful friends here in Denver, and we look forward to sharing this last Spring and Summer with all of you. The great thing about moving to somewhere not too far away, is that we're always just a cheap SW flight away from a long weekend visit. We still have business clients here and I'm sure we'll be back relatively frequently. The move is also not permanent. We're planning on living there for a few years, and then we may move back to Colorado, or perhaps California.

Anyway, that's our big news... discuss! :)