Relocating to the Greater Tulsa Area
A look at the towns, the roads that shape your day, and how to buy a home from another state.
Before You Start
From another state, the towns around Tulsa can look alike on a map. Up close, they're very different: in the homes, the school districts, the drive to work, and what's nearby on a Saturday.
When you're moving from somewhere else, you don't have years of local knowledge to lean on. Scrolling listings won't give it to you, and a weekend of touring houses usually doesn't either.
This guide is the local knowledge I'd share with you if we sat down before your search started. Here's what you'll learn:
- How to narrow the towns before you look at a single house
- The highways that decide how your commute feels
- How eight towns around Tulsa compare, and what each one trades
- The three checks I run on every home a relocating buyer is serious about
- How buying from another state works, step by step
You don't have to figure out all of the pieces at once. That is what the plan is for.
1. Start With Your Week, Not the Listings
The most useful first step is to describe your week, before you look at any homes.
- Where will you work? The address, not just the city.
- How will you spend your weekends? Restaurants and downtowns, parks and trails, or space around you at home.
- What matters in a home? An older home with character, a newer floor plan, or land.
- What's your timeline? A job start date, a lease ending, a home to sell where you live now.
Those answers narrow the Greater Tulsa Area quickly. Someone who wants established homes close to restaurants and parks will look at different places than someone who wants acreage and a quieter setting. Both are here, in different towns.
Takeaway: write down your work address, your top three weekend activities, and your move date. Those three things will narrow your search more than any list of homes will.
2. The Roads That Shape Your Day
The roads you use every day will shape how you feel about your new home. It helps to know the main routes before you choose a town.
- Inside Tulsa: the BA (Broken Arrow) Expressway, I-44 and Highway 169 matter most, depending on where you work. Riverside is the route you'll come to know near the river.
- Broken Arrow: the Broken Arrow Expressway and the Creek Turnpike are the main routes toward Tulsa. The drive changes a lot depending on which side of Broken Arrow you live on.
- Coweta: Highway 51 is the route to Broken Arrow and Tulsa. As a starting estimate, allow about 20 minutes to Broken Arrow and roughly 30 to 40 minutes to Tulsa.
- Owasso (north): Highway 169 is the main route into Tulsa, with 76th, 86th and 96th Streets connecting different parts of Owasso to it. Tulsa is around a 20-minute drive as a starting estimate.
- Glenpool (south): Highway 75 is the first route to think about. The Creek Turnpike is nearby for trips across the metro. Tulsa can be around 20 minutes in lighter traffic.
- Jenks: keeps you close to south Tulsa.
- Collinsville (farther north): Highway 20 runs through town and connects to Highway 169 on the east and Highway 75 on the west.
- Catoosa (northeast): Route 66 runs through town, and I-44 and Highway 412 are the important routes toward Tulsa or farther east.
These drive times are starting points, not promises. Where you land in each town and the time of day both change them.
Takeaway: before you fall for a house, drive or map the route from that house to your workplace at the time you'd actually make it.
3. The Towns, Side by Side
Each town has its own mix of homes and its own trade-off. Here's how I'd describe them to someone new.
Tulsa
The homes: parts of Midtown and the streets around Cherry Street and Brookside have older homes with more individual character, and styles, ages and condition vary house to house. You'll find newer construction farther south or east.
Why people choose it: established homes, and being closer to the places they spend their time.
Nearby: a walk at Gathering Place, dinner on Cherry Street or Brookside, or an evening downtown near the Blue Dome District.
The trade-off: an older home may mean more maintenance or a layout that doesn't work for you, and a central location may mean less yard for the space.
Broken Arrow
The homes: older, established homes near the Rose District (downtown Broken Arrow), newer subdivisions to the south and east, and homes with more land farther out.
Why people choose it: a smaller-community feel and a choice of subdivisions, while staying connected to Tulsa.
Nearby: dinner in the Rose District, the city's parks, and yearly events like Rooster Days, the Rose Festival and the Farmers Market from spring through fall.
The trade-off: the commute depends heavily on which side of town the home is on.
Worth knowing: a Broken Arrow address does not always mean Broken Arrow Public Schools. Parts of the city fall within Union or Bixby Public Schools.
Coweta
The homes: more opportunity for homes with land and acreage, and a different mix of homes than Broken Arrow.
Why people choose it: land, acreage, and a small-town feel.
Nearby: downtown Coweta and the Coweta Fall Festival in the Broadway District. For a bigger selection of shopping and restaurants, most people head into Broken Arrow.
The trade-off: more space, in exchange for being farther from the stores, restaurants and routes you use every day.
Jenks
The homes: they're not all alike. Around the older part of town, you'll find established homes with different layouts and lot sizes.
Why people choose it: staying close to south Tulsa with a downtown of its own.
Nearby: a walkable downtown, the RiverWalk, the Oklahoma Aquarium and the Aquarium Trail.
The trade-off: depending on the house, you may trade some lot size, a newer floor plan, or a shorter drive to another part of the metro.
Owasso
The homes: older homes on mature streets closer to the older parts of town, and newer subdivisions with different floor plans farther out.
Why people choose it: being north of Tulsa, with several kinds of homes to compare.
Nearby: Redbud Festival Park downtown, Centennial Park, and the Redbud Festival and Harvest Festival.
The trade-off: if much of your week takes you to south Tulsa or Broken Arrow, that drive deserves a closer look.
Glenpool
The homes: established homes and newer subdivisions, and homes can feel quite different from one neighborhood to the next.
Why people choose it: looking south of Tulsa and comparing established homes with newer subdivisions.
Nearby: BlackGold Park and BlackGold Days, the town's annual festival.
The trade-off: for a wider choice of restaurants or a particular store, you'll likely head to Jenks or Tulsa.
Collinsville
The homes: older homes with character around downtown and Main Street, new construction as the area grows, and more land beyond the subdivisions.
Why people choose it: being open to living farther north and comparing different kinds of homes.
Nearby: Main Street downtown, Collinsville City Park, and the city lake with hiking and mountain biking trails.
The trade-off: be comfortable with the everyday drive for shopping, work or other plans before you decide.
Catoosa
The homes: older homes near the original part of town, subdivisions with a different feel, and some properties farther out with more space.
Why people choose it: being on the northeast side of the Tulsa area.
Nearby: the Blue Whale along Route 66, and Rogers Point Park.
The trade-off: driving into Tulsa or another town for more of your shopping, dining or activities.
Takeaway: pick two or three towns that match your week from Section 1, and compare actual homes and drives in each before you decide one town is the better fit.
4. Three Checks for Every Home You're Serious About
When you're buying from a distance, these three checks matter more than the listing photos.
1. The commute, at your real time. Map or drive the trip from the house to your workplace at the hour you'd actually make it. A home that looks 10 minutes away on a map can be a very different drive at rush hour.
2. The school district, by address. The mailing address doesn't always tell you. A Broken Arrow address can fall within Broken Arrow, Union or Bixby Public Schools. In Owasso, Owasso Public Schools provides a boundary lookup. Check the district for each specific home.
3. What the photos don't show. Listing photos are built to make a house look good. They won't show you the street, the neighbors' yards, the noise, or how the rooms connect. A live video walkthrough of every room, with someone telling you what they notice, fills that gap.
That last one matters to me. Two of my out-of-state buyers closed on homes here without seeing them in person until closing day. I walked every room on video and told them what the photos didn't show, good and bad, before they made an offer.
Takeaway: don't make an offer from another state until you've checked the commute, confirmed the district, and seen the whole house on live video.
5. Buying From Another State, Step by Step
The steps are the same as any purchase in the Greater Tulsa Area. What changes is the timing and how much happens from a distance.
1. Talk with a lender first. A lender reviews your income, debts, credit and savings and tells you how much they're willing to lend. That's your pre-approval. Do this before you plan a house-hunting trip.
2. Know your full costs. Plan for your down payment, closing costs and earnest money. Earnest money is typically around 1% of the price in my market and is held by the title company or a brokerage. It's usually due within 3 days of a signed contract, so that cash needs to be ready early, even if you're still in another state. It's credited toward your closing costs or down payment at closing.
3. Understand your agreement. With me, new buyers start with a touring agreement. After our first meeting, if you want to move forward, we sign a Buyer Broker Agreement that explains how I'm paid, how long we work together, and how you can end it.
4. Narrow the towns. Use Sections 1 to 3 of this guide, and plan your search around your move date and job start date.
5. Tour, in person or by video. If you can visit, plan a focused trip. I line up about six homes per outing, so you can compare them side by side. If you can't, live video walkthroughs let you see each home before you decide.
6. Make an offer. Your offer sets the price, terms and timeline. From a distance, your timeline matters even more, so build it around your move.
7. Investigations, inspections and reviews. Usually about 10 days, set by your contract. This is when the home is inspected.
8. Appraisal and financing. Your lender orders the appraisal and finalizes your loan.
9. Closing. A final walkthrough, then you sign at the title company and receive your keys.
Takeaway: start with the lender, plan your cash timing around earnest money, and set your offer timeline around your move date.
Your Relocation Checklist
- Write down your work address, weekend priorities and move date
- Talk with a lender and receive your pre-approval
- Set aside earnest money (about 1% of your price) so it's ready within days of a signed contract
- Choose two or three towns to compare
- Map each serious home's commute at your real travel time
- Confirm the school district for each specific address
- See every serious home in person or on a live video walkthrough
- Build your offer timeline around your job start date or lease end
- Plan for about 10 days of inspections and reviews after your offer is accepted
- Confirm closing day and the final walkthrough at the title company
Your Next Step
You now know how the towns compare, which roads matter, and the order the purchase happens in. The part a guide can't do is match it all to your life: your workplace, your budget, your timeline and the homes on the market when you're ready.
That's where I come in. When you call me, you talk with me, start to finish. I start with your daily life and help you narrow the towns that fit, then I check the commute and the school district for every home you're serious about.
You don't have to be ready to move to start asking questions. I'll walk you through my Purchasing Pathway, so you know every step before it happens, and adjust the pace to how you make decisions.
Call or text me at (918) 605-7819, or email shortsleevehomes@gmail.com. You can also read more on my relocation page.
I'm Christina Shortsleeve, a REALTOR® with REMAX Results and a Certified Real Estate Negotiator. I've helped with 127 home sales across the Greater Tulsa Area since 2020, including 13 buyers who moved here from out of state. I adapt the pace and detail of every purchase to how you make decisions, so you always know what comes next.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I choose a town near Tulsa when I'm moving from another state?
Start with your week: where you'll work, how you spend weekends, what matters in a home, and your timeline. Then compare two or three towns and the actual drive from each home at the time you'd make it.
Can I buy a home in the Greater Tulsa Area without seeing it in person?
Yes. Two of my out-of-state buyers closed without seeing the home in person until closing day. I walked every room on live video and told them what the photos didn't show before they made an offer.
When is earnest money due if I'm buying from another state?
Usually within 3 days of a signed contract, so have it ready early. It's typically around 1% of the price in my market and is held by the title company or a brokerage.
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