LIFE UPDATE!

Sen & I moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, from Los Angeles, California, in May 2021 with Tulsa Remote (TR). We have lived in LA for over twenty years and have many friends and family members there. This blog highlights my insights and experience with TR and the city for you to consider before you apply.

WHAT IS TULSA REMOTE?

Tulsa Remote is a one-year program designed to attract remote workers from around the country by paying them to move to and work from Tulsa for at least 12 months.

BENEFITS:

$10,000 (either via monthly stipends or lump sum if you purchase a home in Tulsa)
A free co-working space for three years
Exclusive events in Tulsa
Opportunity to meet like-minded individuals through the Tulsa Remote community. (this is my favorite!)
Lower cost of living compared to other major cities in the US

REQUIREMENTS:

You can move within 12 months after you are accepted.
At least 18 years old
Eligible to work in the United States
You have full-time remote employment, or you are self-employed outside of Oklahoma.

OUR EXPERIENCE SO FAR:

It's been almost a year since Sen and I moved to Tulsa from Los Angeles, and I am glad to report that we love it here! Sen & I've met so many interesting individuals in the Tulsa Remote community, and we are great friends with many of them. Because of our experience here, we decided in late 2021 to apply for the state-approved Incubator Program at 36 Degree North with our company Evolusen. We got in (more on that in another post)! This means we will spend at least another year in Tulsa and grow our company here in the city. Here are some details of our move and our experience with the program and the city.

WHY TULSA?

Our consideration for moving to Tulsa is 100% because of the Tulsa Remote Program!

During our consideration, we liked that Tulsa is in the middle of the country, and there are many road trip opportunities! We've already driven back to LA for work and seen our families a few times during our first nine months. We've traveled to Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Missouri, and Texas and stopped in 16 cities (not counting cities we visited before moving to Tulsa). Seeing more of the country is one of our goals for 2021 and beyond.

Tulsa also has a significantly lower cost of living than Los Angeles, so we can focus on our business, Evolusen, and our passion for travel photography.

Where exactly is Tulsa?

HOW DID WE FIND OUT ABOUT THE PROGRAM?

It was one fateful night…hahaha.

Well, It happened during the second lockdown in Los Angeles in 2020. I had major cabin fever since we were cramped in the tiny apartment that we spent way too much for. Sen & I had planned to move around the country via Airbnb (month-long stays). The plan was paused due to the pandemic, but planning and researching are half the fun. So, after some cocktails by Bartender Sen, I started browsing the internet and came upon the Tulsa Remote Program. I remember seeing programs like this a few years back and thought it would be an incredible life experience. Since I had a remote job at the time, we might qualify. So I asked Sen if he was down to move to Tulsa, OK, with me if we got in. He said yes, I applied, and the rest was history.

THE APPLICATION PROCESS:

The first step is to apply for Tulsa Remote here. After I applied, I actually forgot about it, half thanks to the cocktails and half because I didn't think we would get in.

About a week later, I got an email from Tulsa Remote notifying me that I was a semifinalist and was advancing to the next step with a video interview that happened within the same week. The conversation was short and easy. The interviewer asked a few standard questions, like why I wanted to move to Tulsa, questions about my remote job, and if I had any questions or concerns about the city.

I got an email requesting a background check and income verification about two weeks later. I found out that I had been accepted and just needed to move within the next 12 months the following week.

This all happened between mid-October and early November 2020. The following steps are to check out the city in person or virtually (I recommend you to check out the city in person for a full experience) and decide if you want to move.

OUR EXPERIENCE VISITING TULSA FOR THE FIRST TIME:

Sen and I didn't visit Tulsa right away. We were still hesitant since we'd never even been to Oklahoma. It was also wintertime, the height of the pandemic, and a lot of Asian hate news, so we decided to wait. We finally went in mid-March 2021 and spent six days in Tulsa checking out the city and to the apartment hunt. I will not lie; I was worried about safety because research says Tulsa is unsafe. Yes, I am from Los Angeles, where the crime rate is high too! But LA is alright in my personal experience, and I've lived there for over 20 years. This is when I tell you you can't believe everything you read or watch online. Because the people in the city were super welcoming everywhere we went. This is when we finally decided to make a move. We submitted our application for the apartment, put down a deposit, and moved in mid-May 2021.

OUR EXPERIENCE MOVING HALFWAY ACROSS THE COUNTRY:

We had about 1.5 months to prep for the move. We had to decide very quickly what to keep, donate or toss. We wanted to avoid taking large furniture to Tulsa since we thought it might be a one-year thing. So we left the oversized items with both of our parents and donated a lot of our clothes. We mailed many items that were not fragile, like cloth, bedding, etc., fit everything else plus our cat and dog into our SUV, and started our trip to Tulsa.

The total drive time from LA to Tulsa straight shot is over 21 hours. This was our first time doing a road trip this long. So we planned a 7-day journey, making multiple stops like Zion National Park, Horseshoe Bend, Shiprock, New Mexico, etc. It was fun to see all the sights but very troublesome with all of our stuff in the car.

HOW'S OUR TIME IN TULSA SO FAR?

We've been here for almost nine months, and we've loved it so far! Sen and I live in Downtown Tulsa, where we can walk to most places. One of the other biggest perks is NO traffic. The worst traffic would be just a five-minute delay.

The best times to visit Tulsa are Spring and Fall. Summer is hot and humid, while winter is chilly, with chances of snow (and winter storms).

I enjoy attending all the member meetups TR arranges and free drinks. We also get to check out different restaurants, bars, and even sporting events in the city.

WHO IS THE TULSA REMOTE PROGRAM FOR?

One of the biggest perks of Tulsa Remote is the community the team has built. The people in the community all share similar personality traits. Either because we all are remote workers or because we have moved away from our hometowns, etc. Most of us are super open to meeting new people and new like-minded friends. So, if you ask me who should apply for Tulsa Remote, it's for those open to moving away from their home and making new friends. It doesn't mean you have to be an extrovert since I am an introvert, and there are many introverts in the community. This is for you if you are open to making new friends or joining a community of like-minded individuals.

The city also aims to become one of the country's largest technology and business hubs. With many programs like TR, 36 Degrees North Incubator, Endeavor ScaleUp, TechStars, Venture for America, and local venture capital firms, etc., to bring in ideas, talents, and funds to make that vision a reality. So, if you have a business or business idea supported by technology or are technology-enabled, apply to this program as well.

WHAT'S NEXT?

We plan to stay in Tulsa, focus on working and scaling our business, and explore more of this city.

During the first nine months we've been in the city, we have already:

Joined the state-approved incubator at 36 Degrees North.
Exhibited my photography work during the Accidentally Wes Anderson: THIS IS AN ADVENTURE exhibit in the Philbrook Museum of Art.
Selected as part of the inaugural cohort of Endeavor's Heartland ScaleUp.

We have a couple of trips out of Oklahoma in the pipeline, so stay tuned for more on that.

Life has not been the same since I first applied for TR, and we can't wait to see where it will take us next!

Let me know if you have any questions in the comment section below!

I'm a travel blogger, and photographer, recently moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma from Los Angeles, California with my husband Sen, our cat Shadow, and dog Lumi.

Our current mission is to road trip and eat around the USA.