Oklahoma, with its rich cultural heritage, offers a unique way of life that can be both captivating and enlightening for newcomers. In this post, I’m joined by my friend Jonathan, a fellow real estate agent, to discuss distinctive aspects of Oklahoma culture and daily life. Whether you’re new to the state or a long-time resident, understanding and embracing these elements can help you connect with the heart of the Sooner State and get a better understanding for what it’s like living in Oklahoma.
#1 Savoring Local Flavors
So what do you think is the most Oklahoma food?
Jonathan: It’s hard to pinpoint just one, you know? For me, reflecting on my childhood, the one thing that stands out is my absolute love for pecan pie. It felt like I was asking my mom to make it almost once or twice a week, ensuring we had it available for dessert. But it wasn’t just pecan pie; anything paired with a side of fried okra was also a favorite, although that was more of a seasonal treat, typically enjoyed only in August
Marcie: For me, biscuits and gravy hold a special place in my childhood memories. I still enjoy them frequently, and one of my favorite places to savor this dish is a local Mexican restaurant. It wasn’t until I went to college that I realized this Southern comfort food wasn’t as popular in the North. I remember being surprised by my northern friends’ reactions, as they couldn’t quite fathom the idea of biscuits and gravy, exclaiming, ‘What are you guys doing? Why are you eating gravy? That’s horrible!
#2 The Forces of Nature: Oklahoma’s Weather
Now, let’s move on to our second point, which is weather. While it’s something we can’t control, Oklahoma’s weather is undeniably unique. The state is known for its interesting weather patterns, and if you’re familiar with Oklahoma, you probably know that already. So, Jonathan, I’m curious, have you ever found yourself in the midst of a tornado?
Jonathan: So as long as I’ve lived here, in Oklahoma City, I’ve actually interestingly never been in the eye of the storm or tornado. So, that’s good. I’ve certainly been a part, you know as we all do, we watch the tornado watches – there have been a few tornado warnings where I’ve had to find cover but other than that, I haven’t actually been in an actual tornado.
Now, when I lived out east, in Henrietta, Oklahoma, during my childhood for a very short period of time, I was very close to a tornado. In fact, we had a 20-horse trailer end up in my neighbor’s yard. It did not come through and wreck our property at all, so that’s the closest I’ve come. How about you?
Marcie: So the one that comes closest to is actually the May was it May 19th tornado 2013. So my husband was in that one. The hospital he was working in got hit and he was in the basement. If you have seen the footage from that tornado, the hospital was flattened. I actually didn’t know him yet, but I was working at a gym in Newcastle and the tornado started right across the street from there. I was working that day and we actually went to Walmart to take cover. We’ve taken cover a few times since then, but have never been in one and most Oklahomans haven’t.
Jonathan: I actually remember that storm happening because I was working at a Chili’s at the time in Oklahoma City and we all went to the walk-in freezer. It never actually came to our part of town, but we did see of course, the devastation that occurred everywhere else. That was a wild storm.
#3 Immersing Yourself in Unique Oklahoma Events
There are some very unique Oklahoma events and I think going to some of these events can really help you become more local quickly because you’re around a bunch of Oklahomans and to me, that’s the most important thing for becoming more like a local, right? So, one of my favorite events to go to is actually the rodeo. I grew up in Claremore, which is near Tulsa but in the opposite direction of Henrietta from Tulsa. The rodeo in Claremore has won a ton of awards and it’s an awesome outdoor Rodeo that they have every Memorial Day. I’d always go to that and I think that is a perfect place for you to understand Oklahoma culture, but what do you think?
Jonathan: Well, I mean of course! I don’t think you’ll get much more Oklahoman than the rodeos. I don’t know if I’ll have a better answer than that, but one of the things I really enjoyed doing when I was a kid – even now, is going to visit the national cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. When we were younger that was just called the Cowboy Hall of Fame, I think. At least, that’s what we always refer to it as. It really gives you the opportunity to better understand the Western history and culture which of course, is a lot of where Oklahoma came from.
Marcie: I completely agree. I was just telling Jonathan about every year in Guthrie, they recreate the Land Run of 1889. They have what’s called ’89er Days. I haven’t actually been to those, but I always went to the rodeo in Guthrie as well, so that might be another cool thing to take your family to for a really interesting cultural experience.
#4 Oklahoma’s Diverse Cultures
Marcie: The 4th thing that we have on our list here is the natives. I grew up in Cherokee Nation – that’s where Claremore is, and then Jonathan grew up for a little while in Henrietta?
Jonathan: I grew up in Henrietta for at least a couple years. Born in Oklahoma City, then went to some small towns for a little bit.
Marcie: The thing I’ve always wondered about, was if we are immersed in it more than we think. We learned a little bit about it in school, and some of my friends actually spoke some Cherokee. Even if they didn’t look Cherokee, they were more Cherokee than you realize, because of the Irish blood that makes sense Cherokees. So yeah, I’m not really sure about is how much actual native culture we were experiencing and we just didn’t know because that’s what we were used to. I think it was more than I realized.
Jonathan: I would imagine. Also just growing up around here, it’s likely we were exposed to more native communities than some of you may be reading this. It’s hard for us to really say because that’s kind of what we’ve known and been around.
Marcie: I think some really good things to maybe immerse yourself in, if you’re interested in learning more about Native culture and understanding how it affects Oklahoma life is, of course, going to a Pow Wow. I’ve been to a few when I was little. Also going to the First People’s Museum that recently opened in the last few years and they’re actually going to be adding a new resort, so I’m pretty excited for that. Definitely check out that First People’s Museum to get an idea of what native life was like and what it’s like now.
#5 Sports: Beyond Football
Number five on our list is sports. I’m not a sports person however, I do think it’s very important in the Oklahoma lifestyle. I wanted to mention a sport that maybe some people don’t realize is closely associated with Oklahoma culture and that is softball. Many of my friends go to softball games – I’m sorry, but you won’t catch me at one. We always have the World Series here for women’s softball.
Jonathan: That’s a big deal! It’s a really big deal and nationally televised so, some of you may have already seen that, but it is it’s not often talked about. It’s a good point to bring that up because the girls in Oklahoma, specifically the University of Oklahoma, are always very highly competitive.
Marcie: So what do you think is an Okie sport that people need to go to?
Jonathan: As you know, Marcie lives in Norman so of course, you’re aware of college football being a big thing here with the OU Sooners. It’s hard to grow up here without at least being surrounded by people who are invested heavily in either the OU Sooners or the Oklahoma State Cowboys in Stillwater. I’m more of a passive fan, okay? I don’t really have these super strong allegiances either way okay, but I tend to root passively for the Sooners. I went to school there for like a year and a half. Otherwise, another one we have had nearly the last what, 10 years? or maybe longer 10 years? are the OKC Thunder, which is a basketball team.
Now everybody is a big NBA basketball fan, so you’ve got to kind of at least kind of embrace some of that when living here; it’ll definitely help you appear more local.
#6 Embracing Change
One of my favorite other YouTubers to watch is this guy in Montana and you guys may have seen his videos. I think he’s really interesting and really cool but one thing that he talks about is how much Montana locals hate people moving to Montana because they want to bring their culture into the state. And that’s okay, we want to hear about your culture from other states or other countries absolutely, and you have to understand, that in each state and each region – really in each state, or even each county; depending on where you are in Oklahoma, we have very specific cultural norms that we follow. None of this makes someone morally bad or morally good, we just have different ways of doing things.
And that’s one of the reasons I wanted to talk about this, because we are seeing Oklahoma change quite a bit. We wanted to make this post for you to help you understand what’s important to Oklahomans and how you can make friends faster.
#7 Driving: From Friendly Waves to Honks
Marcie: So let’s talk about driving then. You’ve lived in Oklahoma City for a while?
Jonathan: Yeah, the majority of my life really, I’ve lived here.
Marcie: Talk to me about the changes in driving over decades.
Jonathan: Well for one, there are just a lot more people on the road than when I started driving at 16, like most people. I did live here, in Oklahoma City, at that point for a very long time and it just seemed like there was really not as many people. I mean, maybe sometimes during rush hour, you encounter some traffic, but now there are just many more people on the road; more to navigate. I remember always going down to cities like Dallas where it was just total insanity to me, somebody from Oklahoma City, what do you think?
Marcie: Growing up in the small town of Claremore, I didn’t even start driving in Tulsa until I was past 18 because I was not allowed. I did start driving at 13 – because country life, that’s when I learned to drive. Then I started driving at 16 on the roads. What I’ve noticed is more anger, recently. I’m not sure if that’s just anxiety from people feeling too much stress in their lives, maybe? Of course, we get a lot of Texas drivers, especially Norman because a lot of our students tend to be from Dallas and there is a very different way of driving in Dallas. Driving in Oklahoma, people are more passive here and more aggressive in Dallas, very aggressive in Dallas. Then, there’s always the waving. Even in Norman, I wave at a lot of people. It’s kind of weird, but it pays to be friendly.
Jonathan: You know, as things have got more congested, it may be that some people who move out of state and return here later in their life or are just relocating from another state altogether, experience more aggression from where they were previously residing and over time, we’re seeing more of that. I still do a ton of waving people in, or letting people in, or waving when someone lets me in, which I think is really important too. At least for me, I do try to maintain the that Oklahoma City charm doing my part.
Marcie: I know. I think one thing that gets me now, is the honking. There’s so much and we did not do that ever in the 90’s and early 2000’s, so it’s weird for us.
#8 The Oklahoma Accent
Johnathan and I have both talked about whether or not Oklahoma is in the South? It’s a debate. I don’t know that it honestly matters, but sometimes people hear it in our accents when we talk, and I would say that I do not have a Southern accent, I have an Oklahoman accent.
Jonathan: I don’t think mine has ever really come off very thick or whatever, right? When I was a kid, my dad lived in Denver, Colorado and when I would go up there, they would say that they can hear Oklahoma.
Marcie: I have heard people say that to me, especially if I’m speaking other languages. Because I learned other languages in college, they would say “Your Oklahoman accent is so thick!” I’m like, really? What I’ve noticed is that each small town has kind of a particular lilt to it. People from Oklahoma City may not have as thick of an accent – I think it depends on how many people you speak to outside of the state in a day, but that’s been my experience. Both of my parents have pretty thick accents; different thick accents too, because my mom is from Northeastern Oklahoma and my dad is from Edmond.
Jonathan: I think we decided that part of the determining factor of if someone will sound like they have an accent, is going to depend on whether or not they’re from one of the smaller towns outside of Oklahoma City. Of course, it might be more prevalent in the older generation, who likely were from smaller towns, in their times and didn’t really leave their town as much as we do, so it makes sense.
#9 Tune Up the Band
Music is next on our list and I really think that music is a huge part of Oklahoma culture. I think is Garth Brooks is one of the most famous artists in the world and he is from Oklahoma. He lives in my hometown now, but he’s from Yukon. I think listening to his music will really kind of help you see some aspects of Oklahoma culture that you may have missed.
Jonathan: Absolutely! Listening to Garth Brooks to me, really is kind of the identity of at least my childhood growing up in Oklahoma City and to your point, a lot of the lyrics and the songs really paint the picture of living in Oklahoma. We have a ton of other really famous musicians that have come from here.
Marcie: Carrie Underwood. She’s super popular because I remember watching her on what’s it called? American Idol? I remember watching her in high school doing that, and then people like Vince Gill, Reuben McIntyre.
Jonathan: We also have rock bands like The Flaming Lips and of course, the All-American Rejects. I actually grew up kind of playing music in the same circles as a couple of those guys, so to see bands like that just really blow up into worldwide success kind of puts us on the map a little bit.
#10 Connecting with Animals
Number 10 on our list is animals and I just gave it the category of animals because I felt like that was the easiest way to talk about it, but there are a lot of farmers and ranchers in Oklahoma. I grew up on a ranch and we had horses and cows it wasn’t necessarily a cowgirl, because I actually rode English not Western. Everyone here loves their horses and their dogs and their space ultimately, so what has been your experience with animals in Oklahoma?
Jonathan: Like I’ve mentioned, I was born in Oklahoma City but it was around like first grade I moved out into the country and amongst three different small towns, one of which was a town called Coweta Oklahoma was probably not far from right and we had a farm, so we had chickens and we shared a cow with our neighbor. I can’t say that those are my favorite memories through, because I definitely feel like I’m more of a city boy in a lot of ways. Not a lot of people get to experience that, I guess. We also had ducks and guineas, so any way that was so lots of fouls.
#11 Enjoying the FESTivities
The last one on our list here is going to be festivals, so Norman has a ton of festivals including Norman Music Fest, which I think you’ve been to probably several times. We also have our jazz festival here, in June in Norman. Music Fest is in April, Jazz Fest is in June, and we have Medieval Fair which is in April. What others do you enjoy, living in Oklahoma?
Jonathan: There are a ton here in Norman. One of the ones that a lot of people enjoy is the Bricktown Blues Fest, which I believe is sometime in the summer. I don’t recall what month that is, but it’s a lot of fun because of all the different food and vendors and stuff. I’m not much of a Blues fan either, if I’m being totally honest, but then there’s always some cool little Food Fests. One that comes to mind is Vegfest which is in Oklahoma City and that may not be exciting to many of you, but I’m vegetarian so a lot of different foods to try. There’s always tons of little festivals and fun things to do.
Whether you’re a newcomer or a long-standing resident, embracing these aspects of Oklahoma culture can help you feel more connected to the state and its people; giving you a better idea of what living in Oklahoma looks like. From savoring local flavors to attending festivals and understanding the nuances of daily life, Oklahoma has a rich and vibrant culture waiting to be explored and appreciated. So, come join us in celebrating the Sooner State and all it has to offer!
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