Forbes: Tulsa On Most Livable List

Tulsa came in fifth in an article featured in the national publication.

Tuesday, April 7th 2009, 5:30 pm

By: News On 6

By Chris Wright, The News On 6

TULSA, OK -- Forbes Magazine says Tulsa is one of America's Most Livable Cities. Tulsa came in fifth in an article featured in the national publication.

Experts have claimed Tulsa is weathering the recession better than other parts of the country, and Tulsa officials say this ranking offers further proof that that is the case.

Things that many Tulsans may take for granted such as a short commute, low cost of living, and relatively low unemployment, apparently make the city one of the most livable in the country.

Forbes also factored in culture and crime rates.

After crunching the numbers, the magazine ranked Tulsa fifth, behind only Portland, Maine; Bethesda, Maryland; Des Moines, Iowa and Stamford, Connecticut.

Some Tulsans say the ranking makes them feel good about living in Tulsa.

Also taking pride in the national ranking is the Tulsa Metro Chamber of Commerce. President Mike Neal says it validates what he and others believe about the city.

"Our economy is improving, our quality of life has been improving, the fact that we're a great place to live, great place to run a family, great place to run a business," said Tulsa Metro Chamber President Mike Neal.

Of course, not everything is great. While still well below the national average, unemployment has jumped to 6.2% around Tulsa.

"Exactly, I mean our unemployment is up the last few months, we don't like that. We are still working projects every single day, every single week to add jobs," said Tulsa Metro Chamber President Mike Neal.

At the very least, the chamber also hopes the national publicity will encourage people and businesses affected by hard times to consider relocating to Tulsa.

"We're optimistic that we're going to ride this thing out. The main thing is, we're getting some great national recognition, and we're doing better than the rest of the country," said Tulsa Metro Chamber President Mike Neal.

Oklahoma City also did well in the rankings, coming in one spot below Tulsa at Number 6.