A hundred Oil & Gas people are being offered transfers to Tulsa. All we hear is that you're racist, Jesus freaks w/bad schools and nothing to do but sports. True or not?

racist

Tulsa has a long history with racism. The riots, Tate Brady, and segregated neighborhoods (which continue unofficially today since many families still occupy those same homes). That said, I've lived in many different cities and I wouldn't consider Tulsa to be any more culturally racist today than any other place I've lived (including large cities in the north). Over the last few decades Tulsa has begun to openly grapple with this ugly part of its legacy, and change, though often disappointingly slow, is happening.

Jesus freaks

You will find many, many evangelical Christians in Tulsa, largely as a consequence of ORU and Rhema. However, if you aren't a churchgoer, or if you belong to a different religion, you will be able to find others who share your beliefs. Flannery O'Connor's quote, "...while the South is hardly Christ-centered, it is most certainly Christ-haunted," rings true for Tulsa. But there is also plenty of people who do not share these convictions, and avoiding Christianity altogether is certainly possible.

bad schools

In general they're not great, but some districts are much better than others. I don't have children so I can't comment on this too much. Hopefully others can fill in the gaps here.

nothing to do but sports

This is definitely untrue. There's loads to do in Tulsa. I could probably direct you better if I knew what your interests were.

Overall, I will say that if you are coming from a larger city or a more liberal place you may be surprised at the liberal, arts-focused contingent of the city. The past few decades have seen a core group of people focus on revitalization of downtown areas into a sort of a tiny pseudo-replica of Portland, OR. Tulsa's art museums are also much more impressive and well-run than you would expect from a city of its size. You may also find the amount of native american history and culture intriguing and enriching.

Source: I no longer live in Tulsa (very bad job market for my line of work) but I was born and raised there and visit a few times a year.

/r/tulsa Thread