Why Edmond?

With more than 82,000 people
calling Edmond home, the reasons for living here are as varied as the
demographics. From the quality of schools to the affordable housing to the
cultural richness, many factors enter into the decisions made to choose Edmond
as a place to call home. It’s no surprise, given the convenient choices that
contribute to a great quality of life. Edmond’s outdoor parks and lakes
complement a stunning array of retail shopping and some of the best medical
facilities in the state. So we thought we’d ask why you chose Edmond. As varied
as their motivations for moving here, four families share their stories of why
Edmond, Oklahoma, is a perfect place to live.

From the Golden State to the
Heart of the Heartland

Catherine Connelly was sick and
tired of the uncertain life in Southern California. Besides spending 15 extra
hours a week commuting in clogged traffic to work 12 hours a day at
corporations where employment was always questionable due to mergers and
layoffs, Connelly was also dealing with having to move. “Our landlord arrived
on our doorstep one day to announce he had just sold the duplex we had been
living in; therefore, we would have to vacate within 30 days—with or without
the opportunity to save money for the rent and deposits for the next place,”

Connelly said. “We were just
being kicked out without any time to prepare for this major life event. I was
panicked.”

She found a temporary house, but
her life was out of her hands. Feeling powerless in the face of uncertain
employment and nomadic living, Connelly said “The straw that broke the camel’s
back was when the company I was currently employed by closed our office in
California.”

“I then had to make a decision.
Was I going to continue to be pushed from home to home, job to job? I had to
act fast. I got online and searched for the quality-of-living criteria I
was looking for.” That list included affordable housing, low-crime, great
schools, proximity to a city (for employment) but yet a reasonable commute and
traffic, and a suburban environment—basically an educated law-abiding
community.

What did she find? Most cities
seemed too expensive and crowded. “Then I checked out Oklahoma City and its suburbs,”
she said. “I hopped on a plane and made a bee-line for Oklahoma City. I rented
a car, drove straight to Edmond and into a real estate office. I didn’t know
anyone here—no relatives and didn’t have a job here yet. I said, ‘Lord, you’re
going to have to provide the job!’” She made an offer on a home in Edmond for
under $100,000, and a month later she was offered a job in Edmond.

“I moved here and brought my mom
with me. By then she had cancer, but I wanted her to be at peace knowing she
would finally be in a real home, not a rental,” Connelly said. “When I drove
her into the neighborhood in Edmond for the first time, she saw the brick homes
with fireplaces—and cried.

“She said, ‘This is so nice! Do
we really live here?’

“I said, ‘Yes, mom; we are finally
home.’”

Downsizing for Retirement &
Travel

Joe & Connie Ziese were
looking to dramatically downsize their 70-acre property and purchase a smaller
home in Edmond in order to enjoy their retirement years. With a dream of
traveling the country in a motor home, the retiring couple wanted to be
debt-free and closer to medical facilities as well. “Thinking about our
retirement years, 70 acres is a lot to care for,” said Connie. “We wanted an
easily-maintained smaller home in a nice community. We want to travel, be on
our boat and have a little garden.”

They found everything they
needed in Edmond. “When I was growing up, Edmond was just a little town,”
Connie said. “Now, it’s grown so much. Our friends are here, and the quality of
living here is so good because you are close to everything you need.” The true
draw for the retiring couple, however, was how pleasant Edmond is to an older
crowd. “It’s still a quiet community to live in,” Connie said. “We’re really
happy with our choice to move to Edmond.”

South Korean Family Loves UCO
and Edmond Schools

Sukmoon Kang moved to Edmond
from South Korea with his family to earn a master’s degree in TESL (Teaching
English as a Second Language) at the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO)
because of the reasonable tuituion. He and his wife quickly discovered Edmond
to be a place of joy and education for his family—a good place to raise
children. “Most of all, Edmond has good public schools. My two daughters get to
be naturally exposed to learning English and are acquiring English very fast.
My wife and I are very envious.”

“Edmond has a family-friendly
environment,” Sukmoon said. “There are lots of beautiful parks; and the library
and YMCA are places our family visits on a regular basis” While studying abroad
and bringing his wife and two daughters with him, he said that not only was a
quality university very important, but also a quality place to live.
Sukmoon added that Edmondites have been friendly and helpful to his family
as they get accustomed to living here and learning English.

Job Transfer Brings Indiana
Couple to Edmond

When Steve Jeryk and his wife
Leah moved to Oklahoma from Indianapolis six years ago, they fell in love with
not just the state, but with the people too. “A job brought us here, and we
loved Oklahoma so we stayed here,” Steve said. “Once you come here, you stick
here. We loved the people we met here, and most of them lived in Edmond.”

When the Jeryks had their son,
Henry, they knew Edmond would be a perfect home for them. They lived in
Oklahoma City, but wanted a bigger house, a place closer to the UCO where Leah
is a graduate student, and a neighborhood conducive to raising a child. “We
found a great school district,” said Steve, “and the neighborhood just feels
better with its big trees and open spaces.” Living in Edmond also means
remaining close to all the activities they love in Oklahoma City as well. “You
don’t feel far away from the city,” Steve said. “There’s just more of a
neighborhood feel in Edmond.”

(Thanks for Henry’s smile on the
front cover!)

Even nationally, Edmond is known
as the place to live. CNN named our town on its “Best Places to Live” list
based on the 20-minute drive to Oklahoma City, low crime rate and plentiful
jobs. There are many things for all ages to do right in town—from shopping at
the downtown Farmers Market to the “Liberty Fest” Fourth of July festival and
the UCO Jazz Lab.

With its laid back atmosphere,
low crime and low cost of living, Edmond is hands-down one of the the best
places to raise a family in Oklahoma. It is possible have that small-town
atmosphere without sacrificing big-time amenities.