Are you thinking about moving to Tulsa Oklahoma? Join us as we explore life in Tulsa Oklahoma with Justin Harlan, who will be discussing Tulsa Remote program today!
Are you curious about the thriving community in Tulsa Oklahoma? Join us in this episode as we explore the Tulsa Remote program with Justin Harlan, the managing director who has been pivotal in reshaping the city's workforce landscape. Discover how this innovative initiative is attracting talent from all over the nation by offering incentives to remote workers looking for a new place to call home. Learn about the origins and growth of the Tulsa Remote program, which began in 2018 with a mission to diversify Tulsa Oklahoma's economy beyond its traditional oil and gas roots. With its unique offer of $10,000 to remote workers who relocate for at least a year, the program has seen an overwhelming response, with thousands of applications each year. Find out how Tulsa Oklahoma is building a vibrant community by welcoming knowledge workers and encouraging them to become an integral part of the city. Explore how the Tulsa Remote program fosters a sense of belonging through personalized support, community events, and connections with local organizations. By facilitating integration into the city's social and professional fabric, the program ensures that participants not only contribute to the economy but also enrich the community culture. Whether you're considering a move or simply interested in how cities can innovate to attract top talent, this video offers valuable insights into the benefits and successes of the Tulsa Remote initiative. If you’re thinking about moving to Tulsa Oklahoma be sure to give me a call, shoot me a text, send me an email, or schedule a Zoom call. I’d love to help you make a smooth move to Tulsa Oklahoma!
====== 00:00 - Intro to Living in Tulsa Oklahoma With Justin Harlan 00:10 - Origin of the Tulsa Remote program 03:59 - Tulsa Remote Program application process and criteria 07:58 - Tulsa Remote Program Supporting Entrepreneurs 11:58 - Tulsa Remote Program: Attracting Diverse Residents 16:00 - Overview of the Tulsa Remote Program application process 19:58 - Exploring the appeal of living in Tulsa OK through the eyes of a newcomer 23:58 - Exploring family-friendly activities and amenities in Tulsa OK 27:59 - Community Building and Support in Tulsa Remote Program 31:45 - Wrap up to Living in Tulsa Oklahoma With Justin Harlan ====== ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️ 🤔Thinking of Moving to Tulsa Oklahoma? 🤠 📝 Let Us Help! 📱 Call or Text: 918-637-7826 📨 Email: livingintulsaok@gmail.com 📅 Zoom: https://calendly.com/livingintulsaok/... ⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️ ====== ▶Subscribe 👉 / @livingintulsaoklahoma ====== If this is your first time to this channel, and you want to know everything about eating, sleeping, working, playing, the good, and the bad of living in Tulsa Oklahoma, then subscribe▶ and tap the bell🛎 for notifications so you can be the first to know about the current market in Tulsa OK.😁
We get calls and emails every day from people just like you, looking for help on making their move to Tulsa Oklahoma and we absolutely love it.😍 Whether you are moving in 9 days or 90 days, give us a call☎, shoot us a text📝, or send us an email📨 so we can help you make a seamless move to Tulsa Oklahoma.🤠 ====== 🔗Get All Your Utilities Connected At Once When You Move! ====== *Most stats and data mentioned came from the following sites and are not based on our opinions: Best Schools: https://www.greatschools.org Census Data: https://www.census.gov/quickfacts Neighborhood data: https://www.niche.com *All stats, data, house pricing, and anything else mentioned is always subject to change and is provided merely as an example at the time of this recording ====== Sabrina Shaw Tulsa Oklahoma Real Estate Agent | Oklahoma Real Estate License: 179748 Brokered by EXP Realty ====== 🏠 REAL ESTATE AGENTS! 📈 WE ARE EXPANDING! Schedule to discuss partnering: ====== #TulsaOklahoma#TulsaRemote#JustinHarlan#TulsaOklahomaPodcast#LuxuryLivingTulsaOklahoma#LuxuryHomeTulsaOklahoma#TulsaOklahomaRealEstate#Tulsa#Oklahoma#OklahomaRealEstate
What is Living in Tulsa Oklahoma?
Welcome to 'Living in Tulsa Oklahoma,' the podcast that dives deep into the heartbeat of Tulsa Oklahoma! Whether you're a long-time Tulsan, a new resident, or just Tulsa-curious, join us as we explore the hidden gems, cultural hotspots, and community dialogues that make this city unique. In each episode, we'll feature interviews with locals and transplants who share their stories, experiences, and perspectives on life in the former Oil Capital of the World. From historical insights to modern-day musings, 'Living in Tulsa Oklahoma' is your guide to living and thriving in Tulsa Oklahoma. Tune in, engage, and celebrate this vibrant community with us.
hi and welcome to another episode of living in Tulsa Oklahoma you guys are
0:05
going to be so excited about my guest today I am here with Justin Harland who
Origin of the Tulsa Remote program
0:10
is the managing director of Tulsa remote and we are so happy to have you today it's good to be here with you thanks for
0:16
thinking of me in the program absolutely I mean I get call after call um from
0:23
people that are hearing about Tulsa because of Tulsa remote and so um to
0:29
have you on here you know it's really good so you know I'll get a lot of questions answered and I know a lot of the viewers you know will find this so
0:35
valuable um so to start you know let's just talk about like how like Tulsa remote is an amazing program like how
0:41
did it get started yeah so the idea was born in 2018 actually so we just
0:47
celebrated 5 years as a program uh really originally it started as an
0:52
effort to bring in Talent to the city that we knew wasn't here which was primarily knowledge working jobs so
0:58
Tulsa has often been a city that reliant on oil and gas and that industry is obviously a roller coaster ride in the
1:04
best of times um and you know we really knew that in order to be competitive for
1:09
the future we needed more knowledge workers here and at the time in 2018 you know there were the majority of
1:15
remote workers were knowledge workers because it was a far more rare thing for somebody to be working remotely and so
1:21
we extended this offer which was very unique which was you know let's pay you $110,000 to come live in Tulsa for a
1:27
year as a remote worker and our host hope in that um extension of an offer was to get a lot of knowledge workers
1:33
here to the city to help build up an economy that was resilient for the future and in doing so we had about
1:39
10,000 applications that happened almost overnight and we selected 70 people in
1:44
that first cohort that moved here in 2019 um to be a part of Tulsa remote um
1:50
so that's a little bit of the origin story I'm sure we can go from there in terms of like growth and everything but that's really how things got started
1:55
just an effort to bring folks here to be a part of building our talent Workforce for the future So when you say a
2:01
knowledge worker like will you expand on that a little bit like what is a knowledge worker yeah so really just
2:06
jobs that can be done that are primarily you know based on the knowledge as opposed to like Hands-On skill set um
2:13
you know things that uh typically we see within the tech industry or skills that are going to be transferable in the tech
2:20
industry so less physical you know more uh White Collar as opposed to Blue Collar um things that we know will need
2:27
to be a competitive City in the future here in Tulsa okay that's exciting so you said they started the there were
2:33
10,000 applicants started with 70 how has that evolved since 2018 yeah so we
2:40
know that in 2020 everything changed for all of us right and the joke I like to tell is that everybody watched the Tiger
2:46
King you know Netflix documentary and said was that shot in Oklahoma I need to move there and be a part of that you
2:51
know but in reality I mean every job just kind of had to reconsider whether they had to be in an office or not and
2:57
so so many folks either were forced to go to remote uh environment or um you
3:03
know had to then kind of over time choose whether that was something that they could do in the long term sustainably and so programs like ours um
3:11
just boomed I mean in 2020 we had 20,000 applications we had another 20,000 in
3:16
2021 um right now we're seeing about you know 8 to 10,000 applications a year
3:22
consistently um so in 2020 we had about 380 members that moved 2021 was about
3:27
950 and then actually tonight we have a a party to celebrate our 3,000th member
3:33
so we just surpassed um 3,000 folks over the last few months that have moved to Tulsa and that is just the members
3:38
themselves the people that were paying that $10,000 to that does not include spouses or kids or families and we know
3:44
that there's another one of those for every two members that we pay so really all in all you know we've moved about
3:50
5,000 people to the city through the program um paid or coming with someone that is paid and you know for a city of
3:56
400,000 that is um a pretty good chunk of the population which is great yeah
Tulsa Remote Program application process and criteria
4:01
that I mean it's amazing and I know you know I I'll ask you more questions about this in a little bit but I just know
4:06
like the network and the things and the resources that you guys offer are amazing um but as far as that number of
4:13
bringing you know bringing um however many applicants like how do you guys decide that number of how many you'll
4:19
accept each year yeah it's rolling so you can go online right now and apply we're considering applications every
4:25
single day we have a team of people who review those and are really looking for folks that have two different aspects of
4:30
their background one we want folks that are going to contribute to the economy so the average salary within the program
4:36
is about $100,000 um people that are not reliant on that $10,000 in order to make a
4:41
living but really using that as a a means to move across the country and kind of pick up your life and go
4:46
somewhere new um so people that are ready to contribute to the economy but also the community you know looking for
4:52
people that have a track record of getting plugged in that are not just looking to move and sit on the couch and
4:57
you know take the $110,000 and leave after year but really see this as an opportunity not only for themselves to
5:03
get involved and invested in a new place but also to make the place that they leave better than they found it and our
5:08
hope is that we keep people around forever um we've seen a really great retention rate of about 90% beyond that
5:14
first year and um we see about 75% of anyone that's come since 2019 is still
5:19
here today so we know that Tulsa is super sticky it's a very easy City to sell and we have a great time doing it
5:25
yeah I mean you guys do a phenomenal job I I am a fan for sure and the resources so I know when I talk to people that you
5:31
know um have already been accepted in the Tulsa remote program or researching it I'm like you are so lucky um so tell
5:38
me about like what you guys do to plug people in you know I mean because you guys open doors like what do not only do
5:45
you get that $10,000 like there is so much more yeah we really see our role in
5:50
helping folks get to town um through housing resources and um one-on-one
5:56
support kind of in that process and then help them fall in love with you know this new place um but ultimately we
6:03
State on day one we do not want them to need Tulsa remote in order to love Tulsa and ultimately I think that does a
6:09
disservice to what the city has to offer and so the analogy we use is kind of like when you go to a store and buy a
6:14
goldfish they put the fish in a bag for you and then you take the bag home and you put it in an aquarium the fish is
6:20
still in the bag but you have to set the bag in the aquarium so that it can kind of get acclimated to its new environment
6:25
and then over time you cut the bag open and the fish swims out and it's not like shock but it can swim freely with or
6:31
whatever do at that point in their lives but that's really how we see our role you know we help them get to town maybe
6:37
they still feel like they're in that bag for a little while but ultimately our hope is that they're swimming freely and we do that through um one-on-one touch
6:44
points in those first 90 days we believe if we can get somebody sitting down with us in those first 90 days and learn a
6:50
little bit about who they are what they care about how they want to contribute to the city then that's only going to
6:56
lead to those you know days after 90 becoming more um influenced by you know
7:01
organizations and people that align with what they care most about and so we do that we have slack which is a really
7:08
great way online to connect with folks based on passions and interests so after somebody becomes a member they have
7:13
about 250 slack channels where they can connect with others that share their passions or values and kind of look even
7:20
based on like the ages of kids find other K people that have you know those shared interests and then we do 5 to 10
7:26
events every month that we try to make those unique not not things that people could access on their own in the city
7:31
but um really ways in which folks can learn more about those organizations and people across the city that are making a
7:37
real difference and find ways that they can plug in themselves yeah so there are um like a lot of nonprofit a lot of
7:44
networking um opportunities empowerment as far as like entrepreneurial and you
7:50
know like several Avenues of those correct yeah I mean we certainly can't take credit for all of the entrepreneurial stuff that's happening
7:56
in town right now but there's a lot of it I think Tulsa is unique in the sense that it has ample resources to support
Tulsa Remote Program Supporting Entrepreneurs
8:02
entrepreneurs right now we know that Tulsa remoter about one in five of them are interested in starting their own
8:08
business someday and so what we do is just kind of take advantage of the resources that exist and find those that
8:14
are interested in going down that path and help the marriage come to life yeah now as far as funding goes tell me about
8:22
tell me about how Tulsa remote gets its funding yeah uh the primary funer is the George Kaiser Family Foundation and who
8:29
started the program and will always be the primary fun we also had some legislation that passed at the state of
8:35
Oklahoma actually coming out of the pandemic um that kind of emulates uh
8:41
quality jobs act from the 1990s that tried to incentivize companies to bring quality jobs to the state and if they
8:48
did they would get a reimbursement or incentive from the state government they uh replicated that to include remote
8:54
workers and if a proxy organization like Tulsa remote brings a remote worker to town and they stick around for a couple
8:59
of years you can actually be reimbursed for their employer tax dollars up to $10,000 so we now qualify for everyone
9:07
that we bring to town that's a W2 worker and there's some caveats you know that I won't get into because yeah I don't want
9:12
your your viewers to fall asleep on me but um basically if we are paid for Success you know if people stick around
9:18
we can get up to $10,000 for that person um which will allow us to free up the F family foundation's money for other you
9:25
know um organizations and also help grow the program and and pour resources into it through the state so really a great
9:31
model of private public partnership which is like the private dollars took the risk tried something new and now we
9:36
see it working and how can the public come behind that and and support it for the long term that's yeah that's so
9:41
exciting and I didn't realize that last part so that's fantastic George Kaiser that Foundation he is an amazing human
9:48
obviously um everybody thinks that like what what a person but Switching gears a
9:56
little bit other now other states and cities have come to you guys to replicate am I'm remembering correctly
10:02
that like Harvard has done a study on you know the Tulsa remote so I mean what what is being done here is amazing right
10:10
yeah I mean I'm a little biased but yeah I would say so I mean we've really built something that um I think surpassed
10:16
anybody's expectations um and then after the pandemic folks started realizing
10:22
like oh this might be a marketable niche audience and I think the combination of
10:29
that that paired with remote workers realizing I don't need to pay you know $4,000 a month for a one-bedroom home in
10:36
La when I can live anywhere I mean that really opens doors for places like Tulsa that wouldn't have been opened otherwise
10:42
um so I think it's really a you know a combination of a lot of things there's about 70 programs like ours now across
10:47
the country there's multiple programs like this in Oklahoma even everybody kind of has their different spin there's
10:53
a lot of advantages to being privately funded so we can grow and you know nowhere is near our no one else is near
10:58
our size so you know being able to grow at the pace that we want to and help our
11:04
staff support that growth in real time um there's a lot of advantages to that and then I also believe you know while
11:11
other cities have replicated this or tried to replicate this there's really nowhere like Tulsa I mean you know I
11:16
always tell people um if this program was started 20 years ago let's assume even that remote work is what it is
11:23
today 20 years ago Tulsa would not have been ready and I don't think it would have been as as attractive of a place as
11:30
it is today because you know if we're out there encouraging people to move here for $10,000 and it's what Tulsa was
11:37
in 2004 when I moved here MH I just don't think the the level of attraction
11:43
and the um willingness to go would be the same Tulsa really is on the
11:48
precipice of something big I think I mean we have a lot of amazing things happening in the city and I think Tulsa
11:54
remote is has certainly played a role in some of that growth but it's also I think just benefiting from a lot of
Tulsa Remote Program: Attracting Diverse Residents
12:00
amazing things that are happening you know in in real time yeah definitely yeah I think people are blown away when
12:06
they realize everything that Tulsa has to offer a lot of people that I talk to you know that are relocating they're
12:13
like Oklahoma you know and just you know they have this you know very rule sense
12:19
um Cowboys and all that which there are but there's everything you know it's very culturally diverse and we have so
12:26
much to offer do you guys have something that people are surprised about often like when they you know when they visit
12:33
Tulsa is there anything that just comes out like over and over that they didn't expect oh yeah I mean it's crazy the
12:39
conversion rate that we have of people that you know get into Tulsa remote and then ultimately make the move is like
12:46
twice as high if they come and visit because it just totally blows their mind in terms of what they had in their head
12:51
living in LA or San Francisco or New York and then what they actually experience when they're here on the ground I mean the couple things that
12:58
come to mind first foremost you kind of named it you know this isn't a rural place I mean there's a million people there's a city there's everything that
13:04
you love to do in your big city maybe just not as much of it you know great places to eat really awesome Arts a zoo
13:12
an aquarium professional sports you know it may not be the same size or scale but we have everything you're looking for
13:18
and then I think the other thing is just the diversity I mean I think living in one of the big hubs I think Oklahoma is
13:24
often portrayed as a place that has one very specific type of person with one specif specific way of thinking and
13:30
that's just not what Tulsa is I mean there's you know whether it's the way in which the state even started before the
13:36
state was with the rich American Indian history or Black Wall Street um or even just the the ways in which you know
13:43
social justice organizations are coming to life today across the city I mean to me there's one of the beautiful things
13:48
about Tulsa is just the diversity of thought and the way in which we can all kind of get along through agreement and
13:55
disagreement and understanding and um that plays a big role and I think what city is today as well I agree and that
14:01
is something I love too like you said I think you nailed it when you said the diversity and thought being able to have those discussions being able to have you
14:08
know Pleasant conversations still and still enjoy the people that you're around even if it's you know if it's
14:14
different you see so many cultures and so many different aspects and then Tulsa's history too um with the oil and
14:21
the Art Deco and so it's just a city that had this amazing you know influx of
14:26
money that you know died in the revitalizing it's just a treasure of
14:31
things that are being able to be redeveloped that are exciting now right and I think all of that also like
14:37
there's Mo there's a moment over the last couple of years or 5 years 10 years
14:42
where you see you know acknowledgement of Black Wall Street and the race Massacre and also not with that just you
14:50
know talking about the terrible thing that happened but igniting hope for rebuilding what once was and inviting
14:56
people to be a part of that and I would say that's one of the most consist things we've seen in some of our
15:01
applicants or folks that want to come and move here is a desire to be a part
15:06
of rebuilding something that once was and bringing that entrepreneurial Spirit whether they had have a job or have a
15:13
side hustle or whatever else but bringing that with them and knowing that they're playing a role in that
15:18
Recreation I think is incredibly inspiring for folks yeah that's very inspiring so as far as um like back to
15:26
the process so if someone is just like they're watching this and they're just now learning about tssa remote like how
15:32
long is the process you know what what does that look like what does somebody need to do yeah well let's cover the eligibility first so you have to be 18
15:39
you have to have a full-time well you don't have to be 18 you have to be older than 18 we're only accepting 18y olds I
15:46
don't think we'd have 3,000 of those yeah uh you have to be over the age of 18 you have to have lived outside of the
15:52
state of Oklahoma for at least a year um and you have to have a full-time remote job so that does not mean you're going
15:58
into the office every week or anything like that like full-time remote you can do your job anywhere for as long as you want um and then to apply you just go to
Overview of the Tulsa Remote Program application process
16:05
tolster remote.com you'll see the buttons everywhere uh we cover the eligibility requirements there too but
16:11
once you apply we review your application and then if you do get invited to an interview um you'll do a
16:17
20 to 30 minute interview with a team member um where that's on Zoom you'll get a chance to know them and ask them
16:24
questions about the city as well um we'll get to kind of check that the stuff you put in your application is accurate and then typically within a
16:30
couple weeks of that you'll get an invite to come or um a declination email
16:36
and then you have a year to move so once you get that news that you've gotten in you have a year from that date to make the move to Tulsa and make this your
16:42
home for at least one year so you're signing a 12month agreement and then during that decision period you're also
16:48
welcome to come and visit Tulsa um we pay actually up to $500 of reimbursement
16:53
for travel cost for you to come and visit cuz like I said we believe if you come and visit you're going to love it and you're going to want to move here so
16:59
we're kind of putting our money where our mouth is on that front um and then we work really hard to get you plugged into the city like I mentioned and um
17:05
really hope that you stick around beyond that 12 months and continue to find ways to to love you know the city that has
17:11
moved you here so did I hear you correctly that really from start from the process of starting and filling out
17:17
um the application you will know something in three weeks yeah it's usually let's call it 2 to six depending
17:24
on how many applications we're getting in that week yeah it just kind of depends on the demand at the time is
17:29
there a certain month that is like busier um does it fluctuate by seasonality it does so typically summer
17:36
months are busy from moving um but then pretty consistent honestly our application volume is really heavily
17:42
dependent on big media hits so you know if we get a big National media piece that will definitely increase our
17:49
application numbers during that week which makes a lot of sense you know that that's typically the biggest variable in
17:54
terms of you know how many people are applying and um to clear something up For Me Maybe as a real estate agent they
18:02
have to be accepted to Tulsa remote before they can start to look at housing right they can start to look for housing
18:08
um but what we you know obviously we don't want to pay people that are already moving here regardless you know we want to make good use of our money
18:14
and really use it towards people that would not move here if it weren't for the program so you know if you're acting
18:20
in good faith you shouldn't be working with a realer and looking for that home because you know that your spouse has a
18:26
job in Tulsa and then go and apply because the realter told you about Tulsa remote you know we really want to see a
18:31
track record of like you applied then got serious about Tulsa and ensure that
18:37
you're eligible before all that process starts so really on our you know we have a number of folks on the operations team
18:42
that are kind of doing that investigation to ensure that like the timeline that you're describing is playing out as you thought it would and
18:49
then if you do buy a house you get all of the $10,000 up front that's important to note too um and we have to see your
18:55
deed with your name on it and uh that we use that date as another one that kind
19:00
of like lines up with the application um so yeah really we're just asking folks to be open and honest and Ure that like
19:07
we're paying the people that actually need the money in order to move rather than people that are just kind of picking it up on their way here right
19:13
people that are moving to Tulsa because of Tulsa remote you want to know that that's that's the reason for coming yeah
19:18
and I mean we don't have control over who all is moving to the city you're welcome to move here and we'd love to have you here we just want to make sure
19:23
the dollars are going to folks that actually want to be a part of the program and and utilize that in a responsible way and then the um you have
19:30
to be living in Tulsa City Limits like it has to be Tulsa yeah the City of Tulsa so the easiest way to describe
19:37
that is if your address says Tulsa you're living in Tulsa and if it says Broken Arrow or Jinx or aaso you those
19:43
houses would not be eligible yeah and I I'm telling you um and you know that I mean there are plenty of fantastic
19:49
options I actually we just got under contract this weekend with somebody that had already been accepted to the Tulsa
19:54
remote program program and so she flew out she was just planning to look cuz she wasn't planning to you know come for
Exploring the appeal of living in Tulsa OK through the eyes of a newcomer
20:00
6 months and she was blown away by the housing we looked at 12 houses in one day had four um that you know made it to
20:08
the second showing so four great choices and she's like you know she was like oh my goodness I feel
20:14
rich and you know is a very reasonable price point and so you know there are so many options on Tulsa people are always
20:20
amazed by the space that you can get here I mean and that's one of the coolest things about the job is just seeing folks you know sell that
20:26
one-bedroom condo or wherever in the big city and move here and have a yard for their dog or a playroom for their kids
20:32
or a closet you know for themselves I mean the things that they never thought they'd have and it's really neat just to
20:38
see folks lean into that you know a lot of a lot of what is often described as like an American Dream really coming to
20:43
life here in Tulsa yeah definitely so um is there any kind of Trends as far as state goes um States go do you guys see
20:51
like more applicants from certain States or you know is like for me when people move like I get California Texas Oregon
21:00
um there's one other state um I can't think of it right now but like four main states of people that I see that are
21:06
coming here do you guys have any kind of Arts are more City based so it's those big cities New York La San Francisco
21:11
Austin U we see a lot of people from those I think a third of our uh applicants year to year are from Texas
21:17
or California okay yeah that that makes sense so um I heard you say that you came here in 2004 so what brought you to
21:25
Tulsa I went to school at the University of Tulsa and so you know I grew up in the Kansas City area um and wanted to be
21:32
a far enough distance away from my mom that she couldn't come see me every weekend but close enough where I could
21:38
still go home and do my laundry if I wanted to so you know selfishly that was a good that was the reason it was four
21:44
hours away and um it would seemed like a good enough distance to still be able to get home and see friends and family but
21:50
also kind of start you know a new life and I love the size of Tu uh it was easy
21:55
to get plugged in and make a difference and honestly I feel that's kind of true for Tulsa too yeah so as far as like you
22:02
know seeing Tulsa through your eyes like what you know explaining like what Tulsa
22:08
has to offer as far as like your favorite things like if you you know if someone was visiting here what are like three things that they messy like you've
22:15
got to visit I would say the Gathering Place is at the top I mean whether you're an adult or a kid um or you have
22:23
kids like the Gathering Place is going to blow your mind uh and I often love Pete taking people there just because
22:29
it's a free resource literally a gift to the city and it really is amazing uh and
22:35
it gets prettier every time you go cuz like everything's still growing and coming to life and there's an entire new
22:41
phase of it that's about to open up with water sports and excited about that here in a couple of weeks so gathering places
22:47
one I mean I'm not going to pick out my favorite restaurants but you have to eat a ton of food I mean we had seven James
22:54
Beard nominations last year uh that often surprises people I mean we go to
23:00
Vegas to eat and there was fewer James Beard nominations there last year than Tulsa which they had five and we had
23:06
seven so I mean there's just so many good restaurants popping up um we love trying new new places and uh I still
23:13
think Tulsa has some of the best food uh around and then the music I mean I'm a musician at heart that's why this place
23:19
like gives me chills just sitting in here but um you know I I think that there's so many great live music venues
23:25
love going to Mercury Lounge Kane's Ballroom um you know the B Center brings
23:30
in all the awesome touring acts so you just don't miss out on what big cities are getting and that's another beautiful
23:36
part of Tulsa too yeah definitely now as far you have kids so as far as you know
23:43
doing things for the kids like when you said the Gathering Place and again George Kaiser like another you know
23:48
amazing thing that he did um and that's just a Wonderland but what what are the
23:54
best things for the kids to do that you'd recommend for people with kids besides the Gathering Place yeah the Gathering Place is top um the zoo is
Exploring family-friendly activities and amenities in Tulsa OK
24:00
awesome and the Oklahoma Aquarium out in Jinx is great too um you know our kids
24:06
love going to all the different bounce houses around the city too so I don't know should I give the microphone to Landon oh you should you want to come
24:12
tell us your favorite spot no um but yeah we have great libraries
24:18
across the city too so uh yeah I mean really everything I just mentioned you know even like my wife and I love going
24:26
to breweries there's a lot of breweries that have popped up over the last to 10 years and they do a great job of like catering to the kids too where you can
24:31
pop in there and they love playing the games that are there or pinball machines or whatever else so um I think Tulsa is
24:38
a super familyfriendly Place yeah it is um yeah I love I love knowing that so as
24:46
far as going back to Tulsa remote um where do you see it going like in the
24:53
next 5 years yeah well for us I mean the marketing strategies that we've had to
24:58
use at tulster remote have constantly you know been in flux as like the work environment changes so now I think
25:04
things are settling down I do think that remote workers will continue to increase from where they are now because
25:09
naturally technology is only going to increase that's going to make that easier um so figuring out you know where
25:15
our Niche audience is and continuing to find them is a big one we also are trying some new things so like this
25:21
October um we have launched a new program that's called tuls abound um that's something that you can Google and
25:27
it'll it should be the first hit that you find it is for digital Nomads so it's a growing community of people that
25:32
are just always on the move that may not be willing to commit a year to Tulsa but
25:37
we're inviting them to come and stay with us for a month and we have some housing set up we have 12 spots that we
25:43
launching this to start with people are actually paying $2,500 for that month for all housing um Co co-working space
25:51
at 36 degrees north and then access to all of our events at Tulsa remote and then each week has a different theme so
25:57
like food and mental and physical health uh entrepreneurialism so every week has
26:03
like a different Focus so Tulsa bound is like the first week of October through the first week of November that's
26:08
something new that we're trying which obviously has natural kind of correlation to the people that we're targeting for Tulsa remote too and then
26:14
we're also really thinking about like in the midst of a remote work world how do we help people learn how to be good
26:20
remote workers and so we're tapping into like some of the nation's best and brightest remote work leaders to come in
26:26
and help our folks learn and really considering what might it look like for an aspect of the Tulsa remote program to
26:32
also be learning how to be a remote worker and might that attract employers
26:37
to send their employees here and kind of experience what Tulsa has to offer so um always new things that are being cooked
26:44
up and those are a few of them that we have on our mind that we can share right now that's exciting what's the most exciting part of your job probably just
26:51
meeting new people and helping them see the beauty of this place I mean for me it's like always fun to know like I know
26:59
what Tulsa has to offer you know I experience it and maybe even sometimes take it for granted um but to be able to
27:06
Showcase that through very strategic ways through amazing people on our staff
27:13
um through intentional touch points and to see somebody's life unlocked in a way
27:18
that they didn't anticipate um that's always fun and it's always fun too to
27:23
just tell the world you know what Tulsa has to offer and you know hear them get
27:29
energized by what we're talking about you know part of this job is constantly you know going out and kind of being a a
27:35
mouthpiece for Tulsa and uh that's that's a lot of fun too yeah definitely
27:41
well you're very good at it thank you appreciate that how how how big is a staff at Tulsa remote like our staff is
27:47
about 30 okay yeah so we have um about 10 folks that are on our operations team
27:52
about 10 that are on our marketing and recruitment team and then another 10 that are here welcoming folks you know
27:57
being that hand on personalized touch Point doing the events um supporting people beyond their 12 months so um when
Community Building and Support in Tulsa Remote Program
28:04
I started about 3 and a half years ago there were five of us and 500 members and you know part of I think growing
28:12
Community is really the most difficult part like how do you make 3,000 plus
28:17
people feel like they're part of a tight-knit community that the 70 people did in 2019 and you know we've been able
28:24
to come up with a a strategy that really helps people feel that way kind of regardless of when you come in and all
28:30
of that is due to the amazing team that we have so I'm grateful for them yeah um I think you guys have done that
28:36
masterfully um did you start out in the position that you're in now no I started my career with Teach for America which
28:43
has some similarities you know um recruiting teachers here to teach for two years not one but two um and then
28:49
working to keep them around so again a lot of people that were seeing Tulsa for the first time that were just placed here through a program um and then
28:56
helping them find their place in Tulsa many of who are still around today um 15 years later and then I most recently
29:02
before this job LED reading Partners which is a volunteer based literacy program that leverages community
29:08
volunteers to help young readers learn to read so um was there until about April of 2021 and then jumped over to
29:14
Tulsa remote okay well good well thank you I mean you've done a a fabulous job
29:20
um so is there anything okay in in this podcast we do talk about the good and
29:25
the bad yeah you know and the Ugly so Tulsa is not perfect even though it's like so great um but if you had to say
29:32
like your you know the negative thing about Tulsa or you know things that are like the cons you know what are a couple
29:37
cons um that people you know moving from you know the Tulsa remote or you know that people give you feedback about tssa
29:45
yeah I would say uh Transportation public transportation is one um you know
29:51
obviously a lot of that is going to be justified by just increased population but uh transportation and then kind of
29:58
consistent construction across the city is always kind of a butt of the jokes and then I've been married for coming up
30:04
on 14 years so I haven't experienc this but the dating scene is often something that we hear about too I don't know
30:09
you'd have to talk to somebody else about more details there but um you know maybe that has to do with folks getting
30:14
married early in the South I don't know but um that's another one that we hear from folks and then flights I mean which
30:20
again is like if we are doing our part and more people are moving here I think the demand for flights is only going to
30:25
increase but I think that's a place that we need to to invest money is ensuring that people can get around you know
30:31
access to direct flights that Tulsa doesn't require a you know connection everywhere you go which has gotten
30:38
better over the last five years too so those would be the three that I'd pull out yeah definitely I'm usually always have to fly to Dallas first before I you
30:44
know connect somewhere else but not always like you said they're getting more um okay so in like closing notes
30:50
like what do you want to close with about Tulsa remote like I would say that
30:55
if you apply to Tulsa remote you are signing up for something that's bigger than a program and it's bigger than you
31:01
like if you're just looking for the money this is not a program that's for you you know if you want to come and be part of a program that's helping you get
31:07
plugged into something bigger and make the city a better place then we welcome you to do that we're looking for folks
31:12
that are ready to contribute that are ready to give what they've got to offer to leave a mark and Legacy in a city
31:19
that is on the precipice of something big and um the cash might get your eyes or ears but ultimately we're looking for
31:26
folks that are committed to something much more than that and I think we've had an awesome opportunity to do that
31:31
with you know over 3,000 people and we welcome people that want to be a part of what's Happening Here in this great City
31:37
and really consider it an honor that we get to do that with so many people that is awesome and such a good ending
31:43
message and yeah I wish I could be a Tulsa remoter just move away for a year
Wrap up to Living in Tulsa Oklahoma With Justin Harlan
31:49
yeah all right well thank you for coming on H it was a pleasure um it was so
31:55
interesting so thank you good to meet you thanks for having uhuh
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