What do you think of Lawton?

[Amanda]

I am from Lawton and unfortunately, had to move back recently due to my husband being in the military. This town never grew on me as I was growing up, as a matter of fact my fondest childhood memories were family vacations when we were away from Lawton. At my high school you were "cool" if you were in a gang and were a criminal- how backwards is that!?!? Only when I left Lawton and moved to Stillwater for a time, did I realized how friendly and neighborly people could be- it was like night and day. Hopefully, my husband will only be stationed here for a few years because I do not want daughter in the LPS system.

[Amanda]

Good jobs are hard to find here to- I worked at OSU- a good job that paid decent and worked with great people. I applied for the same job here at Cameron and they wanted to pay me $14,000 a year whereas I was paid $27,000 at OSU. Also, I work no more than 40 hrs a week at OSU, but at Cameron I had to work until then job was done- for half the pay! The only decent paying jobs here appear to be military or medical- any qualifications in between and you might as well be flipping burgers. Where are the middle income jobs in this town?

[Amanda]

Why_Me wrote:

I hate Lawton because is the worst place to live. Nothing to do, unless drugs or prostitution. Definitly no skills jobs, if you are coming with some education, you will stay at home because your are over qualified. People here act and talk like they are still living in the past. Schools are awful, lot of gangs. You can be shoot in the tiny and almost empty "mall". Racism, no culture, horrible weather (too windy, too hot or too cold). Food is expensive here. The army post and good year is the only source of income. Everything depends of those workplaces, unless if you like to work for nothing at walmart. We put our home for sale, because I am so sick of this prejudice town and their people. The Army made us to moved to this creepy town.

I totally agree with what you say about being overqualified. If you have a GED you can get a job, if you have a PhD you can get a job here- but what about those of us in the middle who have a Bachelors- with experience! Where does that leave us- either settling or staying at home

[katkat]

I have lived in Lawton for about 8 years now. We moved here when I was in middle school because that's where my dad's job sent him (not military, though).

As far as the city itself, it has its upsides and downsides. It is a large town that is ran by a group of elitist individuals who still want it to be a small town. For example, both Kohl's and Target wanted to come in, but Lawton city council told them that they had to go downtown or go elsewhere. They don't want to take business away from their precious downtown. Kohl's even came in for two weeks and did the marketing research to see if moving into Central Mall or near downtown would work, and of course, there isn't enough traffic there for business, so they decided not to.

Olive Garden was only allowed to come to Lawton on the conditions that they 1) build the smallest Olive Garden out of their 3 sizes of buildings and 2) build it in a strip mall. According to marketing research done by Olive Garden, Lawton could easily support two Olive Gardens of the biggest size that they build. Lawton's Olive Garden is the only Olive Garden in the world that resides in a strip of other buildings rather than in a separate one of its own. The reason for this is that councilmen didn't want to take business away from Bianco's, a local Italian eatery that has been in Lawton for around 50 years and whose owners are friendly with city council members. By the way, I've been to Bianco's twice in the time I've lived here and wouldn't go back--it's very dirty and the food isn't very good at all.

In addition, there is a small KidZone park on 38th street that was supposed to be twice the size that it is, but Lawton city council told them that they also had to pay for the stop light that had to be put in, so in order to fund the stop light, the actual park had to be cut in half. There are now many new businesses coming in, but only because of BRAC.

The reason I know all of this is because one of my professors at Cameron is acquainted with a few city council members and generally explains their decisions to us when the subject comes up, which is fairly often.

[katkat]

(continued from above)

The person who first commented about the pet law is paritally correct--the pet licenses in Lawton are $250 per pet, per year if the pets are unspayed or unneutered, and either $15 or $25 per pet, per year if the pet is spayed or neutered. In ADDITION, if you own more than 3 dogs, spayed or not, you are required to pay a fee of $500 per year (the same as a kennel fee) and to have your property inspected by the proper authorities to ensure that you have a dog house outside and adequate accommodations for the pets.

As you may be able to tell from their city ordinance on pets, Lawton is extremely picky about how your property looks, and can be extremely nosy. They have people patrolling the neighbourhoods daily to check and see if people are abiding by city laws regarding properties. If you are on vacation for two weeks in the summer and your lawn starts to need a little mowing, you can bet you'll find a ticket on your door when you get home.

My brother pulled his motorcycle onto our lawn to change the oil (our driveway was really steep and made it difficult), and ten minutes later a guy comes by and tries to slap him with a ticket for having a non-working vehicle on the lawn!! Though my brother's bike had always been kept in the garage when not in use, the man claimed that he had seen the motorcycle on the lawn for days now. The only way my brother got out of the fine was by calling and complaining, and having someone come out and look at our house to prove it. The whole affair was ridiculous.

As far as the schools go, it is unsafe to send your children to any of the public schools here.

I graduated Eisenhower in 2005... while I was there, 2 stabbings and one serious beating occurred on the school grounds. There were also multiple gang-related fights that occurred at the Stripes across the street, not to mention the shooting that was planned by rival Lawton High gang members (it didn't go through because someone heard about it and called Crimestoppers, but they caught the guys in the Ike parking lot with guns ready to go in and shoot up the school).

My little brother attends school at Eisenhower now, and they now require armed police officers posted at every entrance to the school, more armed officers to continually patrol the property, and every individual that enters the building must go through a metal detector, have their bags searched, and/or have a metal detector wand ran over them.

All schools are now required to enforce those policies. Students and staff must also wear identification badges at all times. Most of the gang violence is centered at Lawton High and Eisenhower. MacArthur has had less violence there; however, I was told by a teacher of mine that 73% of MacArthur students who gave blood in 2004 were infected with an STD, so I guess that there are upsides and downsides to all 3 schools.

That's just the schools... I lived in an average, middle-class neighbourhood and there was still a drive-by shooting 4 blocks away from our house. In addition, when my sister went to Tomlinson, she was often bullied at school because she was white. My dad couldn't do anything about it because when he brought it up, the principals told him that he was being racist. The whole thing caused my dad and stepmom to decide to move to Duncan to protect my sister.

The police force here is also shoddy. I had a friend who went into the police force after he graduated, and he left a year later to be a policeman in nearby Cache because the Lawton police force is so corrupt.

I would take it into careful consideration before I decided to move here.

[kitkat]

(guess the prequel to the comment above didn't post... here it is)

I have lived in Lawton for about 8 years now. We moved here when I was in middle school because that's where my dad's job sent him (not military, though).

As far as the city itself, it has its upsides and downsides. It is a large town that is ran by a group of elitist individuals who still want it to be a small town. For example, both Kohl's and Target wanted to come in, but Lawton city council told them that they had to go downtown or go elsewhere. They don't want to take business away from their precious downtown. Kohl's even came in for two weeks and did the marketing research to see if moving into Central Mall or near downtown would work, and of course, there isn't enough traffic there for business, so they decided not to.

Olive Garden was only allowed to come to Lawton on the conditions that they 1) build the smallest Olive Garden out of their 3 sizes of buildings and 2) build it in a strip mall. According to marketing research done by Olive Garden, Lawton could easily support two Olive Gardens of the biggest size that they build. Lawton's Olive Garden is the only Olive Garden in the world that resides in a strip of other buildings rather than in a separate one of its own. The reason for this is that councilmen didn't want to take business away from Bianco's, a local Italian eatery that has been in Lawton for around 50 years and whose owners are friendly with city council members. By the way, I've been to Bianco's twice in the time I've lived here and wouldn't go back--it's very dirty and the food isn't very good at all.

In addition, there is a small KidZone park on 38th street that was supposed to be twice the size that it is, but Lawton city council told them that they also had to pay for the stop light that had to be put in, so in order to fund the stop light, the actual park had to be cut in half. There are now many new businesses coming in, but only because of BRAC.

The reason I know all of this is because one of my professors at Cameron is acquainted with a few city council members and generally explains their decisions to us when the subject comes up, which is fairly often.

[Gone Too Long]

I was wondering if Mary Helen Aguilar still lives in Lawton?

[GHQST]

yes

[Gone Too Long]

Iwas Mary Helen's best friend in high school. I haven't heard from her and was wondering how she is. We ran around together from second grade thru high school.

[maria]

I have been coming to lawton my whole life and i have alot of family here. I must say that this place has alot of problems. I am living here right now because a family member here needs help and while i am very happy that i can help her i cant wait until she regains her health so i can leave. There is nothing here for kids and the schools are terrible. Most of the people here are nice enough but the city seems very corrupt. The police are not very helpful, and the city of lawton (water dept.) is a joke. You here about gang activity everyday and you never hear about them doing anything about it until someone gets hurt. No if i had my choice i would not raise my kids here and i will be leaving as soon as possible. I hope this doesnt make anyone mad but its my opinion and i dont think im alone in feeling this way, many people here tell me the same thing.

[Billie Joe]

I love Lawton

[Resident - Visitor]

I grew up in Lawton, couldn't wait to get out, and did so as soon as I finished high school, about 15 years ago. I've lived all over the States, even in Europe for a few years, but, although I felt I truly hated Lawton and would never go back, I continually found myself visiting family there about once or twice a year. Everytime I go back it looks a little bigger, a few new shops open, a few others I remembered from the past have closed. Many areas and parks look exactly as if I had never left, but some new parks have sprung up that weren't there before, and some new neighborhoods have been developed, nice ones at that. Property is cheap there, and you've got the entire spectrum to work with as far as what kind of home you are looking for, from extraordinarily cheap to moderately expensive. Lawton is like most every other town I have ever been to that has a population upwards of 100,000 or more - some areas of town are safer than others. Research and you'll be happy. Most of you are right, there isn't much to do there for the average individual who's looking for nightlife, or other forms of entertainment. If you need clubs and other social entertainments, Wichita Falls and OKC are both within an hour and a half of Lawton. Dallas isn't too far either. And all of them work well for looking for entertainment for children as well, although Lawton is much better at having entertainments for kids if you look for them, there are all kinds of programs and such there. What I've discovered that seems to work well enough for me is the ease in which to get out of town and into some natural beauty. Within a three hour drive in any direction there are a variety of landscapes, lakes, rivers, and even 'mountains, Oklahoma style' to work with. It's beautiful. As for schools and security, etc., I've never had a terrible instance with either. I grew up educated and safe. I credit my parents for both. I went to public schools, but they were involved in my schools somehow or another, I think this is the key if you're worried about the education system at all. And they set boundaries to keep me safe. It worked well enough, as it would anywhere you live.
Like any other city, you're going to get those that exaggerate how the town actually is a little too much in both directions. It's a tolerable place if you can find your niche. If you give up before you even get started, you're going to hate that place, as you would anywhere else going into it with a bad attitude. I don't love Lawton, but I don't come close to hating it either. Like I read somewhere above in another post, there are most certainly many, many, MANY worse places to live.

[Gone Too Long]

I grew up in Lawton in the 60's. I loved it. I realize that was a different time. When I moved away in 1970 I missed it so bad. It was home. As I've grown older I realized home is where you make it. It is where your friends are. Ihave no family in Lawton anymore,but we go back on occasion just to see the changes that have taken place. I have many good memories in Lawton,but this little Texas town I now call home. Again,like had been said in other posts. There are many ploaces worse that Lawton .

[Hal]

Amanda wrote:

<quoted text>
I totally agree with what you say about being overqualified. If you have a GED you can get a job, if you have a PhD you can get a job here- but what about those of us in the middle who have a Bachelors- with experience! Where does that leave us- either settling or staying at home

I feel the same way, there is not much you can do here. And if you do actually find a job you have to put up with so much b.s. drama. And it seems like its anywhere and everywhere. The cops are corrupt and racist. I like in a good neighborhood and got stopped by a couple cops and questioned about what i was doing there and why i was at MY house. Not to mention the fact that most of them are a bunch of crminals themselves they just don't have to convictions to make them criminals b/c they cover for eachother.(If you haven't noticed i know some things about some bad cops) I just don't feel safe here. Not the place i want to raise a child at all.

[tzr234]

I lived in Lawton for 13 years and what a hellhole! There is nothing to do and that moldy central mall needs some help. While getting out of my car about 8-10 teenagers came around from the back of a Hop in Sack store and began to aproach me and said "what the F do we have here"! Little did they know I had a MK 4 can of pepper mace and it sent them scattering like roaches. Drive down 11th street and you see strip club, pawn shop, liquor store abandoned building repeat. Now live in Edmond and love it. I like how someone on this fourm said that Applebees Chiles and Red Lobster are healthy places to eat. Stay as far away from this place unless u want to get mugged or enjoy a dirty rundown town. It's the arm pit of America.

[Big Chris72]

I dont know. I guess since moving from the Barstow/ft Irwin area, This place was a few steps up. anything not to travel down that 30-mile stretch. However, there are areas that I would choose not to live in lawton. there are worse ares in the country to live in-trust me. just like any town, if you go looking for trouble, you are going to find it. This place does have some high-crime areas, but it is usually bracketed to certain areas in town. there are two wal-marts, one is ghetto as hell and one is halfway decent. If you have the "benefit" of living on post, housing on post is deplorable at best. immediately you WILL opt to move off post. due to the new BRAC movement, my counterparts that are down in el paso are really not clawing to get here as some of them have come up on the various tours that my unit have sponsored here. Everywhere you look, you see "welcome ft bliss soldiers". Bottom-line, they know that up to 10,000 or more soldiers and families are moving to this dilapidated town. Rent for some of the soldiers that have already moved here has risen. the realty companies have the audacity to bestow upon those that choose to rent listings of properties that look-well i'll just say that you REALLY have to look around to find something decent and safe. Best advice I could give anyone would be to move to the far east or far west of lawton. do not try to live anywhere near a gate entering Ft Sill trying to save money and time. as far as the crime goes here, there have been numerous robberies and shootings in the ten short months that i have been here. If you want to know anything about the stats on crime here, google 'crime in lawton ok. You will get everything from sex offenders to property offenses. if you do move here though, be sure to utilize you off-time plentiful and see as much as you can by traveling the numerous cities surrounding here.

[Gone Too Long]

congrats to gilley on the film!

[sooners chica]

I was raised in a small town, but growing up had the best of both worlds as i got to leave and visit in chicago for the summers. military brought me to lawton and i am happy to say i call it home for the past 11 yrs. I think its a great place as far as getting out of a small town where little to no oppertunity to have success in life OR a BIG city where its to busy and you have to worry about BIG GANGS and everything is to expensive to have just a normal life. I have no complaints, although yes the gangs and drug issues are becoming a little overwhelming here in lawton,but with the right mind frame it can be a comfortable town and for me its just right to raise my daughter and make a living.