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Enid named “Best City in Oklahoma to Live In”

2:51 PM EDT on June 24, 2019

And you thought Lawton being named the Best College Town in Oklahoma was strange.

Last week, some clickbait website named Enid – the remote outpost tucked away in northwestern Oklahoma – the best city to live in Oklahoma.

Here are details via the obscure local Enid blog "Enid Buzz:"

Enid was picked as the best Oklahoma city to live in by ChamberofCommerce.org. According to their website Enid is a city of around 53,000 in Garfield County. They state that we enjoy a thriving economy due to our strong agricultural sector and we have the third-largest grain storage capacity in the entire world.

Sure, being named the best city to live in Oklahoma is kind of like being named to a community college alumni hall of fame, but that's pretty cool. Yes, there's more to do in Oklahoma City, Tulsa or even Beaver, but can those cities say they have the third-largest grain storage capacity in the entire world? I don't think so, which I guess is why Enid was also named the Best Place in Oklahoma to Survive a Bread Shortage.

Here's more behind the methodology:

The online organization ranked a total of 2,509 qualified cities (those with populations above 25,000 and enough data for analysis) by five factors: employment (number of establishments, median earnings); housing (owner-occupied housing with a mortgage, monthly housing costs); quality of life (work commute, poverty levels); education (percentage with a bachelor’s degree or higher); and health (obesity ratios)...

Many residents know Enid is a great place to live and have chosen to move back here after living in other cities across the country. Not only does Enid rank high on factors listed above but we also have family friendly events going on every month, unique restaurants and clubs, world class sporting and entertainment facilities, a local college and university as well as museums, trails and playgrounds.

Listen, I have no problem with Enid Buzz propping up its town, but let's at least try to be semi-honest here. I love Ed Lynn's Enid Buffalo Wild Wings, but I wouldn't call it "unique." And did they really claim Enid has "World class sporting and entertainment facilities?" It's even hard for people in Oklahoma City to say that with a straight face. The real things that make Enid a great place to live are...

– It's only four letters long, so it's easier to spell. Look at the towns they beat out: Bartlesville?  Stillwater? Broken Arrow? They take way too much time and effort to spell out.

– There are plenty of ways to get to Oklahoma City. You can cut south through Kingfisher and then hit NW Expressway, you can mosey over to that state highway that eventually turns into Hefner Parkway, or if you're a captain of the cruise control, you can make a direct line towards I-35 and then head south.

– It has that bad-ass bridge that eats trucks...

With all apologies to the Price brothers, that's the best thing about Enid. It eats dozens, if not hundreds, a year. As I recently learned on Reddit, it even has its own Facebook page. You should check it out.

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