Whether your interests are decidedly cosmopolitan or lean more toward down-home, simple "Sooner" living, Oklahoma City is big and diverse enough to suit everyone’s tastes.

Top pay, up-to-the-minute technology and the award-winning facilities at Mercy Health Center aren’t the only things that attract a world-class medical and administrative staff to Oklahoma City. The city was recently recognized as 46th out of 351 of the best cities to live in by Places Rated Almanac. With roots planted proudly in its pioneer heritage but industry and opportunities pointed boldly toward the future, today’s Oklahoma City takes pride in its sense of community and its status as capital of the great state of Oklahoma.

Although Oklahoma City ranks as one of the largest in the world (608.2 square miles), it is virtually free from the population and overcrowding of other similar-sized cities. All that extra land area offers an extensive park system of attractive, well-maintained areas for tennis, golf swimming, biking, jogging and horseback riding. The arts (orchestra, ballet and theatre) and museums are of excellent caliber – on par and in many cases above the offerings in America’s more prominent metro areas. For kids, the zoo, the Cowboy Hall of Fame, the Omniplex Science Museum and the Air Space Museum are always a hit.

Oklahoma City Public Schools is the second largest district in Oklahoma and one of the few urban districts in the nation with a growing enrollment -- 6% in the past two years. Of special interest are the several new district specialty schools. At the elementary level, Spanish language immersion, international studies, and sciences and arts are offered at a number of the specialty schools. At the middle school level, team teaching provides innovative courses and programs. Also, there are three specialty high schools, offering advanced academic programs such as the International Baccalaureate, visual and performing arts, technical and scientific curriculum, and bio-medical and health-career related areas. The Oklahoma School of Sciences and Math is Oklahoma's tuition-free, residential high school for juniors and seniors with exceptional ability in mathematics and science and is located adjacent to the Oklahoma Health Center.

There are also several excellent suburban school districts adjacent to Oklahoma City including Putnam City Schools, which was recently ranked as one of the top 100 school districts in the nation by Money magazine. Other notables: Edmond, Mid-Del, Moore and Norman Schools. When it comes to higher education Oklahoma City also has outstanding programs with fifteen colleges and universities and two community colleges.

Oklahoma City also offers a particularly excellent variety of highly differentiated and affordable housing from which to choose. Recently, Ernst & Young Kenneth Leventhal Real Estate Group's Study of Housing Costs found Oklahoma City residents paid only 17.4% of disposable income for upscale housing, ranking OKC as the nation's most affordable upscale housing market for the third consecutive year. With all this and more right in your neighborhood, why look anywhere else?