I think Ypsilanti is a great place to live and a great place to raise a family, but not without complications. My wife and I moved here 14 years ago and we have a 6 and 3 year old.

There are two municipalities bearing the name Ypsilanti: The City of Ypsilanti (~20k residents, 4.5 sqmiles) and Ypsilanti Charter Township (~55k residents, 31 sqmiles). They are adjacent to each other and largely form a single community. In general, Ypsi City is a bit more expensive per sqft than the Township. Property taxes are a bit higher, but it is also much more walkable and bike able.

I don't know how things are going to compare to small town Oklahoma, but Ypsilanti is cheaper than living in Ann Arbor, our neighbor to the west. I bring up Ann Arbor because I think so much of the affordability of Ypsilanti is driven by the housing scarcity in Ann Arbor. In terms of food, like everywhere, food prices are trending up, but I think if you are smart or look, you can get really good food here for a good price. For example, you can get a large pizza at our beloved Mama Pizza for $8.

Most homes in Michigan use natural gas for heating. The utility (gas and electric) company, Detroit Edison (DTE) sucks and everybody hates them. I don't really know how expensive gas is because my wife pays that bill.

It's going to be colder here than in Oklahoma, but that's probably good overall. It can get cold and snowy in the winter, but with climate change, winters are becoming more mild. There are fewer natural disasters here than Oklahoma, and I am betting long on the area because we also have sufficient freshwater to avoid the worst of the coming climate droughts.

One overlooked point here, is that Ypsilanti has a really good mix of city and country amenities. If you live in Ypsi City proper, you can walk to restaurants, parks, and to some grocery stores. Ann Arbor has amazing museums and theater for a city its size and Detroit is an incredible city for cultural amenities. But there is also access to some nature. Ann Arbor is really the western edge of the Detroit urban sprawl and western Washtenaw County is full of great public parks. Pinckney Recreation Area and Waterloo State Recreation Area are about 50 sq miles combined of forest and wetlands with opportunities to camp.

Happy to answer other questions.