Levelland Move (Lubbock, Spring, Roma: apartments, to rent, home)

[Aonia]

Greetings! I recently accepted a job in Levelland. I got to check the town out when I had the interview and found the area charming. However, I was only there for about a day and a half. The plan is to move there sometime in early July, so I was hoping to get some greater insight on here beforehand.

My first order of business is, no surprise, trying to find an apartment to rent. Does anyone have any recommendations for good places to check on? I don't want to commute from Lubbock, so that isn't an option for me. I am looking for a single bedroom apartment in the range of $400-600 per month. I did find a group called Signature Community online but it looks a bit overpriced given the size. Has anyone ever lived there?

I am also a proponent of organic foods and eating vegetarian when possible. The grocery shopping in Levelland looked limited unless I missed a store somewhere (Wal-Mart and something called United, I think). Do any of the stores in Levelland have good organic food sections or at least sell vegetarian meats (veggie chicken nuggets, veggie burgers, etc.)? If not, are there places with this type of selection in Lubbock?

Finally, I'm in the 25-35 age range and know nothing about the culture in west Texas moving from about 1,500 miles to the east. Are there any places I should be sure to check out where I might meet other people in that age group? In particular, are there any active writers groups with youthful members or a nice wine/jazz bar?

Thanks in advance!

[High_Plains_Retired]

Welcome to the South Plains! I'm sure there are some on here who are more familiar with Levelland than I but I have a small farm about 60 miles northeast of the town. If you are coming to the Texas south high plains for the first time, especially from the eastern U.S., please keep an open mind. Our winters can be brutally cold and our summers almost as hot. We can have dust storms that turn into mud storms. Cotton is king but, in Hockley County where Levelland is located, oil feeds the economy as well. With all that, some of the best people on Earth (and I have been on both ends and both sides of it) can be found on the South Plains of Texas.

The last time I spent anytime at Levelland was many years ago when my family attended the grand opening of the sound stage at South Plains College. The country singer Tom T. Hall was the entertainer and my daughter, who is now nearly forty, was not even a teenager. Somewhere around here I still have Tom T.'s signature on a program.

Regarding vegetarian diets, as a newly diagnosed Type II diabetic, I wish our grocery stores would do a better job with vegetables. I haven't had much of a chance to search out Lubbock but I'm sure it has a much better selection than the smaller towns.

Anyway, I doubt I can offer much in the way of useful living advice but I did want to wish you a safe move and a welcome from another South Plains resident.

[shoe01]

United is the main grocer in the area. These places in Lubbock might be of interest if you don't find what you're looking for in Levelland:

Market Street

Sprouts

La Diosa Cellars

LHUCA The Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts

[augiedogie]

Market Street and Spouts are probably your best bet. Market Steet is just an upgraded United, but they have organic food and other items for people who like something out of the ordinary.

Be prepared to make some adjustments when you get out here. I am not from around here, so I have the perspective of having lived in other places around the country, and grew up in Wisc. West Texas is a very different living environment. If you're looking for big city, this isn't it. Most people around here have a small town mentality. They tend to be pretty provincial, and there are plenty of red necks and a lot of red neck mentality. They tend to be on the religious side, but its certainly not the majority. Texans here don't take to criticism much, especially about Texas Tech anything, or Texas in general. The area is overwhelmingly Republican. Its also very sports oriented. There is not a lot of entertainment available, so drinking, partying and sports, especially High School football becomes the main entertainment. The people are friendly to outsiders, welcoming and you should have no problem making friends, but my guess, is that most of your socializing will end up being in Lubbock. You may want to reconsider finding an apartment in Levelland. There are lot of apartments in Lubbock, there's more to do on nights and weekends, and you're only looking at a 25 minute trip from the west side of Lubbock. No matter which way you go, you're probably going to be doing a lot of traveling on that road between the two cities.

IMHO, the winters are generally very mild and tollerable, but summer is HOT. I hope you like your new job. Just keep in mind, assume everyone knows everyone; they are either relatives, friends of friends, went to school together or some other connection. Your words may travel a long distance into other ears. Oh, and I almost forgot, its usually windy except in the summer and early fall.

[Aonia]

Originally Posted by High_Plains_Retired

Anyway, I doubt I can offer much in the way of useful living advice but I did want to wish you a safe move and a welcome from another South Plains resident.

Thank you! One of the reasons I accepted the job was how friendly people in the area were during my visit.

[Aonia]

Thanks for the links, shoe01! The last two are exactly the type of culture I was hoping to find and both stores look good.

Thank you for the insight, Prairieparson! Seeing the links shoe01 posted, I may have to reconsider about the apartment after all. Are the sandstorms as bad as I've read about in other threads? I saw a dustdevil once in California but never a sandstorm.

[shoe01]

Originally Posted by Aonia

Thanks for the links, shoe01! The last two are exactly the type of culture I was hoping to find and both stores look good.

Thank you for the insight, Prairieparson! Seeing the links shoe01 posted, I may have to reconsider about the apartment after all. Are the sandstorms as bad as I've read about in other threads? I saw a dustdevil once in California but never a sandstorm.

As you might imagine, the dust storms are more numerous (and intense) in dry periods (especially in an exceptional year like 2011). According to the experts, the La Nina pattern is transitioning to El Nino, which could mean wetter conditions for the area.

[augiedogie]

Sandstorms depend on the year. Last year we had a bunch, but we also had the worst drought Texas had ever had. Lubbock's official total for the year was less than 6". We even had a haboob in November. Since it started raining again, the sandstorm are less. When I firs moved there 9 years ago, we only had about one a year. Its usually a one day thing and its over, so not a big deal or something to get concerned about. We all just hope our drought is over, but at this point, the jury is still out. We've had more rain but its still pretty dry and our rainfall total this year is behind average, but that's not at all unusual. It often happens that the area will get a large rainfall, like 4-6 inches in a few days, and then it will rain very little for quite a while. The weather is extremely changeable and unpredictable.

[Aonia]

Originally Posted by Prairieparson

Its usually a one day thing and its over, so not a big deal or something to get concerned about.

Haha, I don't know about that. I'd never heard about a haboob before but looking at the pictures online: Does everyone just stay inside when these things happen? Are there "dust storm days" like we have snow days here? I imagine my first experience with one of these will be quite an adventure.

[vantexan]

Originally Posted by Aonia

Haha, I don't know about that. I'd never heard about a haboob before but looking at the pictures online: Does everyone just stay inside when these things happen? Are there "dust storm days" like we have snow days here? I imagine my first experience with one of these will be quite an adventure.

Worked in Levelland a couple of years and agree with everyone here. The dust storms are really a combo of Spring high winds and freshly plowed cotton fields. The facilities in Lubbock are pretty good, plenty of good shopping. A real oasis near Lubbock is Buffalo Springs Lake, very popular on weekends. Personally I really started missing trees and hills after I had been there awhile. Whatever you do don't openly criticize the area's lack of scenery. People take it to heart, it's home for them! Take a picnic lunch out to one of the nicest rest areas I've ever seen on Hwy 82 east of Crosbyton. Set in a scenic canyon and it has wi-fi!