Wichita Falls? Is it a nice place for a college kid? (Dallas: apartment complexes, crime)

[katiev111]

I am considering attending MSU. It is in a smallish town with big city amenities yet close to Dallas.
Is it a nice town?

[txsizzler]

I lived in Wichita Falls for 15 years. For what its worth, its a decent town. Crime has come up in the past decade, and there are alot of gang ordinances there (gang free zones, etc). Although, I don't consider Wichita Falls crime levels ridiculously bad or anything. But, they are worse than I wold expect for a city of just 100k.

Wichita Falls is located in a unique segment of Texas. Its considered North Texas, but on the far western end, with low rolling hills, and a fairly bleak and mesquite ridden lansdscape. Being along Highway 287 and the I-44 Corridor, it has alot of traffic that passes through for folks going towards Oklahoma City and Dallas. Wichita Falls is also the gateway for Highway 277/81 going towards Abilene, Seymour, and Lubbock. To the northwest is Amarillo (4-5 hours away along 287).

Wichita Falls has a good university. MSU is a well established, and still growing college. Its located in the south-central part of town, and you have alot of good, established business and residental areas around the school. All in all, Wichita Falls has a fairly eceltric shopping scene, and has a good number of quality restaurants, including some of the mom n' pop types. Be aware of the apartment complexes though. Alot of military and college kids like to cause mayhem in many of the complexes, including vandalism, grafitti, burglaries, and more. However, there are good complexes there too, just be sure to do your homework if this is the route you are taking.

Weather
- Winters there are extrememly variable (although not as much so as the panhandle). Some days in the winter can feel fairly warm, with temps climbing up above 70, sometimes even 80 degrees. Then, on other days, sometimes within 24 hours of the warm day, it can struggle to get above 30 degrees. Snow is fairly neglible, but does occur every year, even if its only trace amounts. Last winter, Wichita Falls had its snowiest winter on record (over 16"), with about 8" of it coming down at Christmas, causing widespread havoc.
-Spring: Another changeable time of year, but this is more in regards to the strong winds, and volitle thunderstorm activity. Temps in early spring can be chilly with days in the 40-60 degree range, with some days also topping 90 degrees. By late Spring, the weather is very warm, with most days over 80, and some days as early as April or May topping 100. Back in 2000, Wichita Falls saw 2 days in May where the temp hit 110! The average last freeze in Wichita Falls is March 25th.
-Summers in Wichita Falls can be described mostly with one word: HOT!!! Wichita Falls during the summer is one of the hottest cities in Texas, only being surpassed by some cities along the Rio Grande. Wichita Falls has seen temps as high as 117 degees (June 1980), and averages over 30 days a year of 100 degree + temps. It feels like a blast furnace most days you are there, with a breeze from the south doing very little to alleviate the heat. Thunderstorm activity tapers off in early June, with a slow increase by late August. Sometimes in early September, remenants of tropical disturbances make their way up to N. Texas dumping alot of rain.
-Fall is probably the best time of year here. Most days stay very nice in October, with temps in the 70's to 80's day/50's at night. Rainfall is fairly neglible at this time of year. November introduces the first freezes of the year (Avg first freeze is Nov. 11th), with a possiblility of snow late in November. Still though, November is generally fairly nice too, with most days in the 60s to low 70s.

Anyhow, all in all, Wichita Falls is not a bad place to sink your teeth into. I would recommend the school, as its a good one for the price. Plus, being only 2 hours away from the DFW metroplex makes Wichita Falls a good place to be in if you just want to make the occasional trip that way (or even OKC for that matter). Sheppard Air Force Base is a big economic factor for this city, and alot of things are steered towards activities based on it. This makes Wichita Falls more of a melting pot of diversity, which is a good thing.


Ian

[doctorjef]

Did I overlook something or did you fail to mention tornados? Yes, they can happen anywhere but Wichita Falls is really in tornado alley and has had at least one monster event. Actually, I'm no tornado-phobe, but it does merit a mention (FWIW my family moved to Lubbock in 1970 just after the gigantic tornado there when parts of town looked like Stalingrad after the Battle).

[txsizzler]

Originally Posted by doctorjef

Did I overlook something or did you fail to mention tornados? Yes, they can happen anywhere but Wichita Falls is really in tornado alley and has had at least one monster event. Actually, I'm no tornado-phobe, but it does merit a mention (FWIW my family moved to Lubbock in 1970 just after the gigantic tornado there when parts of town looked like Stalingrad after the Battle).

I didn't mention the tornadoes; just the volitle thunderstorms. The reason being, is that Wichita Falls hasn't had a tornado hit since 1979 (although there have been some within the county). Wichita Falls, for the record, in the 20th century has been hit with 3 notable tornadoes (1955, 1964, 1979). The 1964 tornado was the strongest of the 3 (rated F5), but the 1979 was the most devastating (42 people killed, damages in the hundreds of millions); there was up to 6 vortexes noted at one point during that storm!

Anyhow, it should be something to consider, I suppose. Wichita Falls is more at the southern end of "Tornado Alley", with the most volitle tornadic weather occuring in Oklahoma and Kansas.


Ian

[GayleTX]

Unlike some universities, MSU is located in a very nice part of town....the campus itself is very attractive and beautiful homes and a nice park are nearby....there are nice office buildings (medical, museum, etc) just across the street on one side...the mall is just down the street behind the campus. It's in a safe part of town easy to drive, walk, ride your bike. Almost all the crime is on the opposite side of town, the old neighborhoods, near the air force base, bars, etc. I've known several young people who have gone to school there and felt the faculty was very supportive and helpful and that they got a good education. MSU is especially respected for its medical programs.

[katiev111]

thanks everybody! And I don't mind tornadoes! it would be a big change though because I live in Montana right now

[Metro Matt]

Originally Posted by katiev111

thanks everybody! And I don't mind tornadoes! it would be a big change though because I live in Montana right now

Is Billings snowed in right now?

[katiev111]

I'm pretty sure the eastern part of the state is getting a lot of snow, but I live in western Montana, so I don't know for sure

[RooCeleste]

My brother is a 1997 MSU graduate (criminal justice) and he loved the school and Wichita Falls! He played football for them, so we were in Wichita Falls a lot of the time during football season. I was in grad school at the time, and then seriously considered moving there for my career. I think you'll enjoy it!

[katiev111]

Thanks RooCeleste!!!!!