Possible move to Canyon, TX (Amarillo, West: house, theater, school)

[Cali72]

Thinking of moving to Canyon, TX, what is the weather like(tornados) and what type of wildlife do i have to look out for(spiders,snakes) Just wondering, coming from California there is not much wildlife.

[momof2dfw]

What part of California are you in that you don't see ANY wildlife?????

Also, that is going to play a part in how you feel about living in Canyon. Canyon is a small town located in the Texas Panhandle. Home to what I still call West Texas State University (part of Texas A&M). Palo Duro Canyon is close by. Amarillo is the largest close city and it is small compared to every other city in Texas.

If your used to living in the inland areas of California in Southern California w/ not much landscape, dry and arid, etc then it won't be much of a change.

[Cali72]

I live in Downey, it's a small suburb in East Los Angeles. I live about 20 minutes from the beach. The cost of living here is crazy!!!!! My wife and i make a combine $89,000 a year, and we still can't afford a house. WTAMU, I'm actually attending their online degree program at this time. I was just wondering how it life is there, small town living is right for me.

[momof2dfw]

Well, if you have never been to "the country" that is what Canyon is. It has a lot of history to it much like where your coming from but more western in nature. It is REALLY small town living for sure. I'd go visit just to make sure your okay with it. If either of you are wanting a bit more "city life" then you might consider living in Amarillo and commuting to school in Canyon. There are some newer subdivisions between Amarillo and Canyon. The terrain is more "barren" than lush. Depending on your jobs your going to find more job opportunities in Amarillo than Canyon. I LOVE AMARILLO myself. It still has that small town feel but most of the conviences of a bigger city. Your not going to find all of the upper high end malls and stores though. It is a much more down to earth place. Most of the area is still farm and ranching outside of the city. Palo Duro Canyon is an AWESOME place and not to be missed. If I lived close by there I'd be there as often as possible. There are hiking trails, campsites, etc and they put on a play in the outdoor amphitheater called, "Texas". Like I said, tons of history in this area but more western in nature that is very interesting.

Before packing up the Uhaul I'd recommend a week visit though. It is vastly different than what your living around in the LA area. Your not close to a beach but your very close to the mountains of New Mexico and Colorado. You will find a lot of people in the area go to NM and Colo for vacation in the summer and winters.

[Canine*Castle]

I've never been to Canyon but speaking as an ex-southern Californian, I would never ever live in a big city again anywhere if I can help it. Life is much better in the country even though it still isn't serene enough. Owning quite a few acres (of which I don't) would definitely be the icing on the cake of living in the country.

You can pretty much be sure there are spiders and snakes in that part of Texas. Even when I was a little girl living in CA, I nearly got bitten by a rattlesnake while hiking in the mountains. I saw as many black widow spiders in the city in CA as I have since living in Texas in the country, but they've been few and far between in either place.

I've seen two rattlesnakes in my yard since living in this particular house for 21 years and the house before that, I never saw any. By the way, I live in central Texas so what the Panhandle has, I really don't know.

Randall County has had 71 tornadoes since 1950, but most of them have been fairly small. Only 1 recorded death in all those years. I don't think I'd worry too much about tornadoes with those statistics although thunderstorms and what comes with them may take some getting used to. It has for me and I'm still not used to them after 30 years of living in Texas, but I'm "better" than I used to be.

Good luck on your potential move. More than likely, you will miss the beautiful Pacific, but you'll get used to it. Newport Beach was my hang-out every summer for many, many years, and I still miss it, but I have many wonderful memories of that beautiful place.

[momof2dfw]

The "big" weather problems in that area of Texas are dust storms and snow storms.

[Canine*Castle]

According to my source, no dust storm "events" have ever been recorded in that particular county. It's true though. From what I've heard, there seems to be a lot of dust in that area. Once in a while, it blows all the way down to Central Texas, and that isn't pleasant. 23 snow and ice events have been recorded, but that's only been in the last 10 years, so I guess at that rate, they have around 2 a year.

Also, Randall County has had 54 flash floods since 1994, but many parts of Texas have to deal with flooding. They've also had 126 events of thunderstorms and high winds which can be troublesome but compared to say Tarrant County (Ft. Worth), they've had over 500.

[turkeytrot]

I have lived in Texas over twenty five years, the last eight in the panhandle. Severe weather come with living in on the high planes, thunderstorms hail, and even the occasional tornado watch/warning, this is part of tornado alley but so is a big chunk of the U.S. don't let it scare you off.
This is also a wonderful place to live and raise a family.

Yes we have rattlesnakes, black widow and brown recluse spiders but so does most if not all of the state of Texas.
It's just common sense living and getting adjusted to a new environment.

[Canine*Castle]

Originally Posted by turkeytrot

I have lived in Texas over twenty five years, the last eight in the panhandle. Severe weather come with living in on the high planes, thunderstorms hail, and even the occasional tornado watch/warning, this is part of tornado alley but so is a big chunk of the U.S. don't let it scare you off.
This is also a wonderful place to live and raise a family.

Yes we have rattlesnakes, black widow and brown recluse spiders but so does most if not all of the state of Texas.
It's just common sense living and getting adjusted to a new environment.

Yes, you'll find tornadoes in many states, but there's always some kind of severe weather stuff to contend with just about anywhere.

[Cali72]

Thank you all for the info, looks like all of you are happy with your move/life in Texas. Canine Castle, i feel your love for the ocean, i use to surf just about eveery day, but things have changed. Looks like i will be taking a trip down there and see what i'm in for.