livin' in amarillo (Houston, Dallas, Austin: crime, how much, private schools)

[norcal763]

We are contemplating a move to Texas from Northern California. Considering Midland or Amarillo. We have visited Midland and found it clean, friendly, and well-laid out. It seems, however, that with the exception of museums and spectator sports, there is not alot to do there or nearby. How does Amarillo compare? Also, I have a couple strange hobbies. (1) I like weather variety-snowy winters, hot summers, thunderstorms...I like it ALL. As much weather variety as possible. (2) I am a railroad enthusiast and enjoy photographing trains. I also like watching hockey and football and my wife likes the symphony. And it wouldn't hurt to have some skiing nearby although I realize that might be a tall order. Are the people as friendly in Amarillo as they are in Midland? How much do people worry about crime there? We are serious about this move and plan to visit Amarillo next month. Anything else good or bad we should know? MUCH Obliged, Norcal763

[momof2dfw]

Personally I like Amarillo better. It is closer to snow skiing than Midland. You can take weekend trips to NM or longer ones to Colorado easily from Amarillo. It is a nice sized city but does not have all of the amenities that some prefer that are found in other large cities like Dallas, Austin, Houston, etc. Football, well there is high school or West Texas State (now Texas A&M Canyon) in Canyon. Hockey, I believe they have a minor league team. The only city in Texas w/ a pro hockey team is Dallas (GO STARS!!!!!!!! It's All-Star week. WOO-HOO ). Can ya tell I'm a hockey fan? LOL!!! Anyway, if you like the different weather patterns as much as you say then you will like Amarillo. Lake Meredith is outside the city. It can be rather dry up in the panhandle, not near as humid as other parts of the state. Amarillo is a huge cattle holding area for transport. OMY, you CAN smell it. More on the south side of town. Out towards the north side of town it is not so. They have more of a winter also than other parts of Texas. While Lubbock, Midland, Abilene etc will make the news sometimes in the Dallas/Ft Worth area Amarillo is pretty much off the radar screen here. I've had family that lived there and we almost ended up there when I was a child. I've always loved the city. Just big enough to have some of the amenities of a city but still a lot of small town charm and character. I would advise visiting there and see which one appeals to you most. Good luck.

[AART]

So rare for me to ever see anything about Midland, Tx on here. I grew up in Midland before moving to Austin to go to college and work. It is a great place and has grown much since I left. Will get more snow in Amarillo but will get same variance in both places. Neither have any great lakes nearby. We always went to Lake Nasworthy in San Angelo as it was a just under two hours away. Most people in town go to Austin or Dallas Lake areas. Very good schools there and if you can get into high school sports you won't see better competition at this level anywhere else. Prominent high school state championship caliber teams in football, basketball, and baseball in Midland. Hope this helps.

[norcal763]

Thanks for the info-will visit amarillo in feb.

[victoriana]

I live in Amarillo. It is growin' FAST, which is good because many of my dearest friends who were born and raised here, even say its a nicer place now than it used to be. As far as schools, like my teacher friends say, you can't really say a place "has good schools," because parents do not always agree what is and isn't a quality education. So, I can tell you that we have several AWESOME private schools - and that segment is growing as well. Our winter varies. For Texans, yes, there is more of a winter than other areas of Texas but we do not get the winters we used to get. This year has been the first year in 5 years or so that we can say we REALLY got a winter. Since we are dry, our area is not green. We all laugh about it, and say our city color is basically yellow and brown. However, that lack of humidity is GREAT. If you are a ski buff, yes, you are within driving distance of great places in N.M. and Colorado - but its still a distance away if you love to go every weekend. (If you only ski once or twice a winter, this is for you!) You can live in Canyon, Hereford (where the smell is just as previous poster said) and Bushland which are within commute distance if you want to get away from the city. They are lovely and they are good choices for families who want more of that "small town" feeling. Our shopping is growing - we recently got a World Market, will probably be getting a smaller version of Whole Foods within a few years, two Chinese grocery stores, several Middle Eastern food stores, and a million restaurants. We like to say around here that the main form of exercise is going out to eat. Hee-hee. Glad to answer any other questions.

[Lucidus]

I just want to make a few quick points to add to what everyone else has already said.

Hockey - both cities have professional hockey teams. Well, the "Midland" team is actually in Odessa. There are also local itracity teams as well that play, but I don't have alot of info on that.

Football - Oh man are you kidding? Football is a religion in Texas and Midland/Odessa is the holy land. Seriously, have you ever seen the show Friday Night Lights? It is based on the book of the same title about Odessa. There is quite simply no comparison here.

Symphony - Your wife may be interested in know that Midland/Odessa is currently planning a brand new ten story, $66 million dollar performing arts center to be located between Midland and Odessa.

As for skiing, it is a local joke that Ruidoso, New Mexico is actually a colony of Texas. That is where most west texans go, and honestly the skiing is pretty good, not as good as colorado perhaps, but not bad.