apartments/rentals and housing costs Midland/Odessa area (Dallas, Fort Worth: real estate, rental homes)

[rwfromkansas]

Hey, I hope some of you from the Odessa/Midland area can provide some insight.

My wife and I are moving to the Odessa/Midland area (no, not for oil...just happened the best job offer is there despite efforts for Dallas, Kansas City etc). I am a bit nervous of the move since we are coming from Wichita, Kansas. However, my wife grew up in Abilene, so it will not be a big jump for her. I have seen Abilene and liked it.

I think the communities look like a decent area even with the isolation. Despite the options, we didn't do much in Wichita except eat out anyway....

In any event, I have a few questions. We are looking for apartments at this time because we need to move soon. However, there do not appear to be many vacancies, and those that do exist are somewhat pricey compared to Wichita.....or even the rest of Texas. I could buy a house in Wichita or Fort Worth for 50 grand less than even an entry-level house in Odessa. Due to what appears to be a massive real estate bubble there, we are going to be renting since we may be there only a few years anyway, but we need some insight on decent places.

What are some of the good apartments to rent there? We are looking at starting out with a 1-bedroom at least at first. Are they easier to find than 2 bedrooms? Can you find rental homes for less than $700 that are of a decent nature? All I have found online are for the most part over $1000.

We are looking forward to the move, just a little apprehensive with the housing costs.

Also, can you get suddenlink cable in odessa, or just Midland? It looks like Odessa has Cable One, which has a terrible lineup compared to Cox in Wichita and Suddenlink/Cox in Midland. We would lose several of our favorite channels with Cable One despite Suddenlink carrying them.

Does anyone know if there are plans for a Super Target? We love that, and it appears even Lubbock doesn't have one for some reason.

Thank you very much.

Even if this isn't one of the "cool" areas to move to and we will lose some of the things we like, we are excited to move to Texas, and it looks like there is enough to keep us happy and enjoy ourselves in a good city area. I will miss snow in winter though! I am glad my wife will be closer to family in any case.

Thanks again for any help.

[tandy38]

The apartment and housing market is horrible right now due to the oil boom. I came here from Lubbock and am currently renting a very small apartment for $729 per month. You will not find many vacancies if any. However you may can look into the apartments that I live in. I guess it just depends on how much space you need. I am almost positive that they have some under $700. I wish you the best of luck! No super target that I am aware of.