Lubbock vs East Texas/Tyler (Dallas, Austin: crime, neighborhood, movies)

[Westerner92]

I agree with all of these statements, but don't get the impression that Lubbock is ugly. The South Plains are extremely flat and treeless, but Lubbock itself is quite nice. Here are some pictures to give you an idea of what Lubbock looks like:
This is the Texas Tech campus


Our dinky, but nice little skyline

Lubbock High School

Ransom Canyon, a small suburb


Some of Lubbock's parks

[case44]

Thanks for the additional photos, Westerner. We needed those.

Now let's see if we can design some new high-rises for Downtown Lubbock. We'll get a team together.....

[iamman]

First of all, thanks you have all been very helpful. I'll admit I'm a bit disappointed by the lower number of trees/woods in Lubbock though. For some background information, I lived in Fort Worth a few years as a kid and spent my summers in Tyler at my Grandpa's house-the woods were just beyond the fence. I also have found out that my family (my mom's family) has liven in Canton since before the Civil War. So Tyler is pretty familiar to me. I like the woods and the trees.

Is Texarkana comparable to Tyler then? I was asking a friend of mine who had live in Fayetville but he didn't know much.

Great pictures of Texarkana, by the way.

On paper though, (home prices, crime, schools, demographics, even climate for my tastes) Lubbock looks to be the better choice. Am I off base?

I know this is subjective, but for those who have lived in both, what do you prefer?

Oh, and DI/(stupid new name FBS) football is a huge plus for me. Especially with the way the Red Raiders have been playing as of late.

[Mark-Tyler is Special]

Can't change our climate to snow at times, wish I could. You have seen what we think. So go for Lubbuck, think you may "feel" the grass is greener in Lubbock because you have no experience with Lubbock and you may think you Tyler from your childhood memories. Tyler has really changed in the last twenty years. You can only "broadly" compare Texarkana to Tyler. I don't want to expand this topic to a Tyler/Texarkana comparison. I just think you should go for Lubbock, then come to Tyler I don't think you will he content/happy until you try Lubbock Oh, I should point out the crime rate is much higher in Lubbock 509 to 383 per city-data figures given here. Demographics, that's up to your taste, like you said. Schools? Lubbock, but you have many smaller ISD's of Lindale,Bullard,Whitehouse sitting on or in Tyler city limits with 4 private schools thru grade 12. Yes, average home price is lower in Lubbock, very few tract type homes in Tyler many very large and expensive custom homes in our "average" gee, I thought I was going to shut up. Darn, I gotta remember Tyler is NOT for everyone and I should be very glad. Good luck on your choice !!!

[case44]

Originally Posted by Mark-Tyler is Special

Tyler has really changed in the last twenty years. You can only "broadly" compare Texarkana to Tyler. I don't want to expand this topic to a Tyler/Texarkana comparison.

Mark, I simply could not find any pictures of the immediate Tyler area a while ago. I was simply comparing terrains in a previous post, and that was why I had to dig up Texarkana. If I were able to locate Tyler photos, by all means, I could have used them. FYI. Just to clarify.

[case44]

Originally Posted by iamman

First of all, thanks you have all been very helpful. I'll admit I'm a bit disappointed by the lower number of trees/woods in Lubbock though. For some background information, I lived in Fort Worth a few years as a kid and spent my summers in Tyler at my Grandpa's house-the woods were just beyond the fence. I also have found out that my family (my mom's family) has liven in Canton since before the Civil War. So Tyler is pretty familiar to me. I like the woods and the trees.

Is Texarkana comparable to Tyler then? I was asking a friend of mine who had live in Fayetville but he didn't know much.

Great pictures of Texarkana, by the way.

On paper though, (home prices, crime, schools, demographics, even climate for my tastes) Lubbock looks to be the better choice. Am I off base?

I know this is subjective, but for those who have lived in both, what do you prefer?

Oh, and DI/(stupid new name FBS) football is a huge plus for me. Especially with the way the Red Raiders have been playing as of late.

I'll let the locals in both places tell you about the school districts, but I think both cities are fantastic places to live and have good economies.

[Mark-Tyler is Special]

Hi case44: You do a great job on your posts. I was trying to reply to the original poster that the areas of Tyler/Texarkana are not quite the same, but I too do not know where to look for pictures. However, city-data has some pretty good, in town, photos. Again, you do a great job here.

[keltec]

Gotta agree with Tyler having the advantages. I have lived in Lubbock for 25 years and retire in 5 more. Once that happens, it's off to East Texas where it's prettier, more trees, more conveniences to all types of businesses one would want to visit. Lubbock is probably a better place for raising kids but the local heirarchy would rather spend money on projects that really only draw a few of the elite rather than a majority and for kids there isn't much to do outside of school activities. There is also still a lot of separation of the races, though some would argue that. I-27 keeps the Black folks on the east side of town and the new east west freeway is dividing Lubbock's northside Latino areas from the southern area of town and Tech. When you have lived somewhere else and come here, it becomes pretty obvious that that is what has occured using highways with limited pedestrian access.
Hope an insider's view of Lubbock helps. Don't get me wrong, I have made the best of friends here and there are the friendliest people on earth in Lubbock, just nothing to do if you like to go fishing without driving 130 miles round trip.

[Westerner92]

Originally Posted by keltec

Gotta agree with Tyler having the advantages. I have lived in Lubbock for 25 years and retire in 5 more. Once that happens, it's off to East Texas where it's prettier, more trees, more conveniences to all types of businesses one would want to visit. Lubbock is probably a better place for raising kids but the local heirarchy would rather spend money on projects that really only draw a few of the elite rather than a majority and for kids there isn't much to do outside of school activities. There is also still a lot of separation of the races, though some would argue that. I-27 keeps the Black folks on the east side of town and the new east west freeway is dividing Lubbock's northside Latino areas from the southern area of town and Tech. When you have lived somewhere else and come here, it becomes pretty obvious that that is what has occured using highways with limited pedestrian access.
Hope an insider's view of Lubbock helps. Don't get me wrong, I have made the best of friends here and there are the friendliest people on earth in Lubbock, just nothing to do if you like to go fishing without driving 130 miles round trip.

I will hotly contest to this statement. I live in the SW part of town, and I am neighbors and friends with Hispanics, blacks, Gujerat Indians, and East Asians. As far as the school districts go, I know nothing about Tyler, but I can tell you that Lubbock has good schools. Just avoid Monterey and Estacado high schools. The magnet programs here are among the best in the state. Lubbock High has the International Baccalaureate Program, and its 2002 Academic Decathlon team won 3rd place in the nation (and we always do well in the state competition).
Here is the TAKS accountability raking website.
2008 Accountability: List by County
I really don't think you can go wrong with either city, I'm simply just letting you know that Lubbock is great despite what a certain basher says. Good luck with your move!

[GreatGretsch]

Iamman,

I agree with what Westrener92 said. I have lived, and currently live in Tyler. I went to TexasTech and after graduation stayed there for three more years before moving back to Tyler. The only reason was to be closer to family.

The major difference I see is night life. Tyler has very little to do at night, (i.e. the Depot in Lubbock). In Tyler there are plenlty of restaurants and movies and a few nightclubs, but no "scene". Plus Lubbock has a lot more culture in my opinon. Of course what one thinks is important may not be to others.

Tyler has it's culture as Mark (Tyler is Special) pointed out, but I would prefer Lubbock. My advise is visit, there is a lot of construction going on there. Lubbock is GROWING.