West Amarillo or South Lubbock (San Angelo, Canyon: apartment complexes, crime, new home)

[cdc1211]

I am considering a job transfer to either Amarillo or Lubbock, but wanted to ask some opinions before purusuing any further with one or the other.

I would be coming from N Dakota. Do you think I'll have any trouble being accepted coming from the North?

Both seem to have apartments in my price range (1 bd under $600) so that's not really an issue. I know both cities have their share of crime, but I wanted to get some more information about the specific parts of the cities I would be living and working. I cannot drive due to an untreatable eye condition, so I have to live close to my job.

In Amarillo, I would be working and living on the west side near Westgate Mall.

In Lubbock, I would be working and living on the south side between South Plains Mall and I-27 and between 50th and 82nd.

Are these safe parts of both cities? Which one is more suited for someone who walks a lot to get to places. I would also use public transit too.

My last question is about tornadoes. We have them in N Dakota, but nowhere near the number they get in Texas. I know you can't avoid them, and that they can happen anywhere. But does one city seem more prone to tornadoes than the other? How often have you seen the cities take a direct hit?

Thank you in advance for taking the time to reply.

[whitegiant]

Well i dont know that much about amarillo but lubbock seems to be a good place to be. Lubbock has a bus system but i dont think its all that good i might be wrong though. Over by the SPM is a pretty nice area the bad side of town is the east side. Amarillo has more tornados because they are more up north lubbock has had warnings but not had one hit the city since the 1970 one. I think lubbocks economy is doing real good were the number one texas city to ride out a recession in. Good luck with your decision.

[case44]

Originally Posted by cdc1211

I am considering a job transfer to either Amarillo or Lubbock, but wanted to ask some opinions before purusuing any further with one or the other.

I would be coming from N Dakota. Do you think I'll have any trouble being accepted coming from the North?

Both seem to have apartments in my price range (1 bd under $600) so that's not really an issue. I know both cities have their share of crime, but I wanted to get some more information about the specific parts of the cities I would be living and working. I cannot drive due to an untreatable eye condition, so I have to live close to my job.

In Amarillo, I would be working and living on the west side near Westgate Mall.

In Lubbock, I would be working and living on the south side between South Plains Mall and I-27 and between 50th and 82nd.

Are these safe parts of both cities? Which one is more suited for someone who walks a lot to get to places. I would also use public transit too.

My last question is about tornadoes. We have them in N Dakota, but nowhere near the number they get in Texas. I know you can't avoid them, and that they can happen anywhere. But does one city seem more prone to tornadoes than the other? How often have you seen the cities take a direct hit?

Thank you in advance for taking the time to reply.

Given the choice, you'd be best off in South Lubbock. That's where a lot of the new homes and growth are. Amenities are not far away. And the Marsha Sharp Freeway is being built piece by piece on the city's central and southwest sides, but appears to be ahead of schedule.

[Westerner92]

I live in South Lubbock and I go to Amarillo everytime I visit my family, and I can honestly say Lubbock is the better choice. Lubbock does have a decent bus system, but the buses run less often south of 50th (they do run by the mall more often though).

http://www.citibus.com/city-route.pdf

The best parts of Lubbock are anything west of University, and almost all the crime is in the east part. If I'm assuming right, you will be working in the mall of either of these cites, and the South Plains Mall has several apartment complexes within a few blocks of it.
Both cities are fairly prone to tornados. Lubbock did get hit by an F-5 in downtown in 1970, but there has not been one since. I don't belive Amarillo has ever been hit. As far as being accepted, both cities are very open and friendly. You might be called a Yankee jokingly, but they are just messing with you and mean nothing offensively. Just don't say how "things are done in North Dakota" or "up North we..." and you will be just fine.

[cdc1211]

Thanks for everyone's great replies.

I was leaning toward Lubbock as it was, and now it sounds like it is definitely the better option for me.

I have researched the bus systems in both cities. Neither run past 7pm, but I would be able to walk to work and lots of other things living in one of those apartments near South Plains Mall. I could use the bus during the day to venture to other parts of the city.

It is good to hear about the crime being on the other side of the city.

I do work in retail, but not in the mall, just near the malls.

My job has taken me to Pennsylvania, Missouri, Nevada, Colorado, and now N Dakota, so I am used to adapting to new ways and try to leave my old city's ways behind. I have learned people don't like to hear you talk too much about your old city no matter where you go. Lubbock would be the furthest south I have lived.

One thing I will gladly leave behind is the ridiculous winter weather we get here. We are having a blizzard right now with 9-12 inches of snow. After that, our high on Monday and Tuesday is -12 with lows of -25.

[lstockert]

I grew up in North Dakota (Valley City) and now have lived in Lubbock for about 9 years. Everyone down here is friendly, and won't give ya a hard time about the accent. My friends kid me about how i say: roof, drinking pop, sliver/splinter, things like that. I think it was harder for me to get used to the southern accent than it was for everyone to understand my northern accent. What kind of retail are you going into? I think the area of town you are talking about for Lubbock is a good location. Everything is close by, buses are close by, walmart is nearby, and i personally believe there are more things to do in Lubbock. Someone from Amarillo may disagree, so I may be biased because I live in Lubbock.

Originally Posted by cdc1211

Thanks for everyone's great replies.

I was leaning toward Lubbock as it was, and now it sounds like it is definitely the better option for me.

I have researched the bus systems in both cities. Neither run past 7pm, but I would be able to walk to work and lots of other things living in one of those apartments near South Plains Mall. I could use the bus during the day to venture to other parts of the city.

It is good to hear about the crime being on the other side of the city.

I do work in retail, but not in the mall, just near the malls.

My job has taken me to Pennsylvania, Missouri, Nevada, Colorado, and now N Dakota, so I am used to adapting to new ways and try to leave my old city's ways behind. I have learned people don't like to hear you talk too much about your old city no matter where you go. Lubbock would be the furthest south I have lived.

One thing I will gladly leave behind is the ridiculous winter weather we get here. We are having a blizzard right now with 9-12 inches of snow. After that, our high on Monday and Tuesday is -12 with lows of -25.

[cobolt]

I'm a yankee and I lived in Amarillo for 13 years and I enjoyed it there. In fact, I'm living in Seattle now and am trying to get back to Texas and I"m considering Amarillo, Lubbock, and San Angelo. Although it is West Texas, I think Amarillo is a bit more easy on the eye than Lubbock is, but Lubbock has more economic opportunity and commerce, with the university as its driving force. I like the houses better in Amarillo because there are certain neighborhoods that break free of the cookie cutter and ranch style homes, but that's just me. Plus I have a pretty good social base in Amarillo. That being said though, I am considering Lubbock because I think the job opportunities are better, and there is sometimes in the workforce in Amarillo, still a clannish sort of mood. I just returned from a Texas visit about two weeks ago where I was with friends in Amarillo and Lubbock. I think you may have more dining and entertainment options in Lubbock as well, simply because of the university and its driving force.

I like both towns though for very different reasons and I'd personally be happy in either one. The Westgate Mall area of AMarillo is just fine. The only area I'd stay away from in Amarillo is the North East and parts of the South East. The Northwest is growing (mainly due to the medical area) and the southwest is growing as well.

Just don't go on once you get to Texas, about how you or they did it back where you lived and so on. Accept your new home and all its experiences and you'll do fine. Most people who have problems coming from the "outside" do so because they brag on how great their old place of residence was, or how Texas doesn't do it this way. People don't want to hear that. I love Texans and I consider myself a transplanted, although misplaced one.

I wish you well in your move.

[cdc1211]

I have some new concerns about Lubbock, and hope that those there can answer this for me.

To be more specific about my job, I work for Target, and would transfer with them. The locations of the stores in Lubbock is what concerns me. I know they have two stores, an old one on University and the new one on Marsha Sharp Freeway. Neither are right by the mall like the Amarillo store is.

Most of the apartments in SW Lubbock appear several miles from the University store. When I did a directions request, the new store on Mrasha Sharp Freeway came up only 1-1.5 miles away from most of the apartments.

But can a person actually walk from the apartments in South Lubbock to THE MSF store on the other side of the 289 loop? Is the MSF actually a freeway, like an interstate highway? Is there a frontage road? I have lived in cities that use words like Freeway, Expressway, and Highway even though they are busy streets lined with businesses.

The bus system does not run late enough, so I have to make sure I can walk.

I defintely will not be bragging about how great things are where I live now, because I don't like it. So no worries there!

[whitegiant]

yea the store is outside of the loop and the marsha sharp is a real highway not one that is lined with buisinesses

[cdc1211]

Originally Posted by whitegiant

yea the store is outside of the loop and the marsha sharp is a real highway not one that is lined with buisinesses

Okay, it is good to know that is a real highway, but if it is not lined with businesses, how is the store's addrress 6064 Marsha Sharp Freeway? And I think there is a whole bunch of new stores in the same shopping center called Canyon Crossing.

So if the MSF is a real highway, not a road with stoplights and places to turn in and out of, how do you get into these stores?