Small Town in Texas...Help? (El Paso, Lubbock: find a job, school, university)

[taylor_vaughn]

I've been looking to move to a small town in Texas. I want the kind of town most first-time visitors think of when they think of Texas. Cacti, scrub brush and hot, plains that stretch for miles. And a nice and friendly town. Am I asking for too much? Most likely, but any help would be appreciated.

*Sorry if this has been asked several times!

[Sklarvaex]

I live in San Angelo (pop 90,000) and there are dozens of those type of small towns all over this part of the state, most of which are <5,000 people--depends what you're looking for and how close/far you want to be to things like food and entertainment and shopping. You can either be 30 minutes or 2 hours away depending on how secluded of a place you want. I could possibly recommend some if I know what size you're looking for.

[taylor_vaughn]

Thanks, I want an area that is more secluded, less than 4,000. Around an hour or so from shopping, food, etc.

[theloneranger]

Originally Posted by taylor_vaughn

Thanks, I want an area that is more secluded, less than 4,000. Around an hour or so from shopping, food, etc.

Pretty much every town west of Ft. Worth fits this description.

Are you looking for something on a major highway or further off the beaten path? There are tiny towns on I-10, I-20, and 287 that fit the description, and there are other towns that take an hour to get to from the nearest major highway.

If your looking for cacti and hot dusty weather, I'd suggget going as far west as you can. Maybe a town like Alpine, Pecos, Marfa, or Monahans could do it. I'm not totally familiar with the area, but they are pretty isolated, right near Big Bend National Park, and are friendly little towns. If you do make it out to Alpine, try the Reata Steakhouse. It's a great little restaurant, pretty casual, and has great steak. It's a town with a small state university, and is the gateway to Big Bend, which is one of the nation's hidden wonders for the outdoors.

[catman]

Pecos and Monahans are different from Alpine and Marfa, IMO. The latter are in the mountaiins and aren't as hot. In fact, Marfa is downright chilly in winter, often dueling with Dalhart as the coldest location in Texas. They are much cooler than Big Bend Nat'l Park, which an absolute furnace in summer.

[Sklarvaex]

I would also put Alpine or Marfa out there, pretty small and they're more used to out-of-towners than most small towns out here. Some other decent small ones off the top of my head that fit the description are Garden City (30 mi east of Midland), Christoval (20 mi south of San Angelo), Big Lake (65 mi west of San Angelo), Jayton (100 mi nw of Abilene), Sundown (40 mi west of Lubbock), Quitaque (80 mi se of Amarillo), or even Dell City (80 mi east of El Paso). Whether or not you need to find a job and/or have kids that need to go to school would play into it a lot as well.
Hope this helps!

[Cowboybootnut]

Perhaps Eastland, Cross Plains, Albany, Coleman, Santa Anna, Baird, Seymour, Haskell, etc. All are around a 1 hour drive from Abilene shopping, restaurants, etc.

Finding employment would be difficult.

[lothartheterrible]

Don't forget about Post, Seminole, Seagraves, Stanton, Ranger, Cisco, Coleman and Tahoka.

[airboat5]

If we could do texas again we would start in dripping springs.

[rr2005]

Definitely look into Tahoka. Population is about 2,900. It offers very affordable housing, a decent hospital, library, and golf course, supernice folks and about 30 miles from all that Lubbock has to offer. In the fall, they have "Harvest Festival", complete with turtle races for the kids, live music, etc......very Mayberry! Sunsets in West Texas are spectacular. Website is www.tahokatx.com. Good luck with your search!