Suggestions for cities to relocate (Houston, Dallas: home, job market, construction)

[Ames]

Hi all,

My husband and I are in our mid 40's and all of our children are out on their own. We currently live in St. Petersburg, Florida and are seriously considering a move to the Lubbock, Texas area. I was born in Chicago, but lived in Florida over 40 years, and my husband is originally from PA. He used to live in Idaho, and has relatives that live in the Dallas and Houston areas. Those cities are too big, and we want wide open space. We want to enjoy the sunsets and sunrises that we have heard so much about in Texas. We are planning a "road trip" to explore the Lubbock area. We are concerned with jobs, but have heard that Texas has a low unemployment rate. We are friendly, so we won't have a problem meeting the nice people in that area. Any suggestions?

[Dangerfield]

Why Lubbock? There's nothing wrong with that city and you'll definately find wide open spaces to view the sun, but I'm curious what is guiding you there.

What is your profession or vocation? Texas' unemployment rates are generally lower than many other States but there are still numerous employers cutting back here.

[Westerner92]

Wide open spaces, seeing gorgeous sunrises and sunsets, good job market, Lubbock sounds like a perfect fit for you. I don't know what field of work you are in, but Lubbock's main industries are education and healthcare, so those are the easiest to get jobs in. I'm not sure of what else to say, so if you have any questions, just ask them.

[Ames]

We have been doing research, and want a city North West, not too big . Lubbock seems to have what we are looking for, however, if you have any suggestions, we are open to them.....any help is appreciated. My husband is a construction superintendent, and I have training as an administrative assistant/office manager/bookkeeper in fields ranging form healthcare to heavy equipment. I am currently enrolled in college working towards my AS in Microsoft office certified specialist and would like to start an at home business for admin/bookkkeeping/payroll, that can be portable and done from anywhere in the US. That way, if a company can't afford to hire someone full time, I can do their work, via the Internet. Thank you for the info so far.

[TT Dave]

Lubbock should indeed be a good choice. As noted above, there are some large hospitals there and Texas Tech University is located there (I graduated from Tech...GO RED RAIDERS!!). Anyway, Lubbock is large enough to have some decent shopping and lots of good restaurants, without the big city hassles of Texas larger cities. Amarillo is also a nice sized city that you might consider (slightly smaller than Lubbock). Word to the wise though, it gets cold in Lubbock and Amarillo in the winters (coldest area in the state), so if you don't like that kind of weather I'd go further south like Abilene or San Angelo where it doesn't get quite as cold. Both of those cities are about half the size of Lubbock or Amarillo so keep that in mind. Anyway, good luck to you!

[Ames]

Thank you TT Dave.....I will research those other cities too. Amarillo was one of the other choices. I don't mind cold, and my husband certainly doesn't.....I do want 4 seasons....here in Florida the 4 seasons are hot, hotter, hotter and humid and hurricane.....lol.

Everyone we have ever met from Texas has been friendly....and willing to welcome new neighbors....I am sure there are some not so nice Texans as well (head is not buried in the sand here), but I haven't met one yet.