We are looking to move to Midland (Houston, Dallas: layoffs, movie theater)

[morningstar77]

Thanks Rottnboys, and all the others who posted positively.
We have ~ finally ~ decided our move will be to Midland as soon as we can get everything buttoned up here. It's good to read all of the positve comments. I just wish we could hit the road right now!
I'd be happy to hear more about my future new home. Inside info welcome!

[pammybear]

Welcome morningstar! Just ask away! I promise to be honest and not get nasty!! I know a great little Mexican bakery if you are interested!!!

Pam

[morningstar77]

Originally Posted by pammybear

Welcome morningstar! Just ask away! I promise to be honest and not get nasty!! I know a great little Mexican bakery if you are interested!!!

Pam

Thanks so much! I'd love to know of great bakery's, grocery stores, or anything else you want to comment on for basic daily survival. What about winter clothing in Midland? I obviously don't need to bring our rain gear, but since we're downsizing a house here, I don't want to pack more than we'll need. We'll be renting at first, any areas of town I should be aware of? Schools aren't an issue, just us and 3 cats. Are there Farmers Markets and things like that? We're both pretty low key type people so not looking for the exciting night life. Besides football ~ which I admit I don't know too much about...but am willing to learn ~ what other activities do locals like to do? I saw something about the water. Is bottled water preferred for drinking? I also know about the current water problems outside of town.
You know, we're just looking so forward to a brand new start in a nice clean city thats not so economically depressed as this area. And with that...it's back to the packing!

[Houston3]

I lived in Odessa waaaaaaayyyyy back when and I have fond memories... But that was still in the horse and buggy days..

[TT Dave]

Originally Posted by morningstar77

Thanks so much! I'd love to know of great bakery's, grocery stores, or anything else you want to comment on for basic daily survival. What about winter clothing in Midland? I obviously don't need to bring our rain gear, but since we're downsizing a house here, I don't want to pack more than we'll need. We'll be renting at first, any areas of town I should be aware of? Schools aren't an issue, just us and 3 cats. Are there Farmers Markets and things like that? We're both pretty low key type people so not looking for the exciting night life. Besides football ~ which I admit I don't know too much about...but am willing to learn ~ what other activities do locals like to do? I saw something about the water. Is bottled water preferred for drinking? I also know about the current water problems outside of town.
You know, we're just looking so forward to a brand new start in a nice clean city thats not so economically depressed as this area. And with that...it's back to the packing!

As I said on the previous page I lived in Midland for a little while back in the 90's. Midland really doesn't have too many "bad" neighborhoods but generally speaking the nicer apartments and homes are on the northern and western side of town. When I was there, there were some nice apartments along or near streets that intersect with Loop 250 on the north side (I lived in one of those). There is also more shopping areas, restaurants, etc., on the north/northwest side of town. As far as the water goes, yes, I would plan on the bottled water, or at least filtered water for drinking. I'll let others who have lived there more recently or live there now give input about specific grocery stores and bakery's, etc., since I'm sure there's a lot of new stuff there since I lived there.

[Cathy4017]

I miss HEB, Tampico's and my vets like crazy.

I used bottled water the entire time I was there (30 years), but I have never lived in an area with good water right out of the tap since I left home hundreds of years ago. That includes where I now live. I have a water softener and RO for drinking.

The water where I grew up had always been wonderful. I was home recently, and the chlorine they have added is such a turn-off that I used bottled water then, too. I have NO idea why they had to add all the extra chlorine or whatever they did with it.

But Midland and Odessa water have always been nasty!

[pammybear]

I live in the North side --way North, but when we are able to move into a larger house (we have another property out of state we are trying to sell) so if I could now choose anywhere to live I would live a little closer to the center of town because it seems I am always driving kids somewhere! I like the Briarwood area of town in particular because there is a pool and playground. I also like Trinity Meadows but no pool. There is a new neighborhood down "A" street called the Woodlands with a gorgeous pool and a lake with a walking trail. It is very nice but again it's a little ways out if you have to do a lot of back and forth driving..........let's see my favorite grocery store is HEB on Wadley. They are pretty competitive even with Walmart. The bakery I have discovered is Martinez bakery on Florida St., a little bit past down town. Very very busy at lunch time. We hit it at around 9:30am and it has baked goods and homemade tacos with salsa.........delicious. For cakes and cookies to go, Tony's Bakery on Big Spring St. is great--very friendly and reliable. Harvest Cafe on Wadley and Garfield is my favorite coffee place--they have tea and other stuff too..... For night life in the Summer, if you can stand some "Saturday Night Live" type comedy a la Midland then you have to go to Summer Mummers at the Yucca theater. They have a website--it is indescribable--you just have to go and try it. It's hilarious. We don't go out much cuz of young kids but when we do it's usually for dinner and to go the Midland Community Theater or the Yucca. Several times a year, some quality speakers come to Odessa and Midland.......just have to watch for it in the paper. Whatever you are doing for fun now, I'm sure you will find it here. Believe it or not there are mountain biking clubs and SCUBA clubs here., I know people in both!! Lots of people are into horses too.......... After 2 years here, I finallly discovered the Davis Mountains---beautiful area and only a 3 hr drive away. Wow that's probably enough for now! Tell us what your interests are and we can probably elaborate!!

Pam

[pammybear]

Oh about winter, it's very mild here. It can get cold and windy so just a nice winter coat and gloves should suffice. I lived in South Dakota for 14 years so that's my point of reference! It doesn't snow much at all but there will be some--ice is more likely the danger but it usually melts by mid-day. They are very good about predicting any kind of precip on all the news channels so you will be warned! If you can keep your car in a garage then ice on your windshield won't be an issue. Several people here have palm trees and they seem to survive in this climate.

Pam

[Former Odessan in Austin]

Originally Posted by Former Odessan in Austin

Better research that factless claim again. Just saying it doesn't make it true. Texas only has one city in the top 20 most educated cities in America, and it is not Midland, its Austin and Austin ranks number 5. See the link below for the list of the most educated cities in America.

Most-Educated Cities in the United States - MSN Encarta

Also you might want to check the high school drop out rate before moving to Midland.

The Midland Independent School District, the whole district not just one school, was ranked as Unacceptable by the Texas Education Agency on July 31, 2009. See the link below from the Midland Reporter News. How can Midland be one of the most educated cities in the country when your school district is rank as unacceptable by the state?

MyWestTexas.com > News > Top Stories: MISD earns 'academically unacceptable' rating from TEA

[pammybear]

Yes, please do read the article and you will see it failed because of the Highschool drop out rates. I am not sure what the solution but it has to be a combination of parent/student/community and SCHOOL. They do have to do better for the students who aren't being retained in the highschool but this doesn't seem to be affecting the education of the students who are actually STAYING in school. They also didn't pass by 2 percentage points and the difference was even lower in Odessa/Ector Co. Yes, I do encourage people to read the article. Just as a personal side note, my dh and I have advanced degrees beyond College and so do most of the people we know. This is an interesting, and even international community of doctors, engineers, geologists, business people, educators etc. I personally know people from India, Israel, Thailand, East Africa, Canada, China and Myramar. If you live here and seek diversity, cultural and educational opportunities you will find it. You just have to put forth the effort which I think is true no matter where you live.

Pam