Relocating to Amarillo (Lubbock, Pampa, Portland: 2011, apartment, to rent)

[redraiderjim]

Currently my wife and I live in Portland, OR. I have received an offer for a good paying job in Amarillo, TX. I used to live in Lubbock (went to school at Texas Tech) and know about the Texas panhandle. Problem is, my information is outdated (left Lubbock in 1989) and upon a recent look up of crime in Amarillo it was worse than Portland! What's up with that? That is very hard to believe!

Also noticed that apartment rents were about the same as here in Portland. Purchasing a home looks much better though- just won't be ready to buy until 6 months or so.

We will be looking for an older home (1920-60's) in an older neighborhood- any good ones? I've heard that south and west are ok in Amarillo- true?

Also- what about Pampa, Panhandle and Canyon? I have heard good things.

[Westerner92]

I live in Lubbock, but I do know a little bit about Amarillo, and I don't think there are any active members from there. I would venture to say that almost all of the crime is contained in the NE part of town. Unless you are involved in crime yourself, you probably don't have anything to worry about. For the age of homes you're looking for, I would suggest Olsen Park or a neighborhood around there. Canyon is a great little town that you might want to look into, but Pampa and Panhandle aren't very nice IMO. Good luck with your decision!

[GayleTX]

Moved from that area 3 years ago....had a business in Amarillo and lived in Panhandle. The crime in Amarillo is almost all in the NE part of town and is mostly within that community....very little violent crime by those residents on anyone outside their community altho there are some business burglaries, etc outside that area. The police do the best they can, but our business was broken into 3 times in 2 years. They have recently bought a helicopter to patrol that area.

The nicer/newer homes and all the shopping/dining/medical facilities are in the west part of town.

Our business was on the East Looop and rather than live in west Ama and drive thru traffic every day, we chose to live in Panhandle and drive the 20 miles in 20 minutes, no traffic. They keep the highway and main roads clear in the winter....they know how to handle snow better than the rest of Texas. And there is more snow there than Lubbock (we've lived there, too).

As for Pampa and Panhandle.....Pampa is not a good choice and is too far to commute IMO; do is White Deer. And altho Panhandle doesn't look too good driving thru on the highway, I can highly recommend it as a place to live......please drive off the highway toward downtown and drive around in the west and northwest part of town. There are blocks and blocks of nice homes, many of them very large ranch houses built in the 60's-70's, huge yards; there are also many very nice homes built within the past 10 years. There is an outstanding museum downtown, a very good library, a couple of eating places. The school system is very good. The people in Panhandle are more open to 'outsiders' than most small towns because so many of the residents work at the government Pantex facility near there..... 3500 government employees coming and going from all over the country/world.....that's also why the tax base is good. Most of the social life revolves around the golf club and church life there (large number of Catholics and quite a few Methodists and Baptists.) The natives are mostly of German and Polish descent and have strong family values and strong work ethic. The majority of the people in Panhandle are well-educated, most work in Amarillo.

Canyon is a small college town but is so near Amarillo it's really just part of it....more like a suburb.It does have a WalMart but housing is limited. It's very near Palo Duro Canyon if you're interested in camping.

Hope you enjoy your new life....it's helpful that you have at least lived in that part of the world before....it can be a shock to the system of some people, especially from places like Oregon! Best wishes.....

[cobolt]

I lived in Amarillo for 13 years and worked in Canyon. I'm currently trying to get back to Lubbock. DM me if you have any particular questions and I'd be happy to help you out.

[Daniel501]

Amarillo's crime is tends to be geographically east and north

Older home in an older neighborhood: Wolflin, Olson Park, Bivins...

These neighborhoods do happen to be closer to the crime than the newer neighborhoods west of Bell St, for what it's worth. That said, I think people there like it where they are.

West and Southwest Amarillo have a lot of new neighborhoods. This is where most of the middle and upper middle class are gravitating to.

Canyon is good. Pampa and Panhandle would be a bit more of a commute, for little to no benefit.

Rent in Amarillo, for a decent place, is indeed higher than it should be.
But it's a good idea, I think, to rent for a few months before you buy. This will allow you to get a better feel for things.

In what part of town are you going to be working?

Originally Posted by redraiderjim

Currently my wife and I live in Portland, OR. I have received an offer for a good paying job in Amarillo, TX. I used to live in Lubbock (went to school at Texas Tech) and know about the Texas panhandle. Problem is, my information is outdated (left Lubbock in 1989) and upon a recent look up of crime in Amarillo it was worse than Portland! What's up with that? That is very hard to believe!

Also noticed that apartment rents were about the same as here in Portland. Purchasing a home looks much better though- just won't be ready to buy until 6 months or so.

We will be looking for an older home (1920-60's) in an older neighborhood- any good ones? I've heard that south and west are ok in Amarillo- true?

Also- what about Pampa, Panhandle and Canyon? I have heard good things.

[cobolt]

Gosh, I wish I were going back to the Panhandle. I'm still in the PacNW. I have a phone interview with Texas Tech---my fourth one!

[nmnita]

even though my experience with Amarillo is just spending a few nights there, I love the place. If I were moving back to Texas, regardless of the awful weather, I would love to live in the panhandle.

NIta

[cobolt]

Originally Posted by nmnita

even though my experience with Amarillo is just spending a few nights there, I love the place. If I were moving back to Texas, regardless of the awful weather, I would love to live in the panhandle.

NIta

Panhandle people are the best!

[ATXIronHorse]

Originally Posted by cobolt

Gosh, I wish I were going back to the Panhandle. I'm still in the PacNW. I have a phone interview with Texas Tech---my fourth one!

PacNW is a horrible place to live. Rain rain rain.

[luckyu_45601]

I am a single woman getting ready to move to the Amarillo area and will be working at Pantex. This is a huge move for me. I currently reside in a small town in Ohio and have never been out west. Can someone suggest where would be the best place to live