Amarillo /Midland-Odessa /Abilene (San Antonio, Austin, Lubbock: insurance, crime, how much)

[Odie]

I was born and raised in West Texas, Amarillo to be exact and it is not a place I would ever live again. I have lived in OK for the past 9 years and although the people are still the same as in TX (at least somewhat the same), there is much more to do here. I love TX, just not West TX. If I were to ever move back to TX, I'd head towards the Dallas/Fort Worth areas. Austin or San Antonio would also be a choice.

[midwestmom]

Sorry it took awhile to respond - extra work hours and extra tired..

Thank you all for your help. It sounds like there are some strong opinions about both places - its great some of you are so happy living in a place you love.

Lucidus - appreciate those links, will be checking them out.

Sounds like both cities offer steady work, a strong economy is always a plus. We're working class and it seems to work out better than mega-growth (only because high prices/rents tend to follow..that was our experience in another city, higher wages didn't necessarily follow at our level of employment).

[Lucidus]

Originally Posted by midwestmom

Sorry it took awhile to respond - extra work hours and extra tired..

Thank you all for your help. It sounds like there are some strong opinions about both places - its great some of you are so happy living in a place you love.

Lucidus - appreciate those links, will be checking them out.

Sounds like both cities offer steady work, a strong economy is always a plus. We're working class and it seems to work out better than mega-growth (only because high prices/rents tend to follow..that was our experience in another city, higher wages didn't necessarily follow at our level of employment).

No problem midwestmom.

Be sure to visit the cities before you decide. If you have any other questions or want to know what to do on a visit just let me know. I will be happy to help in any way that I can.

[Diamond Dee]

I would chose MO area it has more to do and see ,but Amarillo and Abilene arn't to bad either.

[EditorinTexas]

I live in Amarillo. My sister lives in Midland. My sister would rather live in Odessa than Midland and would prefer Amarillo over both of them.

[holmes]

Have you considered El Paso? This is the largest city in west Texas and I imagine would allow far more economic opportunity than the other west texas cities mentioned. All this while still allowing a low standard of living. It is considered the smallest of the big texas cities, although if you consider the metro population of El Paso and its sister city Juarez, checks in at about 2.5 million. Pretty big area, but still feels like a small town. The weather is great too!

[holmes]

Actually I stand corrected. El Paso is a bit larger than Fort Worth. However if you compare the DFW metro and the El Paso/Juarez metro, DFW is larger I'm sure..

[flygirl83]

You would have to be crazy to go to Odessa. I don't even go to see my family.

[Lucidus]

Originally Posted by flygirl83

You would have to be crazy to go to Odessa. I don't even go to see my family.

Un oh, I gotta put my defender of Midland/Odessa hat. I respectfully disagree you don't have to be crazy to go to Odessa, it helps but its not necessary, being here will probably drive you crazy, so already being crazy is not required.

But seriously, Odessa is not that bad. It is a working class town though, but working class people are great folks. I think this bad rep is mostly part of an outdated idea of Odessa. I would put Odessa up against any other Texas city and not be embarrassed. Some of the newer areas are especially nice. I travel a lot with my job to places like Atlanta, Irvine, Palm Springs, and Las Vegas so it is not just a matter of me not getting out of the trailer park enough.

Anyway, my $0.02

[Jim Finn]

consider Lubbock!