Amarillo /Midland-Odessa /Abilene

[Lucidus]

Originally Posted by southtexgirl

We have similar questions about Midland-Odessa (seems people love it or hate it), more moderate temps? read the surrounding area is ugly, what about the cities themselves? Jobs growing? costs of living?

how in the world do i post my own question........... im supposed to be moving over to odessa by the end of this month but i am really really really reallllllllllllyyyyy scared that i won't like it over there. compared to where im from it seems that odessa is still stuck in the past....i have a feeling that its really hard to make friends especially since i am hispanic...how can i cope?

Midland has the lowest unemployment in Texas and Odessa is not far behind. The cost of living in both cities is still low by national standards but housing cost are increasing. Midland also has the highest per capita personal incomes in Texas. So you can imagine that high income + low unemployment + low cost of living = rapid growth.

M/O is certainly not living in the past. There is a major ongoing effort here to develop new energy technologies. The most notable projects are FurtureGen, and HT3R.

I also don't think you will have any trouble making friends. There is a strong hispanic community in Odessa, but compared to RGV you may find that M/O has primarily an anglo culture.

[southtexgirl]

i think u are really wrong about south texas.... i know its not all that but compared to over there,...... let me tell u , i went up to odessa on labor day weekend and the famous hair style the girls wore was already a thing of the past compared to what's in fashion today....the houses over in odessa are really really old... i don't understand if people have so much money over there it looks that bad.... oh but sure, everyone drives around in expensive vehicles only to see them parked outside old apartment buildings or houses....of course there's a lot to buy over there but what about other things besides shopping or eating???

[Lucidus]

Originally Posted by southtexgirl

i think u are really wrong about south texas.... i know its not all that but compared to over there,...... let me tell u , i went up to odessa on labor day weekend and the famous hair style the girls wore was already a thing of the past compared to what's in fashion today....the houses over in odessa are really really old... i don't understand if people have so much money over there it looks that bad.... oh but sure, everyone drives around in expensive vehicles only to see them parked outside old apartment buildings or houses....of course there's a lot to buy over there but what about other things besides shopping or eating???

It sounds like you already have an opinion and do not need information. I would advise you not to make the move. You will be much happier in South Texas I think.

[teatime]

I agree with Lucidius. It doesn't sound as if you're really open to life in West Texas. Stay put.

[tgannaway89]

Odessa is NOT where the money is at (not most parts of it at least), maybe your looking for Midland? Odessa and many other West Texas counties are primarily hispanic, while Midland is primarily caucasion.

Map showing where non-Hispanic whites are a minority:


Source: AP

[NOTAM]

where did you find that map? shoot! had i found that map last year, i wouldnt have wasted my time down here for the past year. cant wait to get to the Hill Country area....next month, here i come! yeehaw!!!

Originally Posted by tgannaway89

Odessa is NOT where the money is at (not most parts of it at least), maybe your looking for Midland? Odessa and many other West Texas counties are primarily hispanic, while Midland is primarily caucasion.

Map showing where non-Hispanic whites are a minority:


Source: AP

[LeneCityThrasher]

damn right! you know whats going on. i live in inner city abilene and its dead. its all moving to the mall area(southwest) and by north judge ely(northeast). downtown is dead. the whole city is a wasteland only concerned with christians and making money off high school/college aged kids in the richer areas. DO NOT MOVE TO ABILENE!!.....EVER! it f ucking sucks.

[paulmss2]

I grow up in Odessa in the 70's and 80's and its boom bust economics. My dad still lives there. I was there in Jan '08 and the traffic as much heavier, There were no houses to be found for sales. My best friend tells me houses stay on the market for less than a week. This area has had a real hard time developing a BALANCED economy. Its either boom bust. The efforts to diversify back fired when non oil related industiest could not get any labor. Labor and housing are very tight but if you want a job this is the place to go. MO will really get crazy when the national economy goes bad. Lots of desperate job seekers will pour into that place. Better bring your tent or camper. If you are going to move there do it soon.

[ihodtx]

I wouldn't recommend Odessa or Midland for these reasons:
1. People may try to say it's a good place to live for jobs there is alot of jobs and they do pay good but housing groceries and just about everything else is more expensive.

2. The people are rude they don't smile, greet one another or show common courtesy to eachother.You never hear things like "Thank you" "Excuse me" "How are you doing" etc.

3.The people drive crazy on the road and in parking lots even when you're trying to just walk into a store theres a car speeding by or almost hitting you that goes back to the lack of common courtesy.

4.Finding a good place to live is hard and houses and apartments are way overpriced but I guess they can charge what they want since theres nothing new being built or any comepetition.

5.All the businesses are understaffed and it's hard to get fast and friendly service anywhere.Wal-Mart being the worst it's always crowded and they only have a few lanes open so you end up waiting forever in a long line to get something that would usually only take a few minutes anywhere else.

That's just to name a few things about the Odessa Midland area that are bad.I would recommend Lubbock to you it's 2 hours north of Odessa and an 1 hour and 45 minutes south of Amarillo but it wasn't one of your options so I guess I would have to say Amarillo.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by ihodtx

I wouldn't recommend Odessa or Midland for these reasons:
1. People may try to say it's a good place to live for jobs there is alot of jobs and they do pay good but housing groceries and just about everything else is more expensive.

2. The people are rude they don't smile, greet one another or show common courtesy to eachother.You never hear things like "Thank you" "Excuse me" "How are you doing" etc.

3.The people drive crazy on the road and in parking lots even when you're trying to just walk into a store theres a car speeding by or almost hitting you that goes back to the lack of common courtesy.

4.Finding a good place to live is hard and houses and apartments are way overpriced but I guess they can charge what they want since theres nothing new being built or any comepetition.

5.All the businesses are understaffed and it's hard to get fast and friendly service anywhere.Wal-Mart being the worst it's always crowded and they only have a few lanes open so you end up waiting forever in a long line to get something that would usually only take a few minutes anywhere else.

That's just to name a few things about the Odessa Midland area that are bad.I would recommend Lubbock to you it's 2 hours north of Odessa and an 1 hour and 45 minutes south of Amarillo but it wasn't one of your options so I guess I would have to say Amarillo.

Hmmm. They must have been reacting to YOUR attitude. I lived there for 30 years, and I saw abundant amounts of common courtesy as well as having doors held open for me (always acknowledged with a nod, smile and thank you), et al....

Every place has its share of rude jerks, and Midland-Odessa is no exception.