The Panhandle (Dallas, Lubbock, Amarillo: rental homes, condo, crime)

[rlndjssc]

I live in the DFW area, and I'm seeking to go out pretty far - far enough to buy a brick home for the same price as my condo here.

So far, the towns I've looked at, the Panhandle seems to have some parts where I can find a relatively nice one.

One town I looked at had a rating of 20 out of 100 for housing cost, whereas here in DFW it is 45-60.

Anyway, anyone who lives there, if you could tell me about your town.

[GayleTX]

The town of Panhandle is about 20 miles west of Amarillo, about 10 mi. no. of I-40. We lived there 5 years. It's small, clean, extremely safe (we never locked our house doors or took the keys out of the cars), probably the highest income of any small town in the Panhandle area, life centers around the churches (heavily Catholic and Methodist) and football. Nice people.

[scoobagirl]

What kind of work do you do? In smaller towns, that is key to whether you'll find a good "fit" with the community as there are fewer options.

I live in Borger, which is an oil-refinery town. The major employers are ConocoPhillips(refinery) and Chevron Phillips(chemical) plants. The population is around 11,000 people; right now there is a shortage of rental homes and hotel/motel rooms because of construction projects at the plants. You can buy an extremely nice brick home (3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage) for less than $150k.

Its hot and dry with a constant breeze in the summer, and we have cold weather in the winter, but not usually much snow. And we can have severe weather in the spring, but the weather normally builds right along the center of the panhandle and moves to the east-southeast. Towns like Perryton, Wheeler, Pampa, Canadian, and south on 287 get a lot more rain than we do.

The schools are good - every high-school senior this year passed the TAKS and got to walk across the stage. About half the teachers are 2nd or 3rd generation from this town - and quite a few had parents who were teachers. We have several elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school.

We have a WalMart and a good number of restaurants, a hardware store and a lumberyard, 2 supermarkets, lots of churches (about 50% are Baptist), a great city park for walking, a strong youth-league athletic program (football, baseball, soccer, and basketball), a good hospital, and a GM auto dealership. Like many small towns, we're trying to revive our main street - local folks owning small businesses such as dress shops, a health food store, a 3-screen movie theater, a spa-type salon, gift shops, a coffee shop, and antique shops. We also have a 2-yr community college with a great athletic center and a strong continuing-education program.

On the other side, there is some crime - mostly drug-related lowlife type stuff (like everywhere, there's a meth problem). There is also a teen-pregnancy issue here. The crime report shows mostly hot-check writers, petty theft, some burglaries, drug possession, and automobile violations. There's a murder or rape every three to five years, and an arson once in awhile, but its really pretty safe here. We don't always lock our house or vehicles, though lots of people do.

Besides a nice brick home, what are some of the things you're looking for?

[imaterry78259]

Please someone tell me about Amarillo. The nightlife, culture, restaurants etc.. No one ever talk about the city made famous on Route 66

[scoobagirl]

Here's the message I posted in another thread back in May:

I live near Amarillo and have for my whole life. There are a lot of small towns around Amarillo and I can assure you that many of the high-school kids want to move to Amarillo when they get out of school. We who live in these smaller towns spend a lot of time going to Amarillo because its the cultural and medical center in the panhandle.

Amarillo is an old town - founded in the 1890's - and has historic old buildings downtown. There is a movement in the city to revitalize the "old" downtown district, which is slowly happening with clubs and restaurants coming in. There are still some old family businesses downtown as well. The homeless missions and welfare office are downtown also, which is why the vagrants are seen around there. One of the city parks has problems with vagrants too, but its a relatively small number of people - not like there are hundreds or thousands of people wandering around all over town.

High school sports are big in Amarillo, with intense rivalry between certain schools. As someone else mentioned, church is also big. And mega churches are big too! By no means are these the only things going on in the city. There is the Amarillo Little Theater which has many productions each year. There is a new performing arts center across the street from the Civic Center, near downtown. The PA center has great concerts with well-known performers as well as orchestra. Almost everything that is a big production is held in the civic center - trade shows, boat & travel shows, car shows, Crafty Peddler shows, art shows, antique shows, bridal shows, home improvement shows, the list is endless. There is a pro hockey team that plays in the coliseum, and there are huge banquet halls too. Something is always going on at the civic center.

There is also an arena football team, and a baseball team. Sports are big in Amarillo. Rodeo is big here too. The PRCA finals have been held here for several years. The city works very hard to get conventions here because of the great location - its very easy to get here.

The Tri-State Fair is held at the fairgrounds every September. Loads of people come from everywhere for the fair. There are a LOT of hotel/motels in Amarillo and also a LOT of restaurants. People love to eat out here. There are also a big mall and some great shopping centers with a lot of the major chain stores. Amarillo has been growing to the South and the West, but those aren't the only nice areas of town, just the newest. There are nice homes all around Amarillo, and a wide variety of prices. Housing is a bit higher than the average because the builders are building a lot of these big fancy houses, but there are great houses available that won't cost a fortune.

Amarillo is the regional medical center as well. Most of the small towns surrounding Amarillo have small hospitals and basic medical care, but the specialists are in Amarillo and the hospitals in the city provide a wider range of care and treatment. There's a top-notch cancer treatment facility in Amarillo. The Texas Tech medical school uses the Amarillo hospitals as teaching hospitals, so treatment is up-to-date with technology. Many people are retiring to Amarillo from the surrounding communities because that is where their doctors/specialists are.

The Amarillo Economic Development Commission is strong in the community and works hard to bring new businesses and industries to the city. It seems to me that there are a lot of job opportunities here for all kinds of workers - teachers, medical, technical, construction, etc. There is an international airport serviced by Continental Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Delta Airlines, and American Airlines. Amarillo is on two major truck routes between the west coast/east coast (I-40) and Dallas to Denver (US 287). West Texas State University is in Canyon, 15 miles from Amarillo. Amarillo College is a great 2-yr college which has lots of technical programs as well as prep for a 4 yr. college.

As far as diversity, there is a significant Asian population, mostly Vietnamese and Laotian immigrants; a very large Hispanic population, as well as the African American community and the Caucasian community. Amarillo has been a place of refuge for many groups of people who have been displaced from their countries. Though this is an area where the baptist churches are the majority, the catholic churches are strong too, and they help refugees find a new home here. (I'm saying this is a good thing) Amarillo is also a very generous community, because there are a lot of charitable organizations in the city who rely on the community for support.

Personally I'd be comfortable living anywhere in Amarillo. For a small-town lifestyle with the city close by, I'd recommend any of the towns surrounding Amarillo - Canyon, Pampa, Claude, Bushland, Vega, Dumas, Fritch, Borger, Clarendon - all are nice towns and have good schools. There are people living in Amarillo that commute to these towns for work, and also people living in these towns that commute to Amarillo for work. Around here, driving 50 miles isn't a big deal.

There are a lot more great things about this area that I haven't mentioned. It is really a nice place to live, with a reasonable cost of living. Hope this helps...

In addition - someone asked about nightlife. There are 2 huge movie theaters, then there are clubs. The younger crowd (20's) go to Midnite Rodeo (a country & western bar with a "racetrack style" dance floor; and Graham's, which is several kinds of clubs under one roof at I-40 and Western. From the conversations I hear at work, the clubs are one place where Amarillo seems like a smaller town - sounds like the same people go to the same clubs frequently, which is uncomfortable when you're constantly seeing people you used to date. At least that is the word from the 20-somethings I know. Of course there are other bars and clubs in Amarillo, but these are two of the most popular ones.

[kaykay]

I don't know much about housing costs in Lubbock anymore, but I grew up there and I think it's a great place to live. Texas Tech University is there. Lots of amenities, good medical care, etc. I think it would be worth a look.

[Jim Finn]

Originally Posted by kaykay

I don't know much about housing costs in Lubbock anymore, but I grew up there and I think it's a great place to live. Texas Tech University is there. Lots of amenities, good medical care, etc. I think it would be worth a look.

I just moved to Lubbock and there are houses here ... NEW ones... all brick for $90,000 Great people too! Tons of jobs!

[brigmama45]

do u have any info on Claude, TX, i am a nurse and really liked the area, need info on nursing jobs around that area and decent rental homes.

[brigmama45]

i am a nurse and really liked the area, need info on nursing jobs around that area and decent rental homes.

[brigmama45]

i am a nurse and really liked the area, need info on nursing jobs around that area and decent rental homes. just want out of the hurricane area,