Most corrupt city I have ever lived in (Lubbock, West: waterpark, school)

[LubbockAllergen]

I am from a military family, have lived in a few places abroad but mostly stateside. I have never seen the level of corruption I have seen here.


The property taxes rise exponentially every year and I have had to fight it every year (and have won because the excess is obvious even to Lubbock sympathizers on the board). I've never seen potholes in the roads that go unrepaired for so long anywhere else - and I've lived where snowfall and rain are much worse. I've seen collusion between the city water department and local plumbing companies to drive up costs for problems that threaten the health of local residents whose plumbing fixtures fail. I've seen local agencies let their services go because a head of the agency can't or doesn't show up for months, to the detriment of said agency.


Everywhere else I've ever lived, "Excellence is our motto" was the standard. Not here. If there is a standard here, it's mediocrity. It goes for private industry too; most of the restaurants would fail the health department standards anywhere else because they can't be bothered to clean tables; the church I might have attended couldn't be bothered to adjust its announced schedules to reflect reality for 4 years. When I told their board that I had showed up for a service they advertised that hadn't been offered in years they thought it was funny. It took a pastor from out of state to fix it. I can't believe the level of indifference I see here.


Why do I live here? When I moved here it was affordable. Costs have risen above that from which I lived before, the level of competence has not. So I save my money, hoping some other town in Texas gives a s**t. Lubbock doesn't.

[Creature of the Wheel]

You can always move up I-27 to a town known as Happy. There's not a frown in town!

[case44]

Originally Posted by Creature of the Wheel

You can always move up I-27 to a town known as Happy. There's not a frown in town!

Oooooh, good one!

[Ivory Lee Spurlock]

Originally Posted by LubbockAllergen

Everywhere else I've ever lived, "Excellence is our motto" was the standard.

Where else have you lived?

[mygenericemail]

Originally Posted by LubbockAllergen

I am from a military family, have lived in a few places abroad but mostly stateside. I have never seen the level of corruption I have seen here.


The property taxes rise exponentially every year and I have had to fight it every year (and have won because the excess is obvious even to Lubbock sympathizers on the board). I've never seen potholes in the roads that go unrepaired for so long anywhere else - and I've lived where snowfall and rain are much worse. I've seen collusion between the city water department and local plumbing companies to drive up costs for problems that threaten the health of local residents whose plumbing fixtures fail. I've seen local agencies let their services go because a head of the agency can't or doesn't show up for months, to the detriment of said agency.


Everywhere else I've ever lived, "Excellence is our motto" was the standard. Not here. If there is a standard here, it's mediocrity. It goes for private industry too; most of the restaurants would fail the health department standards anywhere else because they can't be bothered to clean tables; the church I might have attended couldn't be bothered to adjust its announced schedules to reflect reality for 4 years. When I told their board that I had showed up for a service they advertised that hadn't been offered in years they thought it was funny. It took a pastor from out of state to fix it. I can't believe the level of indifference I see here.


Why do I live here? When I moved here it was affordable. Costs have risen above that from which I lived before, the level of competence has not. So I save my money, hoping some other town in Texas gives a s**t. Lubbock doesn't.

Lubbock, like most other cities with big colleges, make their money from the colleges and students that come there. The city managers couldn't care less. Why? Because students don't stay. They are there for 2 to 4 years and then they are gone. Why bother? They've already made their money off them and the college.

I was born in Lubbock and remember it in it's heyday. It was nice. Now, from what I've heard from people who have lived there in the past 40 years, it's become a huge ghetto. Sad. Corruption corrupts absolutely.

[augiedogie]

I dont know about corruption, but we left 3 years ago and are not the cities biggest fans. The weather, dust and wind certainly suck, but theres more reasons to hate LBK. They just never seemed interested in investing money in anything recreation wise. The waterpark sucks, no zoo, very limited hiking or biking trails, no atv park. Now I've read they are considering some upgrades.

It seemed like all there is to do in LBK is go out to eat or shop. Much of Tx is the same. We would never move back.

[KaraZetterberg153]

I don't see Lubbock as being any more corrupt than any other city, and have to respectfully disagree with the opinions expressed by the OP. Actually, given the evangelical base here, my sense is that the city is far less corrupt than many other cities.

The people of Lubbock are friendly, and much nicer than many places. The streets are all fine in the area I live and shop in, so not sure where you're at on that, either.

[High_Plains_Retired]

Good grief! I must have lived in some really horrible cities because I had a "I Love Lubbock!" bumper sticker on my car when we lived in Lubbock. I would have been willing to retire at Lubbock at a much lower grade level and salary than what I eventually rose to but, while I was there, my agency closed our office and I was forced to move.

The Texas South Plains has some of the best people on this old Earth and after retirement I came back. It only takes me 45 minutes to get into Lubbock.

[Treasurevalley92]

Originally Posted by mygenericemail

Lubbock, like most other cities with big colleges, make their money from the colleges and students that come there. The city managers couldn't care less. Why? Because students don't stay. They are there for 2 to 4 years and then they are gone. Why bother? They've already made their money off them and the college.

I would say most college towns use the university as an asset....Better food, nightlight and culture vs other similarly sized towns.

So in most cases city managers invest in the city as a result of the university, because usually, it is their biggest asset, even if most of the kids don't stay after college.

I know alot of people who lived in Lubbock for School and a couple who are natives. They all say the city sucks, but I for one would still pick it over most of West Texas/ panhandle.

[augiedogie]

Comparing lbk to the rest of west Texas isnt much of a comparison. West Texas offers very few recreational activities, and the dust storms and wind are a constant everywhere in the area. We left 3 years ago and no one in our family misses it.