Moving to Lubbock (Nash, Cooper, Roscoe: apartments, to rent, health insurance)

[Peanut1]

I am from germany and married to a west texan. my hub was living the last ten years with me here in germany.
He is going to move back to Texas, that is Lubbock to be exact, in November and I am going to follow with our kids in June next year.

Do you have any special advice about elementary schools for kids, especially because my kids probably have to get special classes in english (english as second language). Both of them understand english pretty well but they are so far refusing to talk in english.

My hub has in mind to rent a house shortly before we are going to come over to Texas in June.
Any special ideas, in which area to find a house to rent best?
It should be definately a good area for kids (7 and 5 years old).

Our son (7 years old) is playing soccer right now for about two years now. He would like to keep on playing when we have moved....to be honest, I had to promise him that he would still be able to play living in Lubbock. Are there any soccer teams for 7/8 year old boys there?

I have been working here in germany for the last 14 years at a health insurance company.
What would my chances be like in Lubbock to start working at an insurance company? I know that my german training will be no big help in the USA and that the insurance system is completely different, but I would sure enough start from the bottom and work my way up!

I wold be happy about any kind of information, because everything I get to know will make the move from Europe to the USA easier for me and the kids.

Thanks,
Ilka

[case44]

Well, your hub gets to move to the Hub ---- as in Hub City (Lubbock's nickname). You can talk to the Lubbock ISD officials regarding ESL for your kids, but there shouldn't be a problem. Lubbock is a growing area with new homes being built on the northwest and southwest sides of town. The infrastructure is improving, and the economy is pretty stable there. I see you deal with health insurance, and Lubbock has a strong medical district, but there are opportunities for you in Lubbock. It's a family-friendly city, and the city gets almost 300 days of sunshine per year. And you can't beat the sunrises and sunsets. Traffic is usually not a big issue, and the heaviest volume is usually found on South Loop 289. Every convenience you can think of will not be far away wherever you decide to set up shop.

Lubbock Independent School District - Lubbock, Texas

Lubbock-Cooper ISD - Welcome to Lubbock-Cooper!

Lubbock Fun Club - Live it up!

Lubbock Centennial Celebration - Home

Official City Website for Lubbock, Texas

Come on in. There is room for you!!

[Peanut1]

Originally Posted by case44

Well, your hub gets to move to the Hub ---- as in Hub City (Lubbock's nickname). You can talk to the Lubbock ISD officials regarding ESL for your kids, but there shouldn't be a problem. Lubbock is a growing area with new homes being built on the northwest and southwest sides of town. The infrastructure is improving, and the economy is pretty stable there. I see you deal with health insurance, and Lubbock has a strong medical district, but there are opportunities for you in Lubbock. It's a family-friendly city, and the city gets almost 300 days of sunshine per year. And you can't beat the sunrises and sunsets. Traffic is usually not a big issue, and the heaviest volume is usually found on South Loop 289. Every convenience you can think of will not be far away wherever you decide to set up shop.

Lubbock Independent School District - Lubbock, Texas

Lubbock-Cooper ISD - Welcome to Lubbock-Cooper!

Lubbock Fun Club - Live it up!

Lubbock Centennial Celebration - Home

Official City Website for Lubbock, Texas

Come on in. There is room for you!!

Thank you so much for your answer.

I have been looking now through those links you gave me.
I like some of the schools already.

Does anybody know something about Mae Murfee Elementary School? It's on Nashville Dr. (sort of SW Lubbock) and even on google earth it looks somehow nice.
Is that an okay area to live in?

[Peanut1]

and one more short question:

Where can I find listings for houses to rent in Lubbock online? Under realtor.com I can't find anything and besides of that I just get listings for apartments.

I would like to get a little bit of an idea about what kind of house we would be able to rent in Lubbock and how much that would cost.

Thanks,
Ilka

[case44]

LubbockOnline is just a link to the city's newspaper, the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. The instructions on where to find things are pretty self-explanatory.

[Back2TX]

Murfee is a very good school. It was a well respected school when I taught in Lubbock (5yrs ago.) I think you will be pleased with the school system in Lubbock. Most people put their kids in the public schools. There are not many private schools there.... no need for them since the public schools are good.

If you would like names of good realtors in Lubbock, I know a few. Was good friends with them. Just message me on here and I would be happy to give you their names.

I hope you enjoy Lubbock as much as I did. It's a very friendly town and has a wonderful climate. I'm sure you will enjoy the winters there more than in Germany. In fact, I'll be in Lubbock this weekend. (We bought season tickets for the college team there and my parents live there.)

Good luck with your move.

[Back2TX]

By-the-way.... to answer a question from your original post.... yes, they do have soccer there. My brother was into soccer big time there. In fact, he and 2 other players on his team went to Europe one summer to play on an all American soccer team. They have indoor soccer and outdoor. He played soccer from 4yrs old to high school in Lubbock.

[Westerner92]

First of all, welcome to Lubbock! The elementary schools here are great wherever you go, but I would recommend Murfee and Roscoe Wilson. They have excellent magnet programs and a diverse student population with children from all over the city.

The area around Murfee is one of the nicer neighborhoods in Lubbock called Melonie Park. The homes were mainly built in the 1970's and almost all of them were custom made. The nicest neighborhoods, with a few exceptions, tend to be outside of the Loop on the SW side, and you can rent most of these homes for a very reasonable price. Good luck with your move! I really think you will enjoy Lubbock!

[bertie2020]

I'm thinking you will probably find medical jobs here fairly easily; same with soccer in the public schools, if I'm not mistaken. You may find the public schools rather simpleminded, though, since you're from Europe.

Good and bad re: Lubbock, from my perspective:
GOOD:
You can get from almost anywhere to anywhere else, in no time flat, with very little traffic snarls.
People are sweet and friendly, for the most part.
Weather is generally pleasant, cost of living is low.
More culture and good restaurants here than one would expect.
Texas Tech University is growing; the economy overall is good here.

BAD:
Traditional Christianity and Republicanism is the norm, the former of which keeps people behaving relatively well, I guess, but doesn't do much for independent thinking; it's possible you may have to hide your favorite books from your friends.
There were I think 80 tornado warnings here last year. *80*
When it rains too much, many of the streets and some of the homes are flooded, including the area surrounding the university.

This is not heaven on earth; like every place else, there are testosterone-driven behaviors from young men, good-ole-boyism, approximately 4% of the population are sociopaths, there are tons of criminals, drugs and child abusers here, as everywhere else, and we have our share of narcissists, and grownups who behave like children.

I will add that I attended the university here, in a doctoral program, and numerous people in my classes were some of the dumbest people I've ever encountered in my life. Can't write, never read anything, conservative without self-awareness. But again, isn't this the case pretty much everywhere?

[case44]

Originally Posted by bertie2020

I'm thinking you will probably find medical jobs here fairly easily; same with soccer in the public schools, if I'm not mistaken. You may find the public schools rather simpleminded, though, since you're from Europe.

Good and bad re: Lubbock, from my perspective:
GOOD:
You can get from almost anywhere to anywhere else, in no time flat, with very little traffic snarls.
People are sweet and friendly, for the most part.
Weather is generally pleasant, cost of living is low.
More culture and good restaurants here than one would expect.
Texas Tech University is growing; the economy overall is good here.

BAD:
Traditional Christianity and Republicanism is the norm, the former of which keeps people behaving relatively well, I guess, but doesn't do much for independent thinking; it's possible you may have to hide your favorite books from your friends.
There were I think 80 tornado warnings here last year. *80*
When it rains too much, many of the streets and some of the homes are flooded, including the area surrounding the university.

This is not heaven on earth; like every place else, there are testosterone-driven behaviors from young men, good-ole-boyism, approximately 4% of the population are sociopaths, there are tons of criminals, drugs and child abusers here, as everywhere else, and we have our share of narcissists, and grownups who behave like children.

I will add that I attended the university here, in a doctoral program, and numerous people in my classes were some of the dumbest people I've ever encountered in my life. Can't write, never read anything, conservative without self-awareness. But again, isn't this the case pretty much everywhere?

Well, no city is perfect, but Lubbock can't be that bad of a place. This city is affording positive opportunities for folks to move in. They should have that. You are right as far as the economy goes. And it's staying pretty good right now.