What Gives? Why is it so difficult to rent a house in the Midland/Odessa area? (Austin: apartment, credit)

[TX75007]

I'd call one of the tier 1 realty agencies in Midland.

80% of the properties coming up for rent will not be listed.

[RetroSarah]

I've been reading through the other threads, and keep seeing that Odessa is for the working class & Midland is for the upper class and executives. Is this really the case? Are blue collar workers not accepted in Midland? Is there a class bias then, or is it just a common knowledge thing and it doesn't really matter?

[debzkidz]

There are plenty of blue collar workers living in Midland. It has always been sort of divided though. Mainly, because most, but not all O&G companies, especially in the past, when every company had a Permian Basin office, had their offices located in Midland. Most of the service companies tended to have their shops/yards in Odessa.

I've known plenty of blue collar people in Midland, as well as white collar people in Odessa.

[SVTRay]

Originally Posted by RetroSarah

I've been reading through the other threads, and keep seeing that Odessa is for the working class & Midland is for the upper class and executives. Is this really the case? Are blue collar workers not accepted in Midland? Is there a class bias then, or is it just a common knowledge thing and it doesn't really matter?

Midland = White collar
Odessa = Blue collar

Does it matter? No.

In days past, Midland became the HQ for a lot of independent oil & gas companies thus the larger skyline than Odessa. Now days people drive back and forth between the two cities going home or work. the only clash between the two cities is High School football...West Texas football is serious business here...ever here of Friday Night Lights? Lol

FYI: There is also an old saying, go to Midland to Raise kids, go to Odessa to Raise hell You want find a strip club, Adult store, or Hooters in Midland, you'll have to go to Odessa for that stuff.

[RetroSarah]

Yeah...strip club...NOT exactly on my list. :P

[SVTRay]

Originally Posted by RetroSarah

Yeah...strip club...NOT exactly on my list. :P

Oh I wasn't trying to imply anything...I was just pointing out the differences between Midland/Odessa.

[RetroSarah]

Oh, I know. I just thought it was kind of funny.

I appreciate the explanation of the differences. It helps tons, thanks.

[debzkidz]

Originally Posted by SVTRay

Midland = White collar
Odessa = Blue collar

Does it matter? No.

In days past, Midland became the HQ for a lot of independent oil & gas companies thus the larger skyline than Odessa. Now days people drive back and forth between the two cities going home or work. the only clash between the two cities is High School football...West Texas football is serious business here...ever here of Friday Night Lights? Lol

FYI: There is also an old saying, go to Midland to Raise kids, go to Odessa to Raise hell You want find a strip club, Adult store, or Hooters in Midland, you'll have to go to Odessa for that stuff.

Hahahaha! Yes, this is definitely something I've always heard too. But in all seriousness, Odessa has plenty of nice neighborhoods and nice people and I would not rule out living there. The last time we lived in Midland, DH actually worked in Odessa. We chose to live in Midland because we had lived there before and all of our friends, church etc were there. If it had not been for our previous experience in Midland we probably would have moved to Odessa. It's a short, easy commute and I don't know if it's still true, but when we were there, he cost of housing was slightly less in Odessa.

[RetroSarah]

My husband's a driver, and was told from local drivers that the working class live in Odessa or Big Springs, but Odessa is also where people to go for drugs. I know drugs are everywhere, regardless where you live. Just because a town is known to have a reputation, doesn't mean it's all drugs & cops & crazy. Where we live here in Tucson there are meth & crack heads everywhere. You can't go to the grocery store without seeing them wandering aimlessly by the front door. The thing is, if you don't do drugs or buy them, your chances of having a run-in or being affected by the culture is really low. Home invasions are on the rise here, but unless a dealer or cartel mistakes your home for someone else's, you've got nothing to worry about.

I'd assume the same rules apply for Odessa. Don't do drugs and you won't be affected by it, even if it's in your neighborhood. You may see & hear things, but you most likely won't be caught in the crossfire. That said, the crossfire's not a place I want to be near either. I guess you just have to spend time in the neighborhood both night & day and see if you feel comfortable.

[SVTRay]

Originally Posted by RetroSarah

My husband's a driver, and was told from local drivers that the working class live in Odessa or Big Springs, but Odessa is also where people to go for drugs. I know drugs are everywhere, regardless where you live. Just because a town is known to have a reputation, doesn't mean it's all drugs & cops & crazy. Where we live here in Tucson there are meth & crack heads everywhere. You can't go to the grocery store without seeing them wandering aimlessly by the front door. The thing is, if you don't do drugs or buy them, your chances of having a run-in or being affected by the culture is really low. Home invasions are on the rise here, but unless a dealer or cartel mistakes your home for someone else's, you've got nothing to worry about.

I'd assume the same rules apply for Odessa. Don't do drugs and you won't be affected by it, even if it's in your neighborhood. You may see & hear things, but you most likely won't be caught in the crossfire. That said, the crossfire's not a place I want to be near either. I guess you just have to spend time in the neighborhood both night & day and see if you feel comfortable.

I'm a driver and live in Midland

Midland has it's fair share of drivers and blue collar jobs. Just take a drive up Garden City Hwy (east 158), 1788, 191, and Business Loop 20.

Odessa got a bad rep back in the old oil boom days...ranked number one in Muder rate per 100k nation wide! Odessa has changed a great deal since then although the crime still sits a little higher than Midland. Odessa has a lot of nice new neighbor hoods east of the loop off 191. Odessa is actually built very close to Midland's county line and these new neighbor hoods are almost on that line. I've got a friend who lives over in this area and the homes are nice. He works in Odessa but visiting back and forth is a very easy commute.