Why is Odessa a lot cheaper than Midland? (Fort Worth: 2015, apartments)

[laina1980]

When looking at home buying, it seems significantly cheaper to buy a home in Odessa. Not much of a gap in rent but for buying it does seem big. I have been there and yes Midland does seem more “new” but not much IMO. And any thoughts or knowledge about the new home builds in Odessa vs. Midland? Thanks!

[rabbit33]

Odessa is considered the blue-collar town and Midland the higher-end one.

[ChristieP]

Odessa has significantly higher crime rates than Midland.

Neither ISD is rated very good, but Midland schools are slightly less bad than Odessa.

[LocalPlanner]

I know a couple years ago DR Horton and Betenbough were building new in Odessa, out on the north side of town. Betenbough was entry-level, smaller lots, minimal yard landscaping (no trees planted). DR was slightly more expensive - I think they may have included a playground or rec area in the project but can't remember.

Odessa's park system is...weak. As of 2019 at least, there had not been any new public parks built in over 30 years, and most of the existing ones I saw were pretty threadbare.

Midland communities seemed to have more amenities and be a little more expensive, but I didn't investigate them in depth.

As ChristieP mentioned, both ISDs have pretty awful reputations - the word among the oil and gas transfer crowd was to just live there during the week and keep your family elsewhere. Odessa was 240 teachers short at the time, but it was also in the midst of a housing crisis because oil field was strong. Now that it's been weaker, conditions might have eased slightly.

[laina1980]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

Odessa has significantly higher crime rates than Midland.

Neither ISD is rated very good, but Midland schools are slightly less bad than Odessa.

This is what I was thinking was a reason

[laina1980]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

I know a couple years ago DR Horton and Betenbough were building new in Odessa, out on the north side of town. Betenbough was entry-level, smaller lots, minimal yard landscaping (no trees planted). DR was slightly more expensive - I think they may have included a playground or rec area in the project but can't remember.

Odessa's park system is...weak. As of 2019 at least, there had not been any new public parks built in over 30 years, and most of the existing ones I saw were pretty threadbare.

Midland communities seemed to have more amenities and be a little more expensive, but I didn't investigate them in depth.

As ChristieP mentioned, both ISDs have pretty awful reputations - the word among the oil and gas transfer crowd was to just live there during the week and keep your family elsewhere. Odessa was 240 teachers short at the time, but it was also in the midst of a housing crisis because oil field was strong. Now that it's been weaker, conditions might have eased slightly.

That would make sense to not have good amenities or parks that bring in families.
If both ISD are not to be desired, how is the homeschool community there?

[ChristieP]

I can tell you that a great deal of the population in the Permian Basin is oilfield workers. Most of those workers are very transient: they live in RVs, hotels, and apartments that are rented for them by their employers. Not a lot of oilfield workers bring their families; many of them go home every third week to see their families. These people do not care about parks, schools, or quality of life amenities. They simply come to town to work and make money, and then they leave.

I have no idea abut homeschooling. Many of the people I know who work the oilfields live in small towns that have better schools, and their oilfield worker spouse often makes a lengthy commute to work.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

I can tell you that a great deal of the population in the Permian Basin is oilfield workers. Most of those workers are very transient: they live in RVs, hotels, and apartments that are rented for them by their employers. Not a lot of oilfield workers bring their families; many of them go home every third week to see their families. These people do not care about parks, schools, or quality of life amenities. They simply come to town to work and make money, and then they leave.

I have no idea abut homeschooling. Many of the people I know who work the oilfields live in small towns that have better schools, and their oilfield worker spouse often makes a lengthy commute to work.

Actually after the 2014-2015 bust folks in Odessa were stunned how many folks that had brought their families ended up staying. Probably the ones that came from more modest backgrounds. The city does have around 100,000 residents, after all.

My impression was that Odessa had just never really considered itself worthy of self-care, and you could see it. Not that dealing with an oil field economy is an easy thing to do, of course. The difference in wages between oil field and non-oil-field jobs was a major part of their housing crisis.

[tcualum]

A friend of mine moved to Fort Worth from Midland at the start of the lockdown for two reasons: the terrible schools and the terrible healthcare infrastructure. Two of her children ended up at Paschal High School which has a very well-respected honors program and her younger son ended up at a private school. All of them were far behind educationally.

[ScoPro]

Why is Odessa a lot cheaper than Midland?

Probably because the Russians are bombing the place as we type.