Lubbock, TX
Come out to Lubbock and I'll show you the sights. A little info...
Sunny most of the year. Spring and summer thunderstorms, but they clear rapidly and cause the most wonderful sunsets.
Temps
Summer - Avg high 95-100, avg low 80-85
It is not uncommon for use to have several weeks a year with high temps at or above 100. On occassion, we will see daytime temps in the one-teens. Evenings are usually mild with a light breeze.
Winter - Avg high 60-70, avg low 30-40
It is unusual for us to have many days of hard sub-freezing temps here in Lubbock, but they do occur on occasion and usually last no more than 2-3 days.
Spring and Fall are usually pleasant beyond all imagination. We do have a prevailing southwest wind in springtime that can get quit gusty at times. Generally they are in the 10-15 mph range, but on occasion we will have a day with 50+ mph sustained winds. Not a lot, but they do occur.
Lubbock....
Population - 206000 (appx)
Economy Base - agriculture, education, some industry, some technology
Colleges and Teaching facilities (partial list)
- Texas Tech University
- Lubbock Christian University
- South Plains College
- Wayland Baptist University
Local Attractions - partial
- Texas Tech University Museum
- Texas Tech University Ranching Heritage Center
- The Buddy Holly Museam
- The Lubbock Lake Landmark archaeological site
- Buffalo Springs Lake (small)
- Many civic parks and small playa lakes
- Yellowhouse Canyon Lake Complex
Area Attractions - partial (most are less than 2 hours away)
- Caprock Canyons State Park
- Post Old Mill Trade Days
- Palo Duro Canyon State Park(second largest in U.S.)
- Carlsbad Caverns National Park (3.5 hrs)
- Ruidoso (skiing, gambling, and Ruidoso Downs - 4.0 hrs)
Traval Times (driving) to common destinations
- Amarillo .. 2 hrs
- Dallas .. 6 hrs
- Houston .. 10 hrs
- Albequrque .. 5 hrs
- Sante Fe .. 5 hrs
- Taos Ski Valley .. 7hrs
- Wolf Creek Pass, CO .. 10 hrs
- Flagstaff, AZ .. 9 hrs
- Denver, CO .. 10 hrs
- Oklahoma City, OK .. 6 hrs
- Tulsa, OK .. 8 hrs (Wannenmacher's gun show!!!!!!)
Economic
- No state income tax
- Local sales tax is 8.25%
- Local property tax rate is appx 2.475% inside the city, 1.975% outside.
- Average price for a previously-owned 1500 sq ft 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car garage home in average condition is $100,000 - $125,000
- Average price for a new construction of the same home is $125,000 - $150,000.
- Average utilities for the above home would be
> Summer - Electric $175-$200, natural gas $20, water $60-$90
> Winter - Electric $60-$80, natural gas $75-$100, water $30-$50
- Gasoline price as of this morning for mid-grade (88-89 octane) unleaded is $1.55
- A gallon of milk is $2.85 - $3.25
- A dozen eggs is $1.09
- Cigarrettes (if you smoke) are $3.49 per pack, or $24.99 per carton
- Average range fee is $3.25 per hour (outdoor) or $9 per day (indoor)
- We have 4 excellent locally owned gun shops, plus two Super WalMarts, an Oshmans Sporting goods, and a new Academy Sporting Goods store.
- Average price for a pair of Wrangler or Levi's jeans is $28
- Almost every major restaurant chain has a presence here, including Krispy Kreme.
- You are never more than a few minutes away from a convenience store or major supermarket even if you live in the middle of a neighborhood.
- Lubbock is easy to navigate. Everything is laid out in nice squares with street names in alphabetic and numeric order. Heck, even my mother can navigate here.
Crime
- Very low. Most crimes are the generic silliness that you see most anywhere (vandalism, stolen lawnmowers, etc). A truly violent crime is a thankful rarity.
In General
Lubbock is a neat place. We have the population to support all the "big city" services but still have the small town feel. A local ordinance prohibits big, gaudy signs, so Lubbock is not cluttered with a bunch of ugly signs up and down the road. We have an endless loop around the entire town that allows you to get from one side of town to the other in under 20 minutes, and that's in heavy traffic (all directions in Lubbock begin with "Get on the loop...").
Lubbock sits square in the middle of the Llano Estacado (for the linquistically challenged, it's pronounced "YA-no estacado"). It's the largest area of nearly level land in the continental U.S. Translation - Lubbock is FLAT!! Outside of town it's possible to see the lights of towns 40-50 miles away.
The entire south plains is dotted with small 1500-5000 pop towns, so there is plenty of place to move if you don't like Lubbock proper. Also, Lubbock doen't fade away as you get further from the city center. It just STOPS. The edges of down are well dilineated, so you can be a country dweller on a couple of acres and still be less than 10 minutes from milk and gas.
We do have high-speed internet service. ISDN, DSL, and T1 are all available locally, although you'll have to go with some type of wireless service if you live outside the city.
Best of all, when you get your Texas CHL you can walk into any local shop, present your CHL, and GO HOME WITH YOUR GUN!!
If I can help with anything, give me a ring at 806-781-8838
Brad
Just for fun, I've included this tongue-in-cheek poke at Lubbock life for your enjoyment...
CRITICAL SURVIVAL INFORMATION FOR LIVING IN LUBBOCK
Lubbock has many houses of worship. The two largest are Jones Stadium and United Spirit Arena.
Lubbock has the annual "Taste of Lubbock". This is not to be confused with the event during dust storm season, known as the "Taste of Lubbock Landscape".
Lubbock is tolerant of all sexes, temperaments, races, creeds, colors, and sexual orientations just as long as they are a good coach.
Lubbock encourages alcohol sales by putting all the liquor stores are just outside the city limits. That way, you have to buy an extra sixer for the drive home.
The two biggests sports in Lubbock are 1) Tech Football, and 2) the drunken brawl after the game.
Lubbock has a ten-year wierdness cycle. In the early 70's it was a tornado. In the early 80's it was the expected appearance of the Virgin Mary. In the early 90's it was an earthquake (okay, so it was actually in Odessa. Close 'nuff). In the early 2000's it was a Tech professor making up stories about destroying a batch of deadly viruses. Statisticians predict the cycle will continue in the early 2000-teens when a Lubbock driver will intentionally use a turn signal.
The two hardest things to find in Lubbock are bad barbeque and a good parking space near Texas Tech.
The Lubbock paper publishes a daily prayer on the front page. It's appropriate given the fact that there isn't a prayer of finding anything else worth reading in there.
Yes, we have a newscaster who's name sounds like "Abnormal Testes".
All traffic directions begin with "Get on the Loop" and end with "Get off the Loop". Unfortunately they usually omit the middle part - "..if you survive the Loop".
It took 3 decades for Lubbock to forgive Buddy Holly for being a heathen rock & roll singer and finally honor him for being a music pioneer. Given this history, Natalie Maines doesn't stand a chance.
Lubbock has a somewhat successful minor league hockey franchise. They are pretty sure that it is because of the sport's popularity, and that it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that it's the only sporting event in Lubbock where you can buy beer.
Sometime in the far future, when archeologists dig up the centuries-old remains of Lubbock, we are pretty sure that the Loop will still be under construction.
AND FOR DEALING WITH THE TYPICAL LUBBOCKITE.....
Lubbock is the heart and soul of West Texas. People from Amarillo, Midland, or Odessa are just wannabes. And don't you forget it.
"Lamesa" can only be properly pronounced by a native. Forget what your high school spanish teacher taught you, it's "luh-mee-suh" and everybody knows it.
Most bizarre actions can usually be accredited to the individual being from Amarillo.
An hour of thunder and lightning will produce no rain, while a small cloud north of town will dump enough water in 5 minutes to cause massive city-wide flooding.
Local TV forecasters, being both sadists and manic depressives, will warn you to run for the hills at the first sign of rain, but report 4-inch hail covering the entire south half of Lubbock as "an unconfirmed severe weather event".
It's not a dust storm until you can't see your driveway from your front door. Everything else is "just a little wind and blowing dust".
Lubbock has it's own set of traffic rules. They are as follows:
- Tailgating is mandatory.
- A person intering from a side street is required to wait until you are less than 50 yards away before pulling out into the street.
- The Loop has no beginning, no end, and the speed limit signs are there only as an amusing suggestion.
- The morning rush hour is from 7:55 to 8:05, and the afternoon rush hour is from 4:55 to 5:30. The extra time for evening rush hour is to give you time to pick up some bar-b-que for dinner.
- A traffic jam means you have to wait for the light to change twice.
- One snowflake will means you must drive 20 mph under the speed limit. Four inches of snow or ice requires that you drive 20 mph over the speed limit.
- Actually slowing down for a yellow light will usually result in a call to your insurance agent.
- Entry and exit ramps are there only as a recommendation. Feel free to use any flat spot adjacent to the roadway.
Shoot Safe!
Brad
) , good hunting and fishing, we do have state income tax, but it isn't bad and the folk here are quite nice.
for the last 6 months preferably to AZ, TX or Colorado just waiting on the right job offer to come along. Might have to consider TN now though I never considered the South much other than possibly Atlanta but anywhere is better than here.