May I be the first to extend you an invitation to Lubbock and environs.
A few factoids
At an estimated 206,481 Lubbock is the 90th largest city in the U.S. This does not include the 30,000 students at Texas Tech and the estimated 12,000 students at Lubbock Christian University, Wayland Baptist, and South Plains College. (If these were included, Lubbock would be ranked as the 70th largest city in the U.S.)
The census figure does not include the estimated 250,000 people that use Lubbock as a main economic hub (those living within a 60 mile radius).
Due to foresight and planning, you can get almost anywhere in the city within 15 minutes - a fact verified by the U.S. Census bureau.
We have big city amenities and services but still feel like a small town.
Home prices are low. A generic 1500 sq ft 3/2/2 will set you back about $110,000. A really nice 1800-2000 sq ft 3/2/2 will be somewhere in the $140-$180K range.
Good neighbors (unless you live next door to me
)
We have more restaurants per capita than any other city in the U.S.
As was said before, Texas has no state income tax. In lieu, we have property and sales taxes. In the Lubbock area, your property tax will be appx 2.3-2.5% of the taxable value of the home. The largest tax variable is school taxes. Sales tax varies a few tenths of a percent by city, but usually runs around 8%. Commodities (non-prepared food items) are exempted from sales tax.
The average summer high is in the mid 90's with 30-50% humidity and a southwest breeze. The average summer low is in the low 70's (same humidity, same breeze). It is not uncommon for us to see temps in the upper 100's and low one-teens during the dead of summer. The constant breeze and low humidity make it tolerable. It is also not uncommon to have thunderstorms during spring and summer. We are, after all, the southern anchor point for tornado alley. Yes, we get tornados occasionally, but large hail and high winds are the main threats. And it makes for some dang pretty sunsets!
The average winter high is in the low 60's. The average winter low is in the mid 30's. We MIGHT get 3-4 inches of snow once or twice a year. It is usually gone the next day. It is not uncommon to occasionally see low temps dip into the low twenties and upper teens, although it is rare to see them in the single digits. Every few years we will get a severe winter storm with ice and cold temps, but snow is not as common here as it is just a little further north.
We have a pretty good airport with major carrier service to Dallas, Houston, and Austin. We also have direct regional service to several other large metro areas.
Lubbock is also close enough to interesting places you can make long weekends into some pretty nice "drive it" trips.
Travel time to:
Amarillo - 2 hrs
Abilene - 3 hrs
Midland/Odessa - 2 hrs
Ft. Worth - 4-5 hrs
Dallas - 5-6 hrs
Austin - 6-7 hrs
San Antonio - 7-8 hrs
Houston - 8-9 hrs
Albuqurque - 5 hrs
Santa Fe - 5 Hrs
Oklahoma City - 6 hrs
Denver - 9 hrs
Flagstaff - 9 hrs
Scottsdale/Phoenix - 10 hrs
Ski Apache (Ruidoso) - 3.5 hrs
Angel Fire - 6 hrs
Red River Ski Mountain - 6.5 hrs
Toas Ski Basin - 7 hrs
Wolf Creek Pass - 10 hrs
Lake Alan Henry (a pretty decent little lake) - 45 minutes.
Lake Kemp - 3 hrs
Possum Kingdom - 4 hrs
Lake Texhoma - 8 hrs
Caprock Canyons State Park - 1 hr
Palo Duro Canyon - 2 hrs
Carlsbad Caverns - 3.5 hrs
White Sands Nat'l Monument - 5 hrs
Big Bend National Park - 6 hrs
mountains of Northern New Mexico5-7 hs
mountains of Southwestern Colorado (!!!) - 10-12 hrs
Grand Canyon - 11 hrs
Las Vegas - 13 hrs (or a 45 minute direct flight)
As a final note - Lubbock is growing. And fast! Topping 200,000, plus our very low cost of living, has begun to attract a lot of attention from major industry. We are also on the route for the Ports to Plains corridor which will be the major north-south routh for goods from northern Mexico to southwestern Canada. Estimated completetion for the PtPC is 10-15 years.
Lubbock may be flat and breezy but there are lots of nice folks here, it is cheap to live, and we have all the services of a much larger town. It is still painfully conservative on a lot of things (to the point of being self-limited at times) but making headway. I've been several places and always end up coming back here.
Brad