Is there anyone that has an opinion of Abilene? (Spring: home, living)

[onefastsailor]

Originally Posted by Stu8912

Everyone is giving you a bad review of Abilene. Its not a bad town at all. Why are you moving here? If its just to be in West Texas I'd advise Lubbock or San Angelo. But there are great things about Abilene. Downtown has alot going for it. There are 3 great universities, but they Evangelical Christian schools. That hurts the nightlife, but is ok if not great. But like many have said there are really nice areas. The town just started growing to fast, then stopped, and this caused some rotting at its cores. Either way though, it has alot to offer.

I thought most of opinions that people have had so far were good. I have a tentative job offer that I don't feel free to discuss until finalized. The offer is for Abilene only, so no option to go elsewere. I have heard good things about Lubbock and San Angelo, as well.

I have looked at pictures of Abilene (Google Earth lets you look at the street view). And, I've read articles about the city. But, I was hoping to get a feel for what the people who live there are like, and what they think about living there. What they like to do for fun. Some people have given great feedback, and obviously like Abilene.

I live in the San Bernardino-Ontario-Riverside, CA area. This area is known as the Inland Empire and is considered a separate Metropolitan area from Los Angeles, although they are adjacent and flow together. 4.1 million people live here, and millions more live in adjacent LA. So, it is very crowed here, and pricey. The town that I live in combined with adjacent Ontario, is larger than Abilene and surrounding areas combined. Each city over is just as large. It's kind of like stacking a dozen cities the size of Abilene all in a row. So, I am preparing for some culture shock.

[TT Dave]

Originally Posted by onefastsailor

I live in the San Bernardino-Ontario-Riverside, CA area. This area is known as the Inland Empire and is considered a separate Metropolitan area from Los Angeles, although they are adjacent and flow together. 4.1 million people live here, and millions more live in adjacent LA. So, it is very crowed here, and pricey. The town that I live in combined with adjacent Ontario, is larger than Abilene and surrounding areas combined. Each city over is just as large. It's kind of like stacking a dozen cities the size of Abilene all in a row. So, I am preparing for some culture shock.

Coming from Southern California will probably be your biggest adjustment to living here. Abilene is a lot different than any city in the Inland Empire, even the smaller ones. I've been to San Bernardino and Ontario, as well as L.A. so I have some perspective on that. Ironically, the last time I was in L.A., I flew out of the Ontario airport coming back home. Anyway, you will have some culture shock here and not just in the drastic reduction in population. Abilene was once ranked as one of the most conservative cities per capita in the nation. We are also in the "Bible belt" so to speak. I'm a Christian and I'm not saying that's a bad thing, it's just different...lol.

[onefastsailor]

Originally Posted by TT Dave

Coming from Southern California will probably be your biggest adjustment to living here. Abilene is a lot different than any city in the Inland Empire, even the smaller ones. I've been to San Bernardino and Ontario, as well as L.A. so I have some perspective on that. Ironically, the last time I was in L.A., I flew out of the Ontario airport coming back home. Anyway, you will have some culture shock here and not just in the drastic reduction in population. Abilene was once ranked as one of the most conservative cities per capita in the nation. We are also in the "Bible belt" so to speak. I'm a Christian and I'm not saying that's a bad thing, it's just different...lol.

Yeah, I've been told that Abilene is the "Buckle on the Bible Belt." I guess with three religious private colleges in a small town, it kind of forces the isssue.

Do you think that "outsiders" are welcome there?

[TT Dave]

Originally Posted by onefastsailor

Yeah, I've been told that Abilene is the "Buckle on the Bible Belt." I guess with three religious private colleges in a small town, it kind of forces the isssue.

Do you think that "outsiders" are welcome there?

Oh yes, you will definitely be welcomed here! We have a large air force base here in Abilene so we are very accustomed to having new people here from all over the country. I personally know about 12 people who are from other states (mostly from the air force base). My own father was stationed here back in the 60's (he's from Missouri). He never had any negative comments about being from the Midwest. I also have a good friend from San Jose, CA that went to Abilene Christian University. She lived here for about 4 years and then moved back to San Jose when she graduated. I have another good friend that went to ACU who is from Massachusetts who is now married and decided to stay here. Generally speaking, the people here in Abilene are very friendly.

[ETex2]

Who wouldn't love Abilene, afterall it's the ....

prettiest town that I've ever seen.......

and...

women there don't treat you mean.

[TT Dave]

Originally Posted by ETex2

Who wouldn't love Abilene, afterall it's the ....

prettiest town that I've ever seen.......

and...

women there don't treat you mean.

I remember that song. I always thought that whoever wrote that must have been really drunk when they wrote the "prettiest town I've ever seen" part! Abilene is a nice town but it's not particularly known for its scenery...lol.

[onefastsailor]

Originally Posted by TT Dave

I remember that song. I always thought that whoever wrote that must have been really drunk when they wrote the "prettiest town I've ever seen" part! Abilene is a nice town but it's not particularly known for its scenery...lol.

What needs to happen to make things better?

[TT Dave]

Originally Posted by onefastsailor

What needs to happen to make things better?

It's mostly a flat, semi-desert environment in this area. There's really not much you can do about that...lol. They have planted more trees in various areas around town over the years so that has helped somewhat. There is an area about 12 miles south of the city that has some hills and mesas (around Abilene State Park). That area is a little more scenic. Overall, it's greener here than some of the other cities west of here, so it's not too bad. However, there are a lot of places in Texas that are more scenic than this area, like east Texas, central Texas/the Texas hill country area (around Austin and San Antonio), and the Davis Mountains region.

[Ketabcha]

We were transferred to Abilene when I was in high school. This was back in the 60s.

My father was from Brooklyn, NY and he fell in love with Abilene. He retired there and he died there years later. Mother stayed in Abilene in the family home. My sister and I spent the summer of 2008 preparing the house for sale. It was (and is) one of those wonderful old houses off of Sayles. It was built in the 1920s. Big wrap-around porch, huge rooms, very high ceilings and all the floors are the original hardwood. During that summer we would hang out on the porch in the evenings and folks would walk by and stop for a chat. We didn't know most of them (except the guy across the street was my high school boyfriend and is now our family attorney-lol).

That pretty much paints the picture of Abilene. People are generally very nice, sociable and friendly. Religion is big in Abilene but it is rarely exclusive. I never had a problem with it. I'm Catholic and never got any grief over it.

Abilene is also one of the most patriotic towns in the US. Folks in Abilene love the military and the military loves Abilene. I'm not exagerating when I say that one weekend when I went home (it was right about the time we went into Iraq) I was amazed at the number of American flags being flown. They were in yards and on, easily, 1/3 of the cars I saw.

Abilene used to have a great community theater. I suspect it still does. Shows and concerts come to Abilene. The West Texas Rehab Center sponsors a huge show each year as a fundraiser. I love the zoo, particularly when one of the seals escapes and starts flopping his way down I-20 toward the desert of the west. That's happened more than once. LOL. The fair is great, too.

I would describe Abilene as "Anytown, USA." And I mean that in only the best possible way. It has always reminded me of a midwestern town in that it has the lovely streets shaded with huge trees, the old swimming hole used to be in Buffalo Gap. I was a candy striper at Hendrick's Hospital when it was a huge old wooden hospital with a "charity ward" in the basement. That was my favorite place to work.

The town is close enough to the DFW area to be convenient and far enough from it to be comfortable.

When I drove out of the city limits on December 24th, 2008, having signed the papers to sell the family home, I found myself crying. It was a sadness because of the finality of it but it was also a "cry for happy" situation because of all the wonderful times I had in Abilene.

Abilene is not for someone who is looking for party-town-USA. It's a low key town and it's one of the best I know of. I've lived all over the US and twice overseas and Abilene was the nicest place as far as friends, good fun and safety go.

I still keep in touch with high school friends from Abilene. A surprising number of them still live there or have moved back.

[onefastsailor]

I'd say that is the most ringing endorsement of Abilene so far! That's a pretty awesome post, thank you for sharing that.