Is there anyone that has an opinion of Abilene? (Wylie: apartment complexes, for rent)

[onefastsailor]

I'm moving to Abilene soon, and I want to hear from people that know the area. Where should I look for apartments? How is the place?

[Willsson]

The central area of Abilene seems to be failing economically. Population has trended to the north east area near Abilene Christian U, or to the southwest towards Buffalo Gap. Both areas have many of the usual 'drive to' places to spend money. The mall is in the southwest.

There are two high schools, one playing in a 4A capacity the other 5A (larger schools). Abilene High School won state in football 5A Div II.

I've often said that Abilene is a great place to raise a kid, but you wouldn't want to live there.

[onefastsailor]

Why wouldn't you want to live there? How is the crime rate?

[Canine*Castle]

The last crime rate statistic on the following link states Abilene is above the country's average in crime.

https://www.city-data.com/city/Abilene-Texas.html

[Willsson]

Originally Posted by onefastsailor

Why wouldn't you want to live there? How is the crime rate?

Why wouldn't I want to live there? Experience, I suppose. They've the been saying for the last 50 years that the place is growing but the actual population continues to drop, if even by one per year.

The growth part is just the people moving to the edges of town, leaving the central area a ghost town. So rather than growing, it's just shape shifting.

[TT Dave]

I'm an Abilene native and after moving to various areas for many years I moved back here in the mid 90's. Abilene is a very family oriented city so if you're a single person like me it's not the most exciting place to be...lol. There is about the same amount of chain restaurants and shopping areas that most cities of this size has and there are several locally owned restuarants that are very good. There's also a couple of nice public parks here and a zoo. The central downtown area, mostly along Cypress Street, has been revitalized in recent years and now has all kinds of cool little cafe's, coffee shops, and museums. In additon to the two high schools mentioned above there is also Wylie High School, which is a 3A high school. Wylie is in it's own school district in far south Abilene and beyond the city limits to the south. If you have a family, AISD is a good school district overall but Wylie is exemplary. The best apartment complexes are on the southwest side of town near the Mall of Abilene. I've lived in two different complexes out in that area before. Avoid the ones on the west side of town in the vicinity of South 7th Street. There's a lot of crime in those complexes. There are some nice apartments around Abilene Christian University on the northeast side of the city as well, but they are filled with nosiy college students so if that would bother you, avoid that area. If I can help you with anything else, just let me know!

[onefastsailor]

What complexes did you live in? Is there one in particular that you recommend? What is there to do there?

[TT Dave]

Originally Posted by onefastsailor

What complexes did you live in? Is there one in particular that you recommend? What is there to do there?

Basically, any apartment in the 79606 zip code is going to be nicer than any others on the south side of town. Most of those nicer complexes are located on Cedar Run Road, Curry Lane, Rolling Green Drive, or Ridgemont Drive. Send me a personal message if you want more detailed feedback on the apartments I lived in. As far as local activites goes, this is a small city so there's really only a few things to do here. Go out and eat, go to the movies (there's two large cinema theatres here), go bowling, go to the parks, etc. The best thing to do is to get involved in one of the large churches here in town. It's a great way to meet new people.

Here's a couple of links for more apartment info. Just click on the name of each apartment for detailed info. The second link includes recent resident reviews:


Abilene Apartments for Rent | Abilene Apartment Finder

Abilene Apartments for Rent - Abilene Apartments Reviews and Ratings

[onefastsailor]

It's pretty normal for cities to go through with the kind of development that Abilene has aparently experienced. Most larger cities spread out, then had a downtown revival. Looks like from the pictures that the city needs an infusion of some money. The economy sucks on the West coast. Abilene's low cost of living might be attractive to people who are struggling to make ends meet, or who have no shot at ever buying a home. Are you seeing more people from outside of Abilene moving in recently? (Besides the military)

[TT Dave]

Originally Posted by onefastsailor

Abilene's low cost of living might be attractive to people who are struggling to make ends meet, or who have no shot at ever buying a home. Are you seeing more people from outside of Abilene moving in recently? (Besides the military)

So far I haven't noticed that. The only person I've recently met that moved here from out of state is a chiropracter who moved his practice here from Minnesota. He said he moved his practice here because of the warmer weather down here. Most people that move to Texas from out of state are moving to the major metro areas where the vast majority of the jobs are.