What can you tell me about Abilene Texas?

[AguaDulce]

Originally Posted by TT Dave

It was probably IHOP. I'm sorry you had that unpleasant experience! I'm very surprised by that because the people that live here are generally very easy-going and friendly. There are even some restaurants here that have benches out front for people to sit on while they wait, for whatever reason. I've sat or stood outside Chili's, the Olive Garden, Texas Roadhouse, and several other restaurants here in town more than once and I've never been asked to leave.

It wasn't a chain. It was called Waffle- or Pancake- something.

We definitely didn't look like locals. One of us had pink hair (not me).

[tx09]

Originally Posted by AguaDulce

In the early 90s my friends and I stopped in Abilene at a pancake house (can't remember the name). One of my friends had a grandmother who lived there and was recuperating from an illness in the local hospital. She took the car (while we stayed in the restaurant and ate breakfast) to go visit her. We finished eating, left a nice tip, and then went outside to wait for our friend to come back.

As we were waiting, we noticed that several people would stare at us as they arrived and made their way from their cars to the entrance. After about twenty minutes the waitress that had just served us came outside and told us we had to leave, that they had a no loitering policy. I told her what was up, but she insisted that we leave.

We walked next door to the convenience store to continue our wait. Luckily my friend came back after just a few more minutes.

My impression of Abilene is not a favorable one.

so you base your opinion of an entire town based on one bad experience at a local restaurant?

[AguaDulce]

Originally Posted by tx09

so you base your opinion of an entire town based on one bad experience at a local restaurant?

Well, knowing what everyone knows about Abilene (strong conservative Christian culture) PLUS that experience. It's just not my cup of tea.

[TT Dave]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

I went to college in San Angelo, and then recently, a former employer required me to go to Abilene once a month, so I'm pretty familiar with the town.

Yes, it is a conservative, Christian, family-oriented town. It has decent shopping, some really good steakhouses and BBQ joints, and excellent rodeos several times a year. There's only one Starbucks in town, and the drive thru line can be really long. It's a 3-hour drive to Fort Worth or Midland, and a 1-hour flight to DFW. Yes, there are issues with water; it is West Texas, after all. Housing prices are fairly cheap on average, but there are also plenty of higher-end properties and ranchettes, too.

Dyes AFB is a fixture in the community, and military folks get a lot of respect and are welcomed by the locals. As a military spouse, I often went out on base to do some shopping and it is a small but nice base. I stayed in the VOQ once (hotels were full due to rodeo in town), and it was very nice and clean.

Good luck with your move!

Yes, I forgot to mention that above. The servicemen/women that are stationed at Dyess are very much welcomed by the community. I have a few good friends that were stationed at Dyess that I still keep in touch with.

Originally Posted by AguaDulce

It wasn't a chain. It was called Waffle- or Pancake- something.

We definitely didn't look like locals. One of us had pink hair (not me).

Oh okay, I think I know the one you're talking about. I don't think that restaurant is still open but I could be wrong. I've never eaten there. I heard the food wasn't very good...lol. Based on what you said above, it sounds like they had bad management too.

[Westerntraveler]

Originally Posted by TT Dave

I grew up here in Abilene, graduated from high school here, moved away for college and work for a while and then moved back here in the 90's. Check out the links above for some information about the best places to live in town, etc. Westerntraveler's description above is accurate. Abilene is a very conservative, Christian-oriented town. Abilene is a good place to raise a family but it's not an exciting town, that's for sure...lol. Most people just go out to eat or go to the movies for entertainment, that kind of stuff. There's a few bars/country-western music dance clubs here but it's been a long time since I've been to one of those. Most people I know are involved in church activities.

As noted in the link above by tx09, there are water restrictions here. Unfortunately we are still in a drought. If you have any more detailed questions about Abilene, just post them here or send me a personal message and I'll be glad to help out.

Thanks TTDave for posting my description is accurate.City data encourages bumping old threads.
-WT

[Mark Senior]

I really don't care for "bumping old threads up" but recently, for several months, postings on city-data.com, have seem to have really slowed down in numbers.

Sometimes when bringing up "old threads," you can't help bringing up "disagreements" as well, sometimes "too strong" of different opinions. Just saying, but I guess, when "things are this slow" oh well, lol

[Westerntraveler]

Originally Posted by Mark Senior

I really don't care for "bumping old threads up" but recently, for several months, postings on city-data.com, have seem to have really slowed down in numbers.

Sometimes when bringing up "old threads," you can't help bringing up "disagreements" as well, sometimes "too strong" of different opinions. Just saying, but I guess, when "things are this slow" oh well, lol

with all due respect Mark Senior, city data encourages bumping threads so its their rules on what goes in this forum.Their house, Their rules.Hope this clears everything up.haha
-WT

[Pretzelogik]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3RF3nbreBE