Amarillo/Canyon area (Pampa, Clarendon, Claude: apartments, house, school)

[NOTAM]

amen victoriana.........what is your specialty?
and i agree totally about California-they are UNIONIZED.
we have Safe Harbor here which protects us re patient nurse ratios. however i have never worked where patient nurse ratios are an issue-always work ER or PACU or Correctional Health etc..........
what agency do you travel with?
do you ever do that big money in Cali during the strikes? i get emails on strike needs every now and then
Amarillo definitely needs to step up. Texas as a whole however, i think, pays RN's very well.
btw, have you noticed if AMA has been utilizing travelers? or do they have such a big supply of newbies out of school?

[victoriana]

Good morning Belle - I'm a CEN - been in emergency/trauma for about 22 years. I use Rainier Traveller's - a small firm run by an ex-colleague of mine. I have never had a bad experience travelling. I have worked with three different travelling agencies over the years and never had anything but the best situations. I guess I was really fortunate. Then I have worked at one place for years too - so I guess I've done it both ways and each for extended periods in my career. One of our dear friends is a 24 year plus physician who is now travelling too. He has said numerous times that he is even really being stretched, as he had been in the same hospital, same place for so long. He hadn't realized how much MORE you could learn when you put yourself into different size hospitals, work with other more talented people and can really assess that the basic standards of what is considered good baseline patient care DOES vary from place to place. That can indeed be a scary revelation.
You mentioned safe harbor. Good for you if you have not had problems with patient-to-ratios being unsafe. I wish that were the case here.

[victoriana]

Oh yes, B - I forgot to answer your question re: California strikes. Nah - I have ignored the emails and flyers. Those opportunities are probably a blessing for the RN who really needs the bucks - but I myself never worked that kind of situation. Have you?

[NOTAM]

nope i have never worked through a travel agency. ya know, as much as i love the panhandle, i may just not move there because of what you said about the hospitals. i mean, i wont be working in hospitals fulltime, but in the prisons...but i DO want to supplement my income working ER on the side..so now i am going to have to decide between Lubbock, Killeen/Gatesville area, San Antonio/Hill Country, or Rosharon/Angleton/Richmond area...........

[Clicker625]

I'm a Texan but not from Amarillo. However, I've had a number of friends who have lived there. Are you aware that Amarillo is the heart of the Bible Belt? One friend was a single mom there and she was miserable because she had liberal religious views. Of course, another thing is that it's Tornado Alley. It wouldn't bother me since I'm accustomed to tornadoes, especially after living in Kansas for a few years, but it's harder for some to become accustomed to that kind of weather.

I'm currently planning a trip to Amarillo and was looking online and ran across information about the low crime rate there. That is certainly a plus when you're raising children.

Sorry if this post sounds discouraging but thought you needed to be aware of these aspects of Amarillo and area.

[TN Gal in AZ]

Clicker - Yeah I heard about the area being in Tornado Alley, but was kind of hoping it was on the western edge of Tornado Alley. I'm relocated to AZ form TN, and was so stressed when the bad weather warning hit the tv. I'd like to stay here in AZ, but the housing is outrages. I can't affiord it. The prices are starting to come down a bit, but not enough. It's going to be difficult to find a place with decent wages and low housing.
Anyone with any ideas, please post a comment!

[victoriana]

Hey - you are both right about the tornadoes. Yes indeed. As far as the Bible Belt thing, the culture of the town is very Republican. I wouldn't say conservative - just very very very Republican. Amarillo is churchy, but the lifestyle is socially liberal. The newspaper is definitely changing. The old guard is losing influence and that is a good thing. I tend more towards the conservative, however, I have lots of professional friends in the medical field - all very liberal who are very happy here. Their only gripe is the constant asking, "what church do you go to?" I hear that time and again if newcomers ask me questions. I just let them know its something people do here like most other people saying, "Hi, how are you today?" I always tell them, "just make some church name up and they'll drop it!"

[victoriana]

Clicker - the crime rate stats you mention are pretty much what we residents hear too. Property crime rates such as robbery and MURDER numbers per year are considered above the national average for a city of this size. This was in the Dallas paper recently - (not in ours of course.) Being as we are located on the I-40 major east-west highway, drug traffic is brisk and I hate to say it, but the illegal immigration thing is a MAJOR difficulty here. There is tension building in the Panhandle as towns change signficantly because of the influx and monies spent (that towns just do not have) for all the social programs needed to take care of the shall we say, "undocumented" people and their children.. I guess that is about all the wisdom I have regarding this community - we have only been here six years, so I am no authority about everything. Hope this helps.

[lilypad]

I was just up to Amarillo last weekend for a conference, and to look around. I had been interested in possible relocation there. What I saw downtown was very disturbing, MANY vagrants (immigrants?) just hanging around downtown area. What is that all about? How safe is that? So now am rethinking Amarillo, sadly. Also there is only one part of Amarillo I would feel safe, SW--seems cleaner, more modern. Am I wrong?

I don't mind Bible Belt or tornadoes. I DO mind disproportionate crime and vagrants wandering around everywhere.

[scoobagirl]

I live near Amarillo and have for my whole life. There are a lot of small towns around Amarillo and I can assure you that many of the high-school kids want to move to Amarillo when they get out of school. We who live in these smaller towns spend a lot of time going to Amarillo because its the cultural and medical center in the panhandle.

Amarillo is an old town - founded in the 1890's - and has historic old buildings downtown. There is a movement in the city to revitalize the "old" downtown district, which is slowly happening with clubs and restaurants coming in. There are still some old family businesses downtown as well. The homeless missions and welfare office are downtown also, which is why the vagrants are seen around there. One of the city parks has problems with vagrants too, but its a relatively small number of people - not like there are hundreds or thousands of people wandering around all over town.

High school sports are big in Amarillo, with intense rivalry between certain schools. As someone else mentioned, church is also big. And mega churches are big too! By no means are these the only things going on in the city. There is the Amarillo Little Theater which has many productions each year. There is a new performing arts center across the street from the Civic Center, near downtown. The PA center has great concerts with well-known performers as well as orchestra. Almost everything that is a big production is held in the civic center - trade shows, boat & travel shows, car shows, Crafty Peddler shows, art shows, antique shows, bridal shows, home improvement shows, the list is endless. There is a pro hockey team that plays in the coliseum, and there are huge banquet halls too. Something is always going on at the civic center.

There is also an arena football team, and a baseball team. Sports are big in Amarillo. Rodeo is big here too. The PRCA finals have been held here for several years. The city works very hard to get conventions here because of the great location - its very easy to get here.

The Tri-State Fair is held at the fairgrounds every September. Loads of people come from everywhere for the fair. There are a LOT of hotel/motels in Amarillo and also a LOT of restaurants. People love to eat out here. There are also a big mall and some great shopping centers with a lot of the major chain stores. Amarillo has been growing to the South and the West, but those aren't the only nice areas of town, just the newest. There are nice homes all around Amarillo, and a wide variety of prices. Housing is a bit higher than the average because the builders are building a lot of these big fancy houses, but there are great houses available that won't cost a fortune.

Amarillo is the regional medical center as well. Most of the small towns surrounding Amarillo have small hospitals and basic medical care, but the specialists are in Amarillo and the hospitals in the city provide a wider range of care and treatment. There's a top-notch cancer treatment facility in Amarillo. The Texas Tech medical school uses the Amarillo hospitals as teaching hospitals, so treatment is up-to-date with technology. Many people are retiring to Amarillo from the surrounding communities because that is where their doctors/specialists are.

The Amarillo Economic Development Commission is strong in the community and works hard to bring new businesses and industries to the city. It seems to me that there are a lot of job opportunities here for all kinds of workers - teachers, medical, technical, construction, etc. There is an international airport serviced by Continental Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Delta Airlines, and American Airlines. Amarillo is on two major truck routes between the west coast/east coast (I-40) and Dallas to Denver (US 287). West Texas State University is in Canyon, 15 miles from Amarillo. Amarillo College is a great 2-yr college which has lots of technical programs as well as prep for a 4 yr. college.

As far as diversity, there is a significant Asian population, mostly Vietnamese and Laotian immigrants; a very large Hispanic population, as well as the African American community and the Caucasian community. Amarillo has been a place of refuge for many groups of people who have been displaced from their countries. Though this is an area where the baptist churches are the majority, the catholic churches are strong too, and they help refugees find a new home here. (I'm saying this is a good thing) Amarillo is also a very generous community, because there are a lot of charitable organizations in the city who rely on the community for support.

Personally I'd be comfortable living anywhere in Amarillo. For a small-town lifestyle with the city close by, I'd recommend any of the towns surrounding Amarillo - Canyon, Pampa, Claude, Bushland, Vega, Dumas, Fritch, Borger, Clarendon - all are nice towns and have good schools. There are people living in Amarillo that commute to these towns for work, and also people living in these towns that commute to Amarillo for work. Around here, driving 50 miles isn't a big deal.

There are a lot more great things about this area that I haven't mentioned. It is really a nice place to live, with a reasonable cost of living. Hope this helps...