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Location: Abilene/Buffalo Gap, Texas ... Moving to Cheyenne/Elk City, Oklahoma
35 posts, read 106,443 times
Reputation: 59
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Oh ... I almost forgot ... I went to McMurry University, and loved the education and experience I received there.
Both of my girls attend Abilene High (Go Eagles!) and I have absolutely NOTHING NEGATIVE to say about the education they have received through the school system here ... both are straight-A students with advance placement courses.
My oldest daughter just got accepted into Hardin-Simmons University with a $28,000 scholarship.
Just a few comments. I happen to be employed in higher education here. I did leave out the Shelton School of Nursing. It is the 9th institution.
As far as McMurry, Cisco, etc. not being "main" universities:
McMurry has been listed by Newsweek as one of the best bargains in higher education in the western USA for several years. Last year, Newsweek listed McMurry as the third most diverse institution of higher learning of its size in the western part of the nation. All of the universities and Cisco College are accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, and all have exemplary ratings with them. They also are all among the top teacher education schools in Texas as rated by the Texas Education Agency--who just audited all three one month ago. Cisco College was recently approved by SACS to move to four year degree granting status.
This is my house in central Abilene (right by Rose Park) ... taken in late October 2009 right before we put a For Sale sign in the yard ... far from "dry and brown" ... and we have five huge pecan trees for plenty of shade ... and spend most of our time on the front porch ... no alley behind our house ... and it is a quiet neighborhood.
This home has been in the family since it was built in the late 1940's ... my husband's mother grew up in this home. And my husband has lived on this street his entire life (his mother married and built one house down, and she still lives there.)
And although it is not a cookie-cutter McMansion neighborhood, we love the quaint simplicity here and love the older established areas.
I read your posts, butterflybird, and actually feel sorrow. I don't think you will find any place to suit your high expectations. There is no such thing as Utopia.
I hope you have found someplace to call home, and have found comfort and contentment there. Meanwhile, please allow others to find and embrace theirs (even if it is not up to your personal standards.)
Looks just fine to me, lot more than a 550sq ft studio in my neck of the woods. Still employed ... . Merry Christmas, Happy New Year to All!!!
There are many possibilities in the IT market regardless of where you live ... as I am sure you know. Your skill and trade is needed everywhere.
There are self-employment opportunities if you have entrepreneurial blood in your veins, or you could teach if you find satisfaction in helping others to learn ... there are two medical centers that could benefit from your knowledge, and also civilian jobs on Dyess Air Force Base ... I see possibilities are endless especially without the burden of a mortgage hanging over your head.
And, with a slower-paced lifestyle, you can pursue other interests and enjoy life as it was meant to be enjoyed.
I am going to miss Abilene, but will be back often as most of our family is still here ... and I am looking forward to living my dream in the rolling hills of Oklahoma:
Certainly there are quaint small homes around town in Abilene that show pride of ownership and the families take care of them, but unfortunately just as many that don't so it has to be a balanced picture. I'm glad you don't have an alley behind your house, because lots of homes around town seem to be that way, with the garbage pick up around back, coming down the alleyways. I think your post if anything proves what I said before is that I feel the people who are happiest in Ab. are those with long time family roots, with mothers and fathers and other relatives living on the same street for generations, so they have that connected, sentimental feeling to their home. However, for someone coming in from a big city without that type of feeling, they may not have a heart connection to the town as you do. I think it's great that you have that, and I'm certainly not bashing it at all, nor have I said there aren't pleasant areas in Ab (in many of my posts, I have recognized that), but I just don't want someone coming in without a full picture, that's all. About IT jobs, the graduates I've known have all told me that they couldn't get IT jobs, that high tech is not a big thing here and they simply had to go elsewhere to get that type of employment. They nearly ALL left for other cities instead of staying in Ab. to work, so I have to wonder why that would be, if that type of work is so plentiful. And there's many closed, shuttered storefronts around town, which if small business is so thriving, I would think would not be the case. Very true, utopia doesn't exist, but I do feel some people just aren't a good fit for certain towns or cities. I certainly agree that being mortgage free is a great goal, and a retiree can do it in a small town which is def. something I always encourage people to do. But there's always a trade-off somewhere, and you just have to be aware that home prices, jobs, etc. may be less for a reason: people aren't as drawn to a particular place and thus it keeps those costs lower. If you're okay with sitting on the porch and not doing much (watch out for the mosquitoes tho!) then Ab may be just the place for you. I personally love a slower pace, less traffic, etc. but there's more issues that need addressing before Ab. can be truly considered a desireable location in a number of key ways. But it's all subjective, so as always, do your homework and research and then choose wisely. Good luck to you also in your future move....and we all know the grass is not always greener and there is no "perfect" location....only the best for YOU.
About the pecan trees, I have to say, I can't stand pecan trees and there are a lot of them in Ab. In years when there's a lot of pecans they virtually shower down in front and back yards, and it's sooooooo easy to slip and fall on the darn nuts, or you're constantly having to pick 'em up. Just a nuisance, plus I've heard people complain about the sap or whatever they drip. TX is pecan country for sure, and those nuts fall somewhere and if you have one, (or more), it'll be in your front and/or back yard, sometimes to the point of OMG wayyyy too much. I know some people gather them and sell them to make a few $$ but after doing that a few times, you may have a backache from bending over or raking them up lol....if I never see another pecan tree the rest of my life, I'll be happy. They also are notorious for limbs falling, so be careful of that, too. Shade trees are great, just not ones that shed tons of nuts everywhere. Ever tried mowing a lawn full of pecans scattered everywhere or just walk around in your grass? (ouch!). Again, someone from NYC may not know these things ...like the charms of pecan trees. btw, your yard looks great and you obviously water and keep it mowed, etc. but it's hard for some people to do that all the time in the TX heat, water rationing/shortages, etc. so during the summer, a lot of yards do look brown. Personally, I wish Ab and other areas with water issues would encourage xeriscaping (sp?) and go with a more natural landscaping rather than water water water to keep it green OR the opposite and let it go all brown and grungy looking. There's some really attractive desert style landscaping that could be utilized that would make more sense but people are slow to change and adapt to different realities.
I do want to add - I have lived in several cities over the course of my life that I enjoyed to varying degrees, and while none of them were utopia, I found things about them that were enjoyable. My relocation to Ab didn't happen as a result of a search for utopia - it was a family-related reason and I would have stayed put where I was if not for that. So, when you stated that I will never find a place to be happy or that I'd always be looking for something I won't find, that's not the case at all and given the opportunity would be happy enough to return to any number of other areas. I am sad to say that Ab. has been the most disappointing place of anywhere I've ever lived especially from an aesthetic point of view (the visuals, the way the town looks). I'm really not that difficult to please either - I'm not an art lover or museum person, I don't need constant entertainment, I don't socialize or need to go out to clubs and events, just would like a more appealing overall "feel" to a community, and for me, that's where Ab. fails big time. So, just wanted to clarify that for those who may think I'm posting as someone who is on a constant search for the "perfect" city and or on a hunt for the next place that will disappoint me - that's not me at all. Yes, I know there's the beautifully restored movie theater and certain things like that and so forth.... But still....it just isn't enough to counteract the other problems. While every city has its highs and lows, Ab. was a downer for me in any number of ways that nowhere else I've lived has been, and I've lived in some places that were farrrrrrrrrr from perfect yet I can look back fondly to many of them with fun little things or memories, quirky little places or parks or just pretty streets, but somehow Ab. seems to simply elude me.....it just doesn't grab me at all, and it makes me sad because I wish it did, but it just doesn't and unfortunately I feel I have solid reasons for saying so. But again, it's all in the eye of the beholder I guess....
It is all in the eye of the beholder and probably depends on what you are looking for. My wife and I absolutely love Abilene. Everything that we want is here. We have lived in many, many cities in the USA and find this to be the easiest, most comfortable, most reasonably priced place that we have ever lived. We also have great friends here. I wouldn't live anywhere else, and I have plent of experience with other places. I know Abilene isn't perfect, but it fits our needs perfectly.
There are many possibilities in the IT market regardless of where you live ... as I am sure you know. Your skill and trade is needed everywhere.
There are self-employment opportunities if you have entrepreneurial blood in your veins, or you could teach if you find satisfaction in helping others to learn ... there are two medical centers that could benefit from your knowledge, and also civilian jobs on Dyess Air Force Base ... I see possibilities are endless especially without the burden of a mortgage hanging over your head.
And, with a slower-paced lifestyle, you can pursue other interests and enjoy life as it was meant to be enjoyed.
I am going to miss Abilene, but will be back often as most of our family is still here ... and I am looking forward to living my dream in the rolling hills of Oklahoma:
I'm sure people will think we are just as crazy for leaving Abilene as they will think you are crazy for looking into Abilene.
The problem is I am not that skilled, and it is a super duper competitive market. I don't know where to start except to say I sort of began as a teacher, and I doubt I was that qualified, specifically as a mathematics teacher in the day high schools of NYC--yes, I passed their exam ... but that does not mean much ... at least back then it was not too involved. I could go into all the stories, but you don't want to hear them. Then I took some courses in programming at NYU, received a diploma in that area, landed a job at a hospital implementing software, got booted in a year after they ran out of grant monies, ended up in a horrid place in the garment district that went under ... name unmentioned, but everyone has heard of them. And ultimately ended up where I am ... basically manipulating electronic files or the like 15 years 5 months 8 days and counting for the programming department to process--no more pension, no more salary increase for the foreseeable future. Finding work will be super hard anywhere. So, if I get shoved out the door by my present company, a priority will be finding a nice area to live where things are a lot cheaper than NYC. And from what I sense, Abilene has a lot to offer.
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(Go Eagles!) 
