What Can You Tell Me About Amarillo?

[entropy]

Daughter has possible job there. I’ve never been on the ground. Opinions for a younger person?

I’m not terribly concerned about her. She grew up with two brothers, is an accomplished equestrian, puts up with zero bullshit, and carries a J-Frame. She took a college elective on slaughtering and butchering because she was “looking for something with more credit than bowling class”. She still however, is my daughter.

Any insight appreciated. If accepted, she has a few months to get settled.

Thanks

[RJ]

It was one of two options whenever I flew when I went out to Cannon AFB in Clovis NM for work (coin flip with Lubbock.) And as I recall we motored through to stay overnight at some forgettable RV park or other when we were traveling in our travel trailer.

Can't recall a huge amount about it, seemed like a typical West Texas small/mid sized town. Windy as hell though. And dusty. It's what, 200K or so population?

I dimly recall they had an Abuelo's Restaurant, which was a huge draw for us. I could eat there almost every night, practically. Steaks were excellent, the dad gone hot peppers notwithstanding. Things would just about do me in every time. Still ordered em though.

[0ddl0t]

All I know about Amarillo is they have a bunch of slaughterhouses and some tourist trap there advertises free 72oz steak on billboards for 100 miles

[MVS]

When George Strait sings about it, it is one of my favorite songs. Sorry, that is all I have.

[Coyotesfan97]

I’ve driven through Amarillo on the way to and back from Missouri. It seemed nice enough. I stayed at the Microtel.

[OlongJohnson]

I know they have some pretty cold weather up there in winter. In the summer, it's at least out of the humidity.

Flying in, it appears to be where it is because it's at the northern tip of a badlands-style canyon, which I am somewhat interested in exploring. Could be some excellent recreational opportunities in there, if you're into that kind of thing.

[awp_101]

I’ve driven through several times on the way to and from CO but always in the afternoon. I never made it by morning...

[JclInAtx]

Palo Duro Canyon is the state park near there https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/palo-duro-canyon

We've talked about going while visiting our daughter at Tech, but Lubbock is enough of a drive from Austin we just haven't made it yet. Weather wise I'm sure its similar to Lubbock - hot but dry in summer and cold in winter. Windy with occasional sandstorms.

[HCM]

It means yellow in Spanish.

It’s the largest city in the panhandle at 200k population and it’s a lot more diverse than you might think because it is a destination for refugees from around the world.

In particular there is a large population from Burma who are quite politically and socially conservative. Lots of Africans too, many of whom a Muslim.

https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/refugees-amarillo-texas/amp/

Lubbock has a bit more of social interest for younger folks due to Texas Tech and it’s less than 2 hours away.

I’ve only been there passing through and on an overnight for a work thing. My work partner is a Texas tech grad and mentioned Lubbock now has wineries …

https://www.myhighplains.com/news/amarillo-vs-lubbock-a-look-inside-the-i-27-rivalry/

[ale]

My father and his half of the family are from there and I used to go there frequently growing up to visit my Grandmother before she passed. Last serious visit was in 2012, but I drive through occasionally as Mom lives is San Antonio.

My take - limited social opportunities for the younger crowd, but it is trying to be more attractive to the 30-unders with college bars, dives, and escape rooms. What is your daughter's career field/industry? Depending on what it is her coworkers may be her biggest social outlet.

The nice thing about the panhandle is the ability to drive to CO or NM for outdoor excursions if that is her interest. It also can be surprisingly cold in winter but if she's coming from the midwest she won't be affected.

I would not live there if I had a choice, but then again I grew up in a larger metropolitan area.

[fixer]

Coldest motherfucking place in Texas.

I live 3 hours south.

Windy and dusty. It is in the heart of the dust bowl. dusty doesn't do it justice.

edit: dry in summer. and yes one of the best things being in the general area of west texas is you are a manageable drive away from fantastic areas of NM, CO, AZ.

[1911Nut]

Cold

Windy

Narrow and not very wide

The steakhouse that advertises the 72 oz. steak actually serves a pretty good meal

It is the source of the old saying: [I]"They're ain't nothing between here and Amarillo 'cept a barbed wire fence . . . . and it's down![/I

I once came within a corporate merger (which did not occur) of being sent to that place to live

[1Rangemaster]

I have been through it several times going back and forth to the west. Years ago attended an IALEFI conference; in the outdoor courses, the weather(Spring) was pretty amazing and rough. High winds, dust/sand and temps from near freezing to warmish- before lunch!
There were a couple of marked units broken into at the hotel near interstate, but that could happen in a lot of places. People need to pay attention.
Would not be my first choice to live, but hopefully it’s a good position.
Daughter certainly sounds she can take care of herself, so that’s good. As some have mentioned, New Mexico is not a long drive, and it can be stunning.
Safe travels to her

[Shotgun]

Sandies is the mascot name for one of their high schools if that tells you anything about how windy and dusty it is. I grew up close to Amarillo, and my high school was in the same district as the Amarillo and Lubbock schools. It will be very windy and dusty in March and April. People here are not describing it enough. When you have storm windows and the dust still filters into the house during dust storms, that is a different level of dusty. The summers are about as nice as you can find anywhere and are the best time of year. You can have a 90 to 100 degree day, which isn't so bad because there is almost zero humidity, and the nights will cool off into the 70s because you are up on the plains. It will get brutally cold in winter, especially with the wind. There will be snow on the ground 4 to 5 times each winter.

Hospitals and health care are good. Amarillo is the economic hub for the entire Panhandle and just about anyone who needs a doctor more specialized than a general practitioner heads to Amarillo. Of course, all the chain restaurants you could ever think of are present. I have no clue what the young singles scene would be there. Except for the mall and all the newer restaurants on the west side of town, Amarillo seems to shut down pretty tight after 6ish or 7ish p.m. Canyon is about 10 to 15 miles outside of Amarillo, and it has West Texas A&M. A lot of people who work in Amarillo live in Canyon. I suspect the night life would probably be better in Lubbock for the young folk with Texas Tech being there.

There's a lot of boots (many with spurs), jeans, cowboy hats, polite manners, and a strong West Texas accent.

Did I mention the wind blows? Otherwise, its a smallish city with smallish city amenities - movie theaters, restaurants (including the Big Texan with the 72oz steak), one mall (the other closed down decades ago), churches of all kinds, etc. New Mexico ski slopes are just a few hours away as are the horse races in Ruidoso. No one vacations in Amarillo. You can see the Cadillac Ranch in 10 minutes and eat at the Big Texan once. Then, you are just about done with the novelties that Amarillo offers. The American Quarter Horse Association is based there and may have a bit of a museum.

Finally, and you will not necessarily notice this in town, it is very flat with very few trees in the country. The flatness disturbs some people who are not from there originally.

[Chuck Whitlock]

All I know about Amarillo is they have a bunch of slaughterhouses and some tourist trap there advertises free 72oz steak on billboards for 100 miles

IIRC, it is free if you can eat it, plus the sides, within one hour.


Daughter has possible job there. I’ve never been on the ground. Opinions for a younger person?

I’m not terribly concerned about her. She grew up with two brothers, is an accomplished equestrian, puts up with zero bullshit, and carries a J-Frame. She took a college elective on slaughtering and butchering because she was “looking for something with more credit than bowling class”. She still however, is my daughter.

Any insight appreciated. If accepted, she has a few months to get settled.

Thanks

As Shotgun mentioned, it is the HQ of the AQHA.

[Ed4032]

It’s only windy because it’s so close to Oklahoma. And Oklahoma … is Oklahoma.