Midland, TX - 4/9/2009

Can't wait to move!

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The Tall City - Such a Fine Place! - 11/20/2008

I had the opportunity to live in Midland as a child from 1972 to 1978. Although we moved away, I have been able to go back to Midland on several occasions and the mere sight and mention of the town truly takes me back to the good old days. To the outsider, Midland might appear very plain and simple. Big skies, a treeless horizon, a spot of light way out there on the West Texas Prairie. Some might consider that Midland lack aesthetics. I, however, am not one of those people. I have always loved Midland and I would very much appreciate the chance to move back there and live out the rest of my years. Midland is a conservative city. The base of people living there are kindhearted people with a strong sense of community. This is a place where value systems remain intact and are instilled in each subsequent generation. Kids go to school in the neighborhood that they live in. People know each other and help each other when they need it. It's a safe place to be. There is much to do here as well. From museums, to theatre, to opera and symphony, not to mention an excellent public park system, Midland has it all. I can think of no finer place to raise a family than Midland. Midland has excellent city services. Midland Memorial Hospital and Midland College, two cornerstones of the city structure, have proven to be dependable stewards when it comes to taxes. The school district is good and the student to teacher ratio is as good as you will find anywhere (15:1). The climate is good. You will almost always get a little snow in the winter and warm and sunny days in the summer, all the while avoiding the strings of stifling 100-plus degree days like we are used to in the DFW Metroplex where I currently live. Additionally, you can be anywhere in Midland in around 15 minutes. Driving is a breeze! As I said before, some might say Midland is dull. However, I find it to be comfortable and relaxed; there is a difference. Midland is a great place to be.

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Housing - 7/24/2008

It is definitely a buyers market. There are over 500 houses on the market for buyers to choose from right now.

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No quality of life at all - 5/11/2008

I have lived many places in the US and none of them come close to the misery of living in Midland-Odessa, West Texas. This town takes stupidity, incompetence and the phrase 'Hell Hole' to a new level. I had the misfortune of living here for 18 months and I never knew just how bad and how miserable a town could turn someone’s life in to. The simplest, most common things become a nightmare when living in Midland. To start, eating out is a sheer waste of time, money and mental stability. Not one restaurant was able to provide any level of customer service. Wrong orders, cold food, terrible service and incompetent staff ensure your dining experience is one you will never forget. From major restaurant chains to locally owned, customer service left Midland for another galaxy. I have driven in New York, Chicago, L.A. and Houston and the driving there is absolute pleasure compared to Midland. Not one person in this town can drive without cutting you off, changing lanes at the last minute and thinking there doing nothing wrong. Great house elementary has mothers dropping kids off or picking them up all just to try and cause an accident. So many of them would try and run you off the road, pull out in front of you when you had right of way etc. The loop (Loop 250) is terrible, with every inbred redneck waiting until the last second before ramming you off the road for the next exit. I had a 7 minute drive to work and it was a nightmare. Stores. Everything I bought, from furniture to tires to groceries. Nobody could sell anything without it being damaged, incorrectly ordered, not working or past is sell by date. Customer service, again, was none existent. People were so arrogant that they thought they could treat you like garbage and you would still pay up with a smile. The people are vile. Midland is also a dump. They have an optional litter fee to help clean up the town, but the place looks like one big pigsty. At least in Great house, the garbage was everywhere. Filthy place. Of course, when you didn’t pay the optional litter fee with your water rates, the incompetent idiots in the cities billing department tried to charge you fees for not paying. Our neighbors all had dogs that barked continuously. Despite city ordinances, which were never enforced, we were rarely able to sleep. So much for you property tax going to work, which was also as high as the local thieving council could possibly assess your home for. Midland is close to nowhere and is literally the a** end of Texas. It earns this reputation as well. The people are unfriendly, arrogant and completely without any pride in what the do or who they are. I urge anyone who is considering moving here to think again. L.A., New Orleans - freaking Baghdad would be a better choice than this miserable hole.

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Midland Texas - 3/1/2008

I have lived in Midland for 17 years. A friend of mine who was born in Midland and has lived here over 40 years once told me "Midland is full of $24,000 a year Millionaires." This sums up Midland. Midlanders tend to play games over prosperity & keeping up with the Jones'. My husband & I earn just under $100,000 per year. We are very conservative and have no debt. When you drive around Midland you will see lots of Hummers and other SUV's but then these drivers might be using a LoneStar Card at the grocery store. The majority of people in Midland like to act like they are "rich" when they aren't. It is an attitude. I think there are people in Midland that are very wealty (I have not ever seen any of them on the Fotune 500 list). The median income in Midland is in the $40,000 per household. I think the people with the biggest "upity attitudes" are the ones that make $40,000. I know a couple that are from the Kellog cereal family and they are sweethearts. The doctors/other income earners I know that make over $200,000 per year are also very nice. Midland is a generous community. My middle daughter is in private school and the parents there are kind and down to earth, but my son and other daughter are in public school and the majority of these parents seem to snub their noses at me. Hard to say what the attitude is, but then you can live here and not play that game. I go about my business and really do not care what they think. My children love their friends and are growing up in safe community.

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Family life - 1/27/2008

I think Midland is a nice place for families to live. There are many creative things to do and very active sports programs including soccer, football, and swimming.

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There is no other place like Midland....... - 8/18/2007

I am in the military and I have lived all around the world, my last home before the Military was Midland, and I miss it so much. Yes there is alot of oil rigs and not much water, but the people there are not stuck up. You can still see the stars at night, and enjoy a football game on friday nights, try doing that in New York, or Chicago. Whatever place you live in is what you make it, I feel sorry that some people feel like they had a bad experience. I will defenitly come back to Midland after I retire.

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Weather - 4/23/2007

The weather is nice all year round. We do get warm in the summer and can be cold in the winter.

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Couldn't be happier in Midland - 4/3/2007

I'm a Yankee and I couldn't be happier in Midland, Texas. As transplants, my husband, from the West, and I, from the Mid-West, have never felt snubbed in Midland. Neither of us work in the oil industry, nor are we "old money," and yet we find that the people here are some of the friendliest we've ever met. We love our neighborhood full of kids and we love the weather--there's so much sun and low humidity! I feel sorry for those who have expressed opposite opinions that they had such bad experiences here, but I wonder if that was before 1987 when oil was a bigger business here. All I know is that having lived here for four years, I don't ever want to move!

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Best kept secret in America - 10/4/2006

Midland, Texas is a very conservative community. The cost of living is very low and the weather is dry. Halfway between El Paso and Ft. Worth on interstate highway 20, the Midland/Odessa petroplex has most everything other larger cities have (except traffic). The topography is flat and really not much to look at. This is offset by the the friendliest people and the most beautiful sunsets you'll ever come across.

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Separate the land from the people, people - 8/26/2006

All comments about the cliquish people are somewhat true. I grew up in Midland so was lucky enough to be on the inside, but can appreciate the pain of outsiders - although I don't think it's true of ALL people in Midland. Not fair to say that pumping units (erroneously referred to as oil wells) replace trees etc. Midland/Odessa is in the Permian Basin - formerly under an oceon, and pretty much of a desert. There were no trees or green lawns before oil was discovered - the flat, sandy landscape is natural and preserved - with an annual average rainfall of 14 inches, how much vegetation do you expect? Why are there bridges where there is no water? The same reason the parks are below ground level. With only 2 or 3 major rainfalls a year, flash flooding can create havoc and bridges and runoff areas keep streets and residences from occasional flooding. The land is beautiful, to me, the sky is endless, you can see horizon to horizon, every star in the sky, magnificent sunsets. The air is clean.

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Midland, TX -learning experience - 12/29/2005

Life in Midland, Texas truly is for those who are in the oil industry, extremely wealthy, and for those who love a dusty and hot environment. Oil pumps replace trees or grass or green in the fields. There are bridges, but no water:). There is little to do and the overall attitude of the city is difficult to stomach if you are from anywhere else. Midland contains either extreme wealth while its sister city, Odessa, contains extreme poor. Midlanders considered themselves better than Odessa. I have lived in cities such as Chicago and Atlanta. I have never met people such as this. They are a step further than the typical small town with cliques. They have the typical Texan pride with absolutely no tolerance for others. The pride they have of themselves and their city is extremely overrated.

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Midland, no worse than others - 10/20/2005

Midland Texas is no worse than any other place in the US. Some people are great to be around and some aren't. A lot of people come here, having lived in larger cities and expect Midland to have everything they had "back east" or on the "west coast" not realizing they are no longer "in Kansas." Yes we have snobs, who doesn't but, I for one have never heard of a city anywhere that has as many problems as these people are accusing Midland of. Yes, Midlanders are proud of their city but, no more than anywhere else and I have had terrible experiences in other states but I didn't trash the whole state because of one small group or even a larger group. Get a grip, we're all in this together. Midland is a good place to live and where ever you are right now is probobly good too, so lighten up and don't take yourself so seriously.

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Middlin to party cloudy - 8/13/2005

Truer words have never been spoken. Midland and it's nasty sister "slow-deatha" are not for anyone unless really like incessant wind, tons of red dirt and living among the poorest "rich" people ever to walk the face of the earth.

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Stay away from Midland - 6/19/2005

I must second the comments made by Kristen. Midland absolutely the worst place to live if you are not in the oil industry or have "old" money. The people are very cliquish and do not accept you anywhere - community, school, business, and worst of all even in the churches. On top of that, they try very hard to maintain the "illusion" that Midland is a "mover and shaker" in the world oil industry. They consider themselves a "little Houston". The people are snobbish, rude, unaccepting - and it doesn't even matter if you are from some other part of Texas!!! They even snub people in other professions that make money to include doctors and lawyers unless they have a vested interest in the oil industry. We have moved all over the world and lived in many places in the United States - this is by far the worst we have ever seen. If considering Midland - forget it unless you want to live like a second, third, or fourth class citizen.

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Midland Texas - 6/4/2005

I moved here after living on the east coast (northern,NJ) and the west coast (southern, CA)and I absolutely HATE IT! If you aren't from Texas, don't even think of moving here, they won't accept you. It's terribly hard trying to get employment when you are from somewhere other than Texas, and the people will call you in for an interview "just to see why you moved here." (That's a direct quote from one of the interviewers.) The children in the school systems seem to run the school and the teachers get very little backing from the parents when handling disciplinariary actions. I have met many other people from other places and they feel the same way! All I have to say about Midland is STAY AWAY!!!! SAVE YOURSELF!!!

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