Is Amarillo Really One of the Best Places to Live in Texas?
Whether you were born here in Amarillo or moved here later in life, you probably have some big feelings about where you live. I mean you wouldn't live here if you didn't want to, right?
Well that is not necessarily true. I know that. Maybe you did move away at one point. Then you may have realized it was better to be back home. Maybe you never came back. Some people never leave. There are always different reasons for where you end up in life.
Amarillo has basically been my home since the mid-eighties. I have had my moments where I have wanted to move away. I have dreamt of living somewhere with more water. I would love to wake up with a beach outside my front door. Amarillo has become my home.
I have watched my daughter grow up here. She moved away. She came back for a bit. She will be moving away again soon. I get it. When you are young it's a lot easier. I really have never seriously thought about moving away. Even if I never get my beachfront. It's ok. Amarillo has been pretty good to me.
Forbes Likes Amarillo Too
So when I see us being recognized for our greatness it makes me smile a bit. Recently we found Amarillo on Forbes list of best places to live in Texas. OK, Forbes, they are a trusted magazine. They are a financial publication. So that makes me think of the cost of living.
Seriously you can't beat that here. The rent for my daughter's tiny one-bedroom in Fort Worth was over $1200. You can get a full house here in Amarillo for that. So that is a win.
Amarillo is the largest economic hub in the Texas panhandle and is conveniently located on Interstate 40. Agriculture and meatpacking are two of the city’s primary industries. However, the city isn’t all about cowboys and the iconic images of “Old Texas.”
We do have several great places to work here in Amarillo. Several that we are known for:
Several major industries also have a presence in the city, including a Bell helicopter plant and the Pantex Nuclear Weapons Facility, the nation’s only facility to assemble and disassemble nuclear weapons.
Plus Amarillo has several places that you have to visit. Of course, the Cadillac Ranch, The Big Texan, and a Sod Poodles game at Hodgetown come to mind. Of course, we are lucky to have Palo Duro Canyon in our backyard:
Outdoor enthusiasts will enjoy the Palo Duro Canyon State Park, which is the nation’s second-largest canyon and is only dwarfed by the Grand Canyon.
So Amarillo does have a lot to offer. I know people will scream about the crime here. Yes, it has gotten worse. Unfortunately, that happens when we grow in population. Do I wish we could go back to the simpler times when I first moved here? Sure. It comes with the territory of growing.
We finished in the top 10 of Forbes list. OK, I guess in the top 9. Since that is all they listed. We were number eight. We at least made it. We were the only one from the Texas Panhandle. Heck, Lubbock was never even mentioned.
Austin, of course, was number one. That is not a surprise.
So Amarillo love it or leave it. Really. I choose to be here and hopefully, you do too. I mean we are on a list that a lot of Texas cities are nowhere close to being on. We have to be proud of that. Check out the list HERE.