Within the next 2 weeks, I'll be moving to Childress, Texas, with a temporary stay in Amarillo. I'll be there temporarily for 2 years. Will be working 45-50 hours a week tops. So plenty of free time. My family and friends are staying in Oregon. I really don't know anyone in Texas, a few friends in AZ and NB, though I don't anticipate going there or seeing them.

I'll be there to work and not screw up. Get paid and build a career with a new company. I won't say what company.

What should I expect? Or be aware of? Sounds like the people there are friendly. My voice/accent will give me away as a non-Texan.

What should I be sure to do and see?

Any experience to share regarding living in company-provided housing at a project site?



Rambling details below:

I'm going to register my truck with TX plates as soon as I can. I need to move my residency there ASAP, Oregon has high income tax, Texas doesn't. So, I'll mostly blend in from that standpoint.

I won't wear a cowboy hat or boats. I'm not a cowboy.

Will mostly just work, ride my bike, and maybe read books. Check out local towns to learn what I can learn and say I've been there.

I will try all the BBQ I can find.

I don't drink, and there will be plenty of co-workers with whom I can make friends and be their DD. They can buy me food and gas So, I should be able to have some new buddies to hang out with.

Costco run will be a 4-hour round trip to Lubbock, so that's not happening very often.

Amarillo: 1.5 hours away
DFW is 3.5-4 hours away.
Lubbock 2 hours.


I expect to be there for 2 years. While in Childress, I will live in company-provided housing. I am told it is a 1-person room with a bathroom, bed, TV, and maybe a microwave. I will also have 3 meals a day provided and a shuttle bus to the office. I will be doing in-office work - not outside much, so working in the elements will not be a concern. Refraining from identifying the company and job-specific details.

What I know:
Childress is a small ranching community of ~6,000 people. Until recently, it was a ranching town; now Solar and computer data centers are springing up in much of the area.

It is at the intersection of 2 US-Highways 287 and 62

There are Super Walmart and a Pilot travel center, which are highly rated as things to do/see in town. There is also a park that looks nice for walks and a high school football field. I anticipate going to football games. Should be able to enjoy Booster Club burgers, hot dogs, and Cokes while supporting the hometown team. I like small towns.

Outdoor Activities:
- Not a lot of public land in Texas, so I've been told. However, there are a few parks within a reasonable drive that I plan to check out.
- Red River: Not for swimming or rafting per Wiki. So don't plan on spending much time there
- A few small ponds in the area for fishing. (I'm from Michigan, so my definition of a lake is skewed. Currently live in Oregon, where there are many ponds and 1 lake)

Firearms: It's Texas! There is a 3-gun minimum, right!!? Only I'll be living on the job site, and I am pretty sure NO GUNS are allowed at work. Honestly, I don't want the headache. But it would be nice to go plinking with my .22 or even get a six-gun. I mean, it's Texas.

Hunting: I don't have time to scout; I'm not going to pay $$$ and hunting for me is just a nice diversion with friends.
Skeet: Love it, not sure there is a local skeet range, and I don't really want to haul my reloading press, etc. Shotgun shells are the only thing I reload, and that was when I shot 4-7 games a week every week. It's been a while.

Church: May try out a few churches to see which has the best community feel. Maybe community service-type volunteer activities etc. At least free coffee and cookies after Sunday service

Bicycling: I plan to bring my road bike and/or gravel bike. I don't enjoy mountain biking. I hope Texas is OK for people to road bike on. The area has a low population. I hope to get out on some farm roads and just ride. Not bother anyone and low traffic. Get back in shape (riding 100 miles+ without thinking about it), drinking enough water will be the limiting factor.

Heat: 90-100 with moderate to lowish humidity. Lots of wind and dust.

I'm bringing basically what I can fit in my truck.
- clothing, jacket etc..
- basic set of tools, screwdrivers, pliers, the like
- personal computer, maybe a PlayStation
- road bike and tools, parts
- Binoculars
- Tempted to bring a bow, less of an issue on the job site. guessing I could find somewhere to target practice. It is a target bow after all.


/Ramble off

Thank you in advance
-S

You should check with the company to see what their policy on “weapons“ is. A bow might be considered a weapon.

I live in a mostly empty rural area in west Texas. Farm roads will have pickups and bigger vehicles hauling ass at 70+ mph and they may not be watching for a bicyclist toodling along at 15mph. There’s been a couple of bicyclists run over on the highway here. One by a drunk. The other by someone who wasn’t paying attention. Most locals generally have little patience for road bikers.

There’s a Sam’s Club in NW Amarillo. I’m not sure Lubbock is worth driving an extra hour round-trip over Amarillo.

Nobody is going to expect you to wear a cowboy hat and boots.

Palo Duro Canyon State Park is just south of Amarillo.

I’m not trying to bust your chops. Just providing some perspective.

Childress TX is very different from Portland .

I haven't spent much time there even though I have driven through it dozens of times on 287. The only places I have visited are Pilot, Walmart, and McDonalds for AM coffee. Got a speeding ticket on the outskirts, LEO was very nice. I have never seen a single bicycle driving through the town. Wichita Falls is a much larger town south east of Childress, I think it is a little closer than Amarillo. Wide variety of restaurants there, points of interest, shopping, etc. Lake Arrowhead State Park is near there as well, with camping, boating, water skiing, etc.

I went to High School in Roswell, NM

If you do not mind road trips and staying over weekends, Carlsbad Caverns and Rudi's (Mount Apache Skiing) are about 6 hours away. Driving in Texas - New Mexico is different than the North - fast but boring.

quote:

I'm going to register my truck with TX plates as soon as I can. I need to move my residency there ASAP, Oregon has high income tax, Texas doesn't.

When you say your family will stay in Oregon, is that wife and children; so split family? There is more to changing residency than simply license plates. Driver's license? Voting registration? Do you own a house in Oregon? You might consider consulting a tax professional before making this decision.

What arfmel said about bicycles on the highway is correct. I would avoid bicycling anywhere but the off road trails around here.

I won't ask which company and it doesn't matter but I'm generally familiar with the construction projects in Armstrong county and know a few people involved.

Moving from Portland to Childress is going to be quite the change. Weather, activities, culture, food. You might get bored pretty fast living in a 1 room living space in such a small town but for people like me who grew up in a small west Texas town I enjoy it.

Finding community and friends is always a challenge but even more so where you are moving to. Send me an email if you want and I can hopefully give you a better picture of how things are around here.

Childress is a nice little town, mostly ranching, but hat and boots not required.

For Trap and Sporting Clays, Amarillo Gun Club is well set up and growing.

Some dining in Amarillo is very nice, Volt, Ohm and Macaroni Joes.

Palo Duco Canyon is the second largest canyon in the USA, it's a hikers paradise.......

Do NOT (sic) miss the Whittington center in Raton NM, likely the largets and one of the best equipped shooting ranges in the country.

Feel free to contact me to discuss.

Heathtx

Get a good cowboy hat as soon as possible. When I moved to Texas i waited nearly ten years. When I got my first cheap one it was a revelation, it's not just for looks, the Texas sun is brutal. It was a total game changer. I left before I could get a decent hat, but it was on my short list. There's a reason everyone outside Dallas and Houston wear a cowboy hat.

Well make the best out of your time there. Won’t be an exciting experience as far as the area goes. It’s just small town Friday night high school football.

Your not wanting to reveal who you are working for but just know that the AI and data centers or some of the other types of related work can come with a lot of resentment from the locals which seems to be happening everywhere these days.

Its good that you will have housing, food and co workers close as it can be lonely.

You have a pretty good idea of the distances to basics that most take for granted. Having grown up in small town West Texas not to far from Childress its very limited or was growing up.

You drove to the big cities to do anything interesting. The good thing can be the basics though and just good ole plain people without a lot of crime unless the jobs have drastically changed the area.

Good place to stay focused and do your job well and then move on with life.

Texas is very gun friendly for responsible gun owners and it’s just fine if you wear a hat and boots. Never wore a hat well but boots and belts were a standard with a gimme cap.

Hope you like dirt cause you will eat a lot of it. Rain blows sideways along with dirt and gravel. A car wash won’t last long and black paint will be covered in dust within the hour. Broken windshields are a standard from all the dirt and rocks dumped on the paved roads from others driving the dirt roads.

The heat is a dry heat so its really different and more tolerable then a humid heat.

Welcome and enjoy your time in small town Texas.

quote:

Originally posted by heathtx:

Some dining in Amarillo is very nice, Volt, Ohm and Macaroni Joes.

Palo Duro Canyon is the second largest canyon in the USA, it's a hikers paradise.......

Amarillo - don't overlook the Big Texan Steak Ranch. Kind of hard not to, though, with all the billboards. (72 oz steak FREE!)

Palo Duro - really good mountain biking too!