Lubbock, Texas

One of the best things about Lubbock is how big an influence a school like Texas Tech has on the energy and growth of the city. A big, healthy university drives population stability and growth, business stability and startup growth, an active social and cultural scene, and maybe more important than anything, a sense of local pride that is at least partly based on education. This educational spirit and quality extends beyond the university to an excellent elementary and high school. These combined factors make a college town like Lubbock kind of ideal for everyone from college kids to young families to retirees. So good for retirees, it was named the top retirement destination in the U.S. in 2019 by Where To Retire magazine.

One other note about Lubbock. When you ask locals about the best part of the city, an awful lot of them say “the people.” That’s hard to quantify, but there seems to be an overwhelming vibe that people in Lubbock are nice, friendly, and welcoming. Some make the point that they have the college spirit, art scene, and growth economy of an Austin but without any of the attitude.

You should also know that Lubbock is rated among the cities with the worst weather in the U.S. Most of these cities achieve their rankings the old-fashioned way: terrible cold and snow, suffocating heat and humidity, or pounding rain and overcast. Lubbock stands alone as a city that is brutal for a combination of extreme temperature swings, tornadoes, dust storms, and fire storms. It’s just kind of an angry city in terms of weather (which is countered by nice residents). If you move here, there’s plenty to like, but the weather ain’t one of these things.

Downtown Lubbock and the areas surrounding Texas Tech have a slew of bars and restaurants, an arts district, and several parks with another downtown civic park on the way. If you’re looking for action you can find it downtown. For those who want to go out but also avoid the college kiddos that are available as you move away from the Red Raiders and closer to the center of downtown.

Aside from the downtown social scene, there is also a pretty wide variety of interesting museums including the Buddy Holly Center, The National Ranching Heritage Center, the Caviel Museum of African American History, and the American Windmill Museum (the largest on the planet!!!).

Outside of the more “touristy” things to do in Lubbock, you can expect an interesting mix of a heavy art scene crossed with suburban energy running throughout the city. The arts side of Lubbock can trace its roots to being the birthplace of Buddy Holly, combined of course with the influence of a college town.

The suburban vibe comes from the fact most people here own their homes and the great schools pull in young and established families. Tons of parks and great kids' sports drive a lot of the weekend and summer activities.

Lubbock calendar of events.

They call Lubbock “Hub City” due to it being the economic center of a 26-county region serving not only Texas but also border states. Top industries include of course education, but also research, healthcare, agriculture and manufacturing. Big employees include: Texas Tech, United Supermarkets, X-FAB (silicon wafers) manufacturing, Reese Technology Center also houses plenty of specialized engineering, and technical companies including Wyle Aerospace, Zachry Group, and Vestas, a wind-turbine manufacturer.