2014-Oil Boom-Midland, Texas

The oil boom in the Midland County area in 2014 keeps escalating and have people wondering where to live, and how to keep a job. Sounds silly that a place that has more jobs than people to handle the jobs. Want to live here? Bring lots of cash, because you will need it to find a place to sleep at night. That is the reality of Midland, Texas. Yes, there is work in this small city, so much work that the need for people is in high demand. Midland, Texas is not a prime location for photography, unless pump jacks and drilling rigs are your objects for pictures. There is not much in the way of a lake anywhere around this area for at least a three hour drive. No mountains for about the same length of time to drive to a lake. What is out here is work and plenty of this.

Every day, someone is coming here to the area and feeling the pinch on their wallet. The truth is that a hotel room will cost at least 300.00 per night and we are talking about a single star motel. There is one or two weekly rental hotels in the area of Odessa and Midland that are new. These rent out for 599.00 per week as of this writing in 2014. Keep in mind that these hotels have waiting list also, before you pack your belongings up to move here. Be ready to buy a mobile home, and you might get lucky and find some land to put this home on. However it will not be too close to the Midland, Odessa area. It could be 100 miles away before you find a place to put your mobile home. Then you add in the factor of gas to get around to the area, and your expenses start to add up. You will get a job the first day you go looking for one, depending on how picky you are. Also, if seeking an oil field job you have to wait to let the drug test to come back and references to be cleared before you can start work in most highly paid positions.

The oil boom is here to stay in this small area that keeps expanding minute by minute. The housing is ridiculously high and more apartments are being built for the influx of people. You need to figure out how much you are going to make versus how much it will cost to live here in Midland, Texas. Does it add up right? You could possibly not be actually making all that much money when you add in the cost of living and the income that you are taking in. Most are breaking even, which is not told about this area. Having lived here all my life, the scene we have here in Texas is on fire right now with so many accidents and wealthy homeless people. How is this possible? The boom has come quicker than the city was ready for and had to justify having more apartments and housing available for the whole nation to descend upon Midland, and Odessa. The normal for this area is a big oil boom then a bust a few years later since the early 1920s. However with new fracking techniques to drill and not drilling dry holes with this new technology has made for an economy that only the rich can afford to live here.

Just like the early twenties in Midland and Odessa, with the oil boom comes the criminal element that is not talked about. If a city has money and the people don’t have much to do after work with this money there is widespread alcoholism and drug abuse that is swept under the floor that no one is talking about in the media. This area has movie theatres and Malls to go to and spend your hard earned money. The price of goods and services are just as high as your paycheck is, so keeping this in mind helps a newcomer.

There are not enough inspectors in this area. The oil drilling industry nor for the housing authority have enough people to regulate how these activities are complying with the laws. This could be a problem in the long term when buying a house that is new. Is the lumber good that was used? Is the builder of the property reliable? Is the drilling rig safe by OSHA standards to work on? These are questions that have been addressed and locally they need improvement. The city is growing at such a fast rate that hiring for these areas either does not pay what you can get from working in the oil and gas positions or there is just not qualified personnel in the city to oversee what needs to be regulated or not. It is really a mess that is kept under paperwork and not spilled out to the media.

Image is everything to the Midland and Odessa area. Keep the image of a bustling, money making, city where your kids can get a good education. This is still true about the area is that the city council is doing everything possible to keep up with all the pains of a growing small community into a city like Dallas and Ft. worth. The area is a puzzle when it comes to traffic and the accidents are daily if not hourly in the area. Everyone is in a hurry. No doubt about this fact. The traffic violations you see just going down a street to a convenience store are numerous and dangerous.

The oil boom is making people rich in all industries in this area of Texas. It does not really matter which occupation you chose, you will make more than any other place in the USA. This is a fact. Once you find that job, you will have offers for other jobs. The internet is full of jobs for this area, but one only has to get in their car and drive down the street and someone is hiring. There are those who hold down two to three jobs and they are making the same amount as an oil field worker is taking home. Nothing is easy when it comes to making the move out here or anywhere else for a new job. Factoring in the expenses and what your income will be is the true question before making the move to this area. Can you really afford to live here?