Amarillo, Texas Relocation Guide
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Population: 187,500 Located in Potter County
Located in the Texas Panhandle and bordered by New Mexico and Oklahoma, Amarillo was first settled in 1887. The name, Amarillo, was taken from the Spanish language meaning "yellow," because of the color of the sub-soil in the channel of the Amarillo Creek. In the early days, most of the houses were painted yellow to commemorate the name. Amarillo has the world's largest natural gas development and provides pipelines to many large cities and thousands of towns connecting through to the Atlantic seaboard. The world's second largest gas field is also being developed in this area. Natural gas and petroleum discoveries have given rise to a number of the city's major industries which produce carbon black, petro-chemicals and helium. Zinc smelting brought economic advantages when it entered the Amarillo industry picture in 1992. Agriculture is one of the major activities on the High Plains of Texas, but Amarillo also offers a modern sophisticated city. Amarillo has one of the best medical centers, a top-notch pharmacy school and several local community colleges. The Amarillo Symphony, the Amarillo Opera, the Lone Star Ballet, the Amarillo Museum of Art, the Don Harrington Discovery Center, The Garden Center, and the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum offer captivating productions. The Palo Duro Canyon, located 20 minutes south of the city, is America's second largest canyon. The outdoor musical TEXAS is performed in the natural amphitheater on the floor of the canyon beneath the towering 600 foot canyon wall. The Cowboy Morning Breakfast, which takes place on a real working ranch, is the taste of the real old west. The American Quarter Horse Association has a museum, that displays the heritage and modern activity of the American Quarter Horse. West of the city lies the Cadillac Ranch, and the east side features the Big Texas Steak Ranch and Opry to delight the pallet and entertain any Amarillo visitor. Visiting the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum is a must. It exhibits the typical 1880's a western town and western history of oil, gas and agriculture. For the sports enthusiast there is baseball, hockey, golf and all the sporting events one could want, both as a spectator, or as a player. Schools and Churches are all convenient and the shopping malls are close to the major interstate routes. West Texas A&M University, a major regional university, is located in Canyon, Texas, twelve miles from Amarillo. The friendly people, the thriving pioneer spirit and a progressive attitude makes Amarillo one of the best places to live and prosper. The unhurried friendliness of Amarillo was cited when it was selected in the October 1994 issue of Entrepreneur magazine as one of the "25 Best Cities for Small Business." Factors such as success rates for business, payment performance of companies, personal incomes, state programs and cost of living were considered in the selection of the top cities. Deliberate diversification efforts, financed in part by a half-cent economic development sales tax, have increased the continuous growth of Amarillo with a flourishing economy that finds new businesses opening every day. Amarillo/Canyon is a well-rounded, growing and FRIENDLY community. As the saying goes, "I wasn't born here, but I got here as soon as I could." |
