GUIGirl84

I can testify to the impact on housing. A short time before I moved to Midland, TX a 650 sq. ft. apartment was going for $450-475 a month roughly. When I moved into a house thankfully owned by my in-laws so it is much cheaper than market value it was being raised again to $1329 a month. As far as service industry there is a lot of turnover in the area and the service isn't always the best because people seem to have the attitude that they can just find another job if they loose this one. Traffic is insane because the streets were obviously not built to handle this kind of volume. Finally, what prompted my question was that I (being a former CJ major and fascinated by these kind of things) like to read the crime section of the local paper and news stations online. I frequently see people complaining about it being outsiders that moved here from where ever and other people saying it can't be that person's fault because they were born and raised here. I was just curious what you have found to be true. Also to let you know the attitude about crime in this boom town. One final thought I read something saying the next town over (Odessa, TX) experienced a bigger increase than us which I find oddly fascinating. Sorry for the word spew but I haven't had anybody to discuss this kind of thing with since I dropped out of college.

Have you ever looked at the oil booms in place like Midland, TX where the locals are use to the ebb and flow of the economy depending on the next boom or bust? If so do you find more crime from locals who can't handle the stress of increased prices and population or from migrant workers who follow the jobs into the area?