Anybody from there, or know much about it?

people that live there call it the armpit of the world

Worlds smallest skyscraper.

A lot to recommend it, but it is probably the hottest place you can live. The USAF training base there is where they do a lot of the joint NATO training, so it's pretty active and a big part of the economy.

I usually just pass through stopping only for fuel, but I've been tempted to go to a small town near there to spend half a day or more.

The town of Archer City a few miles south of Wichita Falls has a second-hand bookstore that is reported to be quite unique. It is owned by the author Larry McMurtry. Many years ago, he bought four buildings along the courthouse square and filled them with used books for sale.

[This message has been edited by eric76 (edited 7/2/2012 1:20p).]

I'm from Wichita Falls. Don't live there currently, but my parents and grandparents still live there.

My dad was from Burkburnett and I spent Many summer vacations at Lake Kickapoo. Loved it when I was a kid at the lake. That being said, there's no way in hell I would want to live there now. It's so damn hot there.
I read once that it was voted the most "average" city in the US.

Anybody know how safe the base is? In other words, has it ever been discussed to be on any closure lists? Seems like a pretty good sized base, and like mentioned, they do NATO pilot training there. Just seems like that town would take a huge hit if the Air Force base ever left. Midwestern sure seemed to have a nice campus for a small school, and the houses to the east of there were nice.

Seeing as it is a joint NATO training base, I can't believe it is in jeopardy anytime soon. But then, a lot of big bases with nice facilities have been closed, so who knows.

The base had a reduction in the workforce within the last few years I believe, but I don't think it's in any danger of being closed. Midwesterns campus is surprisingly nice and the surrounding neighborhood is one of the nicest in the city. It's the "country club" neighborhood.

I grew up in Burk. Family still lives there and owns a business there. I doubt I will ever move back but there are worse places to live. The base is a big training base but I doubt they will close.

Sheppard was cut some by BRAC in 2005. I think the general feeling is Sheppard is probably safe until at least 2015. Rumors of a 2013 BRAC have surfaced, but I have not seen or heard of anything in the budget for a 2013 round of BRAC, and closing bases costs money, so that would have to come from somewhere. A 2015 round of BRAC is more realistic.

I've seen comments from Thornberry and others that think because of the NATO training program, Sheppard is probably safe from BRAC in the near future.

Personally, I'm not as optimistic. If there is a change in the administration, it will be safe for a while. If not, being from a relatively small metro area in a Republican-dominated state could very easily bump it way up the list.

Sheppard lost its medical training unit--not a huge part of the operation, but it shook everybody up becauase that was the first time Sheppard was ever a loser, instead of a winner, in the BRAC process. The biggest threat to Sheppard, and all AF bases, is probably the move from manned flight to unmanned drones. However, for the near term, it's hard to see Sheppard getting the axe as long as it hosts the Euro-Nato program.

I'm from Wichita Falls. Went to high school in Henrietta. WF is not the most happening place in the world by any stretch of the imagination, but I have always considered it to be an extremely comfortable place to live, and a great family town. A lot of growth in Wichita Falls right now. Midwestern State is also a school that's definitely on the up and up.

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A lot of growth in Wichita Falls right now

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Really? The numbers don't show that. Is it recent? What is fueling the growth?

I don't agree that there is a lot of growth in Wichita Falls right now. In fact, some contractors that I know are rather spooked about the fact that construction seems to have dried up all of a sudden (perhaps it was proceeding at a stronger pace than one would have expected in 2010-11, but now they seem to be caught up on everything). Although there hasn't been a lot of hot oil and gas action in the immediate vicinity, there are enough eastablished O&G businesses here that they have benefited from the Barnet Shale development, so that has helped stabilize the local economy.