Cost of Living

West Texas is home to many oilfield workers and their families. With the Oil Boom came more workers and more families. We have experienced price increases on everything from food to fuel and beyond.

The most marked of these increases includes rent. The job market is open and flourishing but the housing situation has become dire. Most apartments are not charging any less the $850 a month for a small one bedroom apartment. If one makes oilfield wages, one can most certainly afford this rent.

The problem is just that. Not EVERYONE can afford to pay oilfield prices to survive. There are single moms with degrees that are struggling. There are single dads out there doing their best to support their children and the oilfield jobs are not always conducive to being a single parent. Not everyone has family who can help, or will help.

There are rules that every landlord must follow, though that does not mean they do…

One of these rules is there can only be two people living at a residence per bedroom. If you have one child, you can rent a one bedroom apartment. If you have more than one child you must plan accordingly. So, if one bedroom apartments run over $850 a month, how much can a two bedroom cost? It depends on what area you want to live in. It depends on if you want a yard you can call your own. For an apartment you are looking at a minimum of $1000 a month, and that isn’t in nice neighborhoods. For a house you are looking at a minimum of $1400 a month. Again, location is everything. For a two bedroom in a nice neighborhood, you are looking at $1700 or more for one month.

Imagine a teacher, a policeman, a firefighter, a single mom, etc., trying to make it with these kinds of prices. It is virtually impossible. What happens when our teachers and policemen leave to other cities where they can support their families? What happens when all you have left are people who work in the oilfield and their families?

We are talking catastrophic possibilities. When there is a bust, because the oilfield is not exactly a stable market, what happens to the towns? If everyone who couldn’t afford to live there during the boom left, a bust would make these towns essentially ghost towns. Because oilfield workers will either leave to find work, or they will be dissatisfied with any other job. I’m not saying this is every oilfield worker. But imagine this, you make $2000 or more a week before the bust, and after the bust you are lucky to make $2000 a month. The quality of life seems to change. There isn’t as much money for extras like vacations, boats, trucks, houses, etc.

There has to be a way to help those who don’t make oilfield money to survive during a boom. Because without workers in every position in every company, including grocery stores, there will be a drastic change in the quality of life for everyone.

Charging everyone oilfield prices is greed, plain and simple. Sure, you are making money now but you can’t take it with you when you die. You might have an easy life but it is at the expense of others. Greed will, in the end, be your downfall.