Best Small Towns in USA...Marfa???

One of my best friends from HS used to teach there. It's pretty neat country. But, I've heard Marfa is being over run by artistic types that are fleeing New Mexico. That will probably get a little town on some magazine's top 10 list........and ruin it.
 
well.....I have been there on business and all I can really say is it ain't no Blackwell or Lueders or Avoca. Nice climate and they play Six-Man as of the upcoming season. Small town. What more could you ask for? Maybe fake grass on the football field???
When are you coming home?

Don Hardin
Abilene
 
BOOO fake grass! When Blackwell goes back to natural grass I will come back!

Wasn't the movie "Giant" filmed in Marfa? I read a lot of the comments to the article and seems like a lot of people agree the towns had to have some sort of art scene related to them to make the list...

I am glad a six-man school made the list...but in the small write-up six-man wasn't mentioned...but the UFO was...
 
Don, you and Leman have not said a word about my report a while back that Verry bestest ISD is putting in a turf field. man, what does a guy have to do to get recognized. ha Know am not you all's stratus, but heck. Ha
 
We have a pretty good publicist somewhere....lol

Lots of artists....22 art galleries (or so???). Housing prices are through the roof....luckily there is one school house.

It is a nice little town....a long way from the nearest Wal-mart (which might be a draw to the "city folk").

Some great kids attedning school (which is still a good 'ol West Texas school).
 
Not New Mexico artists. And Not recent. There has been a solid, growing group of artists in the Marfa area since to the 1970's. Serious Noo Yawk type artists; Donald Judd (the pretty much indisputed master of minimalism) established the Chinati Foundation there in the 70's and it and his work has an international reputation. And yes the real estate prices went beyond sky high for the past 40 years and have never come down.
 
Hmmm. Don't know about that. But I bet the ones that did have kids sent them to school back in Manhattan. I could be thoughlessly maligning though. Any idea if Judd's kids went to school in Marfa (somehow I seriously doubt it ... well they were probably too old by the time he moved there anyway). For what it's worth I really like Marfa. We generally drive through it on our way to visit friends down in Big Bend and I always like to stop at the bookstore and I admire the flag sculture on the lawn of the courthouse; just a lot to like about that little town.
 
Several elementary kids, some send their children to the Montessori School in town. We have one athlete (leg on the relays) whose mother moved down here originally to work with Judd. She married a Marfa native. Other than that, the rest are native Marfans.

If housing was cheaper, we would definitely be 11-man....as 85-90% of the Border Patrol employees live in Alpine and commute.
 
The Chinati's came to town a few years ago, bought up a bunch of property, and took it off the tax rolls (being a non-profit and all).

Artsy-fartsy types are ruining the Big Bend area. Property values are stupid high. Even after the RE crash a few years ago. A big ginormus thanks should go to the left-wing morons at Texas Monthly Magazine for their invaluable contribution to polluting what was the purest of the Last Frontier.
 
rainjacktx":2g6ndp67 said:
The Chinati's came to town a few years ago, bought up a bunch of property, and took it off the tax rolls (being a non-profit and all).

Artsy-fartsy types are ruining the Big Bend area. Property values are stupid high. Even after the RE crash a few years ago. A big ginormus thanks should go to the left-wing morons at Texas Monthly Magazine for their invaluable contribution to polluting what was the purest of the Last Frontier.
Click to expand...

9bf.jpg
 
coachjdjones":1yrnfra6 said:
Several elementary kids, some send their children to the Montessori School in town. We have one athlete (leg on the relays) whose mother moved down here originally to work with Judd. She married a Marfa native. Other than that, the rest are native Marfans.

If housing was cheaper, we would definitely be 11-man....as 85-90% of the Border Patrol employees live in Alpine and commute.
Click to expand...

I do think property prices are a problem though since it seems like Marfa might be heading for a "Hampton" type situation - where the prices for the real estate are so high the working folks - the ones who make the town run - have to commute in from a distance. I can't really fault Judd for his ranch-buying-up. If I understand correctly he did that as a private individual and his motivation was to keep the land from being developed, and that land, although in Presidio County, is no where near Marfa (that's a BIG county) - I would assume it's on the tax rolls; and since the Chinati Foundation itself is on a fairly small piece of land - about half a section which doesn't amount to much acreage at all in that area. 0.02% of the taxable acreage in Presidio so I don't see that as being a real burden with reference to the property taxes; especially if you consider that if the real estate prices are that high and since the property taxes fund the schools, you guys should be rolling in dough. Am I wrong though about the ranch acreage? Do you know if the ranch Judd bought and lived on was somehow taken off the tax rolls as well? Just curious. Curious too, to know if my assumption about high real estate taxes means high property taxes which translates into a nice budget for your school.
 
Sissy: not sure about the ranch land question......and no our budgets do not reflect the high real estate prices....

And for the record, I turn on the Lights the second weekend of every month.
 
coachjdjones":ekqft18d said:
.....and no our budgets do not reflect the high real estate prices....
Click to expand...

That's just wrong then. If real estate rates are that high then property tax revenue should also be high and the schools should benefit. Sounds like an expose some enterprising journalist should pursue.
 
Sissylue":1mk0mybw said:
coachjdjones":1mk0mybw said:
.....and no our budgets do not reflect the high real estate prices....
Click to expand...

That's just wrong then. If real estate rates are that high then property tax revenue should also be high and the schools should benefit. Sounds like an expose some enterprising journalist should pursue.
Click to expand...

Journalists have done enough damage to the Big Bend area. But if one were to pursue such an idea, I'm afraid he would find a Chinati under every bush.
 

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