I'm looking for some inside scoop on Sweetwater that you wont read on Wikipedia.

Only one child still in the school system.
How is the job market for real?
How bad are the taxes?
Real crime numbers not per capital info?
How bad is the county government ?

Shooting on your own land ok?
What about building permits or home business licenses?
Any thing to look out for pitfall wise?
Hunting?
Fishing?
Wild animals to worry about?

Anything you can think of to steer some one into town or away from it would be helpful.

: Today 4:55:25 PM CDT
I'm looking for some inside scoop on Sweetwater that you wont read on Wikipedia.

Only one child still in the school system.
How is the job market for real?
How bad are the taxes?
Real crime numbers not per capital info?
How bad is the county government ?

Shooting on your own land ok?
What about building permits or home business licenses?
Any thing to look out for pitfall wise?
Hunting?
Fishing?
Wild animals to worry about?

Anything you can think of to steer some one into town or away from it would be helpful.



Not in Sweetwater, though I drive through it a few dozen times a year.

It is a pretty small town that does seem to have a bit of development going on. It seems to have languished after its Oilfield heyday.

I imagine houses on small acreage is still pretty cheap compared to the East side of Abilene.

No real animal issues to actually worry about compared to getting moose stomped. Of course there are the snakes and scorpions, and the coyotes foxes etc will get your chickens.

I don't have any idea what the job market us. Georgia-Pacofic is building a HUGE drywall plant outside of town that I imagine will bring a lot of jobs, and drive existing affordable houses up.

No income tax, property taxes will probably be higher than you are used to.

Crime, probably not much to worry about.

Land: water well due diligence and making sure you like your neighbors

Hunting: plenty of deer and predator hunting to be had nearby

Fishing: some reservoir lakes with a few hours, bit nothing like you are used to.

May I ask how you picked Sweetwater?

Dont know much about Sweetwater itself, but it seems like an Ok kinda place.  Small city.  If you leave the city and go county your options grow exponentially.

Abilene here

Thanks for the input. She found a chunk of land she liked with a house on it so that is what she is looking at.

18 or so Acres is more land than we have ever personally had before.

I don’t live in Sweetwater, but I own a ranch there.
I am usually in town a couple of weekends a month. My knowledge of everyday living there is pretty limited.

I don’t know what job field you or your wife are in, so it’s hard to determine what your marketability is. I do know that it’s kind of a depressed town. Wind power companies are big there, and seem to be the most lucrative industry, along with oilfield work.

I can hunt and shoot on my own property with no issues.
Good deer hunting, and feral hogs abound. I don’t do much fishing, but Lake Sweetwater and Lake Trammel are in the area.

Sweetwater is home of the largest rattlesnake roundup in the US, so as you can imagine, we have a few rattlesnakes….

I don’t think property taxes are that bad, but my property is zoned agricultural.

I am not aware of much crime out there, but again, when I’m in town, I stay at my ranch house, and I’m a few miles out of town.

I love the area..it has a lot of meaning for me, but again, it’s kind of a depressed town.
There are a couple of grocery stores, a Wal Mart, tractor supply, and some hardware stores in town, but for any REAL shopping, you’d have to go to Abilene, which is about 40 miles away.


I’m happy to answer anything I can for you. PM me with any questions you may have.

I don’t live in Sweetwater either, but have worked there several times, and the above assessment is spot on.

I had forgotten about the drywall plant there. That will be a big job creator for the town.

I was out there last weekend and was talking to a guy while having dinner who is in the oil/gas business. He was putting in a well a mile or so from my ranch. Said if this one hits like they expect, there will be a lot of property being leased for oil/gas wells. My fingers are crossed.

Not much in the way of dining out in Sweetwater itself.

Bucks Steakhouse is probably the best in town, I personally think the food is kind of mediocre. But, they have a decent bar, and usually have live entertainment on the weekends. It hops on Friday and Saturday nights.

Skeets. Also decent food…but Bucks is better.

Big Boys BBQ is also very good. I’ve spoken to the pit master there a few times (although I haven’t been back there in awhile), he does damn good ribs and brisket. I never seem to catch him when he’s open.

AM Donuts makes some very good kolaches. Very nice folks own that place and I always stop and pick up some for snacking on when I’m out at the ranch.

There are a couple of Mexican places in town, neither of which I can recall the names of at the moment. Decent, but nothing that will knock your socks off.

The usual fast food places along I-20 and in town.

San Angelo and Abilene have some good restaurants. San Angelo is a nice town, it’s about 70 miles away, has some boutique shops, and I believe a winery.
Fuentes Mexican Restaurant is damn good. Also Zentenrs Daughter. Both are in San Angelo.

I can’t think of the last time I was in Colorado City, which is pretty close to SW, so I can’t help you there.

The annual Rattlesnake Roundup is a pretty big deal in town. Usually the first weekend in March. It brings in a big crowd from all over. A few years back, I met a couple of people from Australia there.
It’s a big county fair type event. Chili cook off, gun show, and a craft show. The roundup has snake hunts, snake handling exhibitions, and such. Fried rattlesnake ain’t all bad either!

I love Sweetwater for a lot of reasons, but you really need to get outside of it for dining out, or shopping.