There's only so many times you can drive the same strip before you start planning your escape to Amarillo or Oklahoma City. Is the town doing enough to give young people a reason to stay, or is boredom just part of growing up rural?
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Add your commentTo the person who just moved here — honestly 20 years ago it was the same except we had a Hastings and a slightly better skating rink situation. The Hastings closing was a genuine blow to teenagers in this town, I don't care how old that sounds. That place was a hangout spot, a discovery spot, a place to just BE. Nothing replaced it.
Born and raised in Guymon, graduated from PHS in 2009, and yeah... I left. But honestly? The boredom wasn't the main reason. It was the jobs. You can build a bowling alley and a movie theater and kids will STILL leave if there's nowhere to work after high school that pays a living wage. Entertainment is a red herring. Fix the economy first.
Fun fact: Guymon has the highest per capita income in Oklahoma because of the pork processing industry. So if money is so good here why are young people still leaving? Because you can't raise a family on wages from Seaboard Foods and have nothing to do on a Friday night at the same time. Quality of life is the whole package.
challenge to any local reading this: name 5 things a 16-year-old with no car can do in guymon on a saturday night that don't involve sitting in a walmart parking lot. i'll wait.
I think people are being too hard on Guymon. Every small town in the panhandle deals with this. Liberal, Kansas. Dalhart, Texas. It's not a Guymon problem it's a rural Great Plains problem and no amount of city council meetings is gonna fix geography.
Okay I'll be the one to say it — Guymon actually has more than people give it credit for. The Sewell Brothers Arena, the recreation center, Pioneer Days every year. Is it Six Flags? No. But this idea that there is literally NOTHING here is just teenagers being dramatic. I grew up with less and we turned out fine.
I moved here from Tulsa three years ago for my husband's job and I genuinely want to understand — what did this town look like for teenagers 20 years ago versus now? Is it actually getting worse or has it always been this way? Asking sincerely because I have a 14-year-old and I'm trying to figure out what we're working with here.
my friends and i literally drove to amarillo every single weekend junior and senior year. that's 2 hours each way. do the math on how bored we were lol
That "per capita income" claim above is wildly inaccurate, just want to throw that out there. Texas County does okay but it's nowhere near topping the state. Please don't spread that around like it's fact.
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