Where Is Lubbock, Texas?

Let's talk about the location of Lubbock, Texas.

For locals, the question "Where is Lubbock, Texas?" might seem a bit odd, but that's because they've really never thought about some of the things they've been taught their whole life.

Let's start with the fact that we often refer to ourselves as "West Texas" and that we live on the South Plains. I guess all things are relative because Lubbock is actually in the northwestern part of the state. So let's break that apart.

First, the "north" in northwestern seems to contradict the idea that we're on the "south" plains. Yes, I know that refers to geography above and beyond just Texas, but still. Now, what about that "west" in West Texas? We certainly are on the west side of the top of Texas, but compared to El Paso, Lubbock is barely west at all.

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Lubbock is geographically located in a place called the "Llano Estacado," but that really means nothing to the average person. It might be more descriptive to say that Lubbock is about one hour from the New Mexico border and about three and half hours away from the Oklahoma panhandle. Lubbock is about five hours west/northwest of Dallas, and about an hour and forty-five minutes south of Amarillo.

I'm not sure it this really clears up anything in terms of how you could best describe where Lubbock is to someone who is currently without a map. I think probably the best thing you could say is, imagine that Texas is a star and Lubbock is at the top middle of that star.