Confessions of a Tech Terrace Porch Sitter

If you've ever lived in Tech Terrace (the greatest neighborhood in the 806), then you already know; there is a secret art to porch sitting. It's not about the comfy old chair you nabbed from your folks' garage, or the hammock you awkwardly hung there in the hope it would inspire you to read a book instead of scrolling TikTok (for once), or even about the friends you may have joining you for a glass of tea; Lubbock porch sitting is about unplugging and enjoying the sweetest little show West Texas has to offer. 

The Small Things

A cold beverage and a torn-up La-Z-Boy are just a bonus. The real money is in watching the neighbor kids learn to ride a bike, seeing an occasional tumbleweed bounce down the road as if it owns the place, and laughing at the 5-foot nothing woman across the street trying to keep her huge dog from chasing down a squirrel.

The Vibes

There are also a few quirks to porch sitting, especially in Tech Terrace, my stomping grounds. Some mornings, you’ll wave at the same car more than once as it circles the block, looking for a last-minute place to park near campus. Evenings, you'll often smell backyard burgers cooking, reconsider ordering pizza, and instead, grab a few beers from the fridge and make a new friend.

Read More: An Open Letter of Appreciation to Lubbock's 50th Street Caboose

The Laughs

There's also some humor involved in porch sitting, like chuckling to yourself at a jogger's strange fashion choices, "Those fancy shoes sure aren't making him run any faster...", before noticing you're wearing house shoes outside at 3 pm on a Wednesday.

The Connection

Even still, the beauty in Tech Terrace porch life isn’t really the entertainment; it's the connection to others in your neck of the woods. It's nice to slow down and chat with people every so often in a world where most conversations happen through text messages

Porch sitting is underrated, y'all, and Tech Terrace has the best seat in town. Drop some of your favorite memories in the comments below this article, and keep scrolling for more Lubbock-based nostalgia in the galleries below...