Mcallen (Houston, San Antonio, Austin: middle-class, for sale, to rent)

[hunebe]

I just wanted to say that I have lived in Sharyland/mission for the last 5 years and have really grown to love it. I LOVE that there is shopping/growth and I LOVE the hometown feel of this area. I am Anglo but don't mind because I know that I live in the valley and that spanish is dominate. I am a teacher in Sharyland and it is a great school district. I am a little dissapointed at the bashing of my town.

[changeofpace]

Driving down to Corpus then Harlingen tomorrow. Sharyland is part of McAllen, Mission or a town of its own? Sharlyand school district covers how much area? Gated community in Sharyland? How far is Sharyland area from Harlingen? Thanks

[teatime]

Hi TT! Guns up!

I just left the Valley and moved to Abilene. My son is a sophomore at TTU. We lived in Brownville for about 12 years and I wish we had moved sooner, frankly. My son had a super-hard time in middle and high school, being called racist names and physically attacked. Also, the schools were horrid; in fact, my son struggled through his first year at Tech and had to change his major because his professors told him flat-out that he was really far behind the other freshman students in math and science. Not good. He barely earned enough credits to become a sophomore and it was a horribly stressful year.

Anyone with kids who wants to move to the Valley needs to factor in the cost of private schools, and they're not cheap. The private elementary schools run about $2,500 and the Catholic high school is more than $7,000 per year. I was a teacher and simply couldn't afford it.

I taught at a small high school in the Valley, the only one that would give me a chance, to be honest. I was literally told by administrators that they didn't think I could "relate" to their students because I am white, originally from the North, and had pursued advanced studies. It was frustrating, but when I finally got that job, I loved it and did great with the students.

As I told friends and family, it was very interesting living as a minority for the first time in my life. At first, everything was a novelty and interesting but, in time, I felt like I was losing myself. This isn't a typical situation -- the Valley is approximately 96 percent Hispanic and it can be difficult for non-Hispanics to find others who share their interests and even to find the foods and products, movies and books I enjoyed. It was frustrating for me, too, because I lost so many friends who eventually left. It seemed as if I'd just make close friendships with people and then they would have their fill of the Valley and move away. I grew up in a very ethnically and racially diverse area, so it was strange to live in a place with little variety.

Yes, housing is inexpensive BUT property taxes, utilities and insurances are NOT! I would advise folks to rent for a long while before buying a home there. The Valley is considered a high risk for tropical storms, theft, and damage so insurers are leery. A lot of folks are having trouble finding a company who will even write a homeowners' insurance policy for them; others are seeing their premiums skyrocket. I know my premium nearly tripled in cost and I didn't have any claims! Auto insurance there is quite high, too, because of the number of uninsured drivers and the proximity to Mexico.

The two biggest complaints I had in the Valley were weather and isolation. It's ALWAYS humid and the year-round heat gets tiresome. This fosters other issues such as horrible, prolific bugs, very high electric bills, and drought. I never thought I could miss rain but it can get downright depressing when it doesn't rain for months at a time! I keenly felt a sense of isolation there, too. I had to drive to Houston or San Antonio for headline concerts, good museums and shows, pro sporting events, etc. I guess if you've never had those things, it's not a big deal but I was used to living an hour from a major city and needed them all the more now that I was living in a place that was quite foreign to me in many regards.

Until I moved to Abilene, I didn't realize how stressed out I was in the Valley. Communication was a struggle because even though I know "textbook" Spanish, I couldn't understand or respond to people who spoke a local hybrid. This was VERY difficult when I needed medical care. A large section of the population in the Valley expects to conduct all of their affairs in Spanish (or their version of it) and many could get downright nasty when you couldn't understand them. I realized that many of my ESL students were not only weak in English but illiterate in proper Spanish, too, when I expressed a willingness to allow them to do some work in Spanish. Yikes! Also, the traffic (especially in McAllen) is wretched. The Valley cities are getting overdeveloped and the roads can't keep up.

In short, I can see why folks would want to go there for the adventure of it but if/when it starts to get tiresome or annoying, do move on! My son has said repeatedly that he wishes he could have gone to high school in Abilene and lived here most of his life instead of Brownsville. I agree.

[zero]

Interesting observations on the Valley.
I lived there and also in West Texas for some time.
You have some valid points about the Brownsville area, but I must say that the Upper Valley (McAllen) and Lower Valley (Brownsville) are a little bit different.
McAllen seems to be experiencing more growth both commercially and culturally.
I am very familiar with the Abilene area and I actually preferred the Valley to West Texas.
Your comments on on taxes and insurance as well as the education problems down there are pretty spot on though.

[pollyrobin]

I want to know if the Edinburg's area is the next hot spot for real estate, as Forbes magazine has said. I have lived in Las Vegas when it was hot. Now, living in Florida when it is not. I was looking at New Mexico for retirement, but after doing research about this part of Texas, it kinda sounds good. The real estate looks amazing, especially between 200 and 300 grand. My jaw almost dropped. What is the catch? Looks very pretty to me. I hate Dallas, don't care for Autin, and anyone can have San Antonio. Is this area anything like Las Cruces, New Mexico, which I love. Thanks.

[mitchdd]

Originally Posted by pollyrobin

I want to know if the Edinburg's area is the next hot spot for real estate, as Forbes magazine has said. The real estate looks amazing, especially between 200 and 300 grand. My jaw almost dropped. What is the catch? Looks very pretty to me. I hate Dallas, don't care for Autin, and anyone can have San Antonio.

The reason it's projected to be the next hot spot for real estate is because prices here have not kept up with inflationary increases throughout the rest of the USA during this past real estate boom period. In other words, it has been an under-performer on the national level, and it's expected to make it's upward move in order to catch the rest of the country in percentage gains. This is a financial analyzation only, and is not related to quality of life here. However, real estate inventory levels are extremely high here at the moment, and thus a strong upward move in price is highly unlikely in the next few years. I expect a flat market, or perhaps a slight down market here until 2010. That's still alot better than can be expected for Las Vegas or most of Florida, which likely has alot more downside left, thanks to many upcoming foreclosures. This area can provide a reasonable rate of return for renting out right now, or if you choose to live here, you sure can get alot of home for the money. But if quick investment appreciation is what you're looking for, then I think you'll be disappointed at what you'll find. However, given that you have negative sentiments regarding the other Texas metro areas, you are probably a very picky, hard-to-please person who won't like it here as well. The catch that you're wondering about, is that this MSA has the lowest per capita income of all MSAs in the U.S. with over 500,000 population. That's the main reason why real estate prices remain low here. There's a large percentage of poor people here, and that's not likely to change anytime soon. So for that matter, I don't expect we'll ever see a speculative real estate boom here, as happened in Florida and Las Vegas. I wouldn't touch real estate right now at all, for investment reasons, anywhere in the U.S. You're likely much better off jumping into the gold, silver and palladium bullion bull market for the next 5+ years rather than real estate. This real estate bull market cycle is over, and I don't forsee the McAllen area being an exception. Anyhow, I like living very cheaply here in a fully-paid-for, small, 8 year old, 3/2/2 worth just $72,000. Please do come here to the area to look around, and hopefully you'll like what you see, and then choose to live here.

[mitchdd]

Originally Posted by changeofpace

Driving down to Corpus then Harlingen tomorrow. Sharyland is part of McAllen, Mission or a town of its own? Sharlyand school district covers how much area? Gated community in Sharyland? How far is Sharyland area from Harlingen? Thanks

It's part of the city of Mission, which is aprox. 36 miles from Harlingen.

[mitchdd]

Originally Posted by aznguy

is there any tornados or hurricanes or any weather disasters in Mcallen? does it happen often? thanks guys

The area is not at great risk for tornados, such as with the northern part of the state, but they have happened here, just as they do at some point or another, as in just about any place in the country.

The area is at risk for hurricanes, but none of the paths have passed through Hidalgo county for at least a couple of generations. The last hurricane to even touch the Rio Grande Valley happened in 1967, where it came close to Brownsville and then continued to go north/northwest. Thus the eye didn't continue on towards Hidalgo county, and so all McAllen got was a tropical storm or weak category 1 hurricane with alot of flooding. For a worst case scenario, if a category 5 storm ever comes ashore and continues it's path west, putting the eye, now inland, over McAllen, I'd have to believe that the storm would weaken by then, 65 miles inland, to a strong category 2 or weak category 3, still with many associated tornados. Aside from the expected flood damage, particularly south of Business 83, the wind damage to many of the residences here would be severe, given that these homes are not built to the same standards as those in Florida. Moreover, people don't trim trees here, as needed, and practically nobody has hurricane shutters. Also, alot of people in this county live in mobile homes and keep alot of would-be-flying debris in their yards. Thus I believe that even a weak category 3 hurricane over Hidalgo county would be very destructive.

[hellpaso]

Originally Posted by pollyrobin

I want to know if the Edinburg's area is the next hot spot for real estate, as Forbes magazine has said. I have lived in Las Vegas when it was hot. Now, living in Florida when it is not. I was looking at New Mexico for retirement, but after doing research about this part of Texas, it kinda sounds good. The real estate looks amazing, especially between 200 and 300 grand. My jaw almost dropped. What is the catch? Looks very pretty to me. I hate Dallas, don't care for Autin, and anyone can have San Antonio. Is this area anything like Las Cruces, New Mexico, which I love. Thanks.

i recently moved to the valley from el paso, so i'm very familiar with las cruces. it's not too similar to las cruces. there's a little more rain, and a lot more humidity. what struck me first is how flat and green it is here. the area here has much, much more shopping available--even though el paso is technically a much more populous metropolitan area. all kinds of specialty stores, boutiques, etc. the las cruces/el paso area seems a lot more laid back/relaxed. the vibe here is hurry, hurry, hurry. the traffic is incredible. some people try to attribute the bad traffic to the mexican vehicles, but hey, el paso is closer to the border than mcallen and has tons of mexican vehicles. so i don't think that's what it is. it sorta reminds me of driving in l.a. if you're looking for a more relaxed, small town feel, you'd like las cruces. that said, the real estate is phenomenal for what you pay. like most border cities, there is a wide disparity between the "haves" and "have nots". that existed in el paso, but not to the extent here. the medical care in the valley is much better than in el paso/las cruces. my husband and i are both in the medical field, so i know what i'm talking about for sure!

[NOTAM]

FINALLY TEATIME!!!!!!!!!!! someone understands EXACTLY what i am experiencing!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU! As a social butterfly, i have NEVER EVER lived somewhere where i have had NO social life, no dating life NOTHING. it's because i simply DONT FIT IN HERE. it's simply aint workin' so it is time for me to move on..........cant wait to get out of here. sept cant come soon enough

[quote=teatime;883933.

As I told friends and family, it was very interesting living as a minority for the first time in my life. At first, everything was a novelty and interesting but, in time, I felt like I was losing myself. This isn't a typical situation -- the Valley is approximately 96 percent Hispanic and it can be difficult for non-Hispanics to find others who share their interests and even to find the foods and products, movies and books I enjoyed. It was frustrating for me, too, because I lost so many friends who eventually left. It seemed as if I'd just make close friendships with people and then they would have their fill of the Valley and move away. I grew up in a very ethnically and racially diverse area, so it was strange to live in a place with little variety.



Until I moved to Abilene, I didn't realize how stressed out I was in the Valley. Communication was a struggle because even though I know "textbook" Spanish, I couldn't understand or respond to people who spoke a local hybrid. This was VERY difficult when I needed medical care. A large section of the population in the Valley expects to conduct all of their affairs in Spanish (or their version of it) and many could get downright nasty when you couldn't understand them. I realized that many of my ESL students were not only weak in English but illiterate in proper Spanish, too, when I expressed a willingness to allow them to do some work in Spanish. Yikes! Also, the traffic (especially in McAllen) is wretched. The Valley cities are getting overdeveloped and the roads can't keep up.

In short, I can see why folks would want to go there for the adventure of it but if/when it starts to get tiresome or annoying, do move on! My son has said repeatedly that he wishes he could have gone to high school in Abilene and lived here most of his life instead of Brownsville. I agree.[/QUOTE]