McAllen, Texas (Houston, Dallas, San Antonio: waterpark, condos, crime rate)

[musicman107]

Texas Education Agency ranks individual campuses within districts with their Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS).
Admittedly not the best system in the world, it can give you an idea about schools in Texas areas you are considering.

First go to: htttp://tea.state.tx.us
Click on "Accountability" on left.
From there, click on top link w/ acronym for AEIS...
Then click "AEIS Reports for 2004-05" [latest data available]...
Then select your district. (This might take some homework on your part, as the "District name" does not always match your desired city.
If you can find your way that far, try "McAllen" among the options thereNot sure if McAllen ISD is name of district..you may have to hunt for actual name of that school district.)
Then you'll get a humongous PDF format with more than tons of information about INDIVIDUAL campuses.
TEA's rankings are from best "Exemplary" to worst "Academically Unacceptable." (in between are "Acceptable" and "Commended"....
Of course, you'll probably be wanting to look for "Exemplary" or "Commended"...lots of the "Academically Acceptable" schools are indeed
Hope my directions for navigating the web was accurate, and if so, hope it is helpful for you wannabe Texans (for which I do not blame you

[musicman107]

Please let me know if the rest of the directions for navigating were correct!
Trying to help, as I know how important schools are!!!

[Valleyborn&raised]

Dear Colorado Girl,
I too was born and raised in the Valley. And I agree with ValleyofTexas. Please do not believe your children would be in any harm due to being blond and colored eye. Yes, you are going to get lots of stares....ONLY because you are being admired. I am married to an Anglo and he has adjusted coming from West Texas. He has even picked up a little Spanish over the last thirteen years.

McAllen does have some great areas as mentioned by ValleyinTexas. If your husband likes golf let me add some more courses to that list. I would hate for him to think we only have one. There is the McAllen and Cimarron Country Clubs, Tierra Santa which in near Padre Island. Padre Island is an hour away from McAllen and you and your family will love the beach and going to places like Schlitterbann.

There are many great schools and I was raised in Sharyland district in Mission and attended all my twelve years. I graduated top of my class due to some very dedicated teachers and great curriculum. There are many private and charter schools that are available like World Center Academy, OLS (Our Lady of Sorrow) Charter schools like Quest Academy, Idea Academy.

I too have had the honor watching this speratic growing town grow leaps in bounds to one of the fastest growing cities in the Country. We have lots to do for the children right around the corner like Dias Festivos (Festive Days) coordinated by the Junior League of McAllen. I am a member and this would be a great way to meet the wonderful women of the area.

We have familiar shopping chains and resturants like Wal-Marts, Target, K-Marts,Home Depots, Lowes, Applebee's, Bennigans, Chilis, Olive Garden, Hooters, and more. You have to try the following places for dinner (date night): Sante Fe Steak House, La Espana, Bistro M, Kumori's (sushi) and Kohnami's. Kid friendly enviroments try: Joe's Crab Shack........the kids will love the sand play area.

Please do not be alarmed about your children being in any harm. A great place to start looking in the area would be the McAllen Economic Development Corporation. They will literally drive you and your spouse around the area showing you all it has to offer. Feel free to call them at 956-682-2875!

Best wishes and many blessing on your new adventure.

[raquel_1973]

ValleyofTexas wrote of "excellent" public school districts of McAllen and Sharyland. Recognized school districts as far back as 2000, but most recently, Sharyland is rated NOT ACCEPTABLE by TEA, and McAllen is only ACCEPTABLE.

I lived in McAllen a few years ago. Will never go back. Not a good place to live, IMHO.

[raquel_1973]

Colorado Girl this message is for you: I have 3 words to recommend: South Padre Island. Still rated one of the top 10 beaches of the nation, and with good reason. Awesome beach, I miss it lots.

[zero]

I lived in the McAllen area for 5 years.
There are many pros and cons, here are a few.

Pros:
Low cost of living.
Lots of shopping and great food
Close to Mexico and SPI
Tons of growth
Laidback lifestyle
Wildlife
Winters are awesome

Cons:
Drivers, they are nuts there.
Schools are not the best, may look into magnet or private schooling if you can afford it.
Summers are killer hot
Location is hard to get out of. 4-5 hours to go anywhere.

I'd say North McAllen, Edinburg are good areas to look at.
McAllen is not violent at all.
Only times you really hear of bad things is when people are involved in bad things.

[scottyc]

Hi Colarado. We are winter Texans and spend six months per year in the valley. We have never had a problem and feel safe there. Yes the drivers are crazy, people in general are friendly. Yes there is crime, but where is there not. Housing is cheap, a beautiful home for $150,000. Lots of shopping, you can buy anything there as in any large city, and yes it is booming. Hope you enjoy the valley.

[MGreen]

I am another Colorado girl relocating to the McAllen area for my husband's job. As you can imagine I have all the same questions that have been thrown out already. I really appreciate all the info that people have posted (especially the positive stuff!) It is 16 degrees in Denver today, so the 85 degrees in McAllen is another positive. Anyone know a good real estate agent?

[conanS]

scottyc, I live here in the Valley and see the way these people treat the Winter Texans. I often benefit from it being white myself I'd say almost every time I've been treated disrespectful it was by a winter Texan...no offense to you of course!! Just like any group that knows they are a vital part of the economy, you'll have some that think they can do whatever they want.
Wow, reading that paragraph, it seems like I am bad-mouthing Winter Texans, but I am not. I am trying to portray that most people here are very friendly!!

MGreen, where are you moving from? The summer may be rough for you until you get accustomed to the heat

[pgv98]

I would not live there again. I have never seen so many fat people in my life. Education system is horrible. Drugs are everywhere and the Mexican drug cartels are now threatening McAllen news reporters if they do a news report on them.

Oh yea, just about every local official will be arrested for DWI and resign after the FBI investigates them for corruption.

The bad experiences I have had in McAllen:
*Someone stealing my shopping cart inside a wal mart so they didnt have to go to the front of the store to get one
*The daily occurrence of people cutting in line at the stores
*The trash you see being thrown out of every window of every car
* Drugs and violence that is increasingly coming across the border
* 3 out of the 4 people my Canadian friend talked to didnt know where Canada was (one thought it was part of the US the other two thought it was in Europe),


Good experiences:
*Close to Mexico and more importantly Monterrey (world class city in Mexico with almost 4 million people)
*The beach (you will have to search for a place that is not covered with trash though) but Oct through April it is pretty nice
*Fishing and Hunting are amazing
*And very, very cheap