Moving to Mexico/Texas in November (Laredo, Brownsville: to rent, how much, find a job)

[Kimgapeach]

I am wanting to hear from others who live on the Mexican border. I will be relocating to Mexico in November with my husband and our son. We are currently unsure what area we will decide on but as of now we are looking at McAllen or Brownsville. However we will be living on the Mexican side. I would like to travel over the border daily to work ( I am a nurse) and I am currently researching jobs in both areas. Our son's schooling is also an issue. I am Caucasian and my husband is Mexican. I have so many concerns and really have no idea where to find the answers.
Our move is not of choice but of necessity. However I am willing and able to adjust to whatever our future holds.
If anyone could give me some advice I would appreciate it. Anything on these areas or on any other areas you may suggest.


Thanks so much

[teatime]

Wow. It's going to be a pain for you to have to cross the Border twice every day for work. I used to teach at a private school and we had a lot of students coming from Mexico every day. Often, they were delayed at the Border and were late for school. (Just to make sure the kids weren't using that excuse, LOL, the administration would keep in touch with officials at the bridges about delays.)

Regardless, you're going to have to get a Border crossing card and (maybe) a Passport if you don't have one. I'm not sure if the Passport is needed for people who live in the area and have to cross every day. You'll have to check. Best to do it now, though, because there are several-month processing delays currently.

You can send your kids to private schools in Brownsville or McAllen. Plan on spending about $3,000 per year for an elementary school and $7-8,000 per year for a secondary school. (These are Catholic school prices. I'm not sure what the Christian academies charge.)

Do you think you might be able to find a job with an American company in Mexico? There are lots of them, and it would be easier for you. If I'm not mistaken, some of the American companies help pay for private school tuition for your kids as one of the perks. I know it used to be that way.

[NOTAM]

McAllen is paying $52/hour for RN's on 13 week travel assignment. on top of this, free housing or if you dont take their housing, you pocket the 800/month or whatever they give you for housing subsidy. i know this for a fact because my coworkers fiance just took an assignment there.
the whole South Texas area is desperate for nurses, both RN's and LVN's. i am an RN. i hate it down here. the money is good though. cant wait to get outta here.
good luck
p.s. what is your specialty? are you an RN or LVN? what part of GA are yall movin from? i moved here from Ft Stewart/Savannah area (i am from Texas though-NORTH Texas).

[MidwesternBookWorm]

If you have school-aged children, Kim, you may wish to do some more checking before concluding that you definitely want to live in Mexico. Free public education does not extend to twelfth grade in Mexico; when we lived in the Rio Grande Valley (8 years ago), it ended at the third grade. You would be well advised to find out how much tuition in Mexico would cost before you move there.

My spouse taught high school in McAllen, and you'd be astounded at the number of school-aged legal resident aliens who lived with family on the US side of the border so they could continue to attend school. Not that I see that as a bad thing as such; education can provide a ticket to a better life for them just as it does for anyone else. And we met an awful lot of families where the parents had a third-grade education but managed to put every single one of their kids through college.

However, what that tells me is that the folks who know the Mexican educational system would rather send their kids to the US side of the border for school, and that conveys an awful lot. The school districts in the RGV are less than wonderful, which begs the question of what the schools in Mexico must be like if the Texas schools are so much better (aside from the fact that they're free to residents through the twelfth grade, of course).

Good luck to you and your family, Kim. Having made a move from the Midwest to the Rio Grande Valley once in my life (and escaping after 18 years), I do not envy you, but I hope that you can find more to love about the Valley than we did. Many people do love it; we just weren't among them.

[mitchdd]

Originally Posted by Kimgapeach

We are currently unsure what area we will decide on but as of now we are looking at McAllen or Brownsville. However we will be living on the Mexican side. I would like to travel over the border daily to work ( I am a nurse) and I am currently researching jobs in both areas. Our son's schooling is also an issue. Our move is not of choice but of necessity. If anyone could give me some advice I would appreciate it. Anything on these areas or on any other areas you may suggest.

I'd choose living closer to McAllen. Hidalgo county has alot more job opportunities given the higher population than Cameron county. That means living in Reynosa, Rio Bravo, or Nuevo Progresso, Mexico.

Reynosa, like Matamoros across from Brownsville, is a congested metro area with alot of traffic. If you choose to live in one of the newer, more cosmopolitan, nicer colonia areas in the city, out by Blvd. Hidalgo (it becomes the hwy. to Monterrey) and the Periferico hwy. (there's a new, modern shopping mall over there), then it can take you 25 minutes just to get to the bridges. Bridge crossing time is very unpredictable, and can often take 1-1.5 hours to enter the U.S. during busy times of the day. Delays during December can be SEVERAL HOURS during certain times in the day, due to Mexican tourists coming to do Christmas shopping. This applies to both the downtown bridge and the Pharr bridge. Crossing the Pharr bridge after 10 PM is the best time to head over to the U.S.

There is no bridge to Rio Bravo (150,000 or so people), but one is planned in a few years to go from there to Donna. It's a much more relaxed pace driving there (and living too, I presume)than Reynosa, but Rio Bravo is much less cosmopolitan than Reynosa. However, rent will be less there. It's just 15-20 minutes from there to the Pharr bridge.

Nuevo Progresso is a very small, relaxed, unique tourist town of just 10,000 or so people, but it has it's own 24 hour bridge, whereas the Pharr bridge closes for 6 hours or so. Crossing is much quicker in N.P., and never more than 1 hour or so during December. The town seems much bigger than it is, given the huge number of pharmacies, dentists, and curio shops per capita. Many of the town's workers don't live there, but commute from Rio Bravo, 30 minutes away. Finding a place to rent or buy over there is perhaps a challenge, and finding one that's really nice may be extremely difficult. However, if you're looking for quicker, more predictable crossing times into the U.S., then Nuevo Progresso is your best bet. After crossing, it's just 15 minutes to Weslaco, where you'd find your closest supermarket and much more. It's another 20 minutes to McAllen.

I don't know what you need to do to register kids for school on either side. You do need to provide a U.S. address in that school district, I presume, in order to enroll kids in it. Perhaps with a UPS store address, you can register your kids on the U.S. side? Someone mentioned in this thread getting a border crossing card. That's not applicable to American citizens at all. That's for Mexican Nationals with no U.S. residency. You can cross with just your drivers licence. A passport requirement was to take effect in December, but I recall reading that this has been pushed back to next June or so, at the earliest. Likewise, Mexico accepts just your license for entering.

[loves2read]

sounds to me like they have no choice about the "living in Mexico" part--her husband being a Mexican national may not have legal status for living in US...

[Kimgapeach]

Thanks so much to all who responded. I have been looking into Neuvo Progreso and it seems a little better than Reynosa or Metamoros. Much quieter, which is want I am used to. I am currently looking into jobs in all these areas on this side and hopefully it will not be too difficult.
My main concern is our son's schooling. He will be in the 4th grade. Anyone have any ideas on how to get him schooling on this side while living on the other?

Bella, I am currently an LVN working toward my RN. We actually live only about 2 hours from the Savannah area here in Georgia. I live in a little town about an hour south of Macon. Do you know of any immediate companies hiring nurses in these areas?


Unfortunately like I said in my original post our move is necessity not really want. My husband has an immigration violation and will be unable to stay after November. It has been a long and frustrating battle. We are just ready to get this all behind us and start a new life. Nothing seems quite as difficult as what we have already endured.


Anyone have any ideas on housing in these areas? Neuvo Progreso or Reynosa? Newspapers, classifieds,etc.


Thanks again to all those who have responded. It helps to know I am not completely alone in this.

[Hyun-Soo]

Why don't you just live in Texas?

[Kimgapeach]

My husband can not live in Texas, no legal status. So we have no choice but to live on the other side.

[gregandvicky]

Ny wife and I have lived in McAllen. It is a nice town, clean and about 80% hispanic. I am north american and my wife is mexican. At times we would go to the grocery store or wal mart and I would be the only blue eyed grey haired person in the store. I did not mind at all and was always treated very well.
Reynosa is not that nice, but not as bad as most border towns.

Stay away from Laredo.

Another option is Eagle Pass which is the most hispanic town in the USA. The town across the border is Piedras Negras and pretty nice. It is a smaller area and not your typical border town and everyone is friendly. Crossing the border is really easy and no wait.

A friend of ours just got a job there teaching substitute, she speaks spanish, for $150 a day. The cost of living is very reasonable in Piedras and Eagle Pass both.