Brownsville TX neighborhoods (McAllen, Allen, San Benito: homes, living, shop)

[landlockedinmo]

yeah, phatybi, not many blacks here at all... esp. in brownsville, harlingen has more, but still not many...

[Bougainvillea]

Who can tell me anything about Rancho Viejo? I am thinking of buying a house there. I have never been to the valley but am attracted by the proximity to Mexico, the climate and the low real estate prices. I have lived and traveled in Mexico for years and also in Central America, Chile and Spain and speak fluent Spanish. I am thinking of retiring in the RGV. I am 60-ish and Anglo, female, and very active...I like the idea of golf year-round. I adore Latin American architecture and culture and want the look of white stucco and red tile roofs, palm trees and bougainvillea. I'm a landscape designer.

Where's the best spot? Rancho Viejo? McAllen? Los Fresnos?

[teatime]

I'd advise you to rent for a while and MAKE SURE you like it down there. I, too, had traveled throughout Latin America and spoke some Spanish but culture shock set in after a few years once the novelty wore off and I was miserable. Also, the heat and high humidity can be awfully oppressive, particularly if you develop health problems.

Before you buy or build, live there for a while.

[Bougainvillea]

Thanks for the thought. I'm a native Texan and lived in Houston for over twenty years, so am used to heat and humidity. Also, having lived in Mexico and Guatemala and Chile for ten years or more, I am used to Latin American culture and actually quite fond of it, so probably would not suffer from too much shock. My Spanish is completely fluent, as well, so none of those things would be issues. Crime and corruption would be upsetting, I admit, and one hears quite a bit about that. Where did you live?

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by Bougainvillea

Thanks for the thought. I'm a native Texan and lived in Houston for over twenty years, so am used to heat and humidity. Also, having lived in Mexico and Guatemala and Chile for ten years or more, I am used to Latin American culture and actually quite fond of it, so probably would not suffer from too much shock. My Spanish is completely fluent, as well, so none of those things would be issues. Crime and corruption would be upsetting, I admit, and one hears quite a bit about that. Where did you live?

Well, then Brownsville or the Rio Grande Valley in general should be no problem for you, then. It's certainly no worse than Houston, weatherwise. The climate was the reason that I left McAllen as soon as I finished my grad school classes. I just found it intolerable.

But then....I was raised in semi-arid West Texas.....and I have never been able to acclimate to heat/high humidity, even after 6 months!

Good luck!! The valley is pretty, and has many interesting things about it, but the summers are a real downer from my POV.

[teatime]

Originally Posted by Bougainvillea

Thanks for the thought. I'm a native Texan and lived in Houston for over twenty years, so am used to heat and humidity. Also, having lived in Mexico and Guatemala and Chile for ten years or more, I am used to Latin American culture and actually quite fond of it, so probably would not suffer from too much shock. My Spanish is completely fluent, as well, so none of those things would be issues. Crime and corruption would be upsetting, I admit, and one hears quite a bit about that. Where did you live?

The Border is a culture all its own -- it doesn't quite feel like Mexico and it doesn't quite feel like the U.S. Yeah, the corruption is maddening. Geez, even the county sheriff was running illegal activities from the sheriff's office. I lived in Brownsville, on the north side. Good luck to you!

[yosoyway]

Rancho Viejo is about 10 miles outside of Brownsville. It has some very nice homes and some have resaca views. A resaca used to be part of the river many years ago but now they exist for flood control and to add value to certain neighorhoods.

It is also close to Matamoros, Mexico and South Padre Island. That area is experiencing a lot of growth.

[Bougainvillea]

You are thoughtful to send your thoughts. I have gotten a lot of that information from maps and ranchoviejotexas.com, the website for the development. Some of the resacas in the real estate listings look pretty and some look like muddy canals. I guess my question is....are these mosquito-infested swamps or attractive waterways?

[teatime]

Well, all of the resacas attract/have vermin. We lived in an apartment complex next to a resaca and there were snakes, large rats, and mosquitoes and huge roaches, of course. Personally, I wouldn't want to live next to one but, if you do, pest control services will be a must, as well as being careful when you go in and out of doors. My home wasn't near a resaca but there would still be huge roaches and such in the yard and we had to be careful that they didn't get into the house. Eeewwww!

LOL, there is a neat restaurant called Cobblehead's right on a resaca and I used to like to go there and eat out on the deck, BUT I didn't go back after rats were running around our feet on the deck one evening!

[rstrstx]

most of them are pretty nice, when I get home I'll see if I can find some pics to post. I'm not sure about Rancho, but a lot of places that have resacas will let you draw water out of them for your yard (if you want a nice landscape this could be a big + and save a lot on water bills)