Lower Rio Grande Valley... summer heat & humidity... working outside (Laredo: landscaping, living)

[phaneuf]

I am familiar with the LRGV through travels. It looks like it could be a good place to retire for the right person. I especially like the eastern part -- Bayview, Los Fresnos, Rio Hondo, eastern San Benito, and Brownsville. They get a bit more rain and the Gulf of Mexico moderates the temperatures a little compared to further inland. The tropical plants/landscaping is nice, the people are friendly, and, if you like Ranchera/Nortena and other Mexican music and Mexican food and culture, the region has potential.

HOWEVER, never having been there in the summer, how ghastly hot and humid does it really get? Can one still work outside near and after sunset and in the early morning hours or is one holed up inside under the protection of air conditioning? With so little rain, how often do people have to mow their lawns? Judging by what I've seen, it looks like you could skip mowing for the summer and take it up in the cooler fall without the grass and other vegetation having grown out of control. Is summer really unbearable there?

[malcorub16]

When the heat goes down, the mosquitos come out.

[cBach]

Originally Posted by phaneuf

I am familiar with the LRGV through travels. It looks like it could be a good place to retire for the right person. I especially like the eastern part -- Bayview, Los Fresnos, Rio Hondo, eastern San Benito, and Brownsville. They get a bit more rain and the Gulf of Mexico moderates the temperatures a little compared to further inland. The tropical plants/landscaping is nice, the people are friendly, and, if you like Ranchera/Nortena and other Mexican music and Mexican food and culture, the region has potential.

HOWEVER, never having been there in the summer, how ghastly hot and humid does it really get? Can one still work outside near and after sunset and in the early morning hours or is one holed up inside under the protection of air conditioning? With so little rain, how often do people have to mow their lawns? Judging by what I've seen, it looks like you could skip mowing for the summer and take it up in the cooler fall without the grass and other vegetation having grown out of control. Is summer really unbearable there?

If you're in Laredo you could just xeroscape and never have to water. In Brownsville you'd need a hardy bermuda grass and it would be green now and then but just let it go dormant during dry periods. If you want you could plant winter rye in the winter.

The heat and humidity is high but the Gulf offers a constant breeze and a place to cool off in.

The secret is that the southern coast of Texas is the last undiscovered beach area of this country...

I may even retire there.

[jackalope48]

Early afternoon is when the wind picks up due to the Mexican mountains and the gulf interacting. It's most pronounced in Corpus but exists on the entire coast. Mid day before the wind picks up is the worst time of day. Mosquitos are the big issue at dawn and dusk. My experience is mowing every 2 weeks in Summer and every week in winter for Bermuda. Can also do wildflowers in the Spring to not mow for two months then(fun fact that the highway wildflowers are actually a money saver for the state since it knocks out mowing cost during an otherwise high need time of year.)

Late July/August is the worst since wind can fall off then. That's when you go to the beach for outside time or travel to see relatives and friends in the North. Older folks I'd encourage hiring a lawn guy for Summer it's not terribly expensive in this part of the country.

[DorianRo]

Summers are brutally hot but the rest of the year is pretty nice. This has been one of the colder years down here however and actually snowed back in December. Still, I would choose the RGV over Florida any day. Less populated (especially on the East Lower Rio Grande valley), much cheaper, and very laid back and slow pace. GREAT place to retire. Though if you are an anglo you may feel out of place and it may not be for you. Its definitely a much different culture here. If you are the type of person that doesn't need constant 24/7 social stimulation than it won't be bad. Its a nice place to settle down

[austintexdude]

Winters are very nice here. There are actually many people that still are using their unheated swimming pools around Christmas time. Summers, unfortunately, are very hot, especially the further inland one is. We live in McAllen and the nights are usually very pleasant. It cools off quickly after the sun sets and the humidity is almost non-existent at night. Mornings, tend to be very humid.

There is a large retiree community that lives in the LRGV called Winter Texans. Most of these people come here from the Midwestern United States or Central Canada and typically live in the LRGV area from November until mid-March. Many of these people end up living here year round as they like the access to Mexico for cheap dental and healthcare.

[turf3]

As far as working outdoors in heat and sun, imitate people who do it for a living. Light weight long sleeved white cotton shirt, khaki pants, broad brimmed light colored hat (not a ball cap). Gloves. If you are light skinned sunscreen is required, if you are dark skinned you ought to use it too as dark skinned people can get skin cancer too.