McAllen's "Changing Face" (Houston, San Antonio: foreclosure, crime rate, how much)

[mesuth]

Having lived in the valley for many years I strongly support all TomBradyFan's points.

[rgv17_956]

I think the best city to move to in the Valley would be McAllen.

[case44]

Originally Posted by rgv17_956

here's more scenes from McAllen










photos from Welcome to Flickr - Photo Sharing (http://www.flickr.com - broken link)
http://l.yimg.com/www.flickr.com/images/spaceball.gif (broken link)

http://l.yimg.com/www.flickr.com/images/spaceball.gif (broken link)

These pics are great. This shows progress is being made in the area. Never mind that some of this is retail; the area is doing new things and, from the looks of this, it's not ugly at all. They could do more, sure, but this is a start. And anything with palm trees gets my vote.

[Muhnay]

What are race relations like there? Do you need to know Spanish to gain employment? I noticed its 84% Hispanic 14% White there.. or has that changed and CD has it wrong on the facts page for the city?

The pictures do look very nice.. but I wonder if your not just capturing the best of the city, while hiding the worst.

[Muhnay]

This is also true of El Paso TX.. I was reading this and El Paso was all I pictured.

Originally Posted by TexasNick

Hey rvphoto17, those pics are better. Thanks.

The problem with the border cities compared to other small towns is that the border cities put emphasis on the service and fast-food industries. It does not give the average low income person a chance to succeed or do better. It's an endless cycle--little juanita grows up to run a taco stand like her daddy. Joe graduates high school and works in the local whataburger. Why do they do this? Because the city does not provide better quality of life for these people. Look at the local newspapers. What is celebrated? The opening of more big-box stores. A new Target? Lets rejoice! A new Best Buy? Yes, now we can complete with CITY XYZ! The local border towns are too concerned about how they appear to an outside audience in hopes of attracting more of the same type of people--people that work in low paid service industries and the like. You heard the saying...if you don't leave the Valley by X year, you'll never leave! It's true. Why? because the valley does not have the types of jobs that further the quality of life in the region.

It's an endless cycle. New walmarts, new mcdonalds, new big box stores....that's great and all for the consumer but not the person trying to break out of the low income mold. This is my main complaint with living down in that region. McAllen seems to be fixing that problem a little more lately, but I'm not quite convinced yet.

[rgv17_956]

i found this one on Wikipedia

[case44]

Whoa!! What highway is that? If it's McAllen, then it must be U.S. 83. It's the only freeway that runs through there.

[rgv17_956]

Originally Posted by case44

Whoa!! What highway is that? If it's McAllen, then it must be U.S. 83. It's the only freeway that runs through there.

yeah that's expressway 83...
it was probably taken on a sunday... traffic is usually not that light.

[rgv17_956]

[traveler guy]

It's good that the city is growing but it's just boring suburban growth. That's the only ting I hate about those pics other then that their good.