Misconceptions about Texas's border towns? (El Paso, Laredo: homes, neighborhood, income)

[Jimmy1953]

We in Big Spring were previous Dallas people so we had experience.

[Jimmy1953]

Experience is everything

[Foamposite]

I've been doing Google Maps street view tours of Texas border towns (El Paso, Laredo, Brownsville) and they look extremely American to me. Classic sunbelt suburbia. I mean, how could you say that a massively wide highway with a Wendy's, Burger King, Subway, Sunoco, HEB, etc. looks like Mexico? The only similarity I can think of is that some of the auto shops look like ones you see in Mexico.

I also looked at the cities across the border and they were nothing alike. Obviously poorer, the signage is all in Spanish, denser with tighter streets, different architecture, more graffiti, etc.

[supfromthesite]

El Paso is the most Americanized, followed by McAllen/Mission area, then it's either Del Rio (pretty small city) or Brownsville. When it comes to border towns in Texas.

While yes, even Laredo has parts of town that resemble American suburbs, everybody still addresses each other in Spanish, and most of the city resembles Mexico more than it resembles other American cities. The only way you know you're in America is all the signs are in English. The same is true of all of these places pretty much, although out of the main ones, Laredo seems the most like Mexico.

[Foamposite]

Originally Posted by supfromthesite

El Paso is the most Americanized, followed by McAllen/Mission area, then it's either Del Rio (pretty small city) or Brownsville. When it comes to border towns in Texas.

While yes, even Laredo has parts of town that resemble American suburbs, everybody still addresses each other in Spanish, and most of the city resembles Mexico more than it resembles other American cities. The only way you know you're in America is all the signs are in English. The same is true of all of these places pretty much, although out of the main ones, Laredo seems the most like Mexico.

All of Laredo that I've seen looks like American suburbia. It's like night and day compared to Nuevo Laredo, at least appearance wise.

[supfromthesite]

I'm looking at Nuevo Laredo on a map right now and it doesn't seem all that different from Mexican neighbourhoods in south Texas. Maybe slightly more run down, but it looks a lot like the west and south sides of San Antonio (my hometown) other than all the signs being in Spanish (here they are more of a mix, with more English than Spanish, and all of the road signs are in English.)

I was expecting a lot worse, tbh.

[Foamposite]

Originally Posted by supfromthesite

I'm looking at Nuevo Laredo on a map right now and it doesn't seem all that different from Mexican neighbourhoods in south Texas. Maybe slightly more run down, but it looks a lot like the west and south sides of San Antonio (my hometown) other than all the signs being in Spanish (here they are more of a mix, with more English than Spanish, and all of the road signs are in English.)

I was expecting a lot worse, tbh.

Lol, only "slightly" more run down? The residential streets have lots of gang graffiti.

And as far as architecture ; Laredo is a mix of various sunbelt suburban styles (seems like mostly little ranch houses), while Nuevo Laredo is clearly much more compact and dense with all the cars parked on the street.

But someone earlier brought up that Laredo is in fact an old American city ; great point, hence the Mexican side being called NUEVO Laredo.

[supfromthesite]

You can find gang graffiti all over San Antonio, even in areas that aren't that bad.

South Texas (including Laredo) in general used to be pretty much half white and half mexican (it's now vast majority mexican) and the mexicans were pretty much completely Americanized so it makes sense the architecture isn't too different from other parts of Texas. The same is true for all of these border towns. The whites seem to have mostly left south Texas though, not sure where most of them went.

[Foamposite]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8n6YnS48CJM

Recent video of a high school graduation in Laredo, TX

I didn't watch the whole video but I stopped at several points and they were speaking English the whole time. That really goes against the narrative that Spanish is the "dominant" language of Laredo.

The only difference from a high school in say, rural Ohio is that they pronounce the Spanish last names the way a Spanish speaker would.

[malcorub16]

Homes

Laredo = Wood structure houses with perched roofs and a front yards...if its in the hood a chain-link fence around the front yard and if not, no fence around the front but a wooden back yard fence.

Nuevo Laredo = Block houses with flat roofs and no front yard per se, but a front garden or front patio that is enclosed with an iron fence and gate. Wealthy Mexicans love the dome or even a roof top patio (which I wish we had more of here in the US)