Moving to Mcallen (Dallas, San Antonio, Austin: fit in, schools, live in)

[beejay2008]

I am considering a move to McAllen, I have two small kids, I loved the atmosphere but I am a little worried about the fact that I did not see any other black people there, I am wondering if this will be a problem for my children in terms of fitting in and making friends at school, and with the neighbours how accepting are the people in this area of other minority groups ? I have heard a lot of stuff about life in the South for black people, I am not sure what to believe, Is their any one else out there in the same situation, given the choice between fort hood and mcallen which would y'all pick

[theoptimus]

Where are you moving from?

[teatime]

If the choice is between the two, I'd go with Ft. Hood.

I'm white but none of my black friends stayed in the Rio Grande Valley. (I moved, too, but it took me longer.) Our kids stuck together and were called an assortment of vile names. It wasn't cool. My friends were mostly in the medical profession, one was a coach, and I was a teacher. We did OK jobwise but for what our kids went through in the schools, it wasn't worth it. They returned to the San Antonio and Dallas areas. I eventually moved to Abilene.

[NOTAM]

oh gosh, the answer to your question is a NO BRAINER. in terms of "fitting in", Ft Hood area..remember, Ft Hood being the largest military post in the world, is very diverse..and the town of Killeen is also, as is Harker Heights and Copperas Cove. However, the further you get out, and the smaller towns, not so diverse.

[monifa]

Thanks y'all,
I decided to 'get in where I fit in'. In part because of the kind post from the person who ended up moving away from the area.I am now looking at Austin

[therewego]

I think you have chosen well in not choosing the RGV. Good luck to you!

[TexasNick]

If your main concern is fitting in with other people of the same race, then go where the others recommended. Sad thing about the Valley, it's not diverse (one of most lopsided regions in the country), but I think it's slowly being changed. Will take some time.

[kathrynmedrano]

it's not that bad here in the RGV. i live in harlingen, about 30-45 mins from mcallen, we're mostly hispanic here, there are very little "black" people here, immature people actually think "black people are cool" lol. i think you'll be just fine, after all, we are minorities too.

[ZeroTX]

Learn Spanish.

[TexasStateBobcat]

There are more black people in the McAllen area than any other area in the RGV. For you who said you were called vile names(teatime), we need to know the entire story before anyone can take your word on how "racist" the RGV can be. I agree being called names is terrible but was there an argument of some sort that caused racial slurs to be spewed? It's hard to imagine being called names for no reason. Again, I am not agreeing with being called names but we need some more info here. All in all, the RGV is becoming more diverse so I think that's a good thing.