Harlingen? would you live there? (Corpus Christi, Brownsville: homes, neighborhoods, theatre)

[CA central coast]

close to S. Padre. thought maybe it might be a place to consider for retirement. What's it like? what's S. Padre like? never been anywhere in Texas, except I-40 on a road trip. only stopped to gas up.

[namwemba]

Am a registered nurse currently in the UK. I have been offered a job at one of the hospitals in harlingen texas.I have been offered $27.50/per hour to work in ICU.I feel the rate is low. Any one out there who is a Registered Nurse and works in Intensive Care, what are the hourly rates or per annum income for ICU nurses?Feel free to email me the information, would appreciate your help......

[NOTAM]

well it all depends on your experience, i made considerably more in South Texas, but then again, I have 17 years experience, lots of credentials and certifications, and I worked ER, which is a hard-to-fill area, even more than ICU. down there in Harlingen, they have even more critical shortages than national average because it's hard to find people who want to live down in South Texas and Rio Grande Valley. The hospitals down there are staffed by a considerable amount of Filipino nurses-the hospitals pay their way, ViSA's and all, housing, US licensure, whatever is needed, just to staff the hospitals. Many of the foreign nurses are desperate to come to the US, so the hospitals down there can get away with paying lower than average rates. Make sure you do your research. Beware.

Originally Posted by namwemba

Am a registered nurse currently in the UK. I have been offered a job at one of the hospitals in harlingen texas.I have been offered $27.50/per hour to work in ICU.I feel the rate is low. Any one out there who is a Registered Nurse and works in Intensive Care, what are the hourly rates or per annum income for ICU nurses?Feel free to email me the information, would appreciate your help......

[DWong]

Not bad for retirement. Low cost of living. Good food. weather isn't great, but if you're not outdoorsy it doesn't matter.

Rains alot (well more than I"m used to)

[TexasNick]

The worst thing, for me, was the humidity.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by CA central coast

close to S. Padre. thought maybe it might be a place to consider for retirement. What's it like? what's S. Padre like? never been anywhere in Texas, except I-40 on a road trip. only stopped to gas up.

No.

South Padre is nice to visit, but the climate is HOT, HUMID and subtropical.

If you LIKE that, you'll love it. The winters are decent, but 7 months of the year is just really hot and humid.

[Canine*Castle]

And anywhere near the Gulf is prone to hurricanes along with tornadoes. Tornadoes in Central Texas is enough with which to deal.

[HEARTnRGV]

I was born and raised in Harlingen. I haven't lived there for awhile I do go and visit as often as I can.

I love the small knit community.
Cute little cafes and mexican restaurants are abundant all over town. The Downtown has alot of craft and antique stores. Plus the addition of Murals all over down town add a nice touch to the city.

There are alot of huge open parks to go to take children or get some fresh air. harlingen does have it's own community theatre, minor league baseball team, decent library with a great geneology collection.

One of the cons is while all the cities in the Rio Grande valley are growing at rapid speeds, harlingen isn't. Harlingenites were getting excited when Kohls and Logans Steakhouse were being built awhile back. Also the city isn't TOO grand on the cultural arts scene, which is something I enjoy.
So it is a small paced city. If you want to do some major shopping it is best to travel to Brownsville, Mercedes outlets, or Mcallen.

[changeofpace]

Before deciding on Corpus Christi we checked out homes and businesses in Harlingen and McAllen. We found homes a little less in cost in Harlingen but the city less vibrant and was even hotter in Harlingen with no coastal breezes. We just liked the feel in Corpus better than Harlingen. In addition, we were looking at new developments in Harlingen for our home and all had major drainage issues as did most of Harlingen when it rains heavy. Several neighborhoods and new developments had some flooding after a 5" rainfall that is not all that uncommon in south TX so that was a considerable negative in our opinion.

[j96g]

Originally Posted by namwemba

Am a registered nurse currently in the UK. I have been offered a job at one of the hospitals in harlingen texas.I have been offered $27.50/per hour to work in ICU.I feel the rate is low. Any one out there who is a Registered Nurse and works in Intensive Care, what are the hourly rates or per annum income for ICU nurses?Feel free to email me the information, would appreciate your help......

For living in the Valley $27.50 p/hour is actually good.