Laredo, TX (San Antonio, Brownsville, McAllen: relocating, gated, travel)

[jluyka]

Hello Everyone. I am inquiring about Laredo because I have been given a job offer and will be relocating to this region with my family. I have been doing my research and have been trying to find as much information as possible. I am aware of its location being on the border and have even gone as far as contacting 2 local businesses to gain some personal knowledge of the area. So far what I have gathered is that although smaller than the average town, it has its good and not-so-good areas, which is seen everywhere. I have also learned that the town itself seems to be improving, and growing, for example with new construction homes and a big company, IUSA building a plant there soon. One of the local persons I contacted was honest in telling me that just 3 years ago, he and his family would not visit the downtown area because of the overflowing crime from Mexico but with Mexico's government improving and the U.S. border patrol keeping busy, he feels safe visiting that area today. Any information anyone can share, firsthand, would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

[NOTAM]

where are you moving from?
is this a done deal? or can you back out of this plan?
you wont be doing any shopping in Nuevo Laredo..too much crime...you will be having to travel all the way to Progreso MX...where all the Winter Texans go to safely shop for all the bargains.
i personally wouldnt ever move again to anywhere south of San Antonio...ever again. i have been here 6 months and cant wait till Oct when i move to Panhandle or West Texas...i dont care how cold it is

[jluyka]

I am moving from the Chicagoland area in Illinois. You stated, "I have been here for 6 months." Are you currently living in Laredo? Where did you live before?

[NOTAM]

no i live an hour south of Corpus........have visited Laredo before. i was in Ft Stewart for 3 years, but am from Wichita Falls/Ft Worth Texas area originally.
ok if you are coming from Chicago, Laredo will be Paradise..well anywhere in Texas will be paradise compared to Chicago..........so you are making a positive move. just dont cross the border.

[jluyka]

Wow...that's a pretty strong statement...have you lived in Chicago too? If not, do you have any real idea of what the Chicagoland area is like?

Everyone Else: Any constructive or productive information would be helpful, thank you.

[conanS]

Someone posted about the crime in Nuevo Laredo but failed to mention the crime in LAREDO!!!! It is probably THE most dangerous Texas border town!!

[210]

In terms of crime, Brownsville is the most danerous border town. McAllen is also more dangerous than Laredo.

[Eurogal]

Ok, I must agree with 210. No, Laredo has a rather low crime rate compared to others medium sized cities, but the criminal activities in NL do affect Laredo et overlap on the American side.

Now, to live in Laredo? Well, I'll say what everybody from the outside says to a newcomer: "It's very different from the rest of the US"...
It is the most hispanic city of the US (97%). Most people rather speak Spanish than English, in the services as well. Educated people tend to "top up" their English with Spanish here and there. But mostly, if you don't speak Spanish you'll struggle with low income people: they just don't speak English.
So, as a fact, to really get Laredo and adapt there, you have to get at least basic notions of Span. And you have to accept the facts that a lot of people you're gonna interact with haven't learned English. May be a frustrating experience, unlesss you're a Latino culture kind of guy.

The services in general are very bad. I am not being negative, it's a fact. In terms of professionalism or service-orientation. Any new commerce may look exciting, and there are a lot (yet mostly big chains), and they look good at first, and in a few months it just goes down the tube.

The weather? hmmmm, 8 months of scorching heat and warm winter. Most of the time, you just cannot go outside. You must know: there is no outdoors life, whatsoever. Some people fish and hunt, that's it.
So.... you may go to the gym.. and the kids?? well, not great for them.

The schools? go private, and that's ok. The public ones are desastrous, most of them don't pass the standards. Lots of drug problems (even in private) and they are now seriously trying to implement a bilingual education, half-english, half-spanish.
Food? well, there are the big chains. The some Mexican family restaurants are ok for simple Mexican food, but truly, the food experience is poor and tasteless in general if you appreciate good ingredients in right portions. (I am quite sure that Laredo has like the biggest % of obeses).

Well, you must think I hate Laredo. Actually, I don't. You can make good friends, enjoy carne asada (ok the one food you may think it's well done) and go with the laid back attitude.
But I'll sum it up like this: quality of life:

[mrkool]

if you move there you will have some trouble adapting to the climate, and more important, if you are not Hispanic it will be a culture shock. And not one that will easily be overcome. Crime and schools... not good.
And I speak as someone who has both lived in your part of the world (Milwaukee currently), AND in a Texas border town. Please be careful, and have an escape plan if things don't work out there.

[jluyka]

The weather will definitely be the biggest change for us since we are used to 4 seasons (sometimes in one day) , and being around hispanics will also take some getting used to only because I have always lived in diverse areas where you see a mixture of races. I hadn't mentioned this before but I myself am hispanic, 1st generation born in the U.S so I am bilingual as well because my parents migrated to the U.S. a few years before I was born, over 30 years ago. Still, I think it will be odd for me at first to see so many hispanics all the time only because I am used to there being segregated AND intergreted areas, and speak perfect English.

I wonder though about the school comments because I have done my research and found that www.schoolmatters.com for example, shows that there are 2 school districts in Laredo, one that is mediocre and one that is decent (70 and 80 percantile). This site shows the state scores and how they compare to the rest of the nation and 70-80 is not bad, so I'm a little confused about the information.

From what I have learned so far, we should basically stay North/Northeast. According to www.realtor.com, that is where the more "expensive" homes are and that area seems to be coming up as there are nicer homes and new homes being built.

Eurogal, do you live there now?