South Texas VS West Texas (Laredo, McAllen: low cost, law, vs.)

[porter pep]

azzurri, have you moved to south texas? any feedback on experiences. I am also from Michigan and am considering moving to McAllen for a job.

[LCC1968]

Don't listen to the negative yahoos--they wouldn't be happy anywhere. Do your research and make an educated decision. Good luck!

[lonewolfmccoy]

Texas is huge, therefore the people are different in different regions! That's what makes Texas Texas though!

Big Reg

[catman]

I would take West Texas over South Texas any time, but that's just my opinion. Sure, South Texas is nice in winter if one doesn't like to be cold, but the humidity is stifling. I much prefer the dryness of West Texas, especially Far West ("Trans-Pecos") Texas. I'd move to the Alpine-Marfa-Ft Davis area in a heartbeat if I had a way to make a living out there.

[Mosha]

I love the RGV, is the most beautiful and peacefull place I have ever been. You have everything there... Malls, Nature, Beach, Collegue... I want to go back and live there with my baby girl.
I am currently living in laredo and this city sucks!!! Brownsville, Harlingen and Mcallen are very good places to live.

[tstone]

Originally Posted by Mosha

I love the RGV, is the most beautiful and peacefull place I have ever been.

Most beautiful?

Have you ever visited any other place outside of South/Southwest Texas?

[Stephanie P]

Originally Posted by catman

I would take West Texas over South Texas any time, but that's just my opinion. Sure, South Texas is nice in winter if one doesn't like to be cold, but the humidity is stifling. I much prefer the dryness of West Texas, especially Far West ("Trans-Pecos") Texas. I'd move to the Alpine-Marfa-Ft Davis area in a heartbeat if I had a way to make a living out there.

I agree with catman. I lived in Marfa for three years and it is beautiful! It also has great weather, very dry climate. It is very remote, but the people are some of the friendliest you will ever meet. I currently live outside of Houston and the humidity is horrible. I have asthma, so some days it is hard to breath. I would love to move back to West Texas!

[elvalle_mayne]

Originally Posted by wade_word

But they still need to protect those borders!

Way to be swayed by propaganda in the media. Have you ever been to the border personally? You have MILLIONS of Mexcians vs. just thousands of Border Patrol agents. And first and foremost the BP's main priority is drug smuggling prevention which they actually do a very good job of. Also the highest percentage of illegals flooding in the U.S. was late-80s and early-90s and since then its actually been on a decline the only difference is the politicians decided to bring it to the forefront of the news due to their lack of regulation of foreign relations in the middle east. How do I know this? Easy, my father's a Border Patrol agent and if you would like to talk to him about foreign and border relations feel free to send me a message.

[Rathagos]

Originally Posted by ~dust~

You can't beat West Texas. You can't beat it in terms of SAFETY, in terms of CLEAN WIDE STREETS, in terms of schools both private and public, in terms of SUNSHINE and more SUNSHINE, it terms of beautiful houses --

But you won't be happy if you expect to be embraced here, if you want to set yourself apart. Are you church-going? If not, you might be lonely. Are you conservative? If not, you might be lonely. Are you proud of Texas? If not, you aren't going to find many to cotton to you.

I think this is heaven on earth, but -- as is in other threads -- things are changing. Yes, changing. Housing is gone crazy, plumb crazy. Many many Hispanics are pouring into the area. Signs in Spanish are appearing, ads are demanding you be bilingual -- this does not sit well with many. I think West Texas is in for a big change. Meth is coming here. Gangs are coming. Whether it is to your taste or not depends on your mindset. I'm surprised, with all the sunshine, that we have been undiscovered as long as we have.

I'm in San Angelo. We're west Texas, but fairly remote (closest "big" town to us is Abilene, about 1 1/2 hours away).

San Angelo has a population (including outlying areas) of about 100k. We're 2 1/2 hours east of Midland, 3 1/2 hours northwest of San Antonio, and 4 1/2 hours west of Dallas. Because of our location, very little of the typical things that migrate hit us. There is a large Mexican contingent, but they are generally very friendly and nice. I've walked down the aisle of Walmart and heard them speaking Spanish. Then, as I get closer, they've switched to English. Not that I wanted to hear what they were saying, but I thought it was great for them to be that considerate.

We have everything we need in a city to meet diversified needs: Walmart, Sam's, Best Buy, Lowe's, Ross', Target, etc. We have chain and local restaurants (Golden Corral, Johnny Carino's, Olive Garden, Outback, Buffalo Wild Wings). There's a mall wtih the "staple" stores (Sears, JC Penney, Waldenbook, etc.)

There is an Air Force base that trains students in Intelligence, Languages, and Fire Fighting (but it's not an operational base with jets flying around). We have a hospital (with Lifeflight helicopter) and numerous clinics for medical care.

Crime is relatively low, and any major crimes are normally committed between people that are related or know each other. Drugs are here, but not prevalent. We hear at least once a week of drug busts by the city cops, but my kids say although they know kids who smoke pot in school, they have never been approached (at school, at the mall, etc.) to buy any. Gangs are a joke compared to major cities. I don't think many groups want to come this far from a city where it's easy to disappear into.

There's things for the kids: a roller skating rink, mini-golf, the mall. But that's it. We have Angelo State University, which just signed on the Texas Tech cirriculum and is finishing building up some new dorms for students they expect in.

Housing and apartments are still reasonable, although they have increased in the 10 years I've lived here.

I'm originally from California, and after almost 21 years in the Navy, I retired here and this town has been very friendly to me. I always get a "hello" or at the least a head-not in passing. I don't go to church, and my neigbors are all friendly.

I'll take the long drives to a "major" city for the friendliness, cleanness, and lack of crime in my daily life!!

[ocean2026]

First the Hispanic population is great - they are just people.

Second - there are areas where Hispanics are a minority in South Texas, and that includes Rockport and Ingleside.

If someone has issues with people of Mexican descent- its best they go live in the North Pole where everything is white.