South Texas VS West Texas (Dallas, San Antonio: property taxes, lease, work)

[tstone]

Originally Posted by teatime

South Texas is NOT diverse. The cities in the Valley are 90-96 percent Hispanic. San Antonio is more diverse but it's also a large city that attracts people from all over. And, no, that's not the case in "almost all" of Texas. North Texas and West Texas cities aren't predominantly Hispanic. They might be in 20 years, but there is diversity here now.

This really depends on where you draw the line for "South Texas." Some people say it's everything south of San Antonio or only the RGV, while others include Austin (south central) and Houston (south east).

[jkirk208]

Originally Posted by bellestaroftexas

Do NOT move to South Texas unless you are prepared to, and dont mind being a minority. I am a Texan, and was uprooted to Georgia for 3 years thanks to the Army, and finally got back to Texas and chose South Texas because of a high paying contract...thinking that Texas was Texas. IT AINT.
South Texas is a WHOLE OTHER COUNTRY. You can compare East, North, West-they have the "Texas" feel to them...but South Texas is MEXICO.
I am telling you right now-it is NOT Texas. I am a female blonde blue eyed Anglo and stand out everywhere and am stared at like I am a freak. I have ZERO social life-i am semi attractive (or so they say) and have not even been asked out on a date and i have been here 6 months, and have no real friends. In the workplace, i have "acquaintances" but i have nothing in common with them. oh by the way, they think i TALK FUNNY. they think i have an accent. Ya know why? cuz i guess i have somewhat a Texas drawl or twang...which DOES NOT EXIST HERE! so another reason i dont fit in.
they call every woman here "mami" or "mama" or something like that...its a mexican term of endearment. i cant get used to it. my terms of endearment for my patients are "sweet pea" or "sugarpie" or "honey" or "darlin"...i dont call anyone MOMMY except MY MOMMY!!!!!!!!!!!
and they call all males even young ones "pappy"....
it's freakin wierd.
oh and top it all off with wimpy law enforcement. i am used to feeling secure and protected by TOUGH TEXAS LAWMEN...NOT HERE. they are a bunch of wimps and all they do is take part in corruption...those drug runners can just pay them off...you should see the deputy sheriffs who come in with inmates to my hospital-they look like they are not at all self-assured and look about 18 years old! i am tougher than they are!!
it's PATHETIC.
choose WEST TEXAS AT ALL COSTS. i will. i am outta here by Oct when my lease is up

Hi Belle,
Interesting profile you have there. I ran into your messages while searching for information about Sanderson, TX. Yes, looking at 100 - 200 acres that can be built on later in life. What caused me to write was your discussion about south Texas and your issues there. I just finished a year with Operation Jumpstart (national guard supliments the Border Patrol). Found you to be dead on as it was rare to find LE personnel that were not on the take. West Texas except El Paso was OK. South Texas was bad. It was a real eye opening experience! I have written my congressman to bring some recognition on the NG - with no response.
Would be interested to know what you were doing in South Texas and for whom. It is a different country as you say!

Jkirk208@yahoo.com

[Billybobbadboy]

Originally Posted by texassports#1

WELL BELLESTAROF TEXAS, SO YOU DON'T LIKE IT HERE IN SO. TEXAS HUH? SORRY YOU FEEL THAT WAY. SO. TEXAS IS A VERY DIVERSE AREA, PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST DIVERSE IN TEXAS. TRUE THE MAJORITY IS HISPANIC (NOT MEXICAN) BUT THAT IS THE CASE IN ALMOST ALL OF TEXAS ISNT IT? I WAS BORN IN SAN ANTONIO BUT HAVE BEEN IN THE VALLEY MOST OF MY LIFE AND IT IS A GREAT PLACE TO RAISE A FAMILY.THE SCHOOLS ARE STATE RECOGNIZED SCHOOLS WITH GREAT SPORTS PROGRAMS, AND A COUPLE OF VALLEY CITIES HAVE BEEN NAMED ALL-AMERICAN CITY A FEW YEARS AGO. THE FOOD IS SECOND TO NONE (REAL MEXICAN FOOD, NOT WHAT YOU WILL FIND IN WEST, EAST OR NORTH TEXAS). SO MAYBE ITS NOT THE AREA THAT IS THE PROBLEM, MAYBE ITS YOU, BECAUSE OF THE THOUSANDS OF "ANGLO BLONDE HAIR BLUE EYED" RESIDENTS WHO CURRENTLY RESIDE HERE IN THE VALLEY AND THE FLOCKS OF WINTER TEXAS THAT COME TO THE VALLEY YEAR AFTER YEAR(NOT TO EAST, WEST, OR NORTH TEXAS) YOU ARE PROBABLY OF THE .01% THAT DOES NOT LIKE IT HERE, SO IT SOUNDS LIKE THE PROBLEM IS WITHIN YOU (I THINK YOU KNOW WHAT I AM SAYING) NOT IN SOUTH TEXAS, WITH THAT ATTITUDE I UNDERSTAND WHY YOU HAVE NOT BEEN ASKED OUT ON A DATE.
AS FAR AS THE TEXAS DRAWL OR TWANG, THERE IS NO SUCH THINK. IF YOU HAVE EVER PICKED UP A HISTORY BOOK YOU WILL REMEMBER THAT TEXAS WAS ORIGINALLY PART OF MEXICO. SO THE TEXAS TWANG AS YOU CALL IT DID NOT ORIGINATE IN TEXAS, IT CAME TO TEXAS FROM THE OTHER SOUTHERN STATES IT JUST NEVER REACHED SO. TEXAS. OH AND FOR YOUR INFO. I HAVE NEVER CALLED ANY WOMAN MAMI, OR MAMA, OR MOMMY AND NO WOMAN HERE HAS EVERY CALLED ME PAPPI. I THINK YOU HAVE BEEN WATCHING TO MANY MOVIES OR MTV VIDEOS.
YOU CALL THE LAW ENFORMENT HERE PATHETIC, I THINK YOU ARE PATHETIC NOT ACKNOWLEDGING THE EFFORTS OF OUR LOCAL TOUGH LAWMEN WHO NOT ONLY HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE EVERYDAY COMMUNITY PROBLEMS THAT ALL EAST, WEST AND NORTH TEXAS LAWMEN ARE EXPOSED TO BUT ALSO MANY OTHER SITUATION THE ARE UNIQUE TO THE BORDER AREA THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT IN OTHER AREAS NO NOTHING ABOUT. SO SORRY TO SEE YOU GO, WELL NOT REALLY. HOPE WEST TEXAS WILL ACCEPT YOU, BUT WITH YOUR WAY OF THINKING I HAVE MY DOUBTS.

Dude....what planet are you from?? The Hispanics you speak of ALL ORIGINATED IN MEXICO!!! So why are you playing that situation down?? And as for the Lawenforcement problems Belle is Talking about....She is right on the money.....I am a retired lawenforcement officer....and if by chance one of the squirrely officers she is talking about, In south Texas, were to ever have had the opertunitity to work with the group of officers I am accustom to..... They would have been ridiculed to death....WIMPS!!!!

[SAtoDallas]

Originally Posted by Billybobbadboy

Dude....what planet are you from?? The Hispanics you speak of ALL ORIGINATED IN MEXICO!!! So why are you playing that situation down?? And as for the Lawenforcement problems Belle is Talking about....She is right on the money.....I am a retired lawenforcement officer....and if by chance one of the squirrely officers she is talking about, In south Texas, were to ever have had the opertunitity to work with the group of officers I am accustom to..... They would have been ridiculed to death....WIMPS!!!!

Actually Billybob there are a lot of families in South TX whose orgins are South TX it was once a part of MX. As far as the police corruption well that's a shame unfortunately it happens worldwide I'm not justifying it but it does happen and I commend you for not being one of them and thanks for your service.

[Gretchen_SDCA]

Originally Posted by bellestaroftexas

yes i am church going.
yes i am very conservative republican
yes i am FIERCELY PROUD of Texas
i am a cowgirl type of woman. i like to ride, i go to every roping and rodeo there is. i hunt. i fish. i listen to only TEXAS country music (not Nashville country).
will i fit in, in West Texas?
if i dont, then at least i know i will fit in where i SPENT MOST of my adult life-in the rural counties betwee Ft Worth and Wichita Falls...i just dont want to go back there cuz i have way too many ex's in that part of Texas!!

I am originally from Germany and travel to Texas on business frequently and have some very good friends there. There are many things I like about Texas, but you pretty much espouse all the things I don't!

Have you stepped back and considered how incredibly outrageous your comments are? Especially about Hispanic people and culture in Texas? The Hispanic culture is just as much part of Texas (Arizona, and California also) as your Anglo-American culture. Who gave you the right to decide what "Texas culture" is?

I am personally not fond of the conservative right wing or the conservative Christian movement. However, each is entitled to his own beliefs. But, I cannot understand how you, proclaiming yourself as a "Christian" could be so incredibly racist and discriminatory. Absolutely unbelievable.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by Gretchen_SDCA

I am originally from Germany and travel to Texas on business frequently and have some very good friends there. There are many things I like about Texas, but you pretty much espouse all the things I don't!

Have you stepped back and considered how incredibly outrageous your comments are? Especially about Hispanic people and culture in Texas? The Hispanic culture is just as much part of Texas (Arizona, and California also) as your Anglo-American culture. Who gave you the right to decide what "Texas culture" is?

I am personally not fond of the conservative right wing or the conservative Christian movement. However, each is entitled to his own beliefs. But, I cannot understand how you, proclaiming yourself as a "Christian" could be so incredibly racist and discriminatory. Absolutely unbelievable.

I am one of those right-wingers you don't like. If you really believe that each person is entitled to their own beliefs, your post here contradicts that. You fault her for not liking Hispanic/Latino/Mexican-American culture....so what?!?

She isn't being discriminatory nor racist at all. She just chose to move because she didn't care for the prevailing culture of the area.

There is NOTHING wrong with that. She isn't hurting anyone by having moved to where she is comfortable.

You yourself appear to be unwilling to allow others to have their own beliefs that may differ from yours.

So...live and let live.

I am personally comfortable with the culture, since I grew up near the US-Mexican border, and have been around it my entire life. But...I don't fault those who are NOT at home with it.

[crbcrbrgv]

As many of you know I am a former Valley resident. I am anglo and my wife is a Mexican-American from Weslaco (Mid-Valley). The issue I along with my wife and many of our friends who either live in or have moved from the area is the culture of dependency. In many ways I am the opposite of Bellestar. I am not very religious. I am also fairly liberal. And I'd rather stick my toes in a meat grinder than listen to any type of country music. With that said, we seem to agree on a lot of things when it comes to South Texas and the Valley. Especially the fact that there are so many people on welfare it is as some parents encourage their children to stay on the system. Nowhere else in America will you see such blatant abuse of government funds. Nowhere else will you see so many people pay for food with Lone Star cards and then drive away in '08 vehicles. People who make 45,000 a year (a very healthy salary down there) take advantage of section 8 housing. And many of the school districts accept failure due to the fact that they get more money. I taught down there, so I should know this. Many families purposely stay poor so their kids can get financial aid. And when I taught, I would see wealthy parents snatch up free school uniforms. It isn't a Hispanic thing at all because the Valley is not Hispanic culture. It is Valley culture. It is a nanny state. To the extreme.

[love roses]

amen to that, Cathy4017. I was having the same thought. Visiting different parts of Texas is quite different than living there 24/7. What gave her the right to decide what Texas Culture is? Her being a Texan is what gave her that right. Her experience with life here, growing up here...that is what gives her the right. Texas Culture is more than just its hispanic influence. It also has a large Czech and German influence, and some African, much like Louisiana. If you think her opinions are strictly a right wing thing, think again. I know many left wingers who feel the same way. It transcends political parties. If you know anything about Christianity, which obviously you don't, you would know that Christians are only human and aren't immune to making mistakes. We're not some untouchable class of people who don't have problems and don't deal with real world issues. I think many people are uninformed of this.

[tstone]

Billybob, half of my family is from the RGV and they are not Mexican, they were Spaniards who became local politicians in the early 1900s. For those Texans who think Spanish = Mexican, think Antonio Banderas. Ok, so then one went on to marry an RGV Italian and out came my mother and 10 siblings, all who speak Spanish and are as white as paper. All of them grew up in McAllen and some are still there. The other side of my family, also from South TX, is Scots-Irish+Anglo and a trace of Cherokee, all of who can be traced back to the old south in the 1800s and Maryland in the 1700s.

And Gretchen, Bellstar doesn't speak for everyone in TX. I am a believer, but not church going. I am libertarian conservative who thinks most (not all) country music sucks. I don't hunt on a full stomach. I think rodeos are downright primitive. Do I speak for everyone in TX? NO! I don't care if someone else is into it as long as they're not pushing the brown end of their stick in my face about it.

Professional blacks come on here sometimes looking for other professional blacks to live near, and no one scathes them. What's wrong with it if Bellstar wants to live around her brand of white people? Some people want to live near others they have a lot in common with.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by love roses

amen to that, Cathy4017. I was having the same thought. Visiting different parts of Texas is quite different than living there 24/7. What gave her the right to decide what Texas Culture is? Her being a Texan is what gave her that right. Her experience with life here, growing up here...that is what gives her the right. Texas Culture is more than just its hispanic influence. It also has a large Czech and German influence, and some African, much like Louisiana. If you think her opinions are strictly a right wing thing, think again. I know many left wingers who feel the same way. It transcends political parties. If you know anything about Christianity, which obviously you don't, you would know that Christians are only human and aren't immune to making mistakes. We're not some untouchable class of people who don't have problems and don't deal with real world issues. I think many people are uninformed of this.

If you think her opinions are strictly a right wing thing, think again.

I didn't say that. I said that *I* am a right-winger. Read my post again.

If you know anything about Christianity, which obviously you don't, you would know that Christians are only human and aren't immune to making mistakes.

You are making an assumption that I am not a Christian, which is extremely arrogant on your part. Besides that, what is the reason for the comment?? *I* didn't say anything about Christianity. I was talking about live-and-let-live, and allowing others to have their own beliefs without putting them down. Why are you so defensive, anyway?
Having been born in and lived in Texas for over 50 years, I am very well aware of the fact that the Hispanic culture isn't the only one here.