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Moved to McAllen a year ago, and I can't wait to get out of here. Full disclosure: I am white (or Anglo, as we're called down here), young and single - maybe my demographics have something to do with it.
First of all, the city (and rest of the Valley) is dull, boring and homogeneous. The number of strip malls is phenomenal. Best Buy, Wal Mart, Target, etc. are taking over the region. Driving around, it is just an ugly place. Virtually the entire region's economy is based on retail.
The areas that aren't filled with new retail developments are run down and gross. South McAllen is in a time warp and looks like a typical small city circa 1970. Downtown McAllen (or any other Valley city) is a joke. A typical Valley downtown consists of bead shops, storefront loan services, and pawnshops. The city has two tall office buildings.
I am from Houston and lived in the suburbs. What's amazing to me is that ALL of McAllen feels like the suburbs, just a disgusting mess of McAmerica sprawl.
If you are educated I don't know if you would be that happy here. The University rarely puts on public lecture sorts of events. The two museums are nothing to write home about. Forget about any sort of concert that isn't Tejano music (although some kiddy pop like Hannah Montana and Avril Lavigne comes through). I will give credit to the symphony, which puts on a decent performance monthly.
If you don't know Spanish, it's weird. You better pick it up. There's a joke here: the nice thing about McAllen is that it's so close to the United States.
Probably the worst part of living in McAllen is that it is so isolated. You'd think even though the city sucks, you could at least take day trips somewhere. But San Antonio is four hours away, Austin is five, and Houston is six. You're stuck here, like in prison.
This is a boring area that lacks character, nightlife, an attractive cityscape or significant cultural offerings. Cost of living is cheap in monetary terms but high in the mental toll. If you come here, be prepared to go crazy within a year.
when i read this, it felt just like how i experienced South Texas. i didnt live i McCallen-i lived 30 min from Corpus Christi. same demographics as you but probably alittle older. just like you say, i felt like i was in prison. and i stayed exactly one year, and just about went crazy. it was the worst year of my life. and btw, i began to really hate always being referred to as an "anglo". i am so thankful i am now back in a part of Texas where i feel I BELONG.
Quote:
Originally Posted by smithson12
Moved to McAllen a year ago, and I can't wait to get out of here. Full disclosure: I am white (or Anglo, as we're called down here), young and single - maybe my demographics have something to do with it.
First of all, the city (and rest of the Valley) is dull, boring and homogeneous. The number of strip malls is phenomenal. Best Buy, Wal Mart, Target, etc. are taking over the region. Driving around, it is just an ugly place. Virtually the entire region's economy is based on retail.
The areas that aren't filled with new retail developments are run down and gross. South McAllen is in a time warp and looks like a typical small city circa 1970. Downtown McAllen (or any other Valley city) is a joke. A typical Valley downtown consists of bead shops, storefront loan services, and pawnshops. The city has two tall office buildings.
I am from Houston and lived in the suburbs. What's amazing to me is that ALL of McAllen feels like the suburbs, just a disgusting mess of McAmerica sprawl.
If you are educated I don't know if you would be that happy here. The University rarely puts on public lecture sorts of events. The two museums are nothing to write home about. Forget about any sort of concert that isn't Tejano music (although some kiddy pop like Hannah Montana and Avril Lavigne comes through). I will give credit to the symphony, which puts on a decent performance monthly.
If you don't know Spanish, it's weird. You better pick it up. There's a joke here: the nice thing about McAllen is that it's so close to the United States.
Probably the worst part of living in McAllen is that it is so isolated. You'd think even though the city sucks, you could at least take day trips somewhere. But San Antonio is four hours away, Austin is five, and Houston is six. You're stuck here, like in prison.
This is a boring area that lacks character, nightlife, an attractive cityscape or significant cultural offerings. Cost of living is cheap in monetary terms but high in the mental toll. If you come here, be prepared to go crazy within a year.
Speaking for myself, the RGV was the only option I had after Katrina.
When you leave TOTAL devastation, everything looks good. I just
didn't know from previous visits what a lack of diversity and what
geographic isolation there is here.
It's a real surprise with the population of the area that it's less
diverse than a coastal town of less than 7000. Geography I guess.
I don't think anyone hates the RGV, they just hate living here.
Don't take it so hard, if anyone hates living in LA, AL, MS, or FL,
no one there thinks they're full of anything, it's just an opinion and
personal preference.
I'm southern, and moving back to the deep south soon, but I'll be
back for a VISIT.
I don't love it so.....
I used to live near McAllen, and still somewhat do when I am not living in Austin.
McAllen, as well as the rest of the Rio Grande Valley, is engulfed in poverty. You will literally find homes made out of shacks in some areas of the Valley.
I would not be surprised if less than 20% of the total population of the area graduated high school. I am not exaggerating by any means.
Coupled with the aforementioned is the heavy traffic all over the Valley from Mexico, lots of uninsured drivers, racists and xenophobes (if you're not brown-skinned, you're not welcome. If you don't speak Spanish, be prepared to face rudeness).
There is not much to do in the Valley, aside from going to the littered beaches of South Padre Island, and going to tourist-ridden northern border towns of Mexico, which are far from sanitary or in decent condition.
There are no cultural events. No concerts go to the Valley, unless it's a band that was mildly popular in the 1970s.
No variety of food restaurants. Most of the eateries are fast-food places like McDonalds, Wendy's, Burger King, Mexican restaurants and buffet Chinese restaurants (that's as international as the Valley gets. I am not kidding).
Crime is also high in the Rio Grande Valley and McAllen areas. Property crimes, stolen vehicles (which are mostly taken into Mexico), burglaries, murders, rapes, etc.
If you like to shop, you are at a loss. There are only 3 malls in the Rio Grande Valley, of which none are very good.
TexasTech, please, reconsider that job offering. They would not make such a job offering if they weren't desperate. I have known several individuals/families that have moved to the Valley for the lower cost of living, but have left after a year or two b/c of the lack of anything to do, the lack of a skilled workforce, the lower wages, and the list goes on and on.
Many of the doctors and lawyers choose to leave the Rio Grande Valley, including McAllen, b/c of frivolous lawsuits that swamp the courts.
If you do decide to move to the Valley, move to Harlingen. It is not as dirty or as bumper-to-bumper traffic as McAllen or Brownsville. Also, there are more high school and college graduates in Harlingen than McAllen or Brownsville, and is a higher-income town.
But please, if you can, avoid the Rio Grande Valley if you can. It is depressing, and looks like a run down town from the 1960s.
Please do more research, Texas Tech. And be VERY cautious.
HerkyHerk hit it right on the head. I currently live on N 32nd street in Mcallen and its not a pleasent experience. My neighbors in the plex area I live in will play their music loud to make sure you can hear it across the sidewalk and through your door! Also the Boomboxers vehicles that come by everday assault you with stress inducing noise and you are at their mercy for peace. Calling the MPD has no effect as they just hide till they pass. Also property crimes are very high in Mcallen. Recently, I awoke to the sounds of somebody jiggling my door. At first I thought somebody had an emergency or maintenance was trying to get in thinking I wasn't home. I looked through the peephole and saw four fat women, one sitting down in the neighbors plastic chair moved to my side trying to turn the handle. I shouted through the door "What do you want", and they mumbled something and left. When I reviewed what just happened it started adding up. Plus when I looked down they had left behind a used plastic gift card that they were obvisly trying to swipe loose the dead bolt. I guess they were glad they didn't make it in because they wouldn't have made it out. This is no lie, this really happened, you move to mcallen at your own risk! The sad thing is that I was valley born and raised, lived here for 32 years and have witnessed it's decline/improvment? I too lived in Austin, TX for some time much like HerkyHerk, and I can say I felt much safer there with no experience quite like the aforemetioned one. Hell, I've even lived and worked in Houston for a year and never had any of these problems, although I did utilize the Park and Ride Metro system to get to work that helped avoid traffic. True, Austin has bad traffic and nobody want's to live on the east side of I-35, but there are good areas to live like Westlake and Lakeway if your a millonaire! People in Mcallen are tailgaters when driving and the traffic is getting worse. Damn near feel like I'm in the Daytona 500 when trying to get to work in the morning. Even people from LA complain about valley drivers, go figure! I drove all the time in Austin and even the valley's smaller infrastructue gets on my nerves. The heat, poverty, crime, low pay are making me once again looking north to get the heck out of here. Out!!
Last edited by 71night; 04-24-2008 at 10:03 PM..
Reason: More info
the drivers are definitely crazy in the valley. i'm anglo and have no problems here--it appears that the majority of posters here have lived in the "less upscale" parts of town, are low to middle income, and have negative attitudes. you know what they say about opinions.
HerkJerky must have done alot of Jerky! You seem very angry, I could only assume why!
I moved here from Dallas and on the contrary the city has been very welcoming and friendly not to mention the economy is cranking!!! Even through bad economic times nationally.
It's growing and getting better with more a variety of bars and eateries! There is poverty due to the proximity to the border but mostly isolated to certain areas not really so much in Mcallen,Mission Edinburg areas
Cost of living is great, people are simple not a majot metropolis but u can certainly have fun. Hockey teamand basketball teams (minor league)
Oh and I don't have brown skin!! Certainly not a good place for bigotry though!!
Scratch that. I don't want the ghettos of Business 83, south, northeast, and west McAllen on me. Thanks sweetie. Nice try, but no dice.
There aren't any "ghettos" in Northeast McAllen at all. That's where the upper-class district is I.E. La Mansion and other huge upper-class residential areas are.
The only ghettos that USED to exist were on the Northwest Side stretching from N. 23rd and Nolana to N. 23rd and Trenton but the crime in that area is pretty much non-existent compared to how it was 5 years ago when you couldn't walk into some of the neighborhoods and not expect to be a victim of crime of some sort. But as I stated those "ghettos" are long gone and those residential areas are your everyday average middle-class areas. No crime, nothing to worry about.
There aren't any "ghettos" in Northeast McAllen at all. That's where the upper-class district is I.E. La Mansion and other huge upper-class residential areas are.
The only ghettos that USED to exist were on the Northwest Side stretching from N. 23rd and Nolana to N. 23rd and Trenton but the crime in that area is pretty much non-existent compared to how it was 5 years ago when you couldn't walk into some of the neighborhoods and not expect to be a victim of crime of some sort. But as I stated those "ghettos" are long gone and those residential areas are your everyday average middle-class areas. No crime, nothing to worry about.
uh--i live in an upscale (sounds a little better than "upper class") gated community in SOUTH mcallen. there are fine areas all over the city.
I agree that the valley is a nice place to visit, with all the malls and shops. However, I could not live there. I am hispanic, but even I feel out of place in the valley. I speak spanish, not very well, but I know enough. When I asked for help at a store, the workers were laughing at me because my spanish was "rough". I'm an educated person, I don't need people laughing at the way I talk. At least I was making an effort. On the other hand, I was look for a purse that my wife wanted for her birthday. I went to this one boutique and asked the lady behind the desk if they had that certain kind of purse. She looked puzzled and asked, "how much do they cost?" I said, "well, according to my wife between $100 to $300." Her response was, "Im sorry sir, our cheapest purse is $1000." SHeesh! She could have just said, "no, we don't carry that brand." Yes, there is bad service everywhere you go. But I find it more prominent in the Valley. From hotel service to retail, I've had at least one horror story from every trip. Sorry valley folks...thats just my opinion.
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