Moving from NY to Mcallen... need your input! (Corpus Christi, Edinburg: apartment, rental)

[YL890]

Hi everyone,

I just got this job at Weslaco and boss wants me to move ASAP. I've read some posts here but my case is not quite the same. I'm from Taiwan and living in upstate NY for couple years for master degree. Never been to Texas till couple days ago this company brought me down for the interview. So far my plan is to live in Mcallen and drive to work. I would like to know:

a. should I expect to see no asians around the city?
b. is there's any good asian grocery stores around?
c. how convenient is the bus system in Mcallen? wife might need to take bus before we can afford another car.
d. is there any farmer's market in Mcallen?
e. which bank has most branches / best service in town? I'm currently with HSBC but maybe it's time to move to another bank.

Economy is tough and I appreciate the opportunity. Just want to prepare us as best as we could so I can focus on work. On a side note, I'm thinking about learning Spanish but apparently I won't have much time due to intense work duty. Will you recommend Rosseta Stone?

Thanks!

[twins07]

I don't have the answers but I think I will be moving to McAllen from Chicago. I got a job offer and waiting for details. There are some mixed reviews on this site, I hope some Mcallen folks respond.

[YL890]

I'm surprised to see the mixed reviews too. The two days I spent there was quite pleasant. But then again I haven't met enough local people to make proper judgment. I like the road, wide and nice to drive on (if you ever live in LA or upstate NY you know how bad road conditions can ruin your day). Weather is nice, but I'm from subtropical country where it's hotter and more humid so YMMV. I think the weather in Mcallen is pretty close to West palm beach, FL. Been to Chicago sveral times, and I hope you can adjust to subtropical weather or otherwise you will have a terrible summer. Good thing is no more crazy freezing wind in the winter, yay!

[j96g]

I used to live there and visit once a year. (I moved in July 2010, raised there my whole life.) I'll try my best to answer these:



a. should I expect to see no asians around the city? There are some. (I hope you take no offense, but Filipinos asian? If they are then yeah.)

b. is there's any good asian grocery stores around?
there are at least two on north 10th street (tokyo asian market, de dios filipino store) Though H-E-B superstore in McAllen has good variety stuff as well. I'd check there first, if you can't find it there, then check out the others.
c. how convenient is the bus system in Mcallen? wife might need to take bus before we can afford another car.
It's alright, getting there but not what you expect like in big cities, though fare is/was cheap when i left.

d. is there any farmer's market in Mcallen?
I believ Sun Harvest is the most popular, and in "flea" markets, they usually have fruit/vegetables there as well.

e. which bank has most branches / best service in town? I'm currently with HSBC but maybe it's time to move to another bank.
I think the most popular I see is IBC, BBVA Compass, wells Fargo

[YL890]

Originally Posted by j96g

I used to live there and visit once a year. (I moved in July 2010, raised there my whole life.) I'll try my best to answer these:



a. should I expect to see no asians around the city? There are some. (I hope you take no offense, but Filipinos asian? If they are then yeah.)

b. is there's any good asian grocery stores around?
there are at least two on north 10th street (tokyo asian market, de dios filipino store) Though H-E-B superstore in McAllen has good variety stuff as well. I'd check there first, if you can't find it there, then check out the others.

Thank you for the kindly response. I'm asking the above question because my wife is a darn good cook and we hope we can still get most of the spices we use often after we move.

Originally Posted by j96g

c. how convenient is the bus system in Mcallen? wife might need to take bus before we can afford another car.
It's alright, getting there but not what you expect like in big cities, though fare is/was cheap when i left.

d. is there any farmer's market in Mcallen?
I believ Sun Harvest is the most popular, and in "flea" markets, they usually have fruit/vegetables there as well.

e. which bank has most branches / best service in town? I'm currently with HSBC but maybe it's time to move to another bank.
I think the most popular I see is IBC, BBVA Compass, wells Fargo

Thank you for the feedback. My employer just let me know that I need to open an account with IBC to get the payroll. so I guess that's the one.

After some talk with my employer, I'm surprised to find out they're not providing health insurance. Well it's not like I have many options so I'll suck it up and start search for inexpensive health insurance here. I've read about how health care is crazily expensive and wonder if anyone willing to step in and share some opinions about affordable options. I'm thinking about putting ~$150 max per month for my wife and just try to keep myself healthy and away from hospital. I basically know nothing about health insurance and the terms so any input is welcomed.

[cBach]

Originally Posted by YL890

I'm surprised to see the mixed reviews too. The two days I spent there was quite pleasant. But then again I haven't met enough local people to make proper judgment. I like the road, wide and nice to drive on (if you ever live in LA or upstate NY you know how bad road conditions can ruin your day). Weather is nice, but I'm from subtropical country where it's hotter and more humid so YMMV. I think the weather in Mcallen is pretty close to West palm beach, FL. Been to Chicago sveral times, and I hope you can adjust to subtropical weather or otherwise you will have a terrible summer. Good thing is no more crazy freezing wind in the winter, yay!

One thing to note. The weather in West Palm Beach, FL is a bit different than McAllen. McAllen can get much colder in the winter than West Palm ever would and in the summer McAllen would be hotter than West Palm and drier (well, less rain). In West Palm you get daily thunderstorms, in McAllen you don't. It's pretty much semi-arid, but with humidity because proximity to the Gulf. Look at the temp/precip charts:

Average climate in McAllen, Texas

[LEFT][SIZE=2]Based on data reported by over 4,000 weather stations[/SIZE][/LEFT]
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Read more: //www.city-data.com/city/McAlle...#ixzz1IEci5O9A


Rainfall is 2 inches in July, 80% possible sun.

Average climate in West Palm Beach, Florida

[LEFT][SIZE=2]Based on data reported by over 4,000 weather stations[/SIZE][/LEFT]
[SIZE=2][/SIZE][SIZE=2][/SIZE]

Read more: //www.city-data.com/city/West-P...#ixzz1IEdk0bYe


Rainfall is 6 inches in July, 70% possible sun.

What this means is rainfall is 3x in the summer in W. Palm Beach than McAllen. You're more likely to get those afternoon drenching and cooling thunderstorms in W. Palm Beach. You'll get the unrelenting sun in McAllen, but more wind and slightly less humidity.

So don't go in expecting a climate similar to West Palm Beach that's all I'm saying.

[YL890]

I just started my work since this Monday and here's my thoughts about this town so far:

1. High rental expenses. TBH It really surprises me when I found out $700~800 can only get you a so-so little 1br apartment or creepy 2 br apartment around north Mcallen. I'm shifting my focus to Edinburg but not sure if Pan-Am area would be a good choice.

2. 75 mph on highway: Not saying I always drive below 65 mph on my way to work, but I do see a considerable amount of drivers driving close to 75+ mph in high traffic hours. I'm feeling a little bit unsafe especially bcz these drivers are also ones who rarely use signal lights and cutting lanes.

3. Food: Lots of spicy food. Most of them are delicious. I LOVE everything in Blue Onion! Also, I'm surprised to see Buffalo wild wings are pretty popular here.

4. Busy/Lazy property offices. Many properties I called either never pick up the phone or never call me back if I leave a message. I guess I have to earn my right to know the property only by paying visits. Most offices would not pick up my call after 3.

Overall this town is pretty nice for its size, people are friendly and traffic is not bad at all. I'm frustrated about housing but I guess it's more about how picky you are and I happen to be pretty picky. As an Asian, the Chinese grocery store (Tokyo) is too sad to see and the owner is actually Korean. I heard there's a farmer's market bi-weekly till June. Will pay a visit tomorrow. As for now I have 0 ideas about the night life around town. Any nice bar around?

[JoninATX]

The best of luck to you, glad you are liking it so far anyways there are bars and clubs to go to heres a link: Downtown McAllen - Your Guide to Night Life in McAllen, Texas just want to warn you becareful if u cross into Mexico with all the drug problems, cartels, human smuggling, ect... Reynosa which is right across the border has some good shopping as well as Monterrey which is only 2 hrs away from McAllen.

[hellpaso]

There are several Asian groceries around town, and most of the larger HEB stores have an aisle or so of different Asian foods. You can always order what you need on the internet, of course! Don't know anything about the bars, but I'm sure somebody else on here can let you know about that. And yes--people drive like maniacs. Stay out of Mexico.

[YL890]

Hello Again!

Thanks for the input! Work is intense so I only have little time to drive around the city so far. I found some little things to share:

1. No IMAX. Maybe I'm just spoiled... I'm a bit let down when found out the nearest IMAX theater is in Corpus Christi. This City deserves IMAX... But considering average cost is $7 for a movie, I should just shut up.

2. Energy company. I never had a chance to choose my energy provider before. I just roll the dice and chose Bounce for next 6 months. To be honest I couldn't see which company provides best deal. Maybe after this summer with actually energy usage I'll get a better idea.

3. High gas price. Well it's everywhere but I'm still wondering why the gas price is so high here. Hybrid powered cars are very tempting to me now

4. Rain can actually be dangerous. I saw 4 car accidents in 10 miles on expressway 83 couple days ago when we finally had some rain. This is crazy. Please think about your family and keep safe distance! I can't believe I'm grateful for Rochester's winter. 5 months in snow is the best defensive driving course...

6. People are really nice here! Not saying this is Utopia, but I've been to NYC, LA, Boston, Detroit, Chicago, SF, SD, Miami, and many other big cities. Rochester is still my top 1 and McAllen is probably no.3.

On a side note, I'm looking for night Spanish class. Any recommendations? Probably most people here in McAllen doesn't need it...