Planning a move to the Rio Grande Valley

[naadarien]

Originally Posted by lsanchez888

Welcome to the Valley, Ha! That is very common down here too, most of my family build their homes over a few years, go off and work like crazy, all day every day, saving every penny for some years and coming back and having no mortgage. It's also very doable due to the amount of land that you see everywhere, even in small subdivision you will see small lots with for sale signs, land is cheap down here as well. I love that Idea as well never thought it was an option until we moved down here, and are going to attempt to at least pay 50% off. You said your in engineering? Again the valley is not the prettiest, and their is some very poor areas, but in MY experience it seems their is a lot of opportunities for those with education/experience! Im also in healthcare and while the healthcare sucks, LARGE indigent population, it is also extremely short staffed on everything, I came down without any job offer (family in the area), applied and had a callback same day, hired in a week. SO if you can get over the negatives, you could make it work. My biggest concern is the education systems since my son is only in first grade so he is pretty important in all decisions that we make

The schools concern me too. Our kids just started at our local school and it is actually pretty good, but the others around here are awful. Well they try, but without much of a tax base and the constant tug for the school budgets to be less and less every year, something has to give, you know?

The private schools in the RGV are all religious. I couldn't find a single non-sectarian school. It was odd. Up here there are all kinds of private boarding schools, Waldorf schools, etc.

I guess we'll wing it and homeschool if public school's not working. I had an excellent public school education and I want my kids to get the same, and if I have to do it myself then that is how it will be...but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

I saw some neat lots in North Edinburgh so thanks for the suggestion. We'll see how it all works out.

I am a software engineer. I build systems and interfaces for hospitals and large physician groups, but I got a LNA a couple of years back and I fell in love with the clinical side of things. I am hoping to get a PA Masters from UT-RGV. It would be nice to find work at a hospital that will reimburse some of that cost and give me an environment to do clinicals....but so much to do before all of that. :-) Thanks for your help.

[thenewtexan]

Search Texas High Schools | US News

This listing was published last fall. Several high schools in the area are nationally ranked. They seem like specialty charter schools, but it's worth looking into.

[naadarien]

Originally Posted by thenewtexan

Search Texas High Schools | US News

This listing was published last fall. Several high schools in the area are nationally ranked. They seem like specialty charter schools, but it's worth looking into.

Thanks! I have heard of the good schools in the are, but it is nice to see how they stack up across the board.

[gguerra]

Check into the IDEA schools. They are public and can be considered a charter type school (I think). I dont know that much about them other than that but I have heard good things. I have two nieces that attend.

IDEA Public Schools / Homepage

[Old Folks]

Originally Posted by naadarien

Hi. I am looking to relocate my family from Vermont to the RGV. I am from Los Angeles originally and am very comfortable in a largely latino community though what little Spanish I know will need some work. :-) Used to spend my summers as a kid in Texarkana so I am familiar with the state though at the diagonally opposite end.

I am looking for a rural community (so no HOA, 1acre+ land, zoning that supports raising chickens, pigs) preferably along 77, but anywhere in the Harlingen-McAllen-Edinburg triangle.

There is a fair amount of info online, but I am looking for your real world experiences. What communities would you pick and why? Any communities I should stay away from (flooding issues, farm pesticides/fertilizers contaminating water supplies, bad schools, crime, racial issues, etc). I would need to travel to Edinburg and McAllen (I am an engineer in healthcare) and would want to know if traffic is an issue (so that I might not choose to live in a place that would going through the worst bottleneck everyday).

Thanks! I appreciate your input.

Harlingen and the area's around it would be great for what you want. There are a lot of folks growing organic now and they have a Farmer's market with only organic products. Flooding can happen just about anywhere down here so just talk to the people selling the property's you look at and maybe others in the area to see that is prone to flooding. Honestly, Harlingen is a very friendly, family oriented area, I think you'll love it.
If you don't want a lot of traffic then choose Harlingen. If you don't mind traffic choose McAllen.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/harlingen/

https://www.facebook.com/Yahwehfarm?fref=ts

https://www.facebook.com/HOPESFS/?pnref=story

https://www.facebook.com/GmoFreeRgv/

Guide to Childcare, Preschools, and Schools in the RGV

//www.city-data.com/crime/
Just look up towns/cities