McAllen vs Corpus Chrisi (Houston, Dallas: crime rate, job market, construction)

[Texasnewbietraveller]

Which do you prefer and why?
The most progressive
The more urban feel
The better quality of life
Pros & cons

[rynetwo]

Which do you prefer and why? Corpus is closer to the reset of the state metro areas and the DT area is very nice.

The most progressive Corpus

The more urban feel Corpus because it actually has a DT (but neither really)

The better quality of life Corpus

[gabetx]

McAllen is nice for what it is. But it doesn't compare to Corpus.

Corpus feels like an American city and is not isolated like McAllen is. The vast majority of people in the RGV speak Spanish or Tex-Mex. English is the first language in Corpus. The nearest "big cities" to McAllen would be Corpus and Laredo, at three hours away. SA and Houston are 5-6 hours away. Corpus is less than two hours from SA, three from Austin and Houston and six from Dallas.

Corpus is also more diverse and has more of a variety of dining options. Corpus also has a more urban feel downtown and many more attractions. Although, the area is not too exciting as far as nightlife goes.

Corpus has a better job market with many jobs in hospitality, oil and gas, military, and construction. McAllen probably has more medical opportunities.

Corpus also has a AA baseball team, many live concerts and shows, several "major attractions", (USS Lexington, Texas State Aquarium, beach, Schlitterbahn, Selena), is denser, has better schools, has a great university, has the naval air station, has several festivals, many outdoor activities, (beach, fishing, seawall, river, and Lake CC), and has a great highway network. McAllen will have better shopping, due to its proximity to Mexico.

The housing market is strong in both cities as both cities continue to grow at a strong and healthy rate.

Due to its proximity to Mexico, McAllen can actually feel like you are living in Mexico. As stated earlier, Spanish is the first language there and the RGV is very isolated. There is definitely a large cultural difference between the RGV and the Coastal Bend. McAllen is a very suburban and sprawly metro area.

Corpus actually feels American, although it has a heavy Hispanic influence. It is more dense, has an actual downtown with a skyline, great dining options, and actually feels much more like a city. The violent crime rate is probably higher in Corpus, but both cities will have their issues.

In closing, McAllen is somewhere that you live or have family that lives there, even though it has a larger metro area. Aside from that, there is not much of a reason to go there. Corpus' metro area is smaller, but there is much more to offer and has a lot of amenities for an area of +/- 500,000 people, making it feel much more like a city. In my personal opinion, I wouldn't even have to think about it... I would choose Corpus in a heart beat.

[hellpaso]

Originally Posted by gabetx

McAllen is nice for what it is. But it doesn't compare to Corpus.

Corpus feels like an American city and is not isolated like McAllen is. The vast majority of people in the RGV speak Spanish or Tex-Mex. English is the first language in Corpus. The nearest "big cities" to McAllen would be Corpus and Laredo, at three hours away. SA and Houston are 5-6 hours away. Corpus is less than two hours from SA, three from Austin and Houston and six from Dallas.

Corpus is also more diverse and has more of a variety of dining options. Corpus also has a more urban feel downtown and many more attractions. Although, the area is not too exciting as far as nightlife goes.

Corpus has a better job market with many jobs in hospitality, oil and gas, military, and construction. McAllen probably has more medical opportunities.

Corpus also has a AA baseball team, many live concerts and shows, several "major attractions", (USS Lexington, Texas State Aquarium, beach, Schlitterbahn, Selena), is denser, has better schools, has a great university, has the naval air station, has several festivals, many outdoor activities, (beach, fishing, seawall, river, and Lake CC), and has a great highway network. McAllen will have better shopping, due to its proximity to Mexico.

The housing market is strong in both cities as both cities continue to grow at a strong and healthy rate.

Due to its proximity to Mexico, McAllen can actually feel like you are living in Mexico. As stated earlier, Spanish is the first language there and the RGV is very isolated. There is definitely a large cultural difference between the RGV and the Coastal Bend. McAllen is a very suburban and sprawly metro area.

Corpus actually feels American, although it has a heavy Hispanic influence. It is more dense, has an actual downtown with a skyline, great dining options, and actually feels much more like a city. The violent crime rate is probably higher in Corpus, but both cities will have their issues.

In closing, McAllen is somewhere that you live or have family that lives there, even though it has a larger metro area. Aside from that, there is not much of a reason to go there. Corpus' metro area is smaller, but there is much more to offer and has a lot of amenities for an area of +/- 500,000 people, making it feel much more like a city. In my personal opinion, I wouldn't even have to think about it... I would choose Corpus in a heart beat.

I agree completely! I had to live in McAllen for 7 years, and we would often escape to Corpus for a break.

[Westerntraveler]

Corpus no doubt

[Slowpoke_TX]

Originally Posted by gabetx

Corpus feels like an American city

Due to its proximity to Mexico, McAllen can actually feel like you are living in Mexico.

In closing, McAllen is somewhere that you live or have family that lives there, even though it has a larger metro area. Aside from that, there is not much of a reason to go there.

In my personal opinion, I wouldn't even have to think about it... I would choose Corpus in a heart beat.

Nailed it.


I would also add the following:
Political corruption is less rampant in CC than in the Valley.
CC people are much better drivers than Valley people.


With my current job, I had the option of living in CC or in the Valley. I chose Corpus.

[jackalope48]

Downtown Corpus has lots of amenities. Baseball, a beach, a marina, fishing, Artwalk, yearly festivals, concert venues, etc. Shopping isn't stellar but has improved lately and you are close enough to Houston and the SA Austin corridor to day trip to anything they have. Restaurants are pretty good especially considering the size of the city. Culturally it's very laid back which has a progressive element to it but is not a defining feature. Austin's moderate politics beach bum brother is a decent comparison. It is very un rat race so if you are intense in nature you will probably hate it.

[jell-o94]

McAllen is too close to Mexico, well, at least for me. I don't know where to start from.... But for sure all the big box stores and restaurants in the town will always be packed with a myriad of tourists & visitors from across the border during the holidays and I'm guarantee 100% it will be a total mess. That being said, it's essentially a major shopping destination for Mexican tourists rather than a typical American city from what I can tell. As you may already know, the vast majority of the population is Hispanic and keep in mind that the city itself situates in an extremely poor area due to its proximity to Mexico and there is a large presence of Colonias on the desolate hinterlands just outside the city. I'm not disparaging you though. I have a couple of friends down in the Valley, and they like it. I've been down there numerous times when I lived in Mexico... I thought it's a nice shopping destination, but not a place to live. I know it's just me. So don't get me wrong. It's certainly not a place for everyone as you could search all the negative threads despising about the Valley & borderlands on Texas forum. Laredo is worse IMO.

[jerbear30]

My wife is from the valley and I've spend a fair amount of time in McAllen and of course the occasional getaway to Corpus. There is a "beach town" feel about Corpus that is really great. It's small and it's not exactly a "destination" city, but there is still that feeling that a beach town can give you of being outside of time, or outside of your regular routine. It also has the baseball, the aquarium and etc... It's very small, but it's a cool place to be on a number of levels.

I picked McAllen in part because to me the restaurants are better, there's a bigger university and its more of a "city" city than Corpus. It has more daily amenities and a vibe all its own. Yes, lots of people speak Spanish there but most of them speak English too (many speak only English). I grew up as a rural midwesterner and I feel totally welcomed in McAllen, ALL the time. My main reason for picking McAllen though is that it has a very good regional university and that brings with it a college town vibe, more cultural happenings, more knowledge based events and so on. That's huge for me and you're not going to get that in Corpus.