How is brownsville in 2019, good,bad, blooming? (Harlingen, Cameron Park: renting, condo)

[NorthTexasGuy]

My wife's family is from the Valley. Many of them moved to Dallas and Houston in the early 60's and 70's for work. Now, as they retire they are moving back down. My father in law moved to Brownsville to retire a couple of years ago. The slower pace of life and just the over all affordability of the valley makes it very appealing, despite of what ever preconceived notion one might have of the region. You''ll have most everything you need in Brownsville and surrounding towns minus the traffic of the big cities.


As far as crime, it's like any other area, if you look for trouble, you'll probably find it. Otherwise, it's actually a great place to live. Just ask those winter Texans that come down from the northern states. It may well be where we retire to as well, but that's way down the line. Good luck.

[Nekosama]

Originally Posted by Schwartzmann

If you are from highland Mexico, the heat and humidity in Brownsville from May (April really) to October may take some getting used to... or you may never get used to it.

So far i have seen the weather has been the same as Guadalajara, except the humidity, not sure how different will be in the next months

[Ivory Lee Spurlock]

Originally Posted by KerrTown

You will still feel Mexican when you travel up north by road and encounter a Border Patrol checkpoint.

Do they stop and check each car, including the trunk? Do they have dogs that sniff the inside of each vehicle? If it is obvious the people in the car are Americans, are they flagged on, or are their vehicles also searched by the border control agent and sniffed out by the dogs?

[supfromthesite]

Most people just cross through with a wave and a hello or "hola" (it's a funny way to joke but it might not always work out so well). They only stop a few cars. I haven't seen one get stopped. Maybe 1 out of 10 get stopped, if that.

Is Brownsville considered a nicer city than McAllen or is it about the same?

[rdz1979]

Originally Posted by Nekosama

So far i have seen the weather has been the same as Guadalajara, except the humidity, not sure how different will be in the next months

Guadalajara has cooler weather overall. Wait until the summer, if you can take a Valley summer, you can summer anywhere.

[gguerra]

Originally Posted by supfromthesite

Is Brownsville considered a nicer city than McAllen or is it about the same?

Brownsville proper is older and bigger as far as population but seems more run down IMO. It does have cooler weather due to it's proximity to the coast, it's a short 20 min drive to SPI. Boca Chica beach is even closer. That's where the new Space-X facility is located. Mcallen is newer, more contemporary, and it's metro area is bigger. The culture is about the same, high percentage of Hispanics as expected along the border. Most if not all Anglos get along just fine.

[retiredtxn]

We are retired and spent many winters in our fifth-wheel at a retirement park in Brownsville. We loved it there and never had any problems with the "locals". We use to go to Matamorous, MX but always in groups and didn't have a problem coming or going. We also went fishing a lot on Boca Chica beach. There were border guards but they were polite and didn't have a problem with them. Brownsville has a lot of great stores for shopping and it was a clean place to live. Great food and many things to see in the surrounding areas. I would highly recommend Brownsville. Unless, with all this border concerns, everything has changed drastically, it's a nice place to live or visit. We eventually bought a home in Victoria, TX and loved it there, too.

[Nekosama]

Originally Posted by retiredtxn

We are retired and spent many winters in our fifth-wheel at a retirement park in Brownsville. We loved it there and never had any problems with the "locals". We use to go to Matamorous, MX but always in groups and didn't have a problem coming or going. We also went fishing a lot on Boca Chica beach. There were border guards but they were polite and didn't have a problem with them. Brownsville has a lot of great stores for shopping and it was a clean place to live. Great food and many things to see in the surrounding areas. I would highly recommend Brownsville. Unless, with all this border concerns, everything has changed drastically, it's a nice place to live or visit. We eventually bought a home in Victoria, TX and loved it there, too.

looking forward to go there fishing, i had no idea there was nice fishing spots there, truly excited for that

[aab7855]

I´ve heard that north Brownsville is really expanding, in terms of new subdivisions with nice houses.

What areas should be avoided? I hear bad things about the Southmost area, and downtown seems, well, hit or miss. I see some nice condos in the Fort Brown/UTB area, but not much else, though the mayor keeps talking about a massive "Downtown renaissance".

[BBslider001]

I am very curious about Brownsville as well. I hope this thread gets a revival with some more input.