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View Poll Results: Which area would you choose to live in?
El Paso 22 70.97%
Rio Grande Valley (McAllen, Brownsville) 9 29.03%
Voters: 31. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 05-06-2022, 06:52 AM
 
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Which of these border areas would you prefer to live in, and why?
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Old 05-06-2022, 09:38 AM
 
Location: San Diego CA>Tijuana, BC>San Antonio, TX
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El Paso, because it is less humid, has more interesting terrain and it is closer to more interesting locations in the US. You can drive to the mountains of Colorado, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas or the beaches in California in under 10 hours if you need to escape.

For me, the RGV feels way to disconnected from the rest of Texas and the US. Even the flights out of there mostly go through Dallas or Houston.
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Old 05-06-2022, 10:20 AM
 
Location: Houston
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Yeah gotta go with El Paso. Actual mountains inside the city (not just adjacent like in Denver or SLC). Pretty great climate if you don't need humidity. Also has been very advanced in managing water demand.
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Old 05-06-2022, 01:25 PM
 
Location: Kaufman County, Texas
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29.6% of RGV residents live in poverty, vs. 18% in El Paso.
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Old 05-06-2022, 02:22 PM
 
Location: San Diego CA>Tijuana, BC>San Antonio, TX
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LocalPlanner View Post
Yeah gotta go with El Paso. Actual mountains inside the city (not just adjacent like in Denver or SLC). Pretty great climate if you don't need humidity. Also has been very advanced in managing water demand.
Yup, lots of nice houses up on some of those hills as well.

The only plus for RGV is that it has South Padre Island, but if you live in the largest city which is McAllen, Texas... it's going to take you 1.5 hours to drive to the beach. Puerto Peñasco, Mexico is only an 8 hour drive from El Paso and it is in my opinion a much nicer resorts/beach than SPI, add two more hours and you can be in San Diego beaches if you don't want to drive into Mexico.

El Paso also feels like a real city, as opposed to the sprawl that it RGV. Mission to Brownville is a 60+ mile drive across the RGV where as the Southern portion of El Paso to the state line is only about 40 miles.
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Old 05-06-2022, 04:08 PM
 
Location: Dallas, TX
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Another vote for El Paso here. An underrated city overall IMO for many of the reasons listed above.
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Old 05-12-2022, 04:47 PM
 
Location: San Diego CA>Tijuana, BC>San Antonio, TX
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Wow, RGV got murdered in this poll!

My father and his parents are from RGV and I was born there 40 years ago, I still have many many family ties.

Glad my parents got us out of there when I was 3 years old and took us to San Antonio.
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Old 05-12-2022, 05:39 PM
 
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I would rather live in the RGV but only because my family is all scattered between there and San Antonio.

Obviously El Paso is nicer in pretty much every way.

A better comparison is Laredo vs Eagle Pass vs Del Rio or McAllen/surrounding towns vs Laredo vs Brownsville.
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Old 05-12-2022, 06:21 PM
 
Location: Houston
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Quote:
Originally Posted by malcorub16 View Post

For me, the RGV feels way to disconnected from the rest of Texas and the US. Even the flights out of there mostly go through Dallas or Houston.
You're the first person I've ever heard say that. El Paso might as well be in another state. It's closer to Los Angeles than Houston, plus you get all the weather extremes. Ciudad Juarez has a horrible reputation. Have things gotten better?

Over 100,000 snowbirds flock to the RGV every year. It does have It's advantages. Fresh citrus, vegetables, year-round gardening. Great food!
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Old 05-13-2022, 05:50 AM
 
Location: San Diego CA>Tijuana, BC>San Antonio, TX
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SanJac View Post
You're the first person I've ever heard say that. El Paso might as well be in another state. It's closer to Los Angeles than Houston, plus you get all the weather extremes. Ciudad Juarez has a horrible reputation. Have things gotten better?
Something about that 50 mile stretch of Kings Ranch, lack of a direct interstate highway and having to go through a border patrol check point to leave makes the RGV feel so disconnected to me.... It is like its own little island tucked away down in the corner.

El Paso is far to the West from the rest of Texas but it doesn't feel cut off from the rest of the US like RGV, it's on one of the most travelled interstate highways in the US, IH10. People have a reason to go through there even if its just passing thru.

Regarding Juarez, it still has a bad rap today but Matamoros and Reynosa are probably worse these days. The difference is that in RGV you can live in Mcallen or Harlingen and not ever see the border the border BUT in El Paso, the city straddles the border so Juarez and it's hills are in every El Pasoans view as they move about the city.
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