Non-Hispanic in Brownsville/McAllen?

[supfromthesite]

If you have to live near Brownsville look into Rancho Viejo

[sgrig]

Originally Posted by whinybanana

I'm a professor and I have a job at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley. There are no other plausible options for the coming year. I'll be working between the Brownsville and Edinburg campuses.

Being one of the most heavily Hispanic areas in the country, I'm unsure what to expect as a White non Spanish speaker. Will my daughter face discrimination for looking different at school? Are we going to stick out everywhere we go? Is it likely we'll encounter people who don't speak English, or are most bilingual? What advice would you give to a non-Hispanic looking to move to this area?

That said, what areas should we look at? What school districts are preferable? Our budget is $410k or if moved down to $340k we can afford private school if nessessary. Lastly my wife's job is online but she'll be in Brownsville once a week.

Note:
My wife and I are from the Northeast and have been living in San Marcos for the past year. I also spent some time in Houston. We are both Jewish but practice quite casually and would only want to attend synagogue around major holidays.
*This is the only job offer that was within an hour of one of my wife's job offers. So yes, we have to move to the RGV.

Almost a decade ago I was in the same situation as you, and wondering how ended up in what seemed to be the edge of the world. Over time, I've grown to really appreciate this area. As a UTRGV professor, you'll do extremely well here. I wouldn't recommend living in Brownsville, but McAllen and Edinburg are perfectly civilized places. The area in north McAllen east of 10th street and north of Nolana has very nice neighborhoods with excellent houses, some of which you'll be able to afford with your budget.

Nearby areas in Edinburg (south-western parts of Edinburg - south of University drive and west of Sugar) are also nice. Both of these areas also have good public elementary schools. You won't need Spanish for everyday activities, since much of the population is bilingual, however to interact with repair men, lawn mowers, cleaners, nannies you may need to use Google Translate. Otherwise, many residents in these nicer areas are professionals - doctors, lawyers, professors, etc with diverse backgrounds: hispanic/white/asian, etc, so it will feel like mostly any other American city.

Private schools are pretty much all strongly Christian (I think there is just one non-Christian private school in Edinburg/McAllen area, which is a Montessori one). So in your case, choosing an area with a high-ranked public school may be better. At middle school and high school level there are good magnet schools run by the South Texas Independent School District which accept from all over the region.

Unless you like living out in the country, lots are quite small even in expensive houses (at least compared to suburbs and smaller towns in Eastern states). Anything over 1/4 acre is quite rare.

You will be able to live comfortably here with year-round warm weather, no snow to deal with. The beach at South Padre island is available year round. Summer is of course oppressively hot, but if you'll have a pool in the backyard, it won't be much of an issue.

So relax and enjoy!

[malcorub16]

Originally Posted by sgrig

Almost a decade ago I was in the same situation as you, and wondering how ended up in what seemed to be the edge of the world.!

That's a funny way to describe it, but I get what you are saying. Now imagine being undocumented and not being able to leave the area not to the North because of checkpoints and not the South because you won't be allowed back, your trapped trapped at the edge of the world. I have an aunt living in the RGV in this status.

[SA Mtbkr]

410 grand will get you a house better than the cartel leaders in the RGV. LOL


I have a friend that lives in McAllen and we go down there often. No, you won't be treated differently as long as you act respectable to others. I work in East Houston and am white, so being outnumbered by Latin peoples is normal to me. LOL


The Valley has many good features, even though it is poor in many areas. The people there are friendly and welcoming, if you have an open mind.

[NewTexico76]

I love living here most of the time, but the summers kill me.

This may sound counterintuitive, but the Rio Grande Valley is so overwhelmingly Hispanic that it makes ethnicity less of an issue than many other places in the U.S.. Most people here do not go around viewing people as "Hispanic" or "non-Hispanic" first.

[supfromthesite]

To an extent San Antonio is like that as well

[brock2010]

Originally Posted by supfromthesite

Let's not get carried away here

Right because RGV area is growing and Beaumont/Port Arthur aren't.

[jackalope48]

There are synagogues in Harlingen, McAllen, and Corpus Christi. There are Chabad chapters in Mcallen and Corpus Christi(the rabbis are brothers). I believe the Harlingen synagogue rabbi is part time but Corpus has a full time rabbi. Corpus is going to be the largest and has both conservative and reform services weekly and for holidays. Other than Chabad there are some groups of orthodox that meet at houses.

[Johnhw2]

Originally Posted by whinybanana

I'm a professor and I have a job at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley. There are no other plausible options for the coming year. I'll be working between the Brownsville and Edinburg campuses.

Being one of the most heavily Hispanic areas in the country, I'm unsure what to expect as a White non Spanish speaker. Will my daughter face discrimination for looking different at school? Are we going to stick out everywhere we go? Is it likely we'll encounter people who don't speak English, or are most bilingual? What advice would you give to a non-Hispanic looking to move to this area?

That said, what areas should we look at? What school districts are preferable? Our budget is $410k or if moved down to $340k we can afford private school if nessessary. Lastly my wife's job is online but she'll be in Brownsville once a week.

Note:
My wife and I are from the Northeast and have been living in San Marcos for the past year. I also spent some time in Houston. We are both Jewish but practice quite casually and would only want to attend synagogue around major holidays.
*This is the only job offer that was within an hour of one of my wife's job offers. So yes, we have to move to the RGV.

I cant speak to the school question but will share experience my Dermatologist had growing up in RBV. She is Korean and female and had a good experience growing up in RGV. I know the national narrative about Texas and perhaps even this area might raise your concerns but I believe you will find it more diverse and accepting than you may expect. Wish you well on this new Job location