McAllen, Texas
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2/25/2013
McAllen, Texas: If you are a transfer from any type of metro-area in the United States you will want to reconsider relocating. The best way to describe McAllen is that it has all of the conveniences of any cookie-cutter suburb with Target, Walmart, Home Depot, Applebee’s and Best Buy, but it lacks the access to the bigger cities in Texas.
The first attraction listed in McAllen’s “Things to Do” is South Padre Island. South Padre Island is over an hour away and if you are a local to McAllen this can be a long drive and an eventual bore unless you are an avid fisherman or sky diver. There are a not many nooks to find in this city that are fun and interesting, but they are few and far between and if you are used to a conglomerate of cities together you can yearn for more that you will not find unless you drive at least 3 hours.
Mexico is always a possibility, but I felt very uncomfortable crossing the border and having military armed with machine guns and tanks outside of the restaurants. Aside from this every other city within an hour of the McAllen/Mission area is a complete disappointment. It is very hot from April through mid-November. If you are from the north it is best to visit from December through February.
McAllen lacks the outdoor cafes and bars, but I think this is due to the excessive heat throughout the year. If one happens to find an outdoor facility, in most cases it is a patio acutely set next to a parking lot with the exception of about three places that I have found (which are great).
Lastly, trying to get out of McAllen through the airport is not fun because most every flight has a connection. This means that even if someone wants to go south or lateral east they have to first fly back to Houston or Dallas and then back south. This is a huge waste of time, therefore getting anywhere there is a connection and in the winter you will more than likely miss your connection that will result in delays.
In summary, this area is has primarily unbearable high temperature during the day, it a mecca for every retail chain you can imagine and lacks easy access to other cities and does not have the charm that many other cities have. I would seriously consider this relocation especially if there is more than one person involved in this decision.
trisha | McAllen, TX