Rio Grand Valley Testimonial

Since I recently relocated to the Rio Grande Valley I was asked by my employer to provide a brief testimonial regarding the region and my experiences that could be used when recruiting others to join the company:

I relocated to Brownsville in November to work for {company name withheld} and so far have found the experience exciting and interesting. Although you will hear people use terms like “culture shock” to describe the experience I don’t think that there is much shocking when you a prepared to experience the cultural differences.

The first difference you will experience in this region is that the population is about 80% Hispanic, many of whom are either first generation immigrants or still have close family ties to Mexico. In the truest sense Brownsville and Matamoros are sister cities and many of the people in the area live their lives on both sides of the border. It is clear that in the region people see the border as a political boundary rather than a cultural boundary.

I was born and raised in Wisconsin, am not bilingual, and relocated from my home town where my extended family lives and have been enjoying the experience of living in Brownsville and working in Mexico. Since I am not bilingual there have been some unique experiences since some local shops don’t have English speaking staff but, for the most part, people in the service industry are bilingual. Even in shops where there is not bilingual staff with very basic Spanish skills I have been able to complete all transactions—this is true on both sides of the border.

While the language and cultural difference are the most obvious concerns when relocating to the border region I think it’s good also understand the number things to enjoy in the region:

First, the region has a lot of shopping. Between Brownsville, Harlingen, Mercedes, and McAllen there are plenty of opportunities to buy the latest brands and high fashion. In this region the merchants are not only servicing the US cities but many Mexican’s cross the border to shop, and Rio Grande Valley has over one million residents on the border. Although it is relatively isolated in terms of proximity to other cities outside of the RGV the area is far from isolated from American brands.

Next, South Padre Island offers the opportunity to escape to a tropical Caribbean beach…only 20 minutes from Brownsville. Most of the year South Padre is a quiet island town with a mixture of unspoiled beaches, condo’s, local restaurants, and shops; for a couple weeks each year the island becomes a spring break destination with parties all day on the beach and parties all night at the clubs. It is generally a good balance since Spring break only last a couple weeks, the rest of the year South Padre is a great place for fishing (surf, bay, and deep sea), outdoor sports (surfing, wind/kite surfing, kayaking), and enjoying the sun and sand.

In Brownsville there are also quite a few activities focused on families including Glady’s Porter Zoo, numerous well kept parks and a very active Mother’s/Play Group that meets every Friday.

Finally, there are a number of border towns that give you an opportunity to shop and enjoy the Mexican market experience. Nuevo Progresso is one of the most popular because there is abundant parking on the US side of the border and the market begins right on the other side of the bridge. You can easily cross the border, go to the market and buy goods from the street merchants, visit restaurants, and enjoy a cerveza in the local cantina in an atmosphere that focused on the tourists.

One thing that I found, and was pleasantly surprised by, is that the cost of living in Brownsville is very reasonable. Housing costs are relatively inexpensive and staples, like groceries and gas, are comparable to most areas I have visited. I have also found that utilities are generally less than the region I moved away from.

Since my family relocated we have not found it difficult to fit into the region. There are so many opportunities to explore and there are events nearly every weekend so we have found the area quite enjoyable. Although there are challenges with any move so far my family has been very happy moving to Brownsville.