I have a possible career opportunity in Laredo. I would be moving from Dallas, but I have lived in West Texas and Oklahoma. I am familiar with living in smaller cities or towns.

Do any Ags have any insight they can share with me about the city as a whole? I plan on moving my family, which includes 3 kids. We will only move if we can get our kids into a Catholic School. Any suggestions for neighborhoods and Catholic Schools are very much appreciated.

I am not from Laredo, nor have I ever lived there, but I have spent a lot of time there and know many people from there and others that live there. What I will relate is more generic about deep STX.

Typically people either love living in STX or hate it. As of late, IMO, living in STX has a lot of plusses:
-Very socially conservative area.
-Border areas are very safe in terms of crime, things seen in the big 3 cities of TX are just not seen in these areas. Cops in STX will kill you first and ask questions after, and the bad guys know it. People support LEO and are patriotic.
-People are friendly and the lifestyle is laid back. Cost of living is decent to good.
-Food is really good, people are really fat.

There are many conundrums and oddities in general in STX, there are not a lot of private schools in these areas as most people can't afford them. It is typically felt that the education in the public schools is better than the private schools. Why? Because a large portion of the private schools will be people from Mex, and thus more of a focus on teaching the kids proper English and such. Some of those kids you don't want your kids going to school with for a variety of reasons.

There is a lot of elitism, if you want to call it that, in the public schools in STX. By that I mean the common folks with average to lower academics get an "OK" education, but nothing great. But if your kid is sharp and can handle honors classes and such, they will get more and focused attention than many places in the state, at least that is what folks that have moved into the area and educators tell me, as well as what we are experiencing with our soon to graduate daughter. The schools are very conservative as compared to what I perceive in many other parts of the state.

Bottom line, the border areas are just different, as mentioned many people like it others don't.

There are drawbacks, Laredo is especially hot and dry it basically has 3 seasons; hot, hot/dry, and dust. But you will rarely be cold and bbq'ing on Xmas eve has its merits. In STX you will find that manana doesn't mean tomorrow, it just means not today. High service standards and doing things fast and right the first time are the exception and not the rule. The people are fat, did I mention that?

I have two BP friends that are from Laredo originally, and they love it and can't wait until they can retire and move back. As compared to the RGV, Laredo is closer to mainstream civilization in terms of distance. There isn't any of the overt "woke" stuff and all the crazy leftist social movements and such. People are down to earth and friendly. There is not the culture type stuff and variety of the bigger cities in either events, attractions, or things to do and places to eat. Really good Mexican,and Texmex with the local touches, is easy and cheap to find.

Before Mex went to sheet, living on the border was fantabulous and a lot of fun. Nowadays it is just as safe and laid back but a component of what made it really cool is no longer there.

I appreciate the response. I have always been intrigued with deep south Texas. This gives me more insight.

Good and sage words by Duckhook. He points out a really important part of the deal. What I will mention here is this, we recently got to know a couple that moved to the RGV from Chicago. Husband is a Fed that took a promotion down here, wife was originally from San Antonio, a puro "coconut". They absolutely love the RGV, can't be happier.

They moved down here when their kids were like in 8th and 9th grade. The daughter played a couple of sports and the son had some computer and nerdy related interests. They got the kids involved in extra curricular stuff, the daughter in sports and the kid in the nerdy things. Thus they ended up meeting a lot of other parents and such, and the kids made friends. Within a short time they developed an active social circle and have been very happy. They claim that they have developed more friends in 3-4 years in the RGV than in 15+ in Chicago.

If your kids are active and have outside interests you will meet a circle of friends fairly quickly.

I have found that people that are outgoing and open to "newness" will thrive in STX due to it being a friendly area. But people that want to move into the area and expect it to be like "back home", will be disappointed.

If your wife has a career or is interested in one, that will also help in this situation. If someone is smart, reliable, driven, responsible it is not hard to develop a career in STX. The biggest cop-out that you will hear in these areas is "I can't speak Spanish so nobody will hire me or give me a chance". That is BS. My wife is a coconut who was raised in North Carolina and even about 20 years in her Spanish is a thing of horror, and that is with the majority of her family being very bilingual, and she owns and operates her own business. And FYI, she is one of those that absolutely loves STX and the RGV despite not being raised here.

You still moving to Laredo?

I can assist with any questions. I could also get you connect for Catholic school. (Principal is an Aggie class of 1986 and 2021 also my mom!)

The community of the school will also provide some new friends.

Message me, I would be happy to assist with anything.