Livin’ Is Easy in the Balmy Tip of Texas

The Rio Grande Valley at the southern tip of Texas is a cheap, friendly, laid-back place with plenty to do. A 60-mile subtropical plain along the famous river and the Mexican border, it’s become a popular spot in recent years mostly for retired folks who come largely for the mild winter weather. Driving or flying into Harlingen’s efficient Rio Grande Valley International Airport, visitors can stay in towns like Harlingen, Brownsville and McAllen and enjoy a cost of living lower than most anywhere else in the Sun Belt, plus a warm, down-home ambience.

Many activities are low-cost or even free. The going rate at Harlingen’s municipal golf links is $9 for nine holes, $11 for 18. Entrance to the 45,000-acre Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge (known for birds like the rare green jay) is $2 per car. The refuge is 25 miles east of Harlingen off Farm Road 106. Hiking the trails and fishing along rivers like the Arroyo Colorado near Rio Hondo are free. So are swimming on South Padre Island (27 miles from Brownsville) and square-dance lessons in many of the local clubs.

Many of these “winter Texans” travel to the area and live in RVs--75% of them put down temporary roots in mobile home parks. If you don’t own an RV, some parks will rent out units for as little as $600 a month. Or you can find a short-term furnished apartment rental for $450 to $650 monthly. For information on available properties in the area, contact Harlingen’s chamber of commerce, telephone (800) 531-7346; Mason and Company Realty, tel. (956) 423-4444; Brownsville’s convention and visitors bureau, tel. (800) 626-2639; Apartment Finders, tel. (956) 546-5577; or the McAllen area chamber of commerce, tel. (877) 622-5536.

Motels may be better for shorter stays. Good local deals include Harlingen’s Rodeway Inn, tel. (800) 228-2000, about $42 a night; Super 8, tel. (800) 800-8000, for $49 a night; and Days Inn, tel. (800) 329-7466, for $35 to $42 a night. In McAllen, try Motel 6, tel. (800) 466-8356, for $37 to $43 a night; Palm Plaza Motel, tel. (956) 682-8384, for $38 to $44 a night; and Rodeway, tel. (800) 228-2000, for $45 a night. Brownsville, meanwhile, has a Motel 6, tel. (800) 466-8356, for $40 a night; and a Days Inn, tel. (800) 329-7466, for $45 a night.

For food, the area is among the cheapest in America--even if you eat out every day. Just a couple of examples: At the Lost Galleon in Port Isabel (35 miles east of Harlingen), all-you-can-eat flounder dinners with two side dishes cost $5 per person. In town, the Las Vegas Cafe serves daily plate lunches for $4. On South Padre Island, retired folks especially like Dolphin Cove Oyster Bar in Isla Blanca Park in the afternoons for its 50-cent beers and 75-cent hot dogs.

Other sources of local information include the Texas Travel Information Center, tel. (800) 452-9292, and tourism offices in other towns, such as Weslaco, tel. (956) 968-2102, Pharr, tel. (956) 787-1481, and Mission, tel. (800) 580-2700).