Laredo, Texas

Thinking of moving to Laredo but family keeps telling me it’s too dangerous of a city. Can anyone provide input on this?

Where did they get their information from? Because Laredo is pretty damn safe, (except for many traffic incidents.) There are a lot of problems on the Mexico side of the border, but almost all of that doesn't leech over.

"is it common to see crime happening every day?" No, not at all. Both petty or major crime activity rarely ever happens, and if it does happen: its usually hyper-localized to like a single store or house, and its over within hours. People aren't doing drive-bys or shooting up neighborhoods. There's almost no petty gang activity, and you wont see groups of people causing trouble either. What you will see is people jogging, walking, and biking all day long without having to worry. Kids walking home from schools every day. Plenty of dog walkers. Just everyone living a modest quiet life here.

You could totally start a family here and not worry. It is very safe, (maybe a little too safe, where is that hint of danger that makes life exciting?); You might be a bit disappointed that there is no actual night life. Everything closes at around 10pm, and everyone goes home. There are bars and some clubs open until 2am, but that's about it.

Thinking of moving to Laredo but family keeps telling me it’s too dangerous of a city. Can anyone provide input on this?

In my experience, most ppl I’ve met that have relocated to Laredo end up loving it, make lasting bonds with the ppl here and never leave. There’s a common known phrase that we warn ppl that are not from Laredo and say, “just don’t drink the water”. What we mean by that is once you drink the water you’ll never leave.

If your concern is crime rate, that’s a legitimate concern and every town big or small has it. Just like any other US city, there are parts of town you would want to avoid. Learn those parts of town and your days will be as right as rain.

What strikes first time visitors as special or unusual when they arrive in Laredo, TX?

Perhaps the most striking quirk first timers find when they visit Laredo is just how many people still speak Spanish openly. Depending on which side of town you’re on, you can walk into any store and be greeted in Spanish. This is due in no small part to Laredo being a border town. I would recommend people visiting learn a least a little Spanish just in case you happen to find yourself in a situation where it’ll be needed. However for the most part, English should be suffice.
The second striking quirk about Laredo is the heat. There is a time, from about the beginning of July to the middle of September, where the temperature is nothing but triple digits. If you car has no AC (as I have experienced in the past), bless your soul, cause you going to have a rough time getting around during the day.
The third quirk is a personal annoyance I have on my part. There is an intersection between McPherson Rd, and Jacaman Rd which ALWAYS piles up with traffic around the hours of 3:30pm to 7:00 PM. I try to avoid McPherson at all costs, since it is the preferred street of many Laredoans to go to and from the north side towards central Laredo, opting to take Springfield Ave instead. With that said, sometimes McPherson is unavoidable.

What is Laredo, TX known for?

Being born and raised from Laredo, Texas here are my top 10:

1) Texas city under 7 flags.
2) Villa de San Agustin (1st city name originated from Spain in the 1700's).
3) Busiest inland port (US & Mexico) for import/export.
4) "Mariachi's" (not a band but a local taco).
5) Friday night lights, local high school football games.
6) Extreme dry heat.
7) Cowboys and ranches (statue at Laredo International Airport).
8) Laredo Bucks (hockey team).
9) United vs Alexander High School (go longhorns!!) :)
10) A growing city that continues to evolve in culture and economics.

Laredo, Texas: Another Border Town?