- Details
-
Published: Wednesday, 12 March 2025 14:14
As our winter visitors come to the Valley, it seems they are more frugal when it comes to where they go. They want to have a great time, but they don't want to spend the money they've saved and earned to go just toward living expenses. They want to live it up – from dances and shows to trips to South Padre Island and Nuevo Progreso, Mexico and, of course all the free events that take place on a daily occurrence at the RV resorts.
Progreso is as much a Winter Texan hotspot as any place on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande. Arts, crafts, medicine as well as deliciously prepared adult beverages and a world of exquisite fajitas, enchiladas and other Mexican fare call out to visitors from the north on a regular basis. Some will drive across and park on the one main street that is crammed with shops, restaurants and pharmacies on both sides of the road. Others will take the short walk across the Progreso International Bridge and enjoy the small tourist destination that way.
Read more: Get more for your dollar in the Valley
- Details
-
Published: Wednesday, 12 March 2025 14:12
One of the things that we hear around here is that Winter Texans come to the Valley during the winter months so they can still live an active lifestyle. If they were still up north, they would be stuck inside during snowstorms, and wouldn’t have much to do but a few indoor activities when it is too cold outside. The only activity they would really get is shoveling snow, and that is something they don’t want to be doing.
So, they come to south Texas so that can have a wide variety of activities to choose from. Because of the warmer climate, and predominantly dry season, Winter Texans have a full range of outdoor activities they can participate in while in south Texas from October through March.
One of the most popular activities is golf. Many of the resorts in the Rio Grande Valley have a golf course, and if yours doesn’t, there are still plenty to choose from. There are top notch golf courses and Winter Texans have been known to try them all out and pick favorites.
Read more: Winter Texans visit the Valley to stay active
- Details
-
Published: Wednesday, 12 March 2025 14:10
The Rio Grande Valley's Winter Texan scene isn't the quiet, gem in the rough secret that it once was.
For the winter visitors, that's a good thing – especially when it comes to entertainment. Winter Texans are known for having fun. The Valley provides tons of it too.
More and more Wintertainers™ are coming to the Valley to entertain Winter Texans. The growth can be attributed to entertainers like Gordy and Debbie who came to the Valley nearly 15 years ago and were an immediate hit. When they returned home, they spread the word and brought some friends down. Many other entertainers are still sharing the good news with others that the Valley is a place to be.
Read more: Rio Grande Valley parks feature top Wintertainers™
- Details
-
Published: Wednesday, 12 March 2025 14:10
For decades, the Rio Grande Valley of Texas has been a favorite destination for retirees from the Midwest and Canada looking to head south for the winter to escape the snow, ice and cold, harsh weather. In addition to the warm, semi-tropical climate here in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV), Winter Texans frequently tell us they enjoy the friendly people here, the many activities available to enjoy in the mobile home and RV parks and resorts, and the camaraderie with other Winter Texans who spend three to six months in South Texas each winter.
Besides the warm weather, they come because it’s fun!
Read more: Winter Texans feel safe in the Rio Grande Valley
- Details
-
Published: Wednesday, 12 March 2025 14:03
Editor’s Note: This submission was part of a contest at Mission Bell/Tradewinds Resort in Mission. They asked for submissions on what their residents thought a Winter Texan was. Bob McBain won first place and was featured in their newsletter. We were given permission to republish the article.
By Bob McBain
Being a Winter Texan means a lot of things to different people. First most people think of Winter Texans as just another version of Snowbirds. People who flee the wintry weather and go south, like migrating birds.
And that is what I thought as well, until I retired and tried the Snowbird life. I had visited Arizona during the winter months before I retired, but there was nothing to make me want to be a Snowbird and migrate to Arizona. Then I visited my brother in March 2014, who was a Winter Texan at that time, and it was so different.
The people were friendly, warm, and sincere. They made you feel welcome. That was the point in time that I decided I would come back the next year and give it a try, as I was retiring in 2015. So, we bought a travel trailer and made the journey in 2015 down to Mission, Texas to try the Winter Texan thing.
My brother was no longer staying in the valley, so we were coming down, knowing no one other than the few people that I had met the year before. My wife knew no one down here, as she was not with me when I was here in 2014.
Talk about taking a gamble. My wife and I loved it. Everyone made you feel welcome. The people were not pushy or snobby. We have been Winter Texans since 2015, and plan to continue being Winter Texans for as long as the good Lord sees fit.
I will say that things have changed in the nine years that we have been coming down. The dynamics of the Valley have changed dramatically, as well as the dynamics of RV parks.
“People are aging out,” is the best way of saying it. Death, health issues, cost, and age are the biggest factors.
When we first came down, it was 90% RVs and 10% Park models, and the park was full. Today it has reversed. 90% park models and 10% RVs. This in itself has changed the dynamics of a park.
If you lived in an RV, you wanted to get out and do things. The hall was busy every night of the week with people playing cards, games or just gathering. Happy hours were going on daily somewhere in the park. Trips to Mexico were all day events. Golf was 50-60 people. Bus trips to events were commonplace, but living in a park model has changed this. People are living in “homes,” not an RV.
There is one constant, and this is the heart of being what a Winter Texan is. It is the people. I think of the people as being family, not extended family, but blended family. We are all different and come from diverse backgrounds and beliefs and from all over the USA and Canada. We are here to be among family and friends. That is what brings us back every year. They are our friends, yes, but even more, our blended family.
That is what being a Winter Texan means to me.
I am proud to be a Winter Texan.
AUSTIN – You can enjoy spring too, at any of Texas’ State Parks. If you’re not into visiting during the month of March, there is plenty of time to visit on your way back up north. Texas State Parks still have day-use and overnight availability for anyone looking for an outdoor adventure.
As a Winter Texan, you know you can’t stay cooped up in your RV park all the time so when you want to venture out for a day it usually means passing Freddy Fender’s water tower with a trip to Brownsville or South Padre.
Tropic Star had a great season with a wide variety of entertainment with many different shows, happy hours and dances. The park has over 75 different activities each week for their guests to take part in.
As they say at Tropic Star, you can’t be bored if you live at Tropic Star.
